November 29, 2018 - End of Semester

It's time to celebrate! We've reached the end of the first semester of Middle School Physical Science! We've covered so much material this semester! It is my hope that this class has been fun and interesting, but most of all I hope students have become comfortable and been exposed to many of the concepts they will see again in High School Chemistry!

Below is a video I have recorded where I discuss the Interactive Notebook for this class and how it can be used to evaluate what has been covered during the first semester and how to assign a grade for this class, should parents desire a letter grade.

Additionally, linked below is a rubric that students can use to evaluate their interactive notebook (a hard copy was given to students in class) and parents can use as a guide to assign a letter grade.

Interactive Notebook Rubric

Next semester, we still have a few more topics in chemistry that we'll cover before continuing on to Physics. Those topics will be:

• Parts of a Chemical Reaction
• Balancing Equations
• Acids and Bases

Enjoy the holidays and see everyone next semester!

Week 14 - November 1, 2018 Periodic Table Practice

So, last week, I had to cancel classes because my dog was injured at the Doggy Day Care. I took him to the vet during the only time I had available (class time--boo!), but I'm glad I did because he had to get stitches on his lip and along his gum line! His little nose has discoloration from his injuries, but he his recovering nicely.

This week in class, we became more familiar with the periodic table by playing Periodic Table Battleship and by doing a Periodic Table Scavenger Hunt. The kids REALLY got into Periodic Table Battleship!

 

Here is a link to Periodic Table Scavenger Hunt worksheets that we did after we played Periodic Table Battleship. We also colored a periodic table graphic organizer in preparation for next week's discussion on atomic bonding. 

Completed Periodic Table Graphic Organizer

Here is the link for those who may have been absent.Blank Periodic Table Graphic Organizer   

Next week, we will discuss Atomic Bonding. Below is a short video for students to watch that discusses the basics of ionic and covalent bonding.

Additionally, students can get a head start on the notes for the next lesson which I will be referring to heavily.

Notes page 1

Notes page 2

Looking forward to next week!