6th Grade Science

Spring is Sprung

2010-03-24T09:24:00.000-04:00

Hi All,

We've made it through the long hard winter and spring is here. In the few days I've noticed that attention spans have shrunken as the days have lengthened, mine included. I'm working hard to make sure science stays as engaging as possible for the boys and girls.
In that vein, we have a tree planting coming up for students who didn't plant trees in the fall. The science piece of a multi-discipline project based on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius is on its way as well. 4th quarter means that we will be studying geology. We'll learn about tectonic plate theory, earthquakes, volcanoes, and a bunch of other things that shake and explode. Near the end of the term we'll dissect sharks, and learn what makes them some of the most efficient predators ever. It's shaping up to be an exciting quarter.

A little more snow-work

2010-02-11T07:29:00.007-05:00

On right is a graphic taken from the NY Times comparing snow totals for Mid-Atlantic cities from last year and this year against the average. It's amazing how a 2-3 degree shift in the temperature can turn an inch of rain into 15-20 inches of snow, and a normal workweek into a second winter break.

I now have 37/46 responses to the review assignment I posted on Tuesday. I'm impressed. I've thought of using this format for homework in the past, but for some reason I thought it might be too difficult to manage for students. Now I see that even under the most trying of circumstances you all responded well. So that little experiment pays off and I can put it in my back pocket for another day.

Since school will be closed until Tuesday, I'm going to post one more assignment on the homework page to make sure we all stay in the swing of things. It's an outline assignment for Chapter 2. You can use your textbook, notes, the newest podcast, and/or the internet to complete this assignment. It would be great if everyone were done with this one in time for class on Tuesday, but I understand there are extenuating circumstances.

There are a few students who are waiting to retake our most recent test. That retake will happen on Wednesday during study hall. I can take questions regarding that retest between now and then, via email or in school on Tuesday (assuming yet another record-defying blizzard does not develop and bury all of Baltimore in the ultimate "snow-pocalypse").

snOMG

2010-02-08T19:58:00.003-05:00

Hi all,

Hope everyone is toasty and warm in their homes, or out on a ski hill somewhere. Quite the weather we're having. Considering that we're missing several days in a row of school, Ms Herrity encouraged teachers to assign some work to keep students mentally agile. 6th graders are currently studying space exploration, so I took the liberty of putting together a review assignment. Just click on the following link to see a homework form that can be done online - no paper needed.

http://tinyurl.com/yzv7uuk

The link is also posted on the homework page. Please use the electronic textbook on MyCalvert to complete the assignment if the paper text isn't available. Some of the questions are straight from the book, and others require some internet research.

Good luck,

MrE

Rocket Scientists

2010-01-27T19:01:00.006-05:00

Hello!
Here's a quick update on upcoming events in the science classroom. This week students aremaking and launching water and air powered rockets made from plastic bottles. We brainstormed a list of requirements (fins and a nosecone) and possible supplies (seemingly endless possibilities) in class and we build on Thursday. I made it clear that these are extra items from around the house, not a shopping list for mom and dad. I'm hoping to see a new Calvert record out of this hard working and competitive group. They have a lot of neat ideas and this is always a fun day. We're hoping to launch on Friday, if there's no snow day.

On Friday, February 5th we have the privilege of hosting Dr Don Thomas,

a former astronaut and current Director of Hackerman Academy of Mathematics and Science at Towson University. Dr Thomas comes highly recommended from Makayla G-P, who volunteers with Dr Thomas every other weekend at Saturday Morning Science (SMC),at TU. SMC is a series of programs suitable for all ages, focusing on all kinds of awesome topics. I can't wait to hear about his experiences on shuttle missions, and aboard the International Space Station.

It's an action-packed couple of weeks, and the big International Space Station quarter project is coming up soon as well. I'll also be returning our most recent test here in a couple of days.

MrE

Cow Eye Dissection

2010-01-13T11:33:00.001-05:00

5th graders dissected eyes on Monday. I sense a few future surgeons...

Happy New Year

2010-01-02T08:47:00.007-05:00

Hi All,

Welcome to 2010! This year has some great things in store for us - a new topic of study (Astronomy) and some fun new classroom tools. We're finally going to start using our classroom wiki, and we'll be making better use of the podcasts as well.

