Orienteering

New Mexico Grade 8 Science Standard I (Physical Science):  5-8 Benchmark III.
 #6:  Know that the Earth has a magnetic field.

This could be a 2-minute lecture on the earth having a magnetic field.  But when it's the last day before spring break, why not make it an entire 90-minute class period?

Welcome to Orienteering 101!

I handed out the little compasses to each student and we practiced learning how to use them.  Always remember that North is with North.  Then find your direction.  

I then took the class outside to the baseball field. I had closed it off to everyone else with big signs, and during my prep period (there have been many times I’m grateful that prep is first for me) I set up the orienteering course.  It took me about an hour to get everything set right, and then the rest of the period to perfect it and get everything ready

 

My first class did awesome.  They were in groups of two and each had a different course to take.  There were 8 markers around the field.  They got their first clue from me in the center, and then went off in the direction of their clue.  There they would find a new clue for their group that would send them in a different direction to another marker.  The first group back to me with all of their markers in the correct order won and got a prize.  It was fun, because the first group back actually didn’t have their markers in the correct order, so I sent them back at their second marker where they had first messed up.  They ran back.  I had a couple other groups come back with answers really close, but had 1 or 2 wrong.  In the end, we had a winner.  There were only 15 minutes of class left when everyone had finished (of a 90 minute class), and it being the last day of the week I told them they could do whatever.  Some joined the PE class on the next field in playing soccer.  Other sat in the shade of the dug-out.  I went around and made sure all of my clues were at the right markers and then sat in the dug-out with my class.  

My second class came in and didn’t do as well.  They could not figure out that North had to go with North.  They were trying to get the needle in the compass to move instead of physically changing the direction of the compass to match the needle.  I still had a winning group, but it was harder with this group.  I think it’s a combination that I missed a step in my introduction and that this groups had a higher percentage of lower abilities than my last class.  Also, it was much hotter this time.  But we only had to do this for half the class because this class had finally earned their class party.  After the winner came in, I gathered them all up and we went back inside.  They were good enough to help me pick up the markers and take down the signs before we left, though.  Then they sat in my classroom for the party where they ate chips that they brought and listened to music.  It was pretty chill.  But it worked.  :)

An example marker.  The Marker paper should be under the rock.  This is what happens after kids have been by. 

Magnetism

This will be a worthwhile post.   I'll not only tell you how to do cool experiments with your kiddos, but how to get your very own iron filings for free.

Hear that?  FREE Iron Filings!

When you have iron filings you can do cool experiments like this with the kiddos:

Pretty Magnetic Field Lines

I cut the corners of a piece of paper and folded them up to make a tray.  That way the iron filings wouldn't go everywhere.

I wish I could have let the kids try this on their own, but I don't trust them enough––I can see iron filings going everywhere and kids accidentally breathing in too much iron and then dying.  Not the best situation you want to be in as a teacher.

So instead we did a demonstration where they all stood around one table and watched.  It was cool and I the kids really liked it.  They also all asked me if they could do it themselves.  Since I don't want anyone dying, I said no.

Now for the part you've all been waiting for: How to get your very own iron-filings for free.


Method #1: 
Grab an old iron or steel nail and file it down with a heavy-duty file (not the wimpy kind you file your nails with, but a "manly file," as my husband called it.)  File down the nail.

I actually did this method for an hour during my Saturday afternoon.  I didn't get very much iron.  There was a small lump, and I could do some things with it, but you really don't get very much.



Method #2:
Place a magnet in a plastic bag.  Go outside. Rub the plastic bag in the dirt.  Lift and shake. There should be iron on the outside of the bag, attracted to the magnet.  Put this in a cup and take the magnet out of the bag to release the iron into the cup.  Tadaa!!  Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat.

Depending on how much you want, this can also take a while.  The ASL interpreter in my first class told me about this, so during lunch I went out for ~5 minutes and just played in the dirt collecting iron.  It was awesome.  I got enough for our little demonstration above for my next class.

My little collection of iron filings from 5 minutes of Method #2.

I did also collect some dirt with this method.  So I took my dirty iron mixture and purified it even more by moving it from the cup to the final container using the same magnet-in-a-bag technique.  That lessened the amount of dirt quite a bit.  I used this second separation in my demonstration.

Method 2 would be a fun activity to do with your kids, too.  Make them go out and collect

real, natural iron from the EARTH!!!

and then use it to learn more about magnets.  (This could also go with any mixture separation lesson plans you may be doing.)

Yay for magnets.

Apologizing, Part 2

The first apology this week came from me.  Read about it here.

