Balloon Science

Want to do a fun lab to reinforce the scientific method, measurement, and graphing?

Check out my Balloon science Lab!

Note: I created this lab my first year of teaching and have tweaked it ever since. 

When I went back to search for pictures of it... I realized the kids in this picture are graduated high school now. Wow!

I created this lab as part of my Grade 6 "Scientific Method" unit and also used it in my Grade 7 resource room science class. It reinforces the steps of the scientific method and provides students much needed practice in metric measurement and graphing. I found that my Grade 6 students had little exposure to the scientific method and line graphs....this lab provides the students with specific focus on precise measurement and graphing.  I was able to incorporate mini-lessons on measurement and graphing very effectively with this!

Materials you will need (in addition to this lab):
• balloon (1 per student)
• measuring tape (metric) (1 per student pair)
• graph paper

In this lab, students will create a hypothesis regarding the rate of change of the balloon's circumference. Students will work in partners to blow up balloons one breath at a time. Students will record data, graph data, and complete a conclusion. The conclusion contains sentence starters to support students in writing conclusions without using "I". 

They really have a lot of fun with this one!!

Management note: Require the students to throw out the balloon all in one trash can before returning to their seats to complete their conclusions.  You'll thank me later. ;)

A Middle School Survival Guide

Halloween Catapult Design

I bought six bags of candy corn/candy corn pumpkins with full intentions of doing a STEM building activity similar to this with toothpicks for my GATE class.  I had done something to it last spring with Easter candy, and was eager to try a new twist on the activity for a new holiday.

But as it turned out... the candy corn variety do not work well for the activity I had planned. 

{Note: It is the gummy kind that you need for the best construction.}

Fail.

What did I do? ...Well, at first I thought, "Great! More candy for me", and proceeded to shamelessly eat a whole bag. Then, I quickly adapted my old catapult lab with some candy corn graphics and changed the planned lesson to drop in a mini-lesson on physics and catapults.  

The students were given a maximum of 15 Popsicle sticks (I tried allowing unlimited, it doesn't work.  I suggest between 12-25), unlimited rubber bands, and one spoon to build. Next time, I would also allow masking tape and materials they provide such as bottle caps. I tried to give the students guidance and suggestions only as needed to allow them to think and construct creatively.  However, gradually I did end up rotating the room and pictures using google images: "popsicle stick catapults."

Construction took longer than I had anticipated and during one 45 min. period we achieved the building of the catapults. Testing, recording data, and reflecting will happen in the next 45 minute session!

Buy my HALLOWEEN CATAPULT DESIGN LAB on Teachers Pay Teachers!

Microscope Lab!

If you ever get lucky enough to order live organisms for your microscopes...

order containers of Daphnia and Hydra!

I didn't go into much detail for the students, but basically it was cool to see the Daphnia's heart beat (About 180 bpm!) and it's spine/eyes etc.  

(It is exciting if you can find a female Daphnia with a embryo inside it!) 

And here they are together...over the course of a few minutes as the Hydra and Daphnia were added o the same slide, the Hydra moved toward the Daphnia and put it's tentacles around it! 

That's it. Then they both died on the slide.

Womp. Womp.  {Very Anti-climatic.}

On a sidenote, how cool is it that my i-phone was able to take pictures through the eyepiece of the microscope?  Gotta love technology.

Mega Disasters

MegaDisasters is awesome.  Have you seen it?

It is the perfect show for the students who ask the "What if?" questions in science.

Mega-disasters shows are designed around the question, 

"It's happened before; will it happen again?" 

The show uses past natural disasters as examples to examine what disasters 

(tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, asteroids, global warming, etc.) 

could come our way if history repeats itself.

It uses computer animations and re-creations to dramatize 

the potential "worst case scenario" catastrophes. (Scary stuff!)

My first few years teaching as a 6th grade earth science teacher, I fell in love with this show and downloaded many of the episodes on my personal laptop.

But I just found 10 episodes on DVD for about 10 bucks...

                                                      *Asteroid Apocalypse                                     * New York City Hurricane

                                                      *Atlantis Apocalypse                                      *LA's Killer Quake

                                                      *American Volcano                                       *Yellowstone Eruption

                                                      *The Next Pompeii                                        *Mega Drought

                                                      *Windy City Tornado                                   *Mega Freeze

Score!

Mostly I just show clips from the shows, but sometimes 

I may show a whole episode as a special treat if a group is really interested in a unit.

Parachutes!

PARACHUTE RACE LAB
To try this simple and fun lab...

