Patterns in the Universe

Looking at patterns and trying to figure out what they mean in science is an important concept to grasp.  Much of our work in 8th Grade Astronomy focuses on this concept.  With Mr. Johnson's help teaching the math for figuring out a scale model, we have been able to analyze what these models mean and how they help us with our conceptual understanding of the Solar System and beyond.

Our most recent scale model took us out to the football pitch where we examined the relative size and distance of the planets in relation to the sun.  I think it is safe to say that it was very eye opening for everyone.

Here are some photos from our scale model walk on the football pitch from different distances. Ask your child what these photos represent and see if they can communicate their understanding of how it has changed their view/thinking about the Solar System.

Upcoming Assessment

8th Graders will have their final assessment of the 1st trimester on November 3 (A and H Block) and 24 (H Block).  All students have a study guide in their Google Drive.

Team X Results

Our Team X project concluded before the break.  It was heartbreaking for some to see their egg come to an untimely end but I hope the experience helped them to learn some important science concepts and engineering skills.  Beyond the results of the project are many underlying lessons learned as well, such as collaboration, working within constraints, decision making skills, knowing when to be assertive and when to hang back.

Groups that made it to the final round of testing from the roof!

Winning Group- Paul, Austin and Leo.  They built their lander with $5 Million to spare.  Congratulations! 

Team X Status Report

Greetings parents- 8th Graders have been busy constructing their new learning blog.  If your child has science on Days 1,3 and 5 you should have received an email from them inviting you to check out their new blog.  If your child has science on even days, you'll be getting this email on Monday.  Their blog is a place to document their learning, inform others, and communicate their findings to a larger audience.  We will use their blogs for different projects throughout the year and it will stay with them for their entire career at TAISM.  If you have questions regarding their blog you can ask Mr. Mongardi or myself.

The purpose of the first blog entry was to give a "status report" for their Team X project, which I wrote about in a previous post.  It has been exciting to watch how excited the students get when their lander design "succeeds" and how determined they are to make it even better.  Giving real engineering constraints such as a budget and deadlines makes this project more authentic.  Ask your child how their project is progressing and ask them to explain what they've learned from their design testing.

Here are some photos of the design tests from this week.

Super start to the new school year!

Greetings Parents- Welcome to the TAISM 2014-2015  8th Grade Science Blog.  We have had a fantastic beginning to our school year which has made me feel really excited for the rest of the year.  Our focus in the first weeks of school has been on inquiry, lab safety, engineering design and beginning our astronomy content. 

My goal for this blog is to keep you more informed on the happenings in science class regarding upcoming projects, quizzes, and things you can do with your child at home.  Please enter your email address in the box to the right that says "follow by email" and then you'll get updates automatically sent to your email.    

Currently, we are in the beginning stages of our Team X project which will serve as an introduction to astronomy, scientific inquiry and the engineering design process.  This is a very hands-on project which we will complete next week with the landing of their payload.  I've modeled the project after the current NASA mission "Curiosity" and my experience witnessing this process when I visited the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California in 2006.  We've been focusing on how scientists and engineers test their ideas in order to be as sure as possible that they will work based on their predictions and EVIDENCE from design testing.  The project will give me great window into the students' creativity, science background, strengths and areas for growth.  (You can see the project overview on my website in the "Resources-Astronomy" section.)

Our astronomy unit will be split into two parts: Inside the Solar System and Our Place in the Universe (everything beyond our Solar System).  Astronomy is a rather long unit because it is integrated with many of the physics standards where appropriate.  I am looking forward to sharing many deep discussions and interesting lab experiences with your children.  

If any of you have experience in the field of astronomy and would be interested in being a guest speaker or think you might have an interesting field trip we could take I would really love to talk more about those possibilities.  

Here is a link to an album of photos from our first two engineering tasks.  In the first one, the students needed to create a pendulum that would swing to the beat of certain songs.  In the second, they needed to build a tower to balance a marshmallow on top.   8th Grade Inquiry 2014

Check back later this week for Team X photos.