The next four apologies came from four boys who thought making and throwing a paper airplane around the classroom in the middle of class would be a good idea.

I held them after class and talked to them about the choice they had made, and why it wasn't appropriate.  These are my 7th-graders.  They are good kids, and we have a good relationship.  I respect them, and they respect me.  But this is middle school and sometimes common sense is left at home.  Such was the case here.  I could tell that they weren't trying to be disruptive, but they just had the idea that a paper airplane would be really cool right then, so they made one.  Unfortunately, they had that awesome idea in the middle of class.

So I told them they needed to go home and write me a letter of apology, explaining what they were doing an why it wasn't appropriate in class.

Today I was surprised that three of them remembered and brought them up to me.  The fourth was held after during lunch where he had to write it for me then.

These kids are hilarious.  I really love my job. It's tough, but there are so many fun moments.  You can tell they are sincere in their apologies.  But they're middle school boys, and I laugh out-loud when I read some of their wording (which is why I always read it after the kids have left).

Here is an apology letter from one of my students.  He's had to write two for me before, and he had a really hard time writing them.  But he was the first to submit his today, which surprised me.  What did not surprise me was the crumpled up piece of paper he handed me, which was the back of one of his returned math assignments.  I was just proud of him for actually remembering to write the letter.  Keep in mind that they have to write half a page, and this student's handwriting is uncommonly small. Here's what he wrote (spelling fixed):

Sorry Miss Draper for throwing paper airplanes in your class and I should have been being paying attention in your class because I don't want to be separated from my friends because I don't want you picking that phone up and dialing my parents' phone number and then I get in trouble and [friend's name] will not write the letter I think because he told me in I-CAT so don't call my parents I am writing small this is going to take forever to write half the page and it is almost 2016 or not I can't wait for Christmas and if you call my parents I won't get nothing for my birthday. 

Apologizing, Part 1

There have been a few apologies going around this week.

The first one was from me to my 4th-period class.

On Tuesday I woke up anxious.  This was B-day, which always put me a little on edge.  On B-day I have my 8th graders, and they are a lot to handle.  I don't know if I do it very well, but on Tuesday I definitely didn't do it well.

As I said, I woke up anxious with thoughts on this one student (we'll call him Bobby) who has been the main source of the problem for two months.  It's been awful.  He'll speak in Spanish loudly because he knows I don't understand, and then I hear later from others that he's swearing up a storm and talking about vulgar things.  Bobby talks constantly during class, and doesn't care a bit about what I have to say about it.  He distracts the other students and has brought not only his own grade down, but those around him, too.

Advice for student and teacher alike?

So I was on edge when it came time for 4th-period on Tuesday.

It didn't start well.  Not only did Bobby start from the very beginning of class to disrupt everything, but I was getting after other kids for little things that I should have let slip, because they weren't that big of a deal.  One girl (we'll call her Sue) completely refused to participate in taking her turn to lead the class in the rules.  Sue put her head down and wouldn't budge.  I was short with students who were just settling in and weren't starting on their bell work right away.  I have a few male students who retaliate when they think things are unjust, and they did just that.  So I created a bigger problem for myself.

Half of my kids did well (they were quiet), the other half (of which Bobby was a huge part) were giving me a headache.  It was bad.

End of story, I yelled at my kids.  I don't ever raise my voice in class, though I will use a definite firm voice to let them know when I'm serious.  But on Tuesday I raised that voice and told them how disappointed I was in them, and how their behavior was not acceptable.

I had to get extra help, so I called in Ms. N (the sped coordinator).  She came in and also let them have it, though I think she was much better at it than I had been.  At the end of class she and I took Bobby to the principal, who in turn took him to in-school suspension (ISS)


Time to breathe.


Bobby completely deserved suspension––there is no doubt.

The rest of my students did not deserve the attitude I gave them.

Tuesday finished off rather calm.  My next group of kids all behaved really well; or maybe it was that I had learned my lesson and was more respectfully towards them.  I think it was a mixture of both.

The end of B-day.

The next B-day was Thursday.  My 4th-period walked in and started their Bell Ringer.  Bobby was still in ISS.  Everything was going smoothly, I almost didn't say anything.  But I knew I had a responsibility to say something.

"Class, before we go on, I want to take this time to apologize.

"My behavior last class was not fair to you.  I want to be an example for you, and I want you to learn how to deal with anger and frustrations in a positive way.  I was not showing you how to do that.  I do apologize.

"I do love this class.  You are all so talented, and I really enjoy teaching you.  I was frustrated last class, because of some certain things –––"

student interjects: "Bobby."

