Nov. 16- 20: Ozone and Carbon Cycle Lab

This week students will be learning about the ozone and about the development of our atmosphere. They will be doing an activity on the computers where they will read about the ozone, then find a connecting article and write summaries about it (they are making an "article chain"). Then they will do a graphing activity that illustrates how the atmosphere has changed over time (from early Earth, to our present conditions). Then, if the lab supplies we've ordered have come in, we will do a lab to review the carbon cycle (what puts carbon into the atmosphere and what takes it out). I'm excited to do a lab with the students - they enjoy getting to DO science. We haven't had many opportunities for labs so far though - hopefully we can make that change.

Nov. 9-13: Nitrogen Cycle

Last week we worked on the carbon cycle - this week we're learning about the nitrogen cycle. Both carbon and nitrogen are important for living tissues. Carbon is the backbone for most of the chemicals in the body (DNA, carbohydrates, lipids, etc.). Nitrogen is necessary for DNA and proteins. So learning how they cycle through Earth's systems and how they become available for our bodies is important. These 2 cycles are also important because they both are involved in making greenhouse gases (and could influence the climate... depending on how you look at the data).

We've been looking at evidence for human influences on the atmosphere and I'm proud of how the students have been able to look at the issues and think critically about how we may (or may not) be influencing the Earth. I have given them an extra credit opportunity to look at some of the current issues about global warming (looking up current events is also a geography requirement for most of them, so this should kill 2 birds with one stone).

We'll be doing a lot of review, and hopefully a lab near the end of the week (pending lab supplies). We'll be taking a quiz on the carbon and nitrogen cycles early next week.

Thanks for all your support!

Nov. 2-6: Carbon Cycle

We're on to something new!!! Of course, you'll never forget the stuff we learned for astronomy... but it's time to move on. Our next unit will focus on the atmosphere and how it interacts with other Earth systems through matter cycles. First we will look at the carbon cycle. We'll take a few notes, do an online activity, look at carbon emissions around the world, and read some articles for and against human causes of global warming. My hope is that you will learn how to read articles and critically look for bias and to rely on solid data before deciding for or against ANY issue. Learning how to interpret other people's opinions is an important life skill - one we need to practice.

Oct. 26 - 29: Review and Test

On Monday students designed their own planet with a computer simulation. They learned that it's pretty hard to get a planet with all the right conditions for life to exist there. We call where Earth is the "Goldilocks Zone" - it's "just right!" We are the right distance from the sun not be too hot or too cold, we have liquid water, and we have processes that keep nutrients cycling through all of Earth's systems. It's a good place to be!

On Tuesday we played a review game for their big test on Wednesday. The test covered a little bit from the last unit on redshift/blueshift stuff, but mainly focused on heavy element formation, and the requirements for life.

On Thursday we will be doing a greenhouse effect lab. Students will look at what happens to the temperature inside a glass beaker depending on what conditions they set inside it.

Oct. 19-23: Life on Earth and other planetary objects

This week students are presenting their projects that explain why the atoms that make up their bodies come from an ancient star. Next we will be discussing why Earth is a good place for life to form, and we will talk about the possibilities for life on other planets and moons in our solar system. They will be comparing the requirements for life here and elsewhere and will even design their own planet with a computer program that could maintain life.

Oct. 12-16: You're a Star & Formation of the Solar System

This week students will be working on a big project where they trace a hydrogen atom from the Big Bang through the star cycle to the formation of a heavier element, like carbon which eventually resides in their own body. That's right - all the elements on Earth, including the ones that make up your house, your clothes, and yourself were formed in ancient stars! Pretty cool, huh? The students will be working on their own or in small groups to make a creative product that demonstrates this cycle. They can make a movie, write a children's book, write a rap, do a dance, etc. - so long as it shows the proper sequence of events, they can do whatever they want.

So that they don't get burned out doing the same thing everyday, students will also be analyzing data about the solar system, how it formed, and how it became arranged in it's current structure.

Oct. 5-9: Stellar Evolution & Heavey Elements

This week we will finish talking about the star cycle with a PowerPoint and some notes. Then students will do some reading from the textbook about the stages and will teach each other about what they read. On Thursday we will play a board game that teaches students about how the heavier elements (the ones found here on Earth) are made from the simple elements formed in the Big Bang (hydrogen and helium). It all has to do with nuclear fusion in stars! Very cool if you ask me.... 

The big project for this unit will be to trace an atom of Hydrogen from the Big Bang to a carbon atom found in their own bodies. To do this, students will need to trace the hydrogen through fusion in the star cycle, to a supernova, to more fusion in new stars, to more supernovas, to the formation of Earth, to the growth of plants, to eating it, to incorporating the carbon into their own bodies (I think this is fascinating, can you tell?). They can complete this assignment any way they want to - write a poem, a short story, make a drawing, painting, video, etc. So long as they can trace that Hydrogen they will get full credit in whatever form they choose to present it in. We will be talking about this on Friday and it will be due on Tuesday of next week.