New Technology

I'm going to use some new technology this year. I'll be starting with Remind101. It is a free and safe way for teachers to send text reminders to students and parents. It doesn't require either party to know the other party's phone number. I'll be showing students how to register during the first week of school. So parents be sure and ask your students how to get the same reminders they do. Remind101 is a free service for parents and students, but standard messaging rates apply.

Here is a YouTube video about Remind101

Enjoy your the last of your summer break!

End of Summer

 I'm sad to summer come to an end, but so excited to see what is in store for us this year. As you can see below, big things are happening at PHMS! Teachers will be starting on Aug. 23 to ensure that you have the best learning experience possible. I'll be in my classroom Aug. 29 and 30, so stop by and say "Hi!"

All pictures were taken from the PHMS Facebook page. Be sure and visit it.

Feb. 8, 2013

It's been a busy week. We've been studying heredity and genetics.

I always enjoy working with Punnett squares and the student responses to how they work. I always learn about their families when doing this unit. I was at an ESSDACK workshop on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) on Wednesday. While I was learning about what is coming to our State's Science Standards, the students were learning about phenotypes, genotypes, and how nice simulated mice are.

  

Before the class period was over they had "bred" over 600 mice and collected data on fur color without having to clean a single cage. 

Eighth grade girls are  have been invited to a CSI day at K-State on March 23. It looks like a fun day. Girls can contact me for a copy of the brochure or visit the website by clicking here.

 

We have Parent/Teacher Conferences coming up on Feb. 18 & 19. The 8th Grade parents will have the results of the EXPLORE Test share with them and their student.

Have an enjoyable Valentine's Day next week.

Jan. 29, 2013 - Happy Kansas Day!

Today is the date that Kansas became a state in 1861. To "celebrate" in science class today we are looking at some items from the past. We begin class with some snippets of video from the PBS series "Frontier House." We are using the episode 5 which talks about the children. I show sections that talk about the chores they have, how hard they work, and how tough decisions have to be made (Does the non-layiing chicken become a dinner?) Then we looked at items from the "Pioneer Foodways" and the "1900 School Days" kits from the Kauffman Museum. I've added some pictures to let you see what I shared. 

School items - hanky, marbles, button, and harmonica for student's
entertainment. The bell to start school and a lunch pail.

Inkwell, pen, penmanship samples, textbooks and a slate.

Lye soap, canning jars, tin plate and cup, bone handled knife and fork,
and coffee grinder.

Potato masher, rolling pin, iron pail and wooden spoon; butter churn,
mold and  ladle.

Cabbage slicer, wooden bowl, bucket tap, hog scraper, meat grinder and
apple peeler.

Great Grandpa Phillip's horse hair coat and lab robe (cira. 1913),
Great Grandma Martin's handmade flour sack quilt (cira. 1930),
Christina's "rag rabbit."

Jan. 27, 2013

Wow, what a week! The students completed their projects and presented them on Friday. We had several teachers and parents come view the students sharing what they had learned. We had a great day. The process moved smoothly and the students learned a lot from each other, as most students were able to share with and view three to five different presentations. 

Before the presentations began.

Waiting to get their table assignments.

Mrs. Sillin learning about diabetes.

Parents enjoying a presentation.

Students had to find the "science" in their chosen topic and demonstrate their technological expertise. They wrote a personal connection paragraph in BuhlerDocs and linked it in their presentation. They also created a project using either Presentation in BuhlerDocs or SlideRocket. They gave their audience  background information, then shared what they had learned, linking to a website, video, or other information source. They also had to use a Web 2.0 tool to share information. Many students did Wordles, but some did posters on Glogster or created iMovies. Everyone learned how to cite their information using either BibMe or EasyBib. 

As I mentioned in my last blog, I attended the Wichita KidWind Workshop at Metro-Meridian HS on Saturday. A big shout out to WindWise Education for helping with the workshop and suppling the resources used. I learned quite a bit and had a good time, working with a high school teacher from our district and meeting some new friends. I'll be working some of the activities into our curriculum as we finish out the school year - Earth/Space and energy in the Physics sections will be taught using some of the resources I gathered at this workshop. 

Hope everyone had as good of week as I did. 

Jan. 18, 2013

We've been working hard this week as we have continued to work on our Technology Assessment projects. Students have spent several days researching their topic and becoming more knowledgeable. We have learned about plagiarism, what makes a good slide, a new presentation program, and how to create hyperlinks. So lots of learning going on!

We will be having presentations next Friday. Students will host a "Gallery Walk" where they show their work and then view the work of other students. Parents and others are invited to view the projects. We hope to have a good turnout. 

Our girls received an invitation to attend the GROW program "All Together for Innovation" on the Kansas State University campus on Jan. 26. I hope that some will be able to attend. I won't be able to go to Manhattan as I'll be in Wichita attending a workshop on wind energy put on by Windwise Education. Looking forward to learning more about wind energy and getting activities for my classroom. 

Have a good week!

Jan. 9, 2013

Happy New Year!

We started our spring semester on Monday, Jan. 7, and hit the ground running. We started a Science project that is the basis for the State Technology Assessment. This will take most of the month to complete and will tie in with our Language Arts classes as we will be learning research and presentation skills

Our students will be researching a "science" topic of their choice and creating a presentation that they will share with their classmates. I have seen topics ranging from automobile aerodynamics, obesity, and tornados, to exotic ones like "welding" flesh, gecko robots and Biome--the strange Mercedes Benz concept vehicle that was literally grown from seeds (picture below). I can't wait until presentation day as I'm sure I'll be amazed with the information presented. 

It just looks like "Science."