Our major project in the astronomy unit is building a space station. Students will learn

about the International Space Station by writing a short research paper, then they will demonstrate their knowledge by creating a model space station in small groups. The space stations are among my favorite models that students build - they have a few required parts, but the rest is up to to the imagination. In past years I've had built-in Starbucks, paintball courses, shopping malls, grocery stores, and a host of other extra rooms they feel a flying clubhouse just "has to have." We end up hanging them from the ceiling of the science room and dodging the parts as they fall off for the rest of the year. It's a blast - but we won't be starting that process for a few weeks.

We also get the chance to visit the Luetkemeyer Planetarium a few times. Since it was revamped a couple of summers ago it gives us a great chance to fly around the solar system, visit other stars and galaxies, and to get an idea of just how vast and wonderful our universe is. I love planetarium days.

Finally, before we move forward we have to take a quick look at our past. We'll spend a couple of days reviewing the mid-term exam and discussing how we prepared for it. Overall scores were excellent and we'll see what we can learn from this test that will help us prepare for exams in the future.

MrE

PS - I had to share a photo of the Ewen House during that snowstorm at the beginning of Winter Break.

Cavalier Cafe

2009-11-30T17:01:00.007-05:00

Students are about to embark on a set of mini-projects between now and exam review week. Those projects have been thinly veiled as menu items. Students are able to choose a certain number of items that add up to a fixed price. Some items are appetizers, some are entrees and others are desserts. Desserts and appetizers are meant to be shared, but can be completed on an individual basis. Examples of the appetizers are creating podcasts for chapter sections, or filming a short demonstration. Entree options are a research paper, a re-written textbook entry, or a building project. Entrees are solely individual. The desserts are a Song & Dance written and performed by a group of students, or a lab completed in small groups.

By then end each student will have completed several small to large projects, some on their own, others with friends. They will have surveyed the chapter and covered most of the main concepts. Hopefully it will be a little bit fun as well.
It is one of my favorite projects of the year- I know many of the students will enjoy it as well.

2009-11-16T16:10:00.002-05:00

All right! Chapter two test is here tomorrow. Hope everyone took advantage of the extra time to study and we're not looking at too much cramming tonight.

After our test tomorrow we'll have a special week. Mrs. Frederick will be coming down to the science room for one day to help 6th graders get ready for our big distance-learning day on December 4th. And (drumroll) Mrs. Merwin will be in the lab for a couple of days to talk about (continue drumroll) gender differences and growing up. 6th grade is the first time we're all combined for this little talk, so it's especially exciting. Woo Hoo!

Big week! Get ready!

Test next Tuesday!

2009-11-11T15:05:00.004-05:00

We'll have a test over chapter 2 of the Earth's Waters book on 11/17. Between now and then students should be working with a plan to spread out their studying. My suggestion:

Wednesday: complete homework for tonight and play flashcard games for 10-15 minutes.
Thursday: complete homework for tonight and listen to first two podcasts.
Friday: re-read chapter 2 notes for 10-15 minutes, clarify notes with the textbook where necessary
Saturday: none (listen to podcasts if necessary)
Sunday: flashcard games for 5-10 minutes, review updated notes for 15 -20 minutes.
Monday: complete chapter review on page 89-90. Try not to use the book whenever possible.

Try to limit the studying to 20-30 minutes per night at most. It's important to have organized study materials at home, so students don't spend too much time looking for things to study. It's also important to study earlier in the day.

Good luck!

Community Outreach Tree Planting

2009-11-05T08:56:00.002-05:00

Hi All,

It's been a busy last few weeks. 6th graders have wrapped up portfolios, planted trees, conducted experiments, and gone on field trips. I've had a lot of fun, and I'm sure they have too.

Below is a set of pictures from our Fall tree planting trip. Not all of the students attended, and those who didn't will get another chance in the Spring. Enjoy!

Echo Hill Preparation

2009-10-03T15:14:00.004-04:00

Hi All,

This week 6th graders took their first science test of the year. I haven't yet graded them because I've been hard at work coordinating medications, assigning tents, and getting supplies together for next week's big trip to Echo Hill Outdoor School. At first glance though, the tests look pretty good. No one ran out of time, and almost every blank on every test has an attempted answer in it. Good signs.

On to Echo Hill. On Friday I sent home another packing list; this one had an "x" next to necessary items. With the weather forecast now in sight we can answer some more questions that the 6th graders were asking this week.

