Mrs. Ramsey Blog - Where Science and Technology come ALIVE!: December 2010

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Weekly Announcements - 12/13/10

Dear Parents/Students,
As we come to the end of 2010, I wish each and everyone of you a Happy Holiday Season and a Blessed New Year. Thank you for letting me be part of your your learning experience.

A few reminders:
12/15 - Map of the Month

Students need to work on their History Day Projects. All projects must be completed and due the week of 1/4/11.

Notebooks and textbooks should be taken home. All notes in science and social-Studies notebooks MUST be reviewed over recess.

Quarterly Exams begins 1/19/11

Science Fair topics are also due when we return. Check blog for updates and upcoming events.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Mrs. Ramsey

8th Science - 12/13/10

http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddw24msz_356d9xn53dp
HOMEWORK:
12/15 - On LL - Make a hypothesis about when the guard cells open and close in desert plants. Design an experiment to test your hypothesis.

7th Science - 12/13/10

http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddw24msz_355gm4tq5f9
HOMEWORK:
12/15 - LAB: # 21 & 22 in text. Complete in the format of a lab.

6th Science - 12/13/10

http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddw24msz_354nvf56zfp
HOMEWORK:
12/15 - Activity Workbook p. 4. Complete on LL in the format of a lab sheet. Make sure you have a hypothesis.

5th Science - 12/13/10

http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddw24msz_353dqdzv3hh
HOMEWORK:
12/14 - Make poster of animal and plant cell. Show organization of each as explained in class.

6th Social Studies - 12/13/10

http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddw24msz_352ch3b5qcx

12/15 - Map of the Month

5th Social - Studies - 12/13/10

http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddw24msz_3517cnhncg4

12/15 - Map of the Month

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Weekly Announcements - 12/6/10

OLQM will be collecting hats, gloves, socks, and scarves for the homeless. We did a wonderful job with the Can Food Drive and I am hoping we will do even better since so many people, especially young children cannot afford to dress warm this winter. Your help and cooperation is desperately needed. Thank You.

Students in grades 5 & 6 must begin work on their NHD projects. Presentation of projects will begin the first week of January (when we return from Christmas recess).

Grades 5, 6, 7, 8 should begin research on Science Fair Project topics. Students must have at least 4 topics for approval. All topics MUST be approved before beginning projects. Projects will be performed individually. No group projects.

Weekly Vocabualry Words - 12/6/10

1. Biovorous - An organism that can convert biological material into energy for sustenance.

2. Biostasis A state in which the cell's and tissue structure of an organism are preserved so that they can be restored again with the help of cell repair machines.

3. Abiotic stress - The non-living environmental factors like drought, extreme cold, heat, high winds that has negative effects on the organisms in a specific environment.

4. Anaerobe - The organisms that thrive and grow in an environment without oxygen.

5. Cytology - The branch of science under life science that deals with the study of cell structure, function and chemistry

8th Science - 12/6/10

http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddw24msz_349grx664dr
HOMEWORK:
12/10 - Research on why people who eat a healthy diet my gain weight if they don't get enough exeercise. 1 - 2 pages - typed or written.
12/8 - On LL p. 415 - Using Math - must show work for credit.

7th Science - 12/6/10

http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddw24msz_348x9fhvhgd
12/10 - 2 page report on the history of alchemy and include a description of alchemy and its relationship to chemistry.
12/8 - Study chapter 15 vocabulary words for test.

6th Science - 12/6/10

http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddw24msz_350dx8g37k5
12/7 - Write a paragraph on LL, explaining, how to determine the characteristics of an organism.
(only 1 homework is given for Science so you can work on your SS report)

5th Science - 12/6/10

http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddw24msz_346fcp2tdhh
HOMEWORK:
12/7 - Textbook - p. A 11 - # 1-4 on LL
12/9 - Based on Unit A-Lesson 2 - How are members of the fungus kingdom different from plants? 6-8 sentence on LL.

6th Social Studies - 12/6/10

http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddw24msz_345hdg3srcv
HOMEWORK:
12/7 - Textbook - p. 147 # 1-3 on LL. Q & A.
12/10 - Report on one of the Indian god or goddesses of your choice. 2 pages typed or 3-4 page written.

5th Social Studies - 12/6/10

http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddw24msz_344c6gms9c9
HOMEWORK:
12/8 - Textbook - p. 213 # 1-4 - Questions and Answers on LL.
12/10 - Textbook - p. 219 # 1-4 Questions and Answers on LL.

