Mrs. Ramsey Blog - Where Science and Technology come ALIVE!: December 2011

Friday, December 16, 2011

Reminders for Week of 12/19/11

Monday 19th - 6th grade students must bring in strong plastic bags to pack away books for Christmas Vacation.

Tuesday 20th - 6th grade Christmas Show. Dismissal @ 12:00. NO AFTER-SCHOOL for grades 5-8. Students in the 6th grade must be back by 4:00 - 4:30PM for their show. Parents are asked to remain in the auditorium. Only students are allowed in their classroom.

Wednesday 21st. - Last day of School - Lessons & Carols. Students may dress-up in their Christmas outfits. NO JEANS, SNEAKERS, or SWEATS. Dismissal @ 12:00. N O AFTER-SCHOOL.

HAVE A WONDERFUL, BLESS, SAFE, AND HAPPY CHRISTSMASTIME!

God Bless,
Mrs. Ramsey

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Weekly Reminders - 12/12/11

UNIT 11 EXAM SCHEDULE -
12/12 - MATH
12/13 - ELA AND RELIGION
12/14 - READING
12/15 - SCIENCE
12/16 - SOCIAL STUDIES

If you can, please bring in HATS,, GLOVES, or SOCKS for the less fortunate in our community. The Church will give out the items collected on Saturday (12/17/11) at A luncheon being held on their behalf.
LAST DAY 12/16/11 (FRIDAY)

STUDENTS NEED TO BRING IN STRONG PLASTIC BAGS TO PACK AWAY THEIR BOOKS FOR CHRISTMAS RECESS.

6th Grade Christmas show is on Tuesday 12/20/11@ 5:00PM. Girls need red skirt, green or white turtlenecks/shirts, white stockings, and black shoes. Boys need black pants, red or green turtleneck/shirt, and black shoes. Turtleneck sweaters are preferred.

Our class is in need of Mary, Joseph, angels, and shepherds clothing/costumes. Our class would be extremely grateful if anyone can assist us in obtaining these outfits.

Students will need Christmas cards this week. They will be writing to each other. A grade will be given for correctly addressing the envelope.

The last day of school is 12/21/11. Dismissal @ 12:00 following Lessons & Carols.

Students in grades 5,6,7, & 8 should have their Science Projects with materials ready for presentation beginning the 2nd week of January 2012.

Beginning January, all four teachers will be posting the same vocabulary definitions for the week and there will be only ten per week! All students MUST copy these words with definitions in their Vocabulary notebooks every Monday for HOMEWORK.
This assignment will be checked every Tuesday and a zero will need to be entered for homework if work is not done. If a student does not have access to the internet, he/she may stay from 3:00 to 3:30 in the after-school on Mondays only to copy the weekly definition from the blog.

Students MUST be picked up at 3:30PM if staying to copy words.

Thank You and Have a Blessed Christmas Holiday Season. God Bless.

Mrs. Ramsey

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Weekly Vocabulary Words - 12/12/11

There are no new vocabulary words for this week. Students were informed that the quiz will not be given because of Data Day on Friday and therefore, it will be administered on 12/12/11 (Monday)

Map of the Month is due 12/15/11

Test schedules are listed on the December calendar.

Study Outline for grades 5,6,7,8

5th Science - Weather and Climate; clouds, fronts, winds, and notes in notebook

5th Social -Studies - Chapter 3 and notes in notebook- Maya, Aztec, Anasazi, Mound Builders, Inca.

6th Science - Notes in notebook and Continental Drift, Plate tectonics, types of boundaries, fault, earthquakes, volcanoes, earth layers.

6th Social Studies - Chapter 3 and notes in notebook. vocabulary and content.

7th Science - Chapter 16 - Meiosis, Mitosis, and DNA

8th Science - Chapter 6 and 7 - Motion and Newton's Three Laws. Review mathematical equations.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Weekly Vocabulary Words - 12/5/11

1. Fahrenheit (^oF) - Temperature scale on which water freezes at 32 ^oF and water boils at 212 ^oF. The conversion between the Fahrenheit temperature scale (F) and the Celsius temperature scale (C) is: F=32+1.8xC

2. Atmosphere - The gaseous or air portion of the physical environment that encircles a planet. In the case of the earth, it is held more or less near the surface by the earth's gravitational attraction. The divisions of the atmosphere include the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the ionosphere, and the exosphere.

3. Weather- The state of the atmosphere at a specific time and with respect to its effect on life and human activities. It is the short term variations of the atmosphere, as opposed to the long term, or climatic, changes.

4. Barometer - An instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure. Two examples are the aneroid barometer and the mercurial barometer.

5, Current- A horizontal movement of water, such as the Gulf Stream off the east coast of North America, or air, such as the jet stream.

8th Science - 12/8/11

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1nBjzHCB1-ifNd239IQhorxqk3ooQjUUNGILdqE0gb-I

7th Science - 12/5/11

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=12a4-aGgmmMzOlBduJ1f7eNimT_I_pHMjecrpH2qqji0
12/8 - Essay on comparing and contrasting Mitosis and Meiosis - 1 1/2 pages
12/7 - LAB: red and black licorice sticks; gummy bears; small marshmallows
12/12 - Poem/Song/Dance - Meiosis and Mitosis

6th Science - 12/6/11

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1hOQzSFQXIBUwD0M5CZTzLfYUz2NYjr5OlthHoBf8Pok
12/6 - Research on Continental Drift and plate tectonics report.
12/8 - Workbook p. 191-192 - Questions and answers in notebook

5th Science - 12/5/11

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1aNVl_X0SyamQTE5CIOoVSa6uk-xvRfXcOHUfYBaA8aI
Homework:
12/7 - Workbook p. 239 - Questions and answers in notebook
12/8 - Workbook p. 245 - Questions and answers in notebook

6th Social Studies - 12/5/11

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1aY-S8lWYNFRI3ADQJDtOCW-47RTd1KJx6RFDEEAPa3M
12/5 - Native American Project

5th Social Studies - 12/5/11

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1GlSRhoA0MIw_4A9pCxSHGTJ6mjCL7rTtZAKMsId078U
12/5 - Native American Project

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!