Lesson 1 - Monday, Sep 22
Housekeeping: H period students were asked to complete RA4 (Hard-boiled Earth), which can be found in the Google Science Classroom.
1. Answer DQ13 (Liquid rock) & DQ14 (Magma) in Exam.net and have a brief class discussion afterwards about our answer choices.
2. Continue our ‘Deep Dive’ into our revised model and focus on the region where the Earth’s crust meets the upper mantle: What’s going on in this space?
3. Set the stage for RA8 (Crystallization), a practical activity in which we will perform an experiment addressing the following research question…
- What is the effect of [the temperature at which magma is allowed to cool] on [the size of the magma crystals formed]?
Homework: There is no science homework tonight.
Lesson 2 - Tue, Sep 23 (B) & Wed, Sep 24 (H)
Housekeeping: B period students were reminded that some of them still need to submit their paper-based RA5 (Moving rock) assignment.
1. Complete DQ15 (Igneous rock types)
2. In our Science Notebooks, we then created a new entry, INV#1 – Crystallization Lab, in which we wrote a “Background” paragraph and set-up our “Conclusion” section.
3. We then began filling out a (blank) Planning and Carrying Out Investigations sheet for INV#1 that we will glue into our Science Notebooks during the next lesson.
Homework: There is no science homework tonight for B period. H period students, however, have been asked to complete RA4 (Hard-boiled Earth), which will be due on Friday and can be found in the Google Science Classroom.
Lesson 3 - Wed, Sep 24 (B) & Thu, Sep 25 (H)
Housekeeping: On the blank side of a piece of scrap paper, Dr. M asked student teams to make a sort of ‘placemat’ for today’s investigation so that they could keep track of their various slides throughout the entire investigation.
1. INV#1 – Crystallization Lab: Data Collection
- In today’s stage of the investigation, students were asked to prepare, describe, and compare the ‘magma’ crystals formed at three different temperatures. Each of the temperatures were meant to mimic a portion of a model of the Earth’s crust and mantle. We set up a -18 C ‘cold’ temperature mimicking a deep ocean environment, a 25 C ‘middle’ temperature mimicking the average air temperature of a place like Lugano, and a 60 C ‘hot’ temperature mimicking a deep underground environment. During the investigation, students were asked to record data in their Science Notebooks in the form of realistic, labelled drawings of each of their three glass slides. Students were also permitted to take photos with their devices as extra data and strongly encouraged to print properly formatted versions of them and glue them into their notebooks.
Homework: H period students, however, have been asked to complete RA4 (Hard-boiled Earth), which will be due on Friday and can be found in the Google Science Classroom. When finished, students have been asked to submit this assignment in/through the Google Science Classroom.
Lesson 4 - Thu, Sep 25 (B) & Fri, Sep 26 (H)
Housekeeping: If they had not already done so, students were first asked to glue a (mostly completed!) Planning and Carrying Out Investigations sheet onto a logical page of their Science Notebook. They were then asked to trim and insert a (blank) Table of Contents page onto the inside cover–or a previously reserved page–of their notebook.
1. INV#1 – Crystallization Lab: Data Labelling, Data Organizing, & Data Analysis
- In today’s stage of the investigation, Dr. M offered critiques of the presentation and organization of the data collected in Lesson 3. In a class discussion format gathered at the front of the lab, we looked at things such as the size, quality, and labelling (title, magnification used, time elapsed, etc.) of students’ drawings. We also looked for visible evidence of “noticings” and “wonderings.” We also looked for “It reminds me of…” statements. We also looked for students’ printed–and labelled–photos (title, magnification used, time elapsed, etc.). Dr. M also used this notebook critique activity to help students understand his 10-point grading system.
Homework: As per the TASIS MS school homework policy, there is no weekend science homework (due on Monday).
Announcements...
The DRIVING QUESTION of our current unit is: How does the Earth recycle and remake the materials of our planet, from the deep core to the surface we walk on?
#1 - Students can probably expect to see their Interim Effort grades posted in Veracross on Wednesday.
#2 - ...