Ask your students to bring in one plastic shopping bag and one penny for homework.

Purpose of the Lab:

To see if the size of the parachute affects the time it takes for the parachute to fall.

Lab Materials:

*penny

*string

*plastic bag

*marker

*ruler

*scissors

*tape

*timer

Procedures:

PART I:

Pairs of students will create two parachutes (1 large & 1 small).

PART II:

Test the parachutes, recording the data in the table and calculating the averages.

PART III:

Complete the analysis and conclusion.

I have done this lab about 15 times (thanks to block scheduling!) and each group of students have enjoyed it every time.  It is a good lab to practice following lab procedures, working collaboratively with a partner, and recording/analyzing data.  Finding the average of the drops to allow you to compare is a good math connection.

Disclaimer:  I warn you to do the "parachute drops" (PART II) inside rather than outside.  I have tried and tried again to have the students drop the parachutes outside, but every. single. time. I've tried, the wind (even a slight breeze) has affected the results.

Check out the three page lab and one page teacher guide HERE.

Edible DNA

Teaching DNA?

Your students will LOVE making DNA models out of candy!

All you need:

*colored marshmallows (i recommend letting them sit out and get stale for a few hours!!)

*twizzlers

*tooth picks

*towel or plates for the desks

*directions #1 OR directions #2

*rubric (coming soon!)

Materials:

Under Construction:

Ta'Da! 

Final Product:

This can be extended by "unzipping" and replicating the DNA...

View more Life Science ideas from A Middle School Survival Guide...

Flip Books in Science

Teaching Cell Division?

You GOTTA try Science Spot's Cell Division Flip Book Freebie! 

The 3 Materials You Will Need:

Cell Division Notes

Cell Division Flip Book Rubric and Directions (ah, so sorry! i promise upload it after the weekend. for now, see the preview below.)

Cell Division Flip Book

Here is the rubric and finished product:

I found it helpful to model the expectations on the document camera.
The rubric was a great opportunity for self assessment (seen above).

(Please give me feedback on the rubric.  I use rubrics often, but sometimes rush to create them.) 

Here is a student samples mid-cutting:

Cute, right?

Exercise and Respiration

LAB REPORT CO2

Today's lab is one of my faves!!

It was their first time seeing an indicator. 

AND the lab really works.  

PRE-LAB:

After a mini-lesson on respiration. And a review of information using brain pop....

The students head to the lab for my CO2 Lab. 

PART I: 

The students time how long it takes for the Bromythyl Blue solution (a CO2 indicator) to change from blue to yellow (due to the CO2 in their exhaling) by blowing bubbles in the container using a straw. (seen above)

Followed by a brief workout.

A minute of jumping jacks should do the trick. Or some jump-roping.

You want their heart rates up and heavy breathing (But not to the point they are gasping for air or exhausted or need to get a drink, they will then be too tired to blow through the straw for part II)

PART II:

The students time how long it takes for the Bromythyl Blue solution (a CO2 indicator) to change from blue to yellow (due to the CO2 in their exhaling) after they have exercised.  (Again they get the CO2 into the solution by blowing bubbles into it through a straw).

RESULTS:
The indicator really works! Before working out it took me 16 seconds to change the Bromythyl blue to yellow.  After working out it only took 6 seconds.

I need to head into fermentation tomorrow....does anyone have any good links?? I am really looking to make some connections to athletics.  

Webquest #4

I'm on a roll making webquests....

Here is the newest! 

Weather Map Web Quest Freebie!

This week's webquest is a follow up to Weather Webquest 1.

The goal is for the students to be able to navigate a weather website to locate and analyze weather data.

Not sure if anyone is looking for more Weather Fronts and Air Masses study & assessment tools.... 

if you are, here are a few things I made:

1. Jeopardy Game

2. Study Notecards (Also a Game)

3. Test

Coming soon...

Why do I have baby food containers in my sink if I don't have a baby, you ask?

Oh, just some lab preparations for tomorrow... sorry to disappoint you. 

I wish I had something more exciting to post tonight. But I don't.

 You'll have to check back later this week 

for the lab pics and the lab freebie!!

Sorry I'm slacking.  But I promise you...by the end of the week I will be sharing THREE items:
1. Math Probability Stations
2. Science Weather Webquest #2
3. The Mystery Lab Report

Materials for the Lab:

2 baby food containers / group

2 rubber bands / group

water (+ something to measure)

steel wool

Confession: I ate two containers of Sweet Potatoes as I cleaned.

