SCIENCE
Cells, Bacteria and Yogurt!!! We have started a new unit in science and we are having a fantastic time! Our unit is on LIFE SCIENCE and we began with the study of prokaryotic cells. The week of Thanksgiving Break we recreated Louise Pasteur's broth experiment. Your children took boiling broth and put the broth into two containers. One container was sealed immediately and the other was left open. The open container had LOTS of life grow in the broth while the sealed did not appear to allow bacteria or fungi to grow. We were able to determine that the life in the broth came from the air in the classroom, not the broth. This lead us into cell theory, scientist that contributed to cellular breakthroughs and the modern microscopes that lead scientist to the discovery of the very small world that is not seen with the naked eye!
Yogurt is so good for us because it is full of living cultures of bacteria. We were able to observe this in a laboratory investigation this week. Your children loved looking at the cocci bacteria as it moved all over their slides on the microscope! We were able to catch some amazing motion in our yogurt samples! I was impressed at how well everyone did this week! We learned all the parts and how to use our very impressive microscopes. We included how to focus slides, how to make correct drawing of microscopic organisms and how to create wet mount slides in this week too! Please take a minute and talk to your children about cells. They were so invested in their learning that I am sure they will impress you with their knowledge and curiosity!
I was planning about making yogurt in class but due to our limited time before winter break, I decided not to make this a class activity. Many students expressed an interest in making yogurt at home so I am including a recipe. This is delicious and very healthy!
Homemade Yogurt
4 tablespoons plain, low fat yogurt
6 cups 2% or whole milk
Fruit, your choice!
Bring milk to boil. Let cool slightly, add yogurt. Mix well. Cover pot and place in the cool oven. An oven light will allow the yogurt to have a little warmth. Leave the pot alone for 8 hours. Add fruit and refrigerate. Enjoy!!!
MATH
This week we began our investigation of linear equations. In order to make this new learning pertinent to students’ lives, I used a fabulous lesson from NCTM entitled, Talk or Text. In this lesson, students compared costs associated with two different cell phone plans. In this lesson, students were informed that their parents would prepay $25 each month for the cell phone plan of their choice. They were also given the costs for text messages and voice minutes for two separate plans and asked to determine which plan would work best for them personally. In other words, are they more of a talker, more of a texter, or do they engage in both fairly equally? After we concluded the pros and cons of each plan based on our mathematic calculations, we took a short break from the lesson to learn more about graphing linear equations. All students learned the standard form of graphing equations in which they pick a value for x or y and then solve for the other variable. We also discussed the meaning of slope, and to differentiate this lesson a step further, some students participated in a lesson where they learned the formula for determining slope (m=the change in y/the change in x) and the y-intercept form of graphing equations (y=mx +b). Next week we will be returning to the Talk or Text lesson where students will be writing equations for both cell phone plans, graphing each of the equations, and subsequently looking for a point of intersection. Fun, fun, fun!
Reminder:
The end of unit Algebra Test is scheduled for December 16th/December 17th. Each student received a study guide this week for homework. This study guide is intended to be a means of reviewing for this cumulative test. Please remember that http://www.mrsv.org/ is also LOADED with tons of helpful information, as are the Math On Call reference book and the Problem-Solving and Reflection daybooks. Please join my efforts to ensure a successful testing experience for your child by helping him/her prepare adequately. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
Homemade Yogurt
4 tablespoons plain, low fat yogurt
6 cups 2% or whole milk
Fruit, your choice!
Bring milk to boil. Let cool slightly, add yogurt. Mix well. Cover pot and place in the cool oven. An oven light will allow the yogurt to have a little warmth. Leave the pot alone for 8 hours. Add fruit and refrigerate. Enjoy!!!
MATH
This week we began our investigation of linear equations. In order to make this new learning pertinent to students’ lives, I used a fabulous lesson from NCTM entitled, Talk or Text. In this lesson, students compared costs associated with two different cell phone plans. In this lesson, students were informed that their parents would prepay $25 each month for the cell phone plan of their choice. They were also given the costs for text messages and voice minutes for two separate plans and asked to determine which plan would work best for them personally. In other words, are they more of a talker, more of a texter, or do they engage in both fairly equally? After we concluded the pros and cons of each plan based on our mathematic calculations, we took a short break from the lesson to learn more about graphing linear equations. All students learned the standard form of graphing equations in which they pick a value for x or y and then solve for the other variable. We also discussed the meaning of slope, and to differentiate this lesson a step further, some students participated in a lesson where they learned the formula for determining slope (m=the change in y/the change in x) and the y-intercept form of graphing equations (y=mx +b). Next week we will be returning to the Talk or Text lesson where students will be writing equations for both cell phone plans, graphing each of the equations, and subsequently looking for a point of intersection. Fun, fun, fun!
Reminder:
The end of unit Algebra Test is scheduled for December 16th/December 17th. Each student received a study guide this week for homework. This study guide is intended to be a means of reviewing for this cumulative test. Please remember that http://www.mrsv.org/ is also LOADED with tons of helpful information, as are the Math On Call reference book and the Problem-Solving and Reflection daybooks. Please join my efforts to ensure a successful testing experience for your child by helping him/her prepare adequately. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
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