Will the same faculty members be there all week? No, Mr. Ewen, Mr. Skeen, and Mrs. Kamp will be there from Monday until Wednesday. Ms. Herrity, Mr. Rossi, and Mr. Broy will be there from Wednesday until Friday. Mrs. Lears will be there Tuesday and Wednesday.
Do I really need rain pants? No. A rain jacket is a necessity, but bring at least one pair of pants that will dry out easily - nylon jogging pants work very well.
What about shoes? One pair of sneakers/hiking boots and a pair of plastic sandals, like flip flops or crocs, should do it. Maybe another pair of old sneakers if your child tends to get super-muddy.
How cold is it going to get? 70s in the day and upper 40s at night - bring a warm sleeping bag and sweats to sleep in.
Do I need a sweatshirt and a sweater? No, a sweatshirt should be sufficient.
Must I have waterproof/rain boots? It's not worth going out and buying them, but if you have a pair bring them.
What about cameras? Cameras are encouraged. The cheapest cameras are best. There's a big bay out there hungry for electronics.
What time are we leaving and returning? The bus leaves Calvert at 8:45 on Monday and returns at about 2:30 on Friday.
Souvenirs? There are t-shirts and steel water bottles available for about $15.00 each.
Can't I just borrow bug spray? No, we have students with allergies to various active ingredients in repellent along, so be sure to bring your own.
Is there really going to be swimming? It isn't required, but the Bay is there and it is handy to have a bathing suit because of all the activities/classes where students have a 100% chance of getting some part of them wet. Better to soak the swim trunks than that one pair of favorite shorts that a 12 year boy will live in for 5 days straight.
Is there anything I need that isn't on the list? YES--BRING A COUPLE OF LARGE PLASTIC TRASH BAGS. They come in handy for dirty clothes, wet clothes, trash, emergency ponchos, backpack covers, waterproof socks, and all kinds of other things. And they're cheap. And they're really small. And everyone probably already has them at home.
Do I really need a flashlight? Be sure to bring a flashlight or headlamp, and extra batteries for your light. Nothing is more annoying than running out of batteries on Tuesday night at 8:15.
How big a water bottle should I bring? It doesn't really matter as long as you have one. There are water fountains, but they aren't always in the most accessible of places.
Can I bring food? They're joking about the no candy policy, right? Nope. No joke. Candy and other food attracts animals. And not the animals you want to see. Nothing says fun like finding a small gray visitor in your bag helping itself to a buffet of skittles and snickers bars. Nothing ruins a trip like finding out that a "cat" with one white stripe down its back sneaked into your tent while you were on a night hike.

If you have any questions, just contact me: jewen at calvertschool dot org

Time to go pack a bag...

Rivers, Lakes and Streams

2009-09-18T16:42:00.004-04:00

Hi All,

This week we've been working on an activity based on the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889, where thousands of settlers lined up to stake their claim on a piece of free land. In the Calvert Land Rush of 2009 dozens of 6th graders staked their claim on waterfront property on the stream table in Room 110 and watched as the meandering river either eroded their homestead away or deposited more land in their claim, the best of all possible deals. Students quickly learned the power of water and its ability to build & destroy. One of the highlights was watching students cheer as "Industrialist Bob" built dams that changed the course of the river, always to the detriment of the best laid plans (nothing brings good cheer like watching your neighbors farm get flooded).

In addition, we took our first vocabulary quiz of the year, and most of us did quite well. I'll be sending grade reports home at the end of next week. We will also have our first chapter test in about a week and a half. I'm aiming for Wednesday, September 30. In the meantime, students can keep working on their flashcards and review their notes.