Did you know that washing/cleaning the labels off 24 baby food containers is tiring?

Just sayin.  

Can you guess what the lab might be?

Weather Patterns Web Quest

I love webquests.  {Have you heard?}

Here is my newest webquest hot off the press...

Weather Patterns Webquest

Haven't used a Web-Quest before? 

 The students follow the directions of the packet to navigate websites 

and interactive activities, as well as complete the packet.

All YOU need to do is print the packet for each student...

 head on over to a computer lab (or use it as a station within your classroom...)

and the students will do the rest!

Like the Web-Quest above? 

Check out my other web quests on TpT too!

In my experience, the students really enjoy the web-quests.

(For younger students, I might recommend bookmarking the sites in advance to avoid typos in the URL...)

I'm looking for feedback.....

Do you use Web-quests?

Please comment and share any great websites, online activities, or Web Quests you have used!

Great Gravity Video

As I transitioned from Motions, Forces, and Energy to Astronomy...

I decided to stick with the "Amusement Park" theme.

Since the students just researched their favorite amusement park ride,

they were extremely interested in finding out more about rides and 

the connection between gravity/inertia and rides.

The high interest and prior knowledge provided a perfect opportunity to tie in astronomy concepts....

I planned to only show a few clips of the video,

but ended up showing the whole 30-minute video (stopping every now and then to discuss).

Absolutely worth the $24.99! :)

{Not to mention, it makes me want to go to Disney to ride Tower of Terror ASAP!}

Resources for Using Menus in the Classroom

"Tic-Tac-Toe"...      "List Menu"...     "Baseball Menu"...

We had an in-service this week that re-energized us to incorporate more menu projects.

Here is my "classroom library" of resources for menus that I would highly recommend:

The pre-made menus are wonderful.  And include rubrics for grading.

I do find myself modifying and adapting the menus when I use them...but none-the-less they are both a wonderful time saver and inspiration for activities!

Here are two more that were presented at the in-service.... which I immediately purchased:

I'm excited to get the "Styles and Strategies" book because it gives strategies for teaching and sample worksheets which are broken into a "menu" style of activities for:
 Mastery, Interpersonal, Understanding, and Self Expressive math learners.

Note: I tend to use Menus as more of a summative-project activity.  One of my colleagues uses menus throughout the majority of her unit and gives a little bit of time during each block as more of a gradual process (as more of an anchor activity).

I have also used the student-choice in homework assignments.

I would recommend the Tic-Tac-Math series:

 

How do YOU use menus and student-choice in your classroom?

Link up below if you have created, used, or found any great resources for menus and providing choice in the classroom!

oh, what to do with all the leftover halloween candy?

Oh, what to do with all the leftover Halloween Candy? 

Tons of Halloween Candy left?

Consider it a great excuse to practice measurement with the
triple beam balance through massing candy...

using my Triple Beam Balance Practice and Candy Activity.

Here are some of my favorite things to do with this lesson: 

First: 

Some practice on the mimeo board with interactive websites. #1 and #2

Second: 

Independent practice reading triple beam balances.

Third: 
All you need for this lab is a balance and candy!

Using the balance, find the masses of each individual candy piece.

Add up the totals of all the candies.  (Calculators optional, depending on ability level).

Record the total.

Fourth: 

Find the masses of all the candies at once.

Record the total.

Fifth: 

Compare totals. And reflect.
 Are they the same? Did you measure correctly?

Motions, Forces, Energy...& amusement park rides!

On Caught In the Middle's recommendation, I bought Disney Imagineer's ENERGY video.

It didn't disappoint. 

Now, the students will be researching and analyzing the motions, forces, and energy of 

their favorite amusement park ride.

They have 2 days to create a informational brochure about the energy of their ride.

I created a sample to show them the expectations (seen above, click for it below):

The Motions and Forces of Disney's "Mad Tea Party" Tea Cups Ride


Update: Check out the brochures below:

I used a generic rubric for grading: Generic Brochure Rubric

(Next time around, I would like to create a more detailed and specific rubric.)

Enjoy!

Earth, Moon, and Sun

I purchased the Classroom Solar System (seen above) and adored it.  

That is until fire codes made it illegal to hang stuff from your ceiling.

For those of you out there that can still hang things from your ceiling....I recommend this!

On another note, I am still looking for great links to teach astronomy and came across this great one:

Teaching Moon Phases

I always love her ideas.

Current Daily Moon Phase

Daily Moon Phases:

CURRENT MOON

lunar phases

I think this is pretty darn awesome.  

