Videos of Powerpoint Presentations - Country Reports

Students practiced their research skills while completing reports on another country. Notes were taken over the government, history, culture and natural world of the country.

Information was found using the Discovery Ed Interactive Map and the CIA Factbook. Students used graphic organizers to keep track of information.  The notes were developed into a rough draft using Microsoft Word.

The final presentations were published in Microsoft Powerpoint and the students used an iPad to digitally record each other giving the presentations.

The finished products have been saved into each student's google drive account as a m4v file.   You may access your child's  project in their account.  The students worked hard and have created some interesting and entertaining  presentations.  Enjoy!

Creating Models in Science

The practices that describe behaviors that scientists engage in as they investigate and build models and theories about the natural world are a big part of the Next Generation Science Standards.   Sixth graders teamed up to build models of the path of a river from the divide to the delta.   

6B created the different elevations using their best engineering minds and a lot of paper.  6C took over and covered the terrain with foil.  They created the river pathway showing how the v-shaped valleys are formed and finished with meanders leading to the delta.  6A covered the model with sand and rock and designed alluvial fans at the base of the mountain range and deltas at the mouth of the river.

Halloween Timeline

     Many thanks to Destiny and Hailey for their help in organizing the Halloween timeline.  They developed a list of common Halloween symbols and recruited the help of their classmates.  The students researched the symbols and designed  flyers to post the information on a timeline.  Mrs. Powell provided a history of Halloween fact sheet that was helpful in collecting the research and students worked with Ms. Barkus to edit and revise the flyers. The final products were published and placed in the correct decade of the timeline.  Some of the symbols originated in the 800's.   If you are in the building, stop by and read some of the interesting facts and enjoy the great images the students found to represent these well known holiday symbols.

Mass Wasting Investigation - Slumps or Creeps?

While studying the earth processes of erosion and deposition, sixth graders investigated the difference between a slump and a creep.    Does the height of a slope affect the type of mass wasting that occurs?  Students compared different incline heights to see the difference in the way the soil moved downhill.   A slump is a landslide of loose debris that moves as a single unit.  A creep is a slower movement of debris downhill.  It affects all hillsides and can occur at different rates depending on how wet the soil is.   Students utilized the outdoor classroom to collect soil and experiment with slope heights.  Students concluded that the higher the incline, the more likely the mass movement of a  slump will be seen.

Investigation - Will Steel Wool Rust? What Conditions Will Cause the Most Rust?

Students investigated the formation of rust on steel wool.  Three different samples of steel wool were prepared.  One was submerged in water, one was exposed to air only, and the third sample had 30cc of water added to it, so the steel wool was exposed to both air and water.

 Student predictions were varied, but the majority thought that the sample with 30cc of water would produce the most rust.  The evidence for their prediction was found in this week's lesson over weathering.  "Many common minerals contain iron.  When these minerals dissolve in water, oxygen in the air and the water combines with the iron to produce iron oxide, or rust."  Chapter 3, Lesson 1

The samples were observed again after 24 hours.  

Erin and Megan with the first sample, no water. 

Destiny writing the number of cubic centimeters of water added to the second sample.

Erin and Sarah keeping track of the number of cc's of water it takes to completely submerge the steel wool. 

Making sure the steel wool does not come up above the water line. 

Will the amount of water in sample 2 make a difference in the amount of rust that forms?
 24 hours later, the steel wool in the

Quinton and Quade changing the amount of water for the second sample to 10cc instead of 30cc.

The steel wool that was in the water and air showed the most rust after 24 hours.