Thursday? Already?
Having Monday off really throws the week out of whack (not that I am complaining)! You spend all of Tuesday thinking that it is Monday, and Wednesday is a nice little surprise all of a sudden! And having a busy week to compound things really speeds things up. Both the 7th and 8th graders have had a lot of activity!
The 7th graders started working on their Rube Goldberg machines this week. We spent Monday (I mean Tuesday) with the beginning of the Engineering Design Process, asking and answering questions related to the guidelines of the machines, brainstorming designs, and working in teams to come up with a plan. Yesterday the students were able to start creating their machines and then carrying out some immediate improvements based on testing. It was pretty much the same for today--a lot of hustling and bustling, dominoes falling, and a lot of marbles rolling around! I'm excited to see how they all turn out--there are a bunch unique ideas being created! Our goal is to have them working pretty consistently by Tuesday.
In 8th grade, the students were wrapping up the creation of cell models. Choosing from a variety of options (or ideas of their own), the students created some well-done models. The students needed to show the organelles (different parts inside) that they could find in plant or animal cells and explain the functions of the organelles. There were a good number of 3D models made from styrofoam balls, as well as some students who made cakes and then decorated them to show the organelles. A few students wrote comic books or children's books to tell a story about life inside a cell. There was even one group who made their own Magic School Bus-style video (called the Magic Mini Van--this project was their 3rd episode) and compared a cell to the different parts of a school. To finish out the school year, the 8th graders are going to be learning about the 11 organ systems and creating promotional materials for a fictional health club that helps to work out the different organ systems. The students can create billboards and write 90-second pitches for the owners of the health club to convince them to use their billboard design. They also have the option to write a newspaper/blog post about the health club. Working in groups, the students could make a variety of videos: an infomercial, an exercise video, or a TV interview. The Magic Mini Van is going to be making one more appearance this year! I wasn't sure what the students would think of the project with only one week of school left, but they took to it right away and were planning up a storm! It's crazy to think that in just one more week I will be packing things up for the summer!
Mindfulness thought for the week: Be grateful for what you have, and have what you are grateful for. --Shared by Tom J Deters on the ProYou Podcast.
The 7th graders started working on their Rube Goldberg machines this week. We spent Monday (I mean Tuesday) with the beginning of the Engineering Design Process, asking and answering questions related to the guidelines of the machines, brainstorming designs, and working in teams to come up with a plan. Yesterday the students were able to start creating their machines and then carrying out some immediate improvements based on testing. It was pretty much the same for today--a lot of hustling and bustling, dominoes falling, and a lot of marbles rolling around! I'm excited to see how they all turn out--there are a bunch unique ideas being created! Our goal is to have them working pretty consistently by Tuesday.
In 8th grade, the students were wrapping up the creation of cell models. Choosing from a variety of options (or ideas of their own), the students created some well-done models. The students needed to show the organelles (different parts inside) that they could find in plant or animal cells and explain the functions of the organelles. There were a good number of 3D models made from styrofoam balls, as well as some students who made cakes and then decorated them to show the organelles. A few students wrote comic books or children's books to tell a story about life inside a cell. There was even one group who made their own Magic School Bus-style video (called the Magic Mini Van--this project was their 3rd episode) and compared a cell to the different parts of a school. To finish out the school year, the 8th graders are going to be learning about the 11 organ systems and creating promotional materials for a fictional health club that helps to work out the different organ systems. The students can create billboards and write 90-second pitches for the owners of the health club to convince them to use their billboard design. They also have the option to write a newspaper/blog post about the health club. Working in groups, the students could make a variety of videos: an infomercial, an exercise video, or a TV interview. The Magic Mini Van is going to be making one more appearance this year! I wasn't sure what the students would think of the project with only one week of school left, but they took to it right away and were planning up a storm! It's crazy to think that in just one more week I will be packing things up for the summer!
Mindfulness thought for the week: Be grateful for what you have, and have what you are grateful for. --Shared by Tom J Deters on the ProYou Podcast.
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