Properties of Water

2009-09-11T10:22:00.003-04:00

Wow, that was a quick week. We started off by reviewing last week's "Drops on a Penny" lab, then took some notes over the properties of water. I introduced the students to a KWL+ chart, a graphic organizer that helps them with reading new material and reflecting back on what was important. There are lots of ways to make sure a student has pulled out the important concepts in a reading without "answering questions 1-10 in complete sentences" (Not that there isn't a time and a place for questions and answers - almost all the time, almost everywhere). Hopefully students will be exposed to a lot of new strategies this year in all their classes. At the end of the week we worked on a lab that illustrated the concept of specific heat, one of the toughest concepts students learn in 6th grade science. Water has a very high specific heat capacity, which gives it some unique properties. It's a tough concept because it's very abstract. Hopefully calculating that number will help the concept become real.
Click to see the schedules for sports that started Wednesday. Finally, we all have the option of an after-school outlet for all that nervous energy that builds up over the course of the day. In the past I've found that school life gets much better when sports are in the mix. I coach girl's soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, and baseball in the spring, and I know that I appreciate the chance to get out and interact with students on a different level than in the classroom or at lunch. Sports give teachers and students a more well-rounded view of the folks they come into contact with every day.
Finally, this afternoon is the first 6th grade mixer at Skateland. "What schools are going to be there?" "Do I have to go?" "Will there be a lot of girls?" "Will there be boys?" "Will I have to talk to them?" So many questions. So many concerns. So little time...

Happy New Year! (Or something like that)

2009-09-06T10:49:00.004-04:00

We've kicked off the new school year and I am ecstatic about the days we have ahead of us. It's science 2.0. A new look, new features, and a brand new interface. The lab is a blank slate waiting to be decorated by the things we learn and do together.
Students have heard quite a bit about what is to come but I'll explain here for the benefit of parents whose children don't run home and immediately repeat every word that Mr. Ewen said to them over the course of the week.

There are three electronic features that are different from 5th grade. The first is this blog. The blog is primarily a place for communication between me and y'all. For the most part, if it is written here students have already heard/experienced it. I'll write about upcoming events, post resources that I find, and recap highlights.

The second feature is a space that's primarily for students. In a week or so they'll be getting their laptops back and I'll provide them with student accounts for our classroom wiki. A wiki is a webpage that can be edited by members. Below is a short video by CommonCraft that explains its use better than I can.

The 3rd feature your students may not have had in a class before is access to class podcasts. Podcasts are free audio recordings that can be listened to from their laptop or downloaded from a service like iTunes. I'll be podcasting notes, directions, and other important info for students who just need to hear it one or two more times. Sometimes notes just aren't enough.

I really look forward to seeing you all at parent night and answering some of your questions about what's in store for us this year. If you have questions before then, feel free to leave me a voicemail @ ext 283, or email me at work. JE

Shark Attack!

2009-05-26T14:46:00.002-04:00

The classroom was invaded by Spiny Dogfish Sharks last week. Luckily, the 6th graders used their knowledge of scalpels, scissors, and fish anatomy to fend them off. On the first day the students explored the exterior anatomy of the fish, learning the structure and functions of the different fins and about placoid scales. On day two they took their shark outside in order to open them up and examine the organs and tissues.

Mrs. Williams 9th age girls also joined us to check out what was going on. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the dissection

Getting 5th Graders Into the Flow...

2009-04-20T13:34:00.006-04:00

Mrs. Merwin took some fabulous video clips of 5th graders just the other day and I can't resist sharing them.

This one is great too!

Looks like I'm going to have to copy Mrs. Merwin, again...

Earth Day

2009-04-18T12:43:00.004-04:00

April 22nd is Earth Day. There are all kinds of festivities going on all over the place, and we're jumping into the fray. St. Paul's School for Girls is hosting the first annual Earth Day Symposium for students in grades 5-12. There will be ton of exhibits and workshops, hands-on activities presented by experts in their fields, and presentations by students. A few weeks ago I announced this to our middle school students in an assembly and I'm pleased that a number of them will be going along. They've picked out sessions they'd like to attend, from Environmental Crime Investigations to Organic Farming and Cooking.

I can't wait to participate, and to hear what the students learn. It's a wonderful chance to get out of the classroom and see what's going on in the world.

Giving Back

2009-04-14T09:54:00.005-04:00

This Wednesday the 6th graders (and a few 7th graders) who planted trees on March 25 are hosting a bake sale to try and repay the Herring Run Watershed Association for the cost of the trees we planted.

Students have volunteered to bring in cookies, brownies, cupcakes, eclairs, cannolis, cheesecake, plates, napkins, and most importantly, fudge.

I realize that by volunteering, they have actually volunteered their parents to go to the store, buy the ingredients, supervise the baking, package the food and remind them to bring it to school Wednesday morning.

Thank you.

