I am experimenting with homework live to post my assignments for those students who are interested. Please stay tuned for more. Updated grades will be available Monday, and remember, students must pass my tests with 70% or more to pass my class. There are three tests. Students can make them up as many times as needed on their time.
Mr. Jetton
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Keplers Laws
Today we had lecture and a brief activity to demonstrate Kepler's laws. Johannes kepler came up with three laws to describe planetary motion. These three laws include the law of ellipses, the law of equal area and the law of periods. Student should know these three laws and should be able to explain them on an exam. Tomorrow we will be reviewing for the test on Monday and playing a game of Jeopardy. The test on Monday will cover the formation of the universe, how we view the universe, formation of the solar system, the nebular hypothesis, the sun and Kepler's laws of planetary motion.
Over the weekend, students should study their notes, their handouts and the quiz review sheet from this week. Students will can look at the questions that they missed on their quizzes by logging on to quia.com using their username and password.
Over the weekend, students should study their notes, their handouts and the quiz review sheet from this week. Students will can look at the questions that they missed on their quizzes by logging on to quia.com using their username and password.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Labs with LabQuest
So today we had our introductory lab with the verier labquest technology. These are devices that allow students to collect data without being tied to a computer. Again, it was third hour that almost ruined it for the rest of the classes. Some of the students decided that it would be a good time to leave class and go for an extended walk while the other students were collecting data. This was really frustrating but I partly blame myself for not forseeing the immaturity in some of the students in my third hour class. Fortunately, fourth and fifth hours came to the rescue and really helped me out by collecting some great data. They were polite, intelligent and made the most of the opportunity to collect data with new instrumentation.
The lab quests, however are taking a bit of time getting used to. They sometimes freeze up because it seems like students accidentally change the calibration settings. Students have a hard time remembering to save their data and they begin data collection of a second data set before the first has been saved. One thing of note is that when saved, the labquest also saves data entered into notes, so that worksheets to record where the data was taken from or who took the data are not necessary. I still need to figure out how to get the information to a printer or a computer that they can view it from. The computers in the classroom might do the trick but I am so short on time that I cannot take the time to figure it out.
The lab quests, however are taking a bit of time getting used to. They sometimes freeze up because it seems like students accidentally change the calibration settings. Students have a hard time remembering to save their data and they begin data collection of a second data set before the first has been saved. One thing of note is that when saved, the labquest also saves data entered into notes, so that worksheets to record where the data was taken from or who took the data are not necessary. I still need to figure out how to get the information to a printer or a computer that they can view it from. The computers in the classroom might do the trick but I am so short on time that I cannot take the time to figure it out.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Quiz Day
Today we took our first quiz on Quia.com. Apart from the great space between students in the library, I think that the program is going to be a great success. Students get instant feedback from their quizzes and they get their scores instantly, which will help them to determine what they need to study. I did run into a problem with using the media center. It becomes too difficult to monitor the class for questions and to make sure everyone is doing their own work. In the future, I would like to take the class to computer labs, but I think that our capacity in the media center computer labs is 31 and I have a class of 32 and a class of 33. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. If anyone is even reading this blog.
After getting the test scores back, it seems as though the students did alright, but there were a few issues. One, I did not explain the concept of a parallax very well, the computers might have thrown them off a bit since it was their first time, and I think students might have rushed through it. We shall see. I am very optimistic about this technology because although it takes some time to get things set up, I do not have to grade much and the students get instant feedback. Anyway, all in all it was relatively successful.
After getting the test scores back, it seems as though the students did alright, but there were a few issues. One, I did not explain the concept of a parallax very well, the computers might have thrown them off a bit since it was their first time, and I think students might have rushed through it. We shall see. I am very optimistic about this technology because although it takes some time to get things set up, I do not have to grade much and the students get instant feedback. Anyway, all in all it was relatively successful.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Stars...
Today we talked briefly about stars. We talked about some characteristics of stars, including temperatures of stars, the distance of stars and the composition of stars. We learned why stars are different colors and why stars seem to shift their position from summer to winter. We have a quiz tomorrow that covers everything that we have learned to date. We will also be talking about lab safety and the my rules when we do labs in my classroom.
