Wed. night: Those needing more time to finish their Weather vocabulary should
visit photos and docs to access: "weather terms and vocabulary". There are
many more words on the pages, but all the words I'm requiring are listed on
this accessible document.
Wednesday we are beginning our study of Weather and Climate. But there's an
event happening on June 5th that I would like you all to be aware of. It's a
transit of Venus. In other words, Venus will travel across the sun on June
5th. Since, viewing it requires special high filtered glasses that most of us
don't have, I suggest going online to find out more and see what you need to
see online rather than blind yourself by trying to see this event as venus
crosses the Sun. Here's the website I recommend:
http://venustransit.nasa.gov/transitofvenus/
Visit my links to access or copy and paste to your address bar.
Sunday May 20, 2012. The good news is, "There's an annular solar Eclipse this
Sunday from about 5:16-7:40 PDT. The Bad news, You won't be able to see it
from our location here on the East Coast. Check out the web sites under my
links for details about this Eclipse.
http://www.astrosociety.org/2012_Eclipse_Guide.pdf and
http://astro.ukho.gov.uk/eclipse/0132012/
http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/annular/2012/
Mon. - Thur May 14-18 we are learning about the moon and modeling the moon's
phases in preparation for a small quiz on the moons phases on Fri.
To assist in practice time I have placed a copy of the phases (in random
order) into photos and Docs for any student to be able to print a copy.
HW tonight is study the words Waxing, Waning, Gibbous and Crescent from their
notes and practice as needed.
Saturday May 12, 2012: I have placed the Moon tracking questions into Photos
and Docs. It's called, "Moon tracking Questions and Rules." Pull/print
yourself a copy so you can refresh your memory about what questions you will
need to know for class on Monday.
For Monday's class be sure to bring your science Journals to class. There
will be some questions for you to answer in class, using your journal and
Moon observations made over the past month.
Saturday May 5th and Sun May 6th: There's not only a full moon on the 6th,
but a super full moon. The Flower Moon. Super Moons appear 14% bigger and
brighter than the usual full moon because they are closer in their orbit
around the earth. They also change color..Why? Check it out as it rises
after the sun sets. You might have to stay up a little later than usual to
see it. check out a 20 sec video hyping the super moon at the URL listed
below. copy and paste to your address bar.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/supermoon-supermoon-large-full-moon-
tonight/story?id=16285195
Tuesday May 1, 2012- No HW. Except observe the Moon if weather permits. Write
in your journals even if you are unable to see the moon. Document that you
tried to locate it but were unable for whatever reason? (weather).
Thursday, Friday and Monday: May 3,4 and 7th. My science classes will swap
places with the 8th grade science classes for the 8th grade MCAS review. 6th
graders will be learning about the sun and the planet from Mrs. Hughes,
while 8th graders review the 6th grade curriculum in my room.
Next week April 23-27: Mon-Tues cont. video: "The Wonders of the Universe-
Children of the Stars". Wed- Thurs. Continue our understanding of the Big
Bang Theory. It wouldn't hurt to watch the 3 min video on u-tube (click on my
links) again so you can familiarize yourself with the events that took place
at a billionth of a sec., 3 min., 380,000 yrs., 100-200 MY, 1 BY, 9 and 9.5
BY after the Explosion 13.7 billion years ago.
We will be having a QUIZ on Friday the 27th on Just the Big Bang. You need to
know what happened, and when it happened. Your Study guide will be the
worksheet you did for HW and the notes you took plus the time line hand out
we will cover in class on Wed. and the Study guide you can access in Photos
and Docs.
Don't forget about the moon tracking. April 24th moon is visible, it will be
visible (weather permitting)for the next several nights about 45 mins. after
sunset. Where to Look? Let's discuss it in class again. Bonus: If you did get
out to see it tonight (4/24 Tues: Around 8pm) you may have seen the bright
object just above and to the West of the moon. Can you name it? Is it a star?
Could it be a planet? If you can't wait to find out: Go to the Sky and
telescope web site - night skyand find out. (visit my Links).
Tuesday - Friday April 17-20 is a difficult time to observe the Moon. It's
heading towards a New Moon which means it is rising just ahead of and will
rise and set near the rising and setting times of the Sun, making it hard to
see. For Wed and Thurs I would suggest trying to see it just before sun rise
around 5:30 to 6:30 AM. It's almost down to nothing- new moon. Otherwise it
will be difficult to find. After the new moon it will get easier again to see
the moon. Keep checking your rise and set times for viewing opportunities.
Don't forget you need to capture/sketch the different phases of the moon. How
many are there????? Research this question to find out how many and their
names.
Thursday April 12, 2012. After seeing the Big Bang video and discussing it
in class you will be given a handout with several questions that you need to
answer for HW. Check out the newest links: sky and telescope and space.com
to get more information about the moon. If you need or want to view the video
again go to the following link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=zDQzKTedGNE&feature=related or visit my links.
Wed. April 11, 2012 - Stay calm. For the next couple of days viewing the moon
is going to be difficult
because of the rise and set times. It's now travelling across the sky late,
late at night (am) and during
the day. Just try to find it and when you do, document/record it in your
journals. We'll talk in class
about your trials and tribulations.
Monday April 9, 2012: Bring your Science Journals to class. Most of you have
them in the room in the white basket by the window. Those of you who do not,
please have them for class Tuesday April 10th.
We will be tracking THE MOON- (Instructions and Directions) making
observations to determine.....
How does the moon move across the sky? How does its appearance change over
the course of the month? In this project, you will observe how the position
and apparent shape of the moon change over time.
YOUR GOAL
To observe the shape of the moon and its position in the sky every day for
one month.
To complete this project, you must
• Observe the compass direction in which you see the moon, its phase,
and its height above the horizon
• Use your observations to explain the phases of the moon
• Develop rules you can use to predict when and where you might see
the
moon each day.
Plan it! Begin by preparing an observation log, using your journals. You will
Record the Date and Time of each observation, the direction and height of the
moon, create a sketch of its shape and notes about cloud cover and other
conditions.
Observe the moon every clear day or night, looking for patterns.
Make a map/drawing of your observation site (should be the same place and
time each time you observe the moon) on which you will plot the direction of
the moon. You can measure the moon’s height in degrees above the horizon by
making a fist and holding it at arm’s length. One fist above the horizon is
10º, two fists are 20º, and so on.
On at least one day, compare your observations of the moon an hour or two
apart.
Wed. April 4, 2012- Check out pictures of 4/3 tornado in Dallas_Ft. Worth
Texas. Go to my links.
