Water Underground

Today we discussed water underground and put our notes and vocabulary on p. 25 of our notebooks. Topics covered were the water table, and how the amount of precipitation that an area receives affects the level of the water table. To get to the aquifers, water must travel through dirt and rock. Water's ability to move through the ground depends on the porosity and permeability of the materials in that area.

Students received a hand out that shows a cross section of the water table and how wells must reach below the water table in order to be useful. This should also be attached to p. 25 of the notebook.

After the quiz tomorrow, we will finish up discussion underground water by finishing discussing about wells and underground erosion and how water affects caves and can create sinkholes.

Several students wanted links to the on-line textbook so they could review for tomorrow's quiz. Here is the information they need. This is permanently on my school webpage under "useful links."

Science Text Book On-line http://my.hrw.com/

Students can access our textbook at home. There are a number of links to interactive sites and objects as well as some links to reading for better understanding and going beyond what we do in class. I have it set to open in a new browser window. If you are having problems getting the page to show, you may have to temporarily allow pop-ups for the page to show up.

username: student9490 password: j9m7j

Is anyone out there finding this useful?

I'm seeing that there is activity on the page, but I am not getting any feedback from anyone. If you are finding this blog useful, please send me an email (christopher.barcroft@cabarrus,k12.nc.us) or comment on this post. If you are a student who comes here to check on assignments or review the material, please tell me in class.

Any feed back is useful. What more info do you want to see posted? Are the summaries too little, too much, or just right?

Thanks,
Christopher Barcroft

Today we made sure all classes finished the outline of Chapter 2 Lesson 1 on p. 21, 21A, and 21B (some students may have had more lettered pages) and we reviewed the questions that students had written on p. 20 of their notebooks. This lesson was about river systems and the types of loads they carry, watersheds, erosion, and stages of rivers.

Students then continued on to Lesson 2 which discusses deposition, deltas, alluvial fans, and floodplains. Students searched the section for answers to 5 questions, which we reviewed at the end of the period.

Left side activity for p. 22 is to create 3 test questions about today's information (with answers) that might be on a test or EOG. These can be essay questions, or multiple choice questions.

Water, Water Everywhere!

Thursday and Friday we began our study of water. We started out by reviewing the water cycle (hydrologic cycle). Then we examined how water flows through tributaries to feed larger creeks, streams and rivers, creating a watershed and how the continental divide causes all water in the United States to flow either east towards the Atlantic ocean and Gulf of Mexico or west to the Pacific Ocean.

We then discussed erosion and factors that cause different types of erosion. Some classes continued to the stages of a river, but not all classes were able to complete this today. Classes that did not finish will finish Monday. Students should now be able to answer most of the questions we wrote down on p. 20. Here are the questions, in case a student did not write them down.

For this left side activity, you only need to answer the Essential Questions COMPLETELY and THOROUGHLY! (You will need to use more than one sentence to completely answer them!!!)
1. Describe how moving water shapes the surface of the Earth by the process of erosion. List the agents of erosion.
2. Explain how water moves through the water cycle using all the parts.
3. Describe the 3 types of loads.
4. Identify the four stages of rivers and describe the difference between each.
5. Explain three factors that affect the rate of stream erosion.

Rubber Band Lab

Yesterday, we collected data to determine, "Does distance a rubber band is stretched affect its distance it flies when launched?" Today we graphed our data, and analyzed the results. Homework for Wednesday is for students to write their conclusion.

The format for the conclusion PARAGRAPH should be as follows:

• State original hypothesis.
• State if original hypothesis was correct or incorrect.
• Provide data that proves hypothesis was right or wrong.
• If correct, restate hypothesis in other words. If incorrect tell how your thinking has changed (you could do this by stating the correct answer as a hypothesis like it would be at the beginning.)

Tomorrow we will start with an introduction to a unit on water by watching a portion of the BBC video Planet Earth: Fresh Water.

A Few Things.

There seems to be a bit of confusion about homework.

1) Students are required to do homework in their notebooks on the left side (even numbered pages). They should answer the Essential Question and do an activity that shows they have understood the material. If a student is having trouble answering the essential question, they should be able to review their notes and find the answer or be able to figure it out. For more information on what should be on the left side of the notebook, students should have a blue handout on page 3 of the notebook that has a list of activities that can be done.

2) When we do labs in class, students are required to complete the data analysis and the conclusion at home if they do not complete them during the lab in class.

3) Students need to be reviewing material nightly, on their own! I will drill and repeat some information, but do not have enough time in class to do this constantly, nor will their teachers next year. Students need to be continuously reviewing material on their own! I am grading quizzes the students took on Thursday. It is clear that students are not doing this.

Wednesday--Today we completed our lab, discussed how to write a conclusion, and reviewed for Thursday's quiz.

Thursday--Took notes on p. 17 about Measurement in Science. We created a table showing What each measurement measures, what units are most common for this measurement, and tools used to measure or how it is calculated. Took quiz at the end of the period.

Friday--finished notes on Measurement on p. 17. Students should now be able to answer essential question and complete activity of their choosing on p. 18. We also went over Lab Safety Contract. Students need to have parent signatures and return the contract on Monday in order to be able to participate in the lab. We ended the day playing Jeopardy to review Measurement, Scientific Inquiry, Lab Safety, and Volume.

Coming up: Monday--Lab to further emphasize variables, data analysis, and conclusions.

Variables in Experiments and Applying the Scientific Method

Sorry I missed posting on Friday. I, like many people, was in a rush to start my travelling and get out to start my long weekend.

Friday-- on p12 and 13 we took notes about a variable is anything in an experiment that can be changed. We also identified 3 types of variables: control variable, independent variable, and dependent variable. We also read some scenarios of experiments and identified the variables in each of them.

Some classes also discussed graphing data and which variable should be on which axis of the graph. This was not done in all classes and will be discussed with all classes tomorrow.

Tuesday-- students were asked to apply all of the information they have learned about the scientific method in an experiment. Their question, hypothesis, and data collected should be on pages 14-15 of their notebook.

here is a website with more detailed info about the scientific process. http://panpipes.net/edit6200/

The Scientific Method

Today we discussed the steps of the scientific method. We watched a movie of a young, surfing scientist who wanted to know which type of waves, produced by different landforms, created better waves for surfing, a reef break or a beach break.

After we watched the video, we analyzed the steps the young surfer followed to find the answer to his question. We then put names to each of the steps from the scientific method. These steps are: Ask a question, Research your topic, Formulate a hypothesis, Test hypothesis, Analyze data, Draw a conclusion, Communicate the results.

We then prepared a foldable for more information about each of these steps. We will be continuing tomorrow with details about each of the steps.