Tree Planting 2009

2009-03-30T12:23:00.003-04:00

Last Wednesday a group of 6th and 7th graders went around the corner to Dewees Park and planted trees with guidance from members of the Herring Run Watershed Association. In a little over 2 hours they planted 30 trees. What was really impressive wasn't the number, but the spirit. If there was something to be done, our students did it. They learned all of the most important steps in planting a young tree in an urban area. They dug an appropriate sized hole, amended the soil with a drought aid, teased out the roots, backfilled, watered, mulched, pounded posts, and staked the saplings out. They even did a little upkeep on some pre-existing trees that needed some help.

It might be my faulty memory, but I don't recall hearing a single complaint. We had students working from tree to tree using a pick to break up rocks and hard soil. We had students assigned to picking up all the trash we generated. Students checked each others plantings for mistakes and helped haul water in buckets from the hose to their sapling. They shoveled mulch into buckets and carried it across the park in bags. I'm sure there were blisters and scrapes and broken nails. I was impressed with their labor, as were the folks from the Watershed Association.

Quick plug: If you live in or near the Jones Falls Watershed, or the Herring Run Watershed, they are constantly in need of volunteers for all kinds of activities. Both are easy to work with and have dates posted on their websites (see links above) for stream cleanups, tree plantings, rain barrel workshops, and other opportunities. It would be a great way to serve the community as a family, or on your own.

We had one injured student who offered to serve as our photographer for the day. (She didn't get injured by the pick; her arm was already in a cast :) Here's a sampling of the shots she took. Look for your student in action.

3 - 2 - 1 - Blastoff!

2009-02-19T15:16:00.002-05:00

Today we launched the rockets and collected data about the hang time, the amount of fuel, and the mass of the rocket. It was a lot of fun! Oh, and we learned things too.

Here are the pictures from 1st Period.

Here are the pictures from 3rd period.

Finally, 6th period. They all did a wonderful job. The rocket with the longest flight time was from 6th period--I think they had the benefit of the experience of the earlier classes.

Water Rocket Construction Day

2009-02-10T14:57:00.002-05:00

While students are writing and sketching and diligently working outside of class, we're making water rockets!

Tomorrow we launch!

Cow Eye 2

2009-02-03T13:03:00.003-05:00

Here is a short video Mrs. Merwin took during the dissections. Enjoy!

Cow Eye Dissection Day!

2009-01-31T10:22:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was the first of two Cow Eye Days, one of the highlights of the 5th grade. Students who have 4th period dissected yesterday and students with a 5th period science class will dissect Monday with Mr. Doss and Mrs. Merwin.

Makes me look forward to the next dissection day.

Nature Journal Collaboration

2009-01-27T09:46:00.006-05:00

Over the course of the fall quarter the 6th graders went outside to do a little nature journaling as a part of their environmental science curriculum. They wrote about the changes in the weather and trees; they drew pictures of what they saw and composed poems.

While the 6th grade was journaling, Mrs. Williams' 9th age girls were doing the same. Last week we got together to share what we had seen.

I was extremely proud of the 6th graders that volunteered to share their journal entries, to talk about their thoughts and to critique their own work publicly--their openness allowed the 9th agers to feel really comfortable sharing what they had done.

Tests and Planetariums

2009-01-21T17:07:00.004-05:00

6th graders are taking their first astronomy test this coming Friday. It's all about the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun. The most important ideas are the causes of the tides and the phases of the moon, and being able to discuss the relationship between the two concepts. I believe this is the students' first exposure to gravity in a science setting, and we've been talking about Newton's First Law of Motion. Some of the ideas can get a little confusing, since all the forces are invisible and they interact in what I consider to be cool and exciting ways (some students may believe differently).

We've also scheduled our first planetarium visit for the 27th of January. We'll be heading over to the lower school so that Ms. Wlodarczyk can show us some more of the sites of the solar system. It should be one of the academic highlights of January. Now is a good time for students to start to generate questions that it might be easier to explain in the planetarium, and it's a great time for parents to ask "what did you learn in school today?"
A parent sent this great picture from the Hubble Space Telescope. It's of the Sombrero Galaxy - 28 million light years from Earth. It has 800 billion suns and is 50,000 light years across.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-12T17:33:00.002-05:00

Hi All,

I hope your holiday and new year was fantastic. It's a time for new things and fresh starts, so in the 6th grade we've changed topics from hydrology to astronomy. It's going be a blast (especially the rockets)!

