Lesson 1 - Monday, Sep 9
Today in science: At the start of the lesson, Dr. M checked to see that students brought a blank A4-size bound notebook with lined writing paper to use a their Science Notebook. For this task he assigned students an Effort grade and options for those students who have yet to purchase and bring a notebook to school. Students will begin preparing their notebooks for use later this week.
We then returned to our Scientists’ Circle format and continued building consensus on our initial class model of the bath bomb phenomenon. Today we nearly finished mapping the first stage of the phenomenon in all periods. In other words, each class period now has a consensus model that shows what they think the bath bomb and the water in the cup is made of/from. In C & H periods, we actually started brainstorming different ways in which we might be able to figure out what bath bombs are made of/from? Dr. M recorded these brainstorms in the G7 Notes Portal.
Homework: There is no science homework tonight.
Lesson 2 - Tue, Sep 10 (B, C) & Wed, Sep 11 (H)
Today in science: In B period, we brainstormed different ways in which we might be able to figure out what bath bombs are made of/from? Dr. M recorded these brainstorms in the G7 Notes Portal. Because the first idea was “use a microscope,” Dr. M showed students the microscopes they can use for observing the bath bombs, including some important directions for using them properly and safely. B period will begin their microscope investigation at the start of Lesson 3.
Dr. M showed students the microscopes to use for observing the bath bomb, including some important directions for using them properly and safely. B period will begin their microscope investigation at the start of Lesson 3. C & H period students then used the stereo microscopes to 1) Draw the bath bomb sample at 20x magnification, 2) Draw the bath bomb sample at 40x, and 3) Observe what happens to the bath bomb sample under the microscope when drops of water are added to it. For their drawings and observations, Dr. M asked students to use a piece of white paper prepared according to his special directions. Students with phones were also asked to take a photo of the bath bomb sample and email it to Dr. M.
Homework: Students were asked to use an internet search engine such as Google to answer the following question: What are the most common ingredients in a bath bomb? Students were not asked to do this assignment in their science notebook, but instead either on a single piece of lined (writing) paper OR in a document created in Notability.
Lesson 3 - Wed, Sep 11 (B, C) & Thu, Sep 12 (H)
Today in science: Dr. M collected students’ “What are the most common ingredients in a bath bomb?” homework assignments at the start of the lesson and used this opportunity to briefly highlight the most important aspects of his 4-point academic grading system, including why students might be slightly confused by what they see in their Veracross open gradebook. B, C, and H period students were also asked to join the Google Science Classroom so that students who did their assignments digitally could submit their homework there.
In a class discussion format, we then begn combining our Noticings and adding some Wonderings. We also brainstormed real-world situations that resemble the bath bomb phenomenon we’ve observed thus far.
Homework: B & C period students were given the opportunity to take their first homework assignment home and make revisions to it based on today’s conversation about grading. Since H period already heard the grading information prior to getting this assignment, they did not require this same revision opportunity.
Lesson 4 - Thu, Sep 12 (B) & Fri, Sep 13 (C, H)
Today in science: After re-submitting our homework assignments, we worked to combine the fruits of our research homework labors and create a master list of bath bomb ingredients. We separated our list into two different categories: Required and Optional. We then used the “Required” ingredients to evaluate the work we did in the first column on version 1.0 of our initial models. We quickly discovered that much of our initial model of the bath bombs before being put into water were inaccurate/incorrect. We then used special handouts prepared and provided by Dr. M to begin revising our models and create version 2.0 with symbols and colors we agreed upon before drawing.
Homework: There is no science homework this weekend.
Announcements...
The DRIVING QUESTION of our current unit is: How can we make something new that was not there before?
#1 - ...
#2 - ...