First, I would just like to apologize that I have not posted anything for awhile! I had hoped to get to post more throughout this school year as I know the students love to see the pictures I take but it has been challenging. I have a lot to share with you and I promised the students I would get caught up over Spring break so please bare with me for a longer post!

This unit is always a student favorite as it allows for numerous hands-on activities and demonstrations. 

Students used several different kinds of liquids and solids and mixed them together to determine if a chemical or physical change occurred. 

Students made models of the different states of matter. Once all were made the compared and contrast the models to one another. We then used the models to review density. 

Students used legos to model and reinforce elements, compounds and mixtures. They built their models then diagrammed them. Here is one groups models of different elements.

Diagramming alignments for the different eclipses we experience on Earth.

Making interactive models showing the impact the moon has on the Tides.

An activity students performed when learning about the tides.

Students participated in several card review games over the unit.

Students each designed a roller coaster that had to meet certain specifications based off of their knowledge of kinetic and potential energy. They then tested their roller coaster designs in a computer software program to test it's effectiveness. They love this!!!! They are always asking to use the program!

Every student got to ride and participate in activities involving the energy bike!!! It was quite entertaining. The ninth period class even got the pleasure of seeing Mr. Nabors take a few turns on the bike!

I will end our update there. I hope you enjoyed viewing a few of the activities we have been performing in class. We will spend the rest of the school year completeing our Rocks and Minerals Unit. I will start the unit and then Miss. Brake (my permanent sub) will finish the unit out. Like always please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Are double stuffed Oreos really double Stuffed?

This was the investigation we conducted to apply our knowledge of the properties of matter. Students used their knowledge of volume and mass to find out if in fact double stuffed Oreos were really double stuffed! Students used graduated cylinders, digital scales and formulas to find the mass and volume of the filling in each cookie and of course if they are really double stuffed the cookies should be double the mass and volume of the regular oreos and what the students found was that in fact double stuffed ore os are double stuffed and in most cases were a little more than double! Pretty cool! It was a great activity to apply what we have been covering in class and cookies are of course always a hit with the middle schoolers (not much of a surprise there!)

Later in the week we discussed density! I always love using this demo because it can lead to a great discussion about density and buoyancy! Students are always amazed by the fact that the regular coke sinks and the diet coke floats!

We wrapped up the week by performing a virtual lab on the school laptops where students identified objects as either going through a physical or chemical change! We will continue to look at properties of matter next week and have our assessment before moving on to states of matter and phase changes! Thanks for checking in!

        This week in class students concentrated on reviewing the steps of the scientific method. Students learned how to take a testable relationship and create a well written if/then stated hypothesis. Students also practiced identifying variables within a scientific investigation through several hands-on activities! We ended the week by beginning to look at the process of making observations and using our observations to draw logical conclusions or inferences! I hope the students have been sharing the information they have been learning in class at home.

       This week also was the first week students started getting reward points taken away! If students want to participate in the Heartland reward day where they will be participating in low rope activities, archery, the wildlife center and other team games they must have 15 of their 20 points left. The remaining reward day activities will be attending a movie at the local movie theater, going bowling at blue fusion and a day at cedar point! Please encourage students to keep as many points as possible by following school rules and classroom procedures at all times so they can attend these activities!

Now that we are back from fair and Labor Day we are starting to get into a nice groove. I've been extremely impressed with the students this year and their ability to have picked up on our routines and classroom procedures so well! We started out the week by talking about lab safety techniques and proper use of lab equipment! Students looked at real life situations and had to recognize unsafe behaviors in the lab.

The extension science class is currently looking even further into proper use of lab equipment by working on the rainbow lab. During this lab students use various pieces of lab equipment to make solutions.The main goal of this activity is for students to become familiar with using basic pieces of science equipment safely, for students to understand the importance of precise measurements and the importance of following directions carefully.You can see pictures of this below!

We finished the week out by working in small groups and working on a team building and critical thinking activity that we call the red solo cup challenge!



The red solo cup challenge!



Students have to start with 6 cups stacked in a tower formation, their goal is to figure out with their team how they can move the 6 cups from one end of the table to the other! They must make a pyramid out of the cups and they are NOT allowed to touch the cups with their hands. They may only use the materials that were provided to them. I love seeing the students try to solve problems with their peers.