Events in History - 1/9 - 1/13

January 9
Connecticut entered Union, 1788 (5^th)
Mississippi seceded from the Union, 1861
President Richard M. Nixon was born, 1913
January 10
Thomas Paine's Common Sense was published, 1776
London's Metropolitan; World's first underground railway, opened to the public, 1863
The League of Nations established 1920
The Holocaust began, 1933
January 11
Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury was born, 1757
Alabama seceded from the Union, 1861
Major League Baseball (American League) adopted the designated-hitter rule, 1973
January 12
Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I died, 1519
The Alamo, a Franciscan Mission, was built, 1722
The first public museum in United States (South Carolina) established, 1773
January 13
Hood resigned as commander of the Army of Tennessee, 1865
Hubert H. Humphrey, former vice president, died in Waverly, Minnesota at age 66, 1978
Air Florida jet crashed in Washington, D.C., 1982
The Beatles US album Yellow Submarine was released, 1969

Scientific Method

Rules to follow in using the Scientific Method when experimenting.

Steps of the Scientific Method
Detailed Help for Each Step
Ask a Question: The scientific method starts when you ask a question about something that you observe: How, What, When, Who, Which, Why, or Where?
And, in order for the scientific method to answer the question it must be about something that you can measure, preferably with a number.
Your Question
Do Background Research: Rather than starting from scratch in putting together a plan for answering your question, you want to be a savvy scientist using library and Internet research to help you find the best way to do things and insure that you don't repeat mistakes from the past.
Background Research Plan Finding Information Bibliography Research Paper
Construct a Hypothesis: A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work:"If _____[I do this] _____, then _____[this]_____ will happen."
You must state your hypothesis in a way that you can easily measure, and of course, your hypothesis should be constructed in a way to help you answer your original question.
Variables Variables for Beginners Hypothesis
Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment: Your experiment tests whether your hypothesis is true or false. It is important for your experiment to be a fair test. You conduct a fair test by making sure that you change only one factor at a time while keeping all other conditions the same.
You should also repeat your experiments several times to make sure that the first results weren't just an accident.
Experimental Procedure Materials List Conducting an Experiment
Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion: Once your experiment is complete, you collect your measurements and analyze them to see if your hypothesis is true or false.
Scientists often find that their hypothesis was false, and in such cases they will construct a new hypothesis starting the entire process of the scientific method over again. Even if they find that their hypothesis was true, they may want to test it again in a new way.
Data Analysis & Graphs Conclusions
Communicate Your Results: To complete your science fair project you will communicate your results to others in a final report and/or a display board. Professional scientists do almost exactly the same thing by publishing their final report in a scientific journal or by presenting their results on a poster at a scientific meeting.

Rules to follow when using the Scientific Method when experimenting.

A message from the Holy Father on Advent and Christmas

On the first Sunday of Advent, Benedict XVI reminded the faithful that Christmas is about God who "comes to be with us."The Holy Father's comment was heard by thousands who had gathered in St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus. He highlighted the significance of Advent as a time to prepare for the celebration of Christ's birth."In Advent, the liturgy often repeats and assures us, as though seeking to defeat our mistrust, that God 'is coming,'" the Pope said."He comes to be with us, in each one of our situations; he comes to live among us, to live in and with us; he comes to fill the distances that divide and separate us; he comes to reconcile us with himself and with one another," the Pontiff said.God, Benedict XVI added, "comes in the history of humanity to knock on the door of every man and woman of good will to offer individuals, families and peoples the gift of fraternity, concord and peace.""Therefore, Advent is par excellence the time of hope, in which believers in Christ are invited to remain in vigilant and active expectation, nourished by prayer and by a concrete commitment to love," the Pope said.

Why do we eat turkey on Thanksgiving?

Although juicy and tender butterball turkeys are the main cuisine of today's Thanksgiving celebrations, these birds were NOT the most popular centerpieces on the first Thanksgiving tables.
In 1621 when the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians celebrated the first Thanksgiving, they were gobbling up many more foods than just turkey. Since lobster, goose, duck, seal, eel, and cod were plentiful during this time, these foods were most likely the main courses of this first feast. Deer meat and wild fowl are the only two items that historians know for sure were menu of this autumn celebration.
So how did the turkey become the main mascot of modern-day Thanksgiving if we don't know for certain that turkeys were at this first feast?
One story tells of how Queen Elizabeth of 16th century England was chowing down on roast goose during a harvest festival. When news was delivered to her that the Spanish Armada had sunk on it way to attack her beloved England, the queen was so pleased that she order a second goose to celebrate the great news. Thus, the goose became the favorite bird at harvest time in England. When the Pilgrims arrived in America from England, roasted turkey replaced roasted goose as the main cuisine because wild turkeys were more abundant and easier to find than geese.

HAVE A WONDERFUL AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Mrs. Ramsey

Mrs. Ramsey Blog - Where Science and Technology come ALIVE!