Class Rock Map

Here is the map of the types of rocks that we found and where we found them. The satellite map is a little more zoomed out so that everyone's rock fits on it. Yellow = Sedimentary, Blue = Metamorphic, Red = Igneous.

Rock/Mineral Poster

The poster is due on Wednesday, and you will be given some time in class to work on it, but you will also have to work it at home as well. Here is what it should include.

1. Large Colorful Title of Rock Mineral Name
2. Labelled diagram next to actual rock
3. Fun Fact
4. Information typed or neatly written including:
• How the rock is formed? (What type is it?)
• What is it made of? (Any minerals present?)
• Where is it found?
• What are its physical properties?
• What are its chemical properties?
• What are some used for the rock?

We will have class time on Monday and I will bring in colored paper and other materials for you to use.

Here is a quick example I put together in a few minutes.

Gizmo Questions

In class we have been working on the new laptops exploring the Rock Cycle and Rock Classification using the Gizmo simulations. You will need to complete both Gizmo Sheets for tomorrow, and answer all Gizmo questions by Monday. If you didn't get 5 out of 5 I reset your score so you can try again. Here is the list of students who haven't completed the Gizmo Questions as of Thursday 5pm.

Rock Cycle (3 students)

Eliza

Sam

Bryn

Rock Classification (4 students)

Eliza

Evan

Aaron

Bryn

Supply Check Friday

I have noticed a lot of you are missing important supplies for science class. You will need these supplies in the upcoming weeks, so I want to make sure you each start out Trimester 2 prepared. On Friday we will have a supply check in class, the grade will go into teacherease, each item is worth half a point.

Specific Items needed:

1. Pen/Pencil
2. Colored Pens/Pencils (at least 5)
3. Ruler
4. Scissors
5. Planner
6. Science Notebook

Bring in a Rock Friday

Please bring in a rock from your backyard on Friday. We will examine them under the microscopes and try to classify them. We will also map out their locations using GIS. So please be able to locate where you found your rock on a map. Try to bring in rocks that are small (around the size of a marble) so we can look at them under a microscope, and try to find rocks that are naturally occurring rather than imported ornamental rocks. If you can't find one in your yard then try looking in a park near your house.

The Rock Cycle

For Wednesday December 2nd I would like you to make a full-page diagram of the rock cylce using this link. Please include a title, draw in the icons for each process, and make sure you show the direction by including the arrows.

Earthquake Interview

For Homework (Due Monday) I would like you to interview a parent or someone else you know who has experienced an earthquake. Take notes on their experience and we will share some stories in class on Monday. Record it in your Science Notebook, you should take half a page to a full page of notes.

Here are some guiding questions you could ask:

• Where and when did the earthquake occur?
• What were you doing at the time?
• What did you notice first?
• How long do you think it lasted?
• Did you do what you were supposed to do?
• Has it changed the way you act?

Mount Saint Helens in the News

Here is the article we read today:

http://news.sciencemag.org/earth/2015/11/deep-magma-chambers-seen-beneath-mount-st-helens

Here is another more sensationalized version:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3305503/Could-Mount-St-Helens-erupt-Massive-magma-chamber-volcano-reveal-clues-future-explosions.html

Volcano Video

Here is the video we watched in class today.

Earth's Interior Quiz Review

There will be a small quiz in Science on Monday. The main topics are:

• Layers of the Earth
• Rare Earth Elements
• Plate Tectonics
• Types of Plate Boundaries

In class today your groups came up with most of the questions for the quiz. I will also add a few of my own into the mix. Below is a photo of the questions your groups came up with today. Third period questions are on the left Fourth period questions are on the right. Click on the image to make it bigger and hold down 'Ctrl' and '+' to zoom in.

Gizmo: Plate Tectonics Homework

Please do the Gizmo on www.explorelearning.com

The "Gizmo- Plate Tectonics" sheet with the questions numbered 1-16 is due on Friday. So if you did not finish it in class today make sure you work on for homework and turn it in on Friday.