I would like to welcome you all to sixth grade and would like to introduce you to your new science classroom.

I hope you have enjoyed getting familiar with your new science classroom and I'm looking forward to a great year!

This past week myself and four of our seventh grade girls got the wonderful opportunity to participate in a once in a lifetime event. The event was sponsored by AEP and it's purpose was to activate and engage girls in the various science fields. The girls got to spend three days in Columbus where they participated in wiring and constructing an energy bike, they got to tour the AEP headquarters in downtown Columbus where they got to meet and interact with several women working in the Science careers available at AEP. They got to meet and do several activities with Indy car driver Simona De Silvestro! The rookie of the year in the 2010 Indy 500! Below you will find the link to an article written about the event! http://us.areva.com/EN/home-2474/areva-inc-areva-aep-ohio-and-kv-racing-bring-science-and-engineering-to-local-middle-school-students.html

Mount Gilead was one of just five schools chosen in the whole state of Ohio to partcipate in the event and for completing the workshop the school was given the energy bike as a gift! Below you will find pictures from the event and keep your eyes open for events throughout the school year where the energy bike will be available for the community to use and learn all about the ways we can conserve energy!

This past week myself and four of our seventh grade girls got the wonderful opportunity to participate in a once in a lifetime event. The event was sponsored by AEP and it's purpose was to activate and engage girls in the various science fields. The girls got to spend three days in Columbus where they participated in wiring and constructing an energy bike, they got to tour the AEP headquarters in downtown Columbus where they got to meet and interact with several women working in the Science careers available at AEP. They got to meet and do several activities with Indy car driver Simona De Silvestro! The rookie of the year in the 2010 Indy 500! Below you will find the link to an article written about the event! http://us.areva.com/EN/home-2474/areva-inc-areva-aep-ohio-and-kv-racing-bring-science-and-engineering-to-local-middle-school-students.html

Mount Gilead was one of just five schools chosen in the whole state of Ohio to partcipate in the event and for completing the workshop the school was given the energy bike as a gift! Below you will find pictures from the event and keep your eyes open for events throughout the school year where the energy bike will be available for the community to use and learn all about the ways we can conserve energy!

Students have been learning about the rock cycle and the three different types of rocks that are formed during the cycle. Currently students have been working on a project that would allow them to use their creativity and knowledge of the rock cycle to create a song, poem or cheer that explains the 3 types of rocks and how they are formed within the rock cycle. Students have done a wonderful job with this assignment!!!!! We also modeled the rock cycle in class with crayons, hot plates, books and foil. It provides a wonderful visual of the rock cycle for the students. 

This week students got to unwind before taking their OAA test by taking a field trip to Heartland Outdoor Education Center. The sixth graders participated in 4 classes throughout the day. They sampled rocks and tried to identify rocks they found using classification keys in the rocks 102 course. They then participated in a team challenge course where students were put into teams and instructed to build a structure with limited materials! The students then got to enjoy a once and a lifetime experience in the reptiles and amphibians course. Students were able to handle snakes (eek) box turtles, salamanders and a bearded dragon! They were also able to view various snakes, alligators, skunks, opossums and chinchillas. This course was the overwhelming favorite for the students! I am happy to say that I even over came a few of my own fears and held the animals! The students then finished the day with a Native American course where they were able to try and build a fire, read Indian symbols, dress in Native American attire and lastly learn how to throw a rabbit stick (very similar to the modern boomerang!) It was a fun, beautiful and educational day for us all!

Currently we have been working on our Earth Science unit specifically looking at identifying Minerals and truly understanding their important roles in our everyday lives. Students learned about the characteristics all minerals possess. They were given the opportunity to view the crystalline structures found in minerals using tripod magnifying glasses and microscopes. Students also performed streak tests and used Moh's hardness scale to identify unknown minerals. This week they will be completing a minerals superhero project in the computer lab. This project allows them to research a mineral of their choose and develop a superhero with super powers that relate to an everyday use of that mineral! This project has always been a favorite of past classes!

Mrs. Bault's Classroom

We have currently been working on our energy unit and here are several examples of activities my students have been participating in!! We have a blast with this unit!!