Science Notebooks

This year we will be using science notebooks every day in class. These will be used for bell ringers, to collect notes, lab journals and to keep track of homework due or test coming up.

The reason for these is to better organize students notes and class work. I don't want the notes we take in class to be put on a random piece of paper and then get lost on the way out the door. I want them to be a useful tool in helping understanding the content and used to help study. They will be able to keep them in a safe place in the classroom but can take them home to help with homework or to study for test and quizzes.

Students will be asked to bring in a notebook specific just for science to use. I would prefer the composition notebooks like the one shown because the paper doesn't rip out very easily. A spiral notebook will work if a composition notebook is not available.

Here is a look at what they will look like.

 

 This last picture would be an example of what an every day entry would look like. Students will always have a "In" or a bell ringer to put in to the notebook and always have an "Out" to put in.

What to Expect this year in Science

What students will learn:
7th Grade Science is a combination of Chemistry and Physics. The use of Scientific Inquiry will be used to investigate these two areas of science.
What students will need:
Students will need to have a science notebook everyday in class. I would prefer the composition notebooks but regular spiral notebooks would be fine.

 Along with the notebook having everything else that is on the Excelsior Springs School supply list will be fine. You can find that list here: Excelsior Springs School Supply List 2011-2012
Labs:
In 7th grade science Labs will be incorporated throughout the whole year to give the students a hands on approach to learning. For each quarter we will have one major lab we will spend a little more time on that others.
1st Quarter: Skittles Lab (Scientific Inquiry)
2nd Quarter: Chemical Reactions
3rd Quarter: Investigating Newton's Laws
4th Quarter: Building and Launching Rockets. (video below)

What's going on in the world of science:
Some of you may have been following Atlantis, NASA's last shuttle mission, these past couple weeks. This morning, at Kennedy Space Center, Atlantis landed at 5:57 a.m. EDT, after 200 orbits around Earth and a journey of 5,284,862 miles.
Here is an interesting link that explains the future of space exploration. What's Next?