The 5 questions below the Gizmo are due on Monday. When you complete them online click "Check my Answers" then I will get notified of how you did.

Types of Plate Tectonic Boundaries

Here are some videos that I think help explain the different types of Tectonic Plate Boundaries:

In this video the narrator uses slightly different terms than what we learned in class. Here is how you translate them: Constructive = Divergent, Destructive = Convergent, Conservative = Transform.

This video has some pretty loud music so I would recommend you to mute it.

This video shows some good examples of places of where boundaries occur.

Modelling Convection Currents

Here are some photos from the activity in class today. If you didn't turn in your assignment in class today, make sure you finish it up and turn it in on Monday.

Plate Tectonics

Here is a good resource for learning more about Plate Tectonics


http://www.livescience.com/37706-what-is-plate-tectonics.html

Rare Earth Elements Research

The homework asks you to research prices of various elements and commodities that we use in our lives. The easiest way to do this is to do an internet search such as "Aluminum Price Per Ton" for example.

Here are some links you can use to help you:

http://www.vincentmetals.com/1Pricing/Price_Data/

http://ycharts.com/indicators/iron_ore_spot_price_any_origin

http://www.cnbc.com/commodities/

Everything You Need to Know About Planet Earth

For homework over the long weekend I would like you to watch this video. Then I want you to focus on section from 0:40 to 4:32 minutes to and take half a page of notes. Here are some topics you can take notes on from the video:

• Where the material that earth comes from.
• How scientists think the moon was formed.
• Where the water on earth comes from.
• What the major layers of Earth's interior are.

Soil Mini-Quiz Review

Tomorrow we will be having our first assessment of the year. It will be a low-pressure mini-quiz where you can use your notes and any handouts.

Here are some questions you should be able to answer for the quiz.

What does soil fertility mean and why is it important?

How does temperature affect vegetable growth? What temperature is best?

What pH is best for soil?

What are the main particle sizes?

What does looking under a microscope tell us about soil?

And some skills you should be able to do:

Calculate soil composition using the soil triangle.

Calculate soil percentages with given depths.

Make and interpret simple column graphs.

Make and interpret simple pie charts.

Here is a photo of the process for calculating percentages that we went over in class today.

Soil Games

Once you are done with your work on Friday you can check out these games.

Hidden Horizons
http://forces.si.edu/soils/swf/hiddenhorizons.html

Where in the Soil World?
http://forces.si.edu/soils/swf/whereintheworld.html

Measuring Soil Particle Size

Here are some photos from the last couple of days where we have been measuring and classifying our soil. The last photo is a look down the microscope.

Annotated Soil Pie Chart

Here is the website that I got the "What is Soil Made Of" information from. There is a bit more information there.

For the annotated pie graph I would like you to use the percentages listed from that website.

You should annotate your pie chart with information about the range of percentages and a little bit (10-30 words) of information about the type of material. For example: Minerals make up approximately 45-49% of soil, they are composed of primary and secondary minerals that are weathered from the parent material.

Camp Coleman Photos

Hope you all had an awesome time at Camp Coleman. Here are some photos I took while were there.

Garden Soil Testing Photos

Letter to Mr. Kehoe Assignment

Hope you all enjoyed your first day of Science class, I know it must have felt a little bit like information overload. Don't forget to write you letter to me on the card I gave you. It is due at the start of class on Monday. You can choose to write about pretty much anything, but here are some ideas if you are stuck.

You can write about:

• your family
• your interests outside of school
• other Science classes you have taken
• your thoughts about NOVA so far

Welcome to Earth and Space Science

Hello new 6th grade NOVA Students!

I am so excited to meet you all soon. This blog will be updated with information, assignments, important dates, photos from class and so much more. So save it to your bookmarks!

This year the focus of Science class is on Earth and Space Science. You will learn more about the topics we will be covering next week.