The students have already begun learning about motion and forces like gravity and all of Newton's laws that accompany them. Feel free to quiz them about inertia and Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation--6th graders love to talk about how everything (and everyone!) is attracted to everything (and everyone!) else through the force of gravity!

With astronomy come trips to the Luetkemeyer Planetarium over in the Lower School. We get to play with the telescopes, build space stations, and even launch some rockets. If the students get as excited as I am about looking at the stars, we may even throw a "star party" after school one evening. I am a telescope amateur, so any and all assistance would be appreciated. Let me know if you have a telescope at home you'd be willing to bring out to Calvert and we'll order some pizzas and warm up hot chocolate and let the kids check out what's happening out there in the universe. The sooner the better; as the year progresses it will start to get light early again and we'll have to bump the party back to later in the evening.

Let the Podcasting Begin!

2008-11-25T16:52:00.005-05:00

Hi all,

Most importantly, on our right is a picture of the first snow angel of 2008-2009 created by MBO. Yeah for snow!

Wow, we have been focused on the class wiki for the last few weeks. So much so that I haven't taken the time to blog anything; I feel like I've been online so much I'm starting to forget what the real world looks like. I have here something that I think might make class and studying a little bit easier. I made a podcast of today's notes. Some students are audio learners, so this will help them quite a bit. Some students spend a lot of time in the car so this will let them study for science with their headphones on. Now, these aren't professional-quality audio productions. It's me. With a microphone. And 15 minutes of free time.
Here's a short video of how to get hold of the podcast.

How to get the podcast

Students can listen to the notes online, they can download them and listen to them on their laptops, or they can use iTunes to put them on their iPods and listen to them that way. Let me know how this works out. If no one uses the podcasts, I'll stop wasting my time. But if your child really makes good use of them and feels like they help I'll keep it up.

I should make it clear that these recordings do not replace classroom notes. The podcast is not as comprehensive as our classroom note session. But it does give a quick overview of what was discussed, and offer another "quick and dirty" study option. MrE

Classroom Wiki

2008-11-02T13:37:00.003-05:00

This week the students have been using a wiki to create a study guide for our upcoming (date TBD) test. If you haven't used on before, a wiki is a webpage that can be edited by anyone with access. In our case, only students (and I) have access to the page. Input on my part is minimal; I put up two bullet points and a video about using the interface, and they did the rest. I just check every day to make sure that what they write is scientifically accurate and Calvert School appropriate.
Some students have made lots of contributions; they're wiki all-stars. Some have made small ones, like leaving a comment. But more than half of the class has given some sort of input thus far.
Over the course of 2 days students began a process that they will be using for the rest of their lives. They're working collaboratively to create the best document possible. Sure, there have been setbacks: there is a currently a great debate raging on which color font should be used. One student mentioned that if you don't add important information to the study guide, you shouldn't get to change the color. I agree. But our students are working it out amongst themselves.

I couldn't be more proud.

Swamps, Bogs, and Marshes in the News

2008-10-27T13:17:00.002-04:00

We've been talking about wetlands in class today, and I read this article the other day, so I thought I'd share it with you.

Global Warming Dries Up Peat Bogs

Take a look! MrE

Echo Hill Reflection

2008-10-20T11:11:00.003-04:00

Tonight's homework:

Choose one picture or video on which to comment from the Echo Hill trip. Make sure to include a description of the setting (so we know which picture you're talking about), and a similar or contrasting experience that you had. Or talk about something that happened in that location; or talk about something you've done in your life that connects to that picture or video. Make sure to post your comment before the first bell rings for your class tomorrow--no posting in class. JE136

Echo Hill Day Two

2008-10-14T21:39:00.007-04:00

Hello Interweb,

Camp Life has been great lately. We've been seeing whitetail deer and all kinds of other animals, we've been canoeing, playing ball, and having a great time with our friends all over the campground. Here are some of my favorite photos.

When we're not lounging around and spending time on the water, we've been going on some some pretty serious adventures. The Echo Hill Staff has been working with us in setting group and individual goals. This morning some students did group exercises with Nate, the Director of Questions while others went with Scott and Erin to climb the Giant's Ladder, an individual challenge. I was lucky enough to participate in both. Here's some shots from the giants ladder and a video of one student riding down the zip line.