"––well, yes.  I was frustrated with Bobby's behavior, but that was no excuse for me to act the way I did towards the rest of you.  So I did want to let you know that I am very sorry."

The kids responded very well.  In fact, much, much, better than I had anticipated.  It was almost a trickle effect.  I had another student (we'll call him David) who's day had started out badly (I had been warned beforehand).  David kicked chairs out of his way as he went to his seat.  He huffed as he sat down.  He quickly did his bell work and huffed again.

After I apologized there was just this little magic in the air.  David calmed down immensely, and I made sure to give him his space and praise him quietly when he was doing his work.  And Sue volunteered to lead the class in our class rules that day.  She has never done that before. I realized as she did it, though, that I think she was shy and it was hard for her to get up in front of people like that.  I had never noticed that before.  And yet, here she was, volunteering to stand up in front of her peers that day.

It was a very calm class.  It was a good class. I was able to restore rapport with these kids, just by apologizing.

We'll see how this class goes when Bobby returns from ISS.  I hope he improves his behavior.  Bobby was such a star student at the beginning of the year, but sometimes middle school does unkind things. I hope this is a temporary problem.

All I know is that I'll do better.  A lesson I remember from my college instruction is that the teacher must always be in control of her emotions.  Continually I have experiences in my teaching career that confirm this truth.  If the teacher is not in control, it causes problems.  The students will not be able to trust you, nor will they feel safe.  However, when you are in control of your emotions, they know what to expect from you and there is a feeling of safety––regardless of how they decide to behave.

So I'm learning what to expect and how to act. I'm getting better at acting and not reacting.  My kids deserve that, because they are my kids.  I care about them and I want them to trust me.  I want them to succeed.

Apologizing to them was a good step.

Electricity Quiz

Electricity has been a really short unit.  My kids have enjoyed it.  I don't know if they fully understand the concept of electricity, but they know series and parallel and whether or not the light bulb is receiving electricity or not.  That good, right???

We're going to do a final review day.  We're going over all of the concepts and then they'll take this little quiz that they can use their notes on.  At the end, we'll also do a little review on our light/sound unit for those who want to retake the test next week.  If there's time we'll start learning about magnetism!  ooooh.  Exciting.

I hope it goes well.  I have had a lot of problems with behavior recently, resulting in one of my students being place in ISS (in-school suspension).  One other student probably also should have been place in ISS, but hasn't been.  We'll see what happens tomorrow.  So because of all of the problems, I'm not quite sure if the kids got all of these concepts like they should have.  Well, we're going to review and then I'll see how they do.

Here's the quiz.  It's meant to be printed double sided and cut in half.

Here are the quiz answers

Series or Parallel Circuits

This should have gone before my last post, but I'm not going to worry about it.  There are too many papers on my desk to worry about any kind of order in my life!!

Occasionally I try to organize my desk.

Occasionally the occasional organization project is actually successful.

So we can't expect my blog to be that much more organized!

Okay, here is the worksheet I had for my series and parallel class.  Our lesson was to be able to tell the difference between the two (series has one path for the electricity to flow, whereas parallel has two or more paths).  We went through multiple examples where the students had to show with their fingers how many paths there were.  Once everyone had the correct number of fingers, I asked them if that made it series or parallel.

We also had to be able to tell if the light bulbs would turn on.  If one is broken, what happens to the others?  If switch A is open, but switch B is closed, which light bulbs are on and which are off?

Lots of fun.

I like this kind of stuff because my mind loves puzzles.

Electric Circuits

On of the great memories I have from middle school science is learning about electric circuits. We would go to the lab room and get to fiddle around with all of the wires, batteries, light-bulbs, and whatever else there was at our disposal.  I knew when I got to this unit, that I would have to let my kids enjoy the same experimental freedom.  There is more power in doing the science than in reading about it.

For this unit, I always have a little lesson at the beginning, then sometimes a little worksheet to make sure they are understanding.  Afterwards, they have their little experiment they have to do.  If they are done, I let them play around with the materials before the end of class.

Oooh . . Science!
Apologies for my lame phone picture quality

We have done the following experiments:

1. Conductors and Insulators –DAY 1
2. Build a simple circuit –DAY 2

• Materials:
• A battery (no battery holders), 
• A free light bulb, 
• simple wires (no alligator clips) 
• Make the light bulb turn on, then draw your circuit and label the following:
• Conductor
• Insulator
• Power Source
• Light Bulb 
• (the gen-ed classes labeled this as "resistor."  I did not worry about that term with my kids. I wanted them to focus on "conductor" and "insulator" and understanding how a circuit works.)

