Conferences

 A quick word to all parents about grades. I know many of you have shared some concern about your student's science grades at this time. Please be patient as the student's and I work to adjust to different expectations. It has been several years since I have taught middle school science students. I now remember that I have to use very explicit instruction both verbally and written. Some of the results that I am getting on material is missing parts. That can hurt a grade also. I have great expectations for all of our students and I expect all of them to be able to understand and elaborate on various science concepts. That may be an area where the students will have to make an adjustment and always be engaged and ready to volunteer information. 

Many of the students scored poorly in all classes on our latest assessment in the grade book. For each class that was actually a book assessment that I used and I wanted to see how it worked. In the future I probably won't be using those in totallity like I did for that one. 

Please feel free to email if you have questions or concerns. Like you, I want your student to be held to high standards and to learn science content to make them scientifically literate citizens. 

Steve Birchard

 10/22

6th Grade Science

The sixth grade science class has been working on understanding what goes into the engineering process. We will have a culminating activity starting next week. The students will be creating a hypothesis, designing and testing a sound amplification system. Using common classroom items they will design there own speaker system. After developing it they will use data to analyze the effectiveness of their designs. Through this activity they will gain a greater understanding of the engineering design process. 

7th Grade Science

In studying the weather and ocean currents we have come across many science concepts relating to weather. The focus has been on the concepts of condensation, evaporation, transpiration, and sublimation. We will be doing lab activities looking at phase changes. I am looking forward to our next few classes as we learn about these important science concepts through weather. 

8th Grade Science

Most of this week we were working on a lab on magnetism and electricity. We began by talking about a hand-crank flashlight generator and how the current is produced to light the flashlight. We used dry cell batteries to create an electromagnet and we also used magnets to create electric current. Ask your student how they did this. 

Conferences

I will not be having individual conferences. You will be meeting with either Ms. Steinkamp or Mrs. Hensel for you conference. You will get some information from me at your conference on science for your child. I will be in the building for conferences on Thursday morning 9:00 AM-11:30AM. Feel free to stop in and ask any questions you may have or just to say hi!

Week of 10/4 Blog

 The Middle School students had a great visit to Kansas City. Everyone that attended was moved by the Auschwitz exhibit. I believe everyone had gained perspective from the visit to the Auschwitz exhibit. We also visite Science City in Union Station. The kids had a great time exploring so many science exhibits in one place. Ask them to share with you their experience at Science City. That is part of the assignment they had for the day, share their Science City experience with a parent/guardian. I applaud all of the kids on their behavior. They were respectful and mature.

Sixth grade science class is working on systems in science. Understanding systems are an important theme in Science. The students have been identifying and evaluating different systems. They are in the process of collaborating with a partner and creating a poster about their assigned system. Ask your child what their system is and what makes up the system.

Seventh grade has been learning about ocean currents and how they are effected by wind patterns, water temperature, and water salinity. They also did a career research project on a related career. Ask them about their slide show presentation on a career.

The eighth grade science class have been designing and building a roller coaster. They used their knowledge of forces, potential energy, and kinetic energy to create a roller coaster. The class divided into 3 groups and completed the roller coaster challenge. Each group was able to complete a successful roaller coaster. Ask them how they did it. Some of them even took videos of their coaster in action.