We have also been having some issues with some of the students in my 3rd hour Earth Science class not coming into the room respectfully, and not respecting the other students right to learn in the class. One student will be having their parent called tomorrow, and starting next week I will begin excluding students that cannot behave in a social setting from class. Unfortunately, I have no other choice. There are too many students that are coming to class to learn to let the behavior of a few students disrupt that. Students have been warned and will be held to the standards of my classroom.
We have also been having some issues with some of the students in my 3rd hour Earth Science class not coming into the room respectfully, and not respecting the other students right to learn in the class. One student will be having their parent called tomorrow, and starting next week I will begin excluding students that cannot behave in a social setting from class. Unfortunately, I have no other choice. There are too many students that are coming to class to learn to let the behavior of a few students disrupt that. Students have been warned and will be held to the standards of my classroom.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
A Rough Day in the Computer Lab
Today we began the lesson with the students copying a diagram like the one shown to the right, this is a picture of the electromagnetic spectrum. We talked about the sources of EM radiation and that even the light that we see is a form of it. From microwaves to radio waves, from Infra red to Gamma Ray, electromagnetic radiation of all sorts is produced by stars, and we have telescopes that can pick up that radiation. This is one way that can look deep into space. Student should remember the phrase "long-left" because the further left on the scale, the longer the wavelength."
After we talked about radiation, I had planned to go to the computer lab and give the students a practice quiz on the computers using my class quiz web site (to go there click here)(Hour 4 click here) Like everything else in life, some times things do not go the way that you want them to. Today was no exception. I had planned to get students into the computer lab to take a practice quiz, and to play a game that I created called rags to riches (i.e. who wants to be a millionaire) to practice the concepts that we learned through our class reading of chapter 26-1. Unfortunately, I picked the one computer lab that does not have adobe flash player installed on the computers, which eliminated the ability to take the practice quiz. It is unfortunate, but the beginning of the year is about finding out what we can and cannot do.
Next time I will sign up for the computer lab that has better computers. However, it seemed as though the students enjoyed the activity, which we were able to do. This was the Who Wants to be a Millionaire that students played to practice some of the concepts regarding Electromagnetic Radiation, telescopes, distances in space and space exploration.
Tomorrow we will discuss what the use of telescopes that pick up that radiation have taught us about the origin of the universe and the solar system.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Great Discussion About the Cost of the Space Program
Today we had a great discussion about the space program and the costs associated with it. We talked about whether or not it is worth the expense to fund a program that costs a lot when there are so many other problem here on Earth that need solving. I heard great arguments on both sides, but it seemed as though the majority of students felt as though the space program costs a lot of money, and we have a lot of problems that need fixing here. I am sure that I set up the discussion in a way that did not favor NASA, but there are a lot of problems that need solving today. Like schools for one.
We then broke the chapter up into small segments and condensed it as a group and came up with a condensed outline that will hopefully help students study. I stressed to the students, and I will continue to stress to them that when taking notes, from a lecture, book or any other source, that they need not write down every single word that is written or spoken, but that they need to quickly process it and write a simplified version so that they get the main points and leave anything else that isn't absolutely necessary. I believe that it becomes important for students to learn how to quickly take notes, and to decrease their study time by writing down and studying only things that they do not know.
Homework is due Thursday.
We then broke the chapter up into small segments and condensed it as a group and came up with a condensed outline that will hopefully help students study. I stressed to the students, and I will continue to stress to them that when taking notes, from a lecture, book or any other source, that they need not write down every single word that is written or spoken, but that they need to quickly process it and write a simplified version so that they get the main points and leave anything else that isn't absolutely necessary. I believe that it becomes important for students to learn how to quickly take notes, and to decrease their study time by writing down and studying only things that they do not know.
Homework is due Thursday.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
First Week Recap
Well, we finished the first week of Earth Science class. Here is a brief recap of what we did. The room was ridiculously hot on the first day so hour 3 went into the hallway (sorry about that), hour 4 went to Miss Winberg's room and hour 5 stayed in the room. On the first day we did an activity to get to know each other called two truths and a lie (3rd hour decided not to do this). We passed out the syllabus which was due either Friday (3rd and 4th hour) or Monday (5th hour).