3. Build a working series circuit –DAY 3

    Build a working parallel circuit –DAY 3

• Materials:
• 2 batteries (with battery holders)
• 2 light bulbs
• wires (with alligator clips)
• 1 switch
• Make the light bulbs turn on, then draw your circuits and label the following in each circuit
• Conductor
• Insulator
• Power Source
• Light Bulb **see note above
• Switch

5. Exploration with series and parallel circuits –DAY 4

• The lesson I had at the beginning of this class was two fold: review series and parallel circuits and practice drawing circuits correctly using symbols.  We used the mini white boards for this lesson so each kid could practice drawing the circuit instead of just watching me draw it. 

• For this experiment I wanted them to continue solidifying series and parallel circuits and to play around with the variables in a circuit.  How do you get a light bulb brighter? What happens when you have a lot of wires?  I had them follow this worksheet to get going.  The kids could go at their own pace on this one, which is what I loved about it.  For those who finished fast, I had a challenge circuit for them to build for extra credit.  

Dichotomous Keys

This is a follow-up lesson from our last lesson on natural selection.  I would have liked to have spent more time on understanding it and having the kids explain natural selection in their own terms, but there is just no time.  So today we moved on to dichotomous keys and kind of did a small review on natural selection in our bell ringer.  The concept of natural selection is intuitive, but truly being able to answer a variety of question types on it.  Oh well.

So now we're doing Dichotomous Keys, and that finishes the week (I only got to see my seventh graders twice this week).  So next week is complete review, and the week after that is the state test!

After first explaining what a dichotomous key is and how it works, I handed out the following worksheet and did the first three with them, and then let them do the rest with a partner.  Dichotomous keys aren't hard to use, so kids get the gist of it really quick.  I felt that it was an important part of the evolution unit and might be on the state test. I might also be completely wrong.  We'll see!


Here's a preview of the worksheet.  To download, scroll to the bottom of the page.

I then found this wonderful worksheet on the web.  I did not make this!  Someone else who was talented (and probably beautiful!) made this worksheet and gracefully had it up for free on the internet.  I thought it was so good, however, that I wanted to post it here, too.  I love it because it has a very well done dichotomous key, and then it has the little opportunity for the kids to do one, too.

 Now, you can choose to do this some other way.  In fact, we had extra time, so I had everyone put one of their shoes in the middle, and we made another dichotomous key together for our shoes.  Some kids gladly took their shoes off and others took a lot more convincing–– lots  of funny comments:

"Miss, my shoes are really hot and smelly."

"Eww, Miss!  His feet stink!!!"

"They're going to laugh at my socks!"

"I'm not wearing any socks!"  What?  Where are your socks??

After pulling teeth with one girl to take one of her shoes off, she said, "Oh. . . I feel like I'm in my house."

Scroll to the bottom to download the worksheet I found that someone else had made.  Preview:

Natural Selection Project

We don't have very much time for our evolution unit.  In fact, I'm only budgeting two classes for this (which stinks--one of my classes didn't even get to me today. The testing schedule was so crazy that our last class never happened and our third block just lasted twice the time.).  We have this week for evolution, then next week is REVIEW THE ENTIRE YEAR, and then the week after that is the big science tests.

Yay. Right?  Yay???

Anyway.  Because I didn't have much time, I had to make these two days good and worth it.  Today the lesson was focused on Natural Selection.  Thursday's lesson will be on classification, with a focus on reading and making dichotomous keys. 

I was SO excited about this lesson.  There were a lot of good interactive parts.

We started out with this Power Point activity:

Then we went to this website to play the actual game.  The online game allows you to make mutations to see if that can prolong your time on earth.  The kids loved it.  It's a fast game, so I had 3-4 students come up and try their hand at it.  Click here to go to the game.

Afterwards, we learned about Charles Darwin in this Power Point.  Who he was, what he did.  We talked about what evolution is and what natural selection is.

Then the kids had to create a project, which was indicated on the last slide of the second Power Point.  My example is below.  This is what I drew at home the night before.  In class I colored it up a bit to make it nicer. 

Example Student's project (kind of hard to see--the only camera I had available was my computer camera, and it's not very good. Apologies!)

The kids did really well with this assignment. I was pleased with the outcome. There was one last step, and that was to take their data from the chart at the beginning and make a graph from that.  This graph was attached to their project to show whether or not their species actually survived.  The graphing was hard for my kids.  We all figured it out eventually.