Just one more week until earth science and moon phases! ;)

And I'm so excited to try out modeling the moon phases with Oreos!

Just looking at this picture makes my mouth water!

As I began thinking about the upcoming unit...........

I just gave myself another one-hour-challenge

to find every link I can find on Astronomy/Weather/Earth's Changing Surface. 

K... Go:

Astronomy

Videos:

Brain Pop Video - Eclipse

Brain Pop Eclipse Quiz Worksheet

Brain Pop Video - Gravity

Brain Pop Video - Tides

Brain Pop Video - Weather

Brain Pop Moon

Brain Pop Moon Quiz Worksheet

You Tube Moon Phases Misconceptions

Bill Nye Music Video - Moon Cycle

Bill Nye - Gravity, Rotation

Phases of the Moon Rap Video

Rapping Weather Man: 1 3 4  (just for fun)

Teachers Domain Video: Why Doesn't the Moon Fall Down?

Interactive Sites:

Animation of Moon Phases/Revolution Awesome model of the moon movement aligned with what we see.

Virtual Reality Moon Phase Site

What Does the Moon Look Like In the Southern Hemisphere? Interactive 

Animation of Spring and Neap Tides

Games:

Lunar Phases Moon Challenge

Weather Maker and Worksheet

Shoot for the Moon 

Other Misc. Ideas:

Observing Solar and Lunar Eclipses Times and Locations

Moon Phase Interactive Bulletin Board

Types of Eclipses Worksheets 

Moon Clock

Earth's Changing Surface:

Brain Pop - Rock Cycle

Brain Pop - Weathering

Brain Pop - Soil

Brain Pop - Erosion

Teacher's Domain - Rock Cycle Animation

Teacher's Domain - Solid as A Rock Writing Prompt

Teacher's Domain - Interactive Tectonic Plates

Plate Tectonics Video from UnitedStreaming

You Tube - Rock Cycle Rap

You Tube - Plate Tectonics

Enjoy!

(And let me know if you have any great links I didn't find!!)

Rock-Cycle Stations

I love stations.

Here's an oldie but goodie.

a freebie, ready-for-print station activity from Illinois State Museum Geology Online:

Journey Through The Rock Cycle

Just print the dice (colored paper not required).  

Cut and tape together the dice.

Set up the stations.  

Photocopy the worksheets. 

And voilà:


The students follow the rock cycle, recording what happens to them and where they move to.  Followed by creating a cartoon strip of their travels.

It's very fun to watch because no 2 students/rocks take the same exact journey.

Design-A-Rollercoaster Fun!

We had a blast in the lab today designing Roller Coasters!

Design-A-Rollercoaster Freebie

Steps to completing the lab:

1. Students design and draw a hypothesis of a rollercoaster.

2. Students test the rollercoaster with a BB pellet.

3. They record their changes and create a new design.

4. The process continues until they create a successful rollercoaster.

5. Write a conclusion reflecting on the process making sure to use key vocabulary: kinetic energy, potential energy, and gravitational potential energy.

Materials: lab tubing (about 5 feet per group), tape (5 pieces only!), BB pellet

Prior to completing this lab....

I showed my students this short video:

Student Made YouTube Video on Energy of Roller Coasters

Used these interactive links on my mimeo/projector:

Potential and Kinetic Energy - How Roller Coasters Work

Potential and Kinetic Energy - Energy in a Roller Coaster (same interactive activity with better graphics)

After completing this lab....

We went to the computer lab for them to each take this online quiz:

Roller Coaster 14 Question Quiz

It's that time of year {fall colds/flus}.

Usually, if I think I might be out, I post-it note EVERYTHINGGGG for the following day with detailed directions just in case.

I even pre-setting the timer for the warm-up.

I also kid-proof the room and put away items that may be damaged in my absence.

BUT...

What about emergencies?
As in, not able to give directions to someone at the last minute.
As in no copies are activities are prepared for the day.

What's your go-to worst-case scenario emergency plans?

Worst case scenario, I have the following extreme-emergency materials on my desk:

SCIENCE Virtual Labs

"The Best of Beakman's World" DVD

with instructions on how to write up a lab

report for each short 15 minute episode.
(The video has natural breaks, which area good opportunity to pause and discuss.)

AND

"Mythbusters Season 1" Box-Set

with a generic "Mythbusters" Worksheet of analysis questions to complete while watching the chosen episode.  I have a few of the short episodes flagged that coincide with the curriculum.