October 30 - November 3, 2017

I hope you have had a fantastic weekend!  We are gearing up for an excellent week and I am looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday for Student-Led Conferences!  This week students will turn in their menus from last week as well as take their quiz on Tides if they have not already.  They will then pre-test on our new topic "Stars, Galaxies and the Universe" and receive their new menu.  An example of the menu can be found here. (This sample can be printed in case a student loses his personalized copy.) Students will make a commitment to complete 6 New Topic and 2 Review Topic activities based upon their own personal data.  However, because we have two short weeks in a row as well as a unit test, students will have until next Thursday, November 9 to finish it.  Small group instruction and hands-on activities will of course still be included.  

Monday – Students will take a quiz on the Tides if they have not already done so.  They will also either complete their current menu items or complete the study guide for the Unit Test.  This unit test will be on Tuesday, October 31 and will cover Sun, Moon, Earth, Rotation, Revolution, Seasons, Moon Phases, Eclipses and Tides. Students who are ready and completed their menus and quiz may take this test today.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. 

Tuesday – Students will take the unit test on Sun, Moon, Earth, Rotation, Revolution, Seasons, Moon Phases, Eclipses and Tides.  Anyone who finishes early will be able to start work on their new menu relating to the Stars, Galaxies and the Universe.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. 

Wednesday – Student-Led Conferences (No School): Students will present examples of their work, personal reflections, and teacher analysis to family.

Thursday – Students will begin or continue to work on their Stars, Galaxies and the Universe menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay current.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. 

Friday – Students will begin or continue to work on their Stars, Galaxies and the Universe menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay current.

Next week will look very similar.  

Monday – Students will continue to work on their Stars, Galaxies and the Universe menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay current.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. 

Tuesday – Students will continue to work on their Stars, Galaxies and the Universe menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay current.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Study for the quiz!

Wednesday – Vanderbilt's VSVS will be here to share some excellent science experiments!

Thursday –  Students will take a quiz on the Stars, Galaxies and the Universe if they have not already done so.  They will also either complete their current menu items or complete the pre-test for Our Solar System.  

Friday – No School. Veteran's Day

I will update you next week if anything changes! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or concerns! I hope you have an excellent week!

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

www.lisareedpreston.com

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

1830 Jo Johnston Ave.

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 329-8160

October 23 - 27, 2017

Last week was a very successful week with menus!  Students got to experience choice in their activities, felt empowered to choose small groups with me, and were self-motivated to get their work complete!  I look forward to continuing it this week! 

Students will again receive personalized menus.  These menus will provide student with their updated data and allow them to make choices about how to spend their academic time in order to best meet their needs.  Students will make a commitment this week to complete 4 New Topic and 2 Review Topic activities based upon their own personal data.  Small group instruction and hands-on activities will still be included as a part of our normal classroom environment.  Here is an example of what this week's menu will look like.

Last weeks, some students were able to not only complete their weekly menu, but pre-test and begin working on their menu for this week!  As students start to further embrace their learning, they will start to progress quickly.  It is important to stress the value of the quality of work, not speed of completion!

Monday –Students will receive their new menu.  They will also take a pre-test on tides if they did not do so on Friday, which they will be able to score immediately.  After documenting their score on their menu, they will select their activities for the week.  Student may begin working on these activities as soon as they have signed the commitment.  The goal is to complete 1 activity from the menu today.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Recommended: 3…2…1… write 3 things you learned today (this could include menu information, tides information or Do Now information.), 2 interesting facts, and 1 question you still have.

Tuesday – Students will continue to work on their menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay up to date.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Recommended: Crash Course Kids – you may choose any video that is about a review topic.  An example might be Defining a Problem.  Email or write a summary in the form of 140 character Tweet.

Wednesday – Students will continue to work on their menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay up to date.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Recommended:  Glows and Grows – What were the best parts of the day?  What improvements would you recommend?

Thursday – Students will continue to work on their menus.  The goal is to complete 1 activity during class in order to stay up to date.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Recommended: NewsELA – read an article of your choosing related to the solar system or cool STEM jobs.  Complete either the quiz or the writing prompt and email or submit.

Friday – Students will take a quiz on the Tides.  Once they are done, they will either complete their current menu items or complete the study guide for the Unit Test.  This unit test will be on Monday, October 30 and will cover Sun, Moon, Earth, Rotation, Revolution, Seasons, Moon Phases, Eclipses and Tides.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or concerns! I hope you have an excellent week!

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

www.lisareedpreston.com

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

1830 Jo Johnston Ave.

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 329-8160

Science Carnival!