I was talking to Ms. Herrity and she said that every kid made it to their goal, or at least part of their goal. That's impressive! Students were encouraged to take on an extra challenge if they felt the climb might be too easy; there were routes that were more difficult than others, and some kids even chose to carry along an extra challenge like a rubber chicken.

The Echo Hill staff member that supervised the Ladder from the ground said that this was one of the most focused, positive, and socially aware groups that they've had come through this summer, and that everyone was looking out for everyone else the whole time.

What else can a teacher ask for?

Echo Hill Day One

2008-10-13T22:03:00.006-04:00

Hi All,

Here are some pictures of our first day at Echo Hill. We had a nice ride up and then went about our business here at the school. My first class was Bay Studies. We took one of the vintage wooden skipjacks out on the bay and learned about all kinds of things -- fish features, bay history, adaptations, antique and current fishing methods, predator-prey interactions-- it was fantastic, Captain Carrington did a wonderful job.

We caught a 2 foot blue catfish that had been living in an old crab trap on the bottom; our cod net (now outlawed except by special educational permit) pulled up the trap, the catfish, and decaying catfish that the first cat was living off of.

A bit disgusting, but awesome nevertheless. We caught a Blue Crab (too small to eat), a bunch of white perch, a couple of pumpkinseeds and a couple of American eels.

Capt. Carrington and 1st Mate Molly told us the story of how all American eels travel to the Sargasso Sea to mate, and how the European eels make the same trip, but that the two species never interbreed.

What a day. I'm ready to crash. Too much learning.

2008-10-07T13:17:00.000-04:00

The Molly Harris Garden

2008-10-01T15:00:00.004-04:00

I know that Mr. Martire sent this around to the faculty earlier this week. It's hard to imagine just how much rain fell that day. Luckily we recently studied the water cycle, so this makes a great example of concentrated runoff.

Life, or Something Like It...

2008-09-29T09:08:00.001-04:00

Today we collected water samples from the ponds in front of Castalia in hopes of finding some pond life. Our homework for the afternoon is to visit the Pond Life Identification Ki t and the Smallest Page on the Web and choose three organisms from three different groups to draw and describe. The descriptions on the page are in short phrases, but since I'll be reading your descriptions they need to be in complete sentences. The information in your description should be information for identification.

Example: Water fleas can be almost six millimeters in length; you can barely see them with your naked eye. They have two large antennae that look like arms which they use to move through the water. They have a single, really dark eye. They look sort of like tiny penguins with arms like Frankenstein's Monster.

You need to go through this process for three organisms. If you get a spare moment take a look at the microscopy site by Mr. Lazaroff that shows you how to make wet mount slides, which we'll be doing tomorrow. I can't wait to see what you learn.

Water Cycle Movies

2008-09-24T13:14:00.000-04:00

Now that we've seen my rather pathetic attempt at directing a short film, its time for the real stars to come out. Today students began brainstorming and storyboarding ideas for a 1-2 minute film on the water cycle that they will be making over the next week or so. Their ideas are already better than mine. We'll be making short movies on various topics all year, so this is a chance to learn the process and get our feet wet, pun intended.
Everyone was so excited that about a minute after I introduced the project, a student yelled "We're ready!!" and grabbed 2 cameras off my desk. But we're not going to start shooting anything until at least Friday and I can already see some students champing at the bit.
So ask your favorite student about their movie idea. I hope you'll get an earful.

Proof to support my hypothesis...

2008-09-23T13:21:00.000-04:00

I told parents last night that their kids were awesome--I offer evidence in favor of my argument. 5th graders designed their own experiment to disprove my idea that somehow water leaks through pores in the glass, or crawls over the edges of the glass in microscopic trails to escape to the outside.

6th graders had 3 minutes to design, script, and shoot a short film that demonstrates the water cycle. I think they did a great job in the time that I allotted them. I love how "runoff" does the running man in the background the whole time.

Parent Night Information

2008-09-22T13:08:00.001-04:00

I thought it would be nice to provide some of the info needed for parent night online instead of handing out 45 copies of 3 or 4 documents. There are three things that you all might need to look at over the course of the year--the 6th grade science syllabus, a short letter to the parents of 6th graders, and our class rules and procedures. Just click on one of the links above to get them from Google docs.

Whoops!!

2008-09-21T15:01:00.001-04:00

When blogger says "Are you sure you want to delete?" it would be best to always say "no."

Accidentally deleted my blog a few minutes ago. Silly mistake.