I've been teaching seventh grade science for a couple of weeks now and I can honestly say that I love it! We had a TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE on what would have been the second day of school, so naturally I decided to start out teaching the Sun-Earth-Moon system. I gave the students solar eclipse glasses and homework on the first day! An awesome start to seventh grade, I think!
The first week, we learned about the effects of Earth's rotation and revolution (Why are these terms so easy to get mixed up?) and the effect of Earth's tilt. Some students remarked that the motion of the Earth is like a giant clock or calendar, always moving and keeping time. Good observation!
Last week, students learned about the moon and its phases. They all received a calendar to record the moon's appearance for the month of September. The moon was almost full last night and its color changed from red to golden orange (caused by all the smoke in the atmosphere from the wildfires in the northwest) before being covered by clouds. The calendar is due the first week of October. So please remind your child to go look at the moon! This week we will study solar and lunar eclipses in depth.
Next week we'll be reviewing and take our first test. Students should look over their notes and review vocabulary each night. Be sure to contact me if you have questions or concerns!
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Monday, July 31, 2017
Moving on to Seventh Grade Science!
Hello HMS Parents and Students!
I have had this blog for several years, so I have decided that, rather than creating a new one for 7th Grade Science, I'll just keep this one updated. It was originally meant to encourage elementary science teachers to use their local resources to involve their students in science. If you are interested in what my students and I have done in the past, feel free to read my earlier posts!
A little about me: I have been teaching in Harrisburg for 25 years - 14 in second grade and the past 11 in fourth. I am currently finishing up the Robert Noyce Master Teacher Fellowship, a five year science program at SIU. The focus of this program, which was funded by a National Science Foundation grant, is to improve elementary and middle school science instruction by involving teachers in authentic science. I’ve been in this program since 2013, and some of the areas I’ve studied are problem based learning, inquiry, research, and the NGSS. Last summer I received NASA Globe training in Earth and Space Science and attended a Noyce educators’ conference at Kennedy Space Center. Through the Noyce program, I have also been involved in scientific research based in the Cache River wetlands and will be completing my final project about perceived risk of mosquito-borne illness in Saline County this fall.
I have loved being in the Noyce program, and it has been great for my students because they have gotten to participate in actual, real-world science, which is so motivating and makes them feel important! They have loved it! In 2015, I received the Sigma Xi Outstanding Science Teacher award from SIU for the Saline River project. My students and I go to the Saline, measure width, depth, and stream flow, do chemical water quality testing, capture and count macroinvertebrates, and record these results on the Stream Discovery Fieldscope database, which monitors water quality in midwest rivers. One visible result of this project is the Middle Fork Saline River sign on Highway 45, for which my students wrote letters to several Illinois government officials to procure.
I have recently finished coursework for middle school endorsement and am so excited that I'm going to be spending my days teaching seventh graders! Since we have one day of school and then are out on Monday, August 21 so that students may experience the Great American Eclipse with their families and friends, our first unit will be on the Sun-Earth-Moon system. We'll learn how the movement of the Earth, Sun, and Moon cause seasons, tides, moon phases, and eclipses. Because I like to involve students in their learning, we'll be drawing diagrams, doing demonstrations, taking notes, and making models. Hands-on teaching requires lots of materials so, if you have a flashlight or two that you wouldn't mind us borrowing, that would be awesome! Please put your child's name on it so that I can get it back to the right person! Thanks!
We're going to have an amazing year in Seventh Grade Science!
Mrs. Plunkett
I have had this blog for several years, so I have decided that, rather than creating a new one for 7th Grade Science, I'll just keep this one updated. It was originally meant to encourage elementary science teachers to use their local resources to involve their students in science. If you are interested in what my students and I have done in the past, feel free to read my earlier posts!
A little about me: I have been teaching in Harrisburg for 25 years - 14 in second grade and the past 11 in fourth. I am currently finishing up the Robert Noyce Master Teacher Fellowship, a five year science program at SIU. The focus of this program, which was funded by a National Science Foundation grant, is to improve elementary and middle school science instruction by involving teachers in authentic science. I’ve been in this program since 2013, and some of the areas I’ve studied are problem based learning, inquiry, research, and the NGSS. Last summer I received NASA Globe training in Earth and Space Science and attended a Noyce educators’ conference at Kennedy Space Center. Through the Noyce program, I have also been involved in scientific research based in the Cache River wetlands and will be completing my final project about perceived risk of mosquito-borne illness in Saline County this fall.
I have loved being in the Noyce program, and it has been great for my students because they have gotten to participate in actual, real-world science, which is so motivating and makes them feel important! They have loved it! In 2015, I received the Sigma Xi Outstanding Science Teacher award from SIU for the Saline River project. My students and I go to the Saline, measure width, depth, and stream flow, do chemical water quality testing, capture and count macroinvertebrates, and record these results on the Stream Discovery Fieldscope database, which monitors water quality in midwest rivers. One visible result of this project is the Middle Fork Saline River sign on Highway 45, for which my students wrote letters to several Illinois government officials to procure.
I have recently finished coursework for middle school endorsement and am so excited that I'm going to be spending my days teaching seventh graders! Since we have one day of school and then are out on Monday, August 21 so that students may experience the Great American Eclipse with their families and friends, our first unit will be on the Sun-Earth-Moon system. We'll learn how the movement of the Earth, Sun, and Moon cause seasons, tides, moon phases, and eclipses. Because I like to involve students in their learning, we'll be drawing diagrams, doing demonstrations, taking notes, and making models. Hands-on teaching requires lots of materials so, if you have a flashlight or two that you wouldn't mind us borrowing, that would be awesome! Please put your child's name on it so that I can get it back to the right person! Thanks!
We're going to have an amazing year in Seventh Grade Science!
Mrs. Plunkett
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