Happy Monday!  I hope your week has started off well.  This Friday will be our annual Science Carnival! 

SOME of the EVENTS

Beads in a Bottle ~ Bed of Nails ~ Square Bubbles

Cartesian Divers ~ Golden Rod Paper ~ Electrochemistry

Inertia Juice ~ Power Polymer Ball ~ Tornadoes and Fountains

Universal Indicators ~ Whack a Balloon ~ UV Light /Sun prints

This event is extremely popular and limited in the number of students who are able to attend.  If students are interested, here's the permission slip! I will also have paper permission slips available in class for any student who would like one.

Please note that turning a slip in does NOT mean a student is definitely going.  Each class has a limited number of spots, so turn slips in as soon as possible! 

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

www.lisareedpreston.com

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

1830 Jo Johnston Ave.

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 329-8160

October 16-20, 2017

Welcome back! I hope your fall break was filled with fun and family. 

As we continue to work towards more individualized and self-motivated learning, students will begin to receive personalized menus.  These menus will provide student with their current data and allow them to make choices about how to spend their academic time in order to best meet their needs.  Working in stations has helped lead them up to this experience.  Student menus will have New Topic activities and Review Topic activities.  Students will make a commitment at the beginning of the week to complete 3 New Topic and 2 Review Topic activities based upon their own personal data.  Small group instruction and hands-on activities will still be included as a part of our normal classroom environment.  Here is an example of what a menu will look like.

Monday –Students will be introduced to their new menu.  They will also take a pre-test on moon phases, which they will be able to score immediately.  After documenting their score on their menu, they will select their activities for the week.  Student may begin working on these activities as soon as they have signed the commitment.  

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Recommended: 3…2…1… write 3 things you learned today (this could include menu information, moon phases information or Do Now information.), 2 interesting facts, and 1 question you still have.

Tuesday – Students will continue to work on their menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay up to date.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Recommended: StudyJams – choose any video from the Solar System section on StudyJams and complete the quiz.  Email or write the answers and your grade.

Wednesday – Vanderbilt VSVS will be visiting our classroom to share a lesson and activities relating to the solar system.  This will be the second of four visits during the school year.  To learn more about VSVS: https://studentorg.vanderbilt.edu/vsvs/

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Recommended:  Glows and Grows – What were the best parts of the day?  What improvements would you recommend?

Thursday – Students will continue to work on their menus.  The goal is to complete 2 activities during class in order to stay up to date.

Homework: Select one of the homework options from the menu. Recommended: NewsELA – read an article of your choosing related to the solar system or cool STEM jobs.  Complete either the quiz or the writing prompt and email or submit.

Friday – Students will take a quiz on the Moon Phases and eclipses.  Once they are done, they will either complete a pre-test for Tides or complete menu items.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or concerns! I hope you have an excellent week!

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

www.lisareedpreston.com

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

1830 Jo Johnston Ave.

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 329-8160

October 2 - 6, 2017

This week, we will be revisiting the Engineering Design Process via the Egg Drop Project and looking forward with Vanderbilt’s VSVS salt water density lesson. 

Monday – Egg Drop Inspection! Students need to bring their egg drop vessels in to be inspected.  Students whose design does not meet requirements will be allowed to complete revisions for homework and bring it back on Tuesday for a reduced grade.  Students will be asked in class to create hypotheses about what will happen during the Egg Drop.

Homework: Draw a model of the location of the sun and Earth as it would be right now.  Make sure to include your axis, equators, and the seasons.

Tuesday – Egg Drop! Please feel free to join us as we test our prototypes, document our results, and reflect on possible improvements to work towards next year’s constraints.

Homework: Complete Step 5 on the EDP Sheet Egg Drop document.

Wednesday – Vanderbilt's VSVS will be visiting our classroom to share a lesson and activities relating to Salt Water Density.  This will be the first of four visits during the school year.  To learn more about VSVS: https://studentorg.vanderbilt.edu/vsvs/

Homework: Glows and Grows – What were the best parts of the day?  What improvements would you recommend?

Thursday – We will be running an abbreviated schedule because of our quarterly incentive party held in the afternoon! During class we will be preparing our portfolios for our upcoming Student Led Conferences.   In the afternoon, students will have a choice of movie room and will be provided with popcorn. They may bring their own drinks.

Homework: During the break, students should track the moon phases on their Moon Phase Calendar. I will update a link to the document on my website on Monday afternoon.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or concerns! I hope you have an excellent week!

Lisa Preston, MAT

6th Grade Science

www.lisareedpreston.com

Head Middle Magnet Prep of Math & Science

1830 Jo Johnston Ave.

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 329-8160