Changes in Our Grade Level

You have probably heard by now that we lost one of our sixth grade teachers. Ms. Leibert was reassigned to teach second grade due to an influx in students in the lower grades. I am now teaching three 85 minute blocks of Social Studies.

Lab: Measurement Tools

We conducted a lab to show the difference between how to weigh an object using a Spring Scale and how to find the mass of an object using the Triple Beam Balance. This is a concept that is somewhat confusing to students, but I wanted to make it clear to the students by bringing in something that they would not forgot. To show that weight is really the force of gravity bearing down on an object I brought in a whole fish. Students used a Spring Scale to find the weight of the fish.

Students also used a variety of measurement tools to find different temperature values. One beaker contained room temperature water. We added ice to the same water to see how much the temperature of the water changed.

Penny Lab

While studying the Scientific Method we looked at the miniscus on the surface of a penny when we added liquid to it. We wanted to discover how many drops of liquid could sit on the surface without overflowing. The variable was water, and then we added liquid detergent to the water to see if it changed the number of drops that could be added to the penny. Just ask one of our sixth graders to see wwhat the results of this experiment were.

Science Labs

We had our first Science Lab last Friday and I was somewhat concerned when I graded the lab sheets this weekend that students did not take full advantage of the time that they were given during lab to complete the assignment and respond according to the directions in their lab sheet. This was a graded assignment that several students did not do very well on. Had the students taken the time needed to complete it during lab, rather than "play around" this would have been an easy grade for them. I will be talking to students about this lab and hopefully they will take this Thursday's lab seriously. We will be measuring how many drops of water can fit on the surface of a penny.

Progress Reports go home sometime next week. We are waiting to hear what day.

Please Bring Back Your Welcome Packets

It is very important that every student bring back their signed papers that were included in the Welcome Packet that was sent home the first day of school.

In this packet was our district's Acceptable Use Policy for Computer Use both in and outside of the classroom. We will be doing projects in the lab on a regular basis and we would like for everyone to be able to participate. Our first project is scheduled for this week. Students will be making and illustrating a lab safety poster that will hung in the sixth grade science lab.

Welcome Back to a New School Year

We are very excited for this year and the changes to our grade level. In order to prepare students for a middle school environment, we are now departmentalized which means I will have four classes of science. Students will now have a teacher in Science, Math, Social Studies/Writing, and ELA.

Our Sixth Grade Teachers are:
Mrs. Hitzel - Math
Mr. Rocha - Science/Math
Ms. Leibert - Writing/Social Studies
Ms. Gordon - ELA

We are looking forward to a great year.