Lesson 1 - Monday, Sep 2
Today in science: Because of a special schedule due to MAP Testing and Class Hikes, students did not have a science lesson today.
Homework: —
Lesson 2 - Tue, Sep 3 (B, C) & Wed, Sep 4 (H)
Today in science: After getting a brief introduction to the Grade 7 Headquarters of the SCIENCEsEDiment website and hearing about science notebooks, students then observed a store-bought bath bomb put into water, which is a rather strange phenomenon. As we watched the behavior of the bath bomb placed into water, students were asked to record “Noticings” (which are observations) and “Wonderings” (which are questions) on a pre-formatted handout provided by the teacher. Dr. M then collected individual students’ Noticings and Wonderings by typing them into a Google Document projected on the whiteboard.
Homework: There is a homework assignment, which will be for an Effort grade rather than an Academic grade. Dr. M has asked students to acquire a special type of notebook for use in this year’s science class by Monday, 9 Sep. More details about the notebook can be seen on the Notebooks > Preparations page.
Lesson 3 - Wed, Sep 4 (B, C) & Thu, Sep 5 (H)
Today in science: Dr. Merritt began the lesson by letting students know he looked through their Lesson 2 Noticings/Wonderings and discovered that students had failed to consistently make noticings (observations) similar to the ones scientists would make. He used this opportunity to present to students what scientists care about when describing objects. Although not a complete list, the ones he emphasized to students today included the following: COLOR(s), MASS, SHAPE(s), SIZE, VOLUME. His message to students is that the next time students they asked to observe an object in science they must be sure to attend to, if possible, all five of these important traits/characteristics.
In the second half of the lesson students were asked to develop a three-stage Initial Model meant to show what they each think happened to the bath bomb at three different moments during the event. Dr. M collected these models at the end of the lesson.
Homework: After briefly discussing it together, students were asked to get a parent/guardian or dorm parent signature on the course syllabus.
Lesson 4 - Thu, Sep 5 (B) & Fri, Sep 6 (C, H)
Today in science: Students were asked to put what they learned about scientific description into practice during Description Exercise 1 (DE1). In this exercise, students were asked to produce a single, loose-leaf sheet of lined (writing) paper and then given 15 minutes to describe a rock given to them from Dr. M’s rock library.
We then examined the three-stage initial models created by students in Lesson 3 with an emphasis on identifying similarities and differences. We used our similarities to create our first Class Consensus Model (CCM 1.0), which will determine the work we need to do in the coming weeks to develop a scientific answer to our Driving Question (How can we make something new that was not there before?).
Homework: Students have been asked to bring a brand new, A4-sized, well-bound (not spiral!) science notebook to Monday’s science class. Depending on their ability to produce a piece of loose-leaf lined (writing) paper during today’s Description Exercise, some student may need to purchase/acquire a good supply of such paper for use in science class throughout the year.
Announcements...
Our current UNIT QUESTION is: How can we make something new that was not there before?
#1 - Dr. Merritt would like every science student to have an A4-sized notebook to use in science class this year. The notebook should be well-bound and contain lined (not graphing) paper. If possible, Dr. M would also like students to have a plastic cover for their notebook.
#2 - Dr. M would also like students to have their own supply of loose-leaf lined (writing) paper this year. Students can keep this paper in their science mailboxes.