Because I had a hard time with some of the students not being as respectful as they should be, I decided to have a day where we would have a round-table discussion about what it means to be a respectful student. This took place on Wednesday. The discussion about respect was a really great one that solidified in my mind the fact that all the students that I teach know what it means to be a respectful student, but some choose not to be. This lead to the lecture about the rules.
I only have one rule in my classroom. You guys should know what it is...RESPECT!
On Thursday we started a book cover contest. The winner of which receives a knit cap (Columbia Heights). We covered our books and began the process of designing covers that have all of the branches of Earth Science on them. On Friday, I lectured about the 4 Branches (5 if you count Environmental Science). We continued our book cover designing, and I announced that CD-ROM versions of the book will be made available.
Because I had a hard time with some of the students not being as respectful as they should be, I decided to have a day where we would have a round-table discussion about what it means to be a respectful student. This took place on Wednesday. The discussion about respect was a really great one that solidified in my mind the fact that all the students that I teach know what it means to be a respectful student, but some choose not to be. This lead to the lecture about the rules.
I only have one rule in my classroom. You guys should know what it is...RESPECT!
Respect yourself- before you can respect others you need to have confidence that you are a good person.
Respect others right to learn- you might not feel like learning on a particular day, but that does not give you the right to disrupt others' learning.
Respect the teacher- I try do the right thing, every day. I work hard to bring you relevant information and activities and I show everyone respect through my actions and words, and I think I deserve your respect.
Respect the school and School Property- this school is here for you. To help you imrove your life and get an education. Treat it with respect.
On Thursday we started a book cover contest. The winner of which receives a knit cap (Columbia Heights). We covered our books and began the process of designing covers that have all of the branches of Earth Science on them. On Friday, I lectured about the 4 Branches (5 if you count Environmental Science). We continued our book cover designing, and I announced that CD-ROM versions of the book will be made available.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Famous Earth Science
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
First Day of School
Well, the first day of school is done and nobody got hurt, noone ditched my class and we got through it alright. I introduced myself and got through some of the classroom procedures that I expect you to follow to make sure that class runs efficiently and smoothly. The first thing that we went over was what to do when we enter the classroom. On the table by the front door you will find the handouts for the day. If there are no handouts at the door, then just proceed into the classroom and have a seat.
On the overhead you will find the bell work for the day. Bell work is work that you will start on BEFORE the bell rings. You have approximately 5 minutes to complete the bell work before I will come around and check it. Bell work is worth points. Most of the time bell work is a question, a form to fill out, or a quote of some sort that requires a response. Points are awarded for attempting and completing the bell work.
We also talked a bit about some of the rules in my classroom, which basically boil down to respect. Respect yourself, respect each other, respect your school and the school's property. You are all 14 or 15, which in my mind means that you are adults. If you act like adults you will be treated like adults. Your first real assignment will be to write about what a respectful student looks like, and what your opinion of what a good student looks like.
The last thing that we talked about was leaving the classroom. The bell does not excuse you from my class, I do. I really don't like it when students line up at the door.
We will continue to practice this stuff tomorrow, and we will talk about the syllabus and what to expect to learn in Earth Science.
See you tomorrow,
Mr. Jetton
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed
On the overhead you will find the bell work for the day. Bell work is work that you will start on BEFORE the bell rings. You have approximately 5 minutes to complete the bell work before I will come around and check it. Bell work is worth points. Most of the time bell work is a question, a form to fill out, or a quote of some sort that requires a response. Points are awarded for attempting and completing the bell work.
We also talked a bit about some of the rules in my classroom, which basically boil down to respect. Respect yourself, respect each other, respect your school and the school's property. You are all 14 or 15, which in my mind means that you are adults. If you act like adults you will be treated like adults. Your first real assignment will be to write about what a respectful student looks like, and what your opinion of what a good student looks like.
The last thing that we talked about was leaving the classroom. The bell does not excuse you from my class, I do. I really don't like it when students line up at the door.
We will continue to practice this stuff tomorrow, and we will talk about the syllabus and what to expect to learn in Earth Science.
See you tomorrow,
Mr. Jetton
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed
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