Monday, November 23, 2009

Extra Credit Opportunity

Do not forget that you can go onto Brainpop.com to watch the videos and e-mail them to me for extra credit. You can do this for both Mathematics and Science. First click on the link above. When you arrive at the site, click the login button found in the middle of the screen, at the very top. Your student should have received the new username at password that is for our school. After logging in, you can choose either Math or Science. Your student can watch any video about a subject that we have already discussed in class. After watching the video, there is an option for taking a quiz. Have them choose the Graded Quiz option. After taking the quiz, the students will need to enter in my e-mail address, jechols@mesquiteisd.org and the results will come straight to me. I award extra credit points to any quiz that receives 7 points or higher. If you have any questions please e-mail me so we can get your students off and running.

Quizzes that your students are available to take now:

Mathematics:
Binary- works on place value- TEKS 5.1A, 5.3B, 5.3C
Decimals- comparing numbers- TEKS 5.1B, 5.2D, 5.3A
Mixed Numbers- TEKS 5.2A, 5.2B
Adding and Subtracting Fractions- TEKS 5.2C
Converting Fractions to Decimals- TEKS 5.2D
Adding and Subtracting Integers- TEKS 5.3A
Comparing Prices- TEKS 5.3A
Multiplication- TEKS 5.3B, 5.3D, 5.5B
Division- TEKS 5.3B, 5.4
Factoring- TEKS 5.3D, 5.5B
Adding and Subtracting Fractions- TEKS 5.3E
Rounding- TEKS 5.4
Estimation- TEKS 5.4
Problem Solving Using Tables- TEKS 5.5A, 5.13A, 5.13B, 5.13C, 5.14C
Graphs- TEKS 5.5A, 5.13A, 5.13B, 5.13C, 5.14C
Prime Numbers- TEKS 5.5B
Equations with Variables- TEKS 5.6
Geometry- TEKS 5.7
Parallel and Perpendicular Lines- TEKS 5.7
Polygons- TEKS 5.7
Transformations- TEKS 5.8A, 5.5B
Coordinate Plane- TEKS 5.9
5.10A, 5.10B, and 5.11 we have not discussed yet
Basic Probability- TEKS 5.12A, 5.12B, 5.12C
Mean, Median, Mode and Range- TEKS 5.13B
5.14 A, 5.14B, 5.14C, 5.14D and 5.16A we have not discussed yet

Science:
Scientific Method- TEKS 5.1A, 5.2A, 5.2B 5.2C, 5.2E, 5.2F, 5.3A, 5.3B, 5.4A
Science Projects- TEKS 5.2C, 5.2E, 5.2F, 5.3A, 5.10C
States of Matter- TEKS 5.5A
Compounds and Mixtures- TEKS 5.5C
Property Changes- TEKS 5.5D
Matting Changing States- TEKS 5.5D
Heat- TEKS 5.6A
Climate Types- TEKS 5.8A
Food Chains- TEKS 5.9B
Humans and the Envrironment- TEKS 5.9C
Behavior- TEKS 5.10B
Genetics- TEKS 5.10B
Insects- TEKS 5.10C
5.3D, 5.4A, 5.5A, 5.6A, 5.6B, 5.6C, 5.6D, 5.7A, 5.7B, 5.7C, 5.7D 5.8B, and 5.8D we have not discussed yet

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

Today in class we added five new cards to our vocabulary rings. The words we added were:

chemical Reaction
precipitate
change
reactant
safety goggles

We also discussed the difference between a physical change and a chemical change. Using our illustrated word wall words we figured out that a Physical Change is when a substance changes it's appearance, but does not change what it is made out of. The examples your student should know are: a hair cut, a piece of chalk being broken, a paperclip being unraveled, a piece of wood being carved into a bat, and a piece of paper being ripped in half. Then we compared that to a chemical change, which is when the substance changes appearance, and changes what it is made out of, often a new substance is formed. A chemical change includes two main parts, the reactants (substances being combined and the precipitate (the substance that is created because of the combination). The examples we discussed are A penny in oxygen or water which creates rust, a firecracker being lit and creating ash, a piece of bread in oxygen molding, an iron nail in oxygen rusting, a piece of wood being burnt and creating ash, a leaf getting less sunlight so creating less chlorophyll and changing colors (like what happens in the fall).

We will not have Science tomorrow due to the various school day activities. However, check here for an announcement about extra credit.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

Yesterday in Science we created our new vocabulary cards. This week we are learning 4 new physical Science words and 6 new Nature of Science words. Remember: Nature of Science has to do with the processes and tools etc. that are involved in Science.

This week's words are:

Concentration (P)
Dilute (P)
Volume (N)
Chemistry (N)
Chemist (N)
Vial (N)
Beaker (N)
Solid Volume (P/N)
Liquid Volume (P/N)

Today, the students did a 4 question review of the concepts discussed the end of last week and this week.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

November 15th, 2009

Hello all,

We have now moved from Life Science on to Physical Science. Physical Science focuses on the make up of matter, the three different states of matter that materials can exist in, mixtures and solutions, the ways that mixtures and solutions can be separated. In the upcoming weeks we will discuss light and sound, energy, magnetism and electricity. Physical Science can be fun, however, it is a large portion of new knowledge that your students will be learning. It is important that they are studying their ten weekly vocabulary words.

Students should know:
* All things are made of MATTER.
* Matter is the "stuff" that all things are made of.
* There are three basic states of Matter: Solid, Liquid and Gas
* Solids have particles that are packed closely together, vibrate in place, and have a definite size and a definite shape.
* Liquids have particles that are packed loosely spaced, have a medium amount of room to move, have a definite size, but not a definite shape, they take the shape of the container they are placed in.
* Gases have particles that are very far apart, move freely and quickly, they have no definite size, and no definite shape. They spread out to the size and shape of the container that they are placed in.

* Mixtures are two or more substances that are combined to make something else, that do not change the original materials, or change what they are made of.
* Mixtures can be separated.
* Ex. of mixtures include: salads, chex mix, salt and pepper, iron filings and sand air, lemonade, kool-aid etc.

* Solutions are a special type of mixture that can not be easily separated. One material seems to disappear in the other, this is called dissolving.
* Solutions consists of two parts:
- Solute: the solid part of a solution
- Solvent: the liquid part of a solution
* Ex. air, lemonade, kool-aid, tea, saltwater, sugar water

Please check out the links on the right side of the home page to find more information about the above topics, including games for the students to play.