This is our schedule for the week ending May 23rd, 2008. If you have any questions, please contact me at extension 38.
1st Year Science (Period 2 & 3)
Monday: Work Due:
There's No Place like Earth
Spin Around the Solar System:
Moon Dance
The moon and Earth formed at about the same time from the same type of materials. Ever since, the pair has been dancing through space and time together. This program investigates ways the moon and Earth affect each other, why they became so different, and what the future holds for the relationship. It also covers a variety of general lunar topics such as ocean tides, the phases we see from Earth, and the Apollo moon landings. Worksheet is due Tuesday. There will be a quiz.
A Spin around the Solar System:
The Outer Planets: The Gas Giants
Beyond Mars lie four colorful giant planets made almost entirely of gases. The planets have thick atmospheres, lots of moons and rings, low densities, and rapid rotations, but they lack a defined, solid surface on which an astronaut might walk. Each gas giant is distinctive. Immense Jupiter is 1,400 times larger than Earth, Saturn has wide, colorful rings, Uranus lies on its side, and Neptune is so far away that sunlight reaching it is 900 times weaker than on Earth. Worksheet is due Wednesday. There will be a quiz.
Spin around the Solar System:
The Small Pieces: Asteroids, Comets, and Pluto
These lesser-known parts of the solar system illustrate an important point - the solar system has not completed its development. Untold numbers of small objects orbit the sun along with the planets. Astronomers are not always sure where they came from, or what their eventual fate will be, except that, over time, things will change in our less-than-stable world. Students are introduced to the Asteroid Belt, the Kuiper Belt, and the Oort Cloud, which holds billions of ice balls on the outskirts of the solar system. Worksheet is due Thursday. There will be a quiz.
Thursday: Work Due:
Asteroids, Comets, and Pluto
A Spin around the Solar System:
Look to the Stars
What are stars? How far away are they? How old is the world? Where does the universe end? With help from sophisticated telescopes, space probes, and centuries of accumulated scientific knowledge, the answers to these perplexing questions are being answered. This show steps beyond the solar system to introduce viewers to the universe, light years, super novas, and the Big Bang theory. Worksheet is due Monday. There will be a quiz.
Health: What If You Lose When You Play to Win?
Living as they do in a culture that idolizes winners, children often find it extremely hard to cope with losing. Some may resort to cheating, while others will refuse to play if they think they can’t win. Making it clear that sore losers do not have the respect of others, this program helps students recognize that if they learn to enjoy competing and accept that everyone has to lose sometime, they will feel better about themselves and be especially pleased when they do win. There will be a quiz.
2nd Year Science (Period 1 & 4)
Earth Science: Land and Water
Wind and rain wear it down; rivers carry it away and drop it somewhere else. The soil and sediment of Earth is ever moving. Glacial ice and river water are two great forces in this process. Glaciers carve out entire valleys as they creep along. Rivers carry millions of tons of sediment that becomes farmland. The importance of rivers to people is evident in the placement of populations: The world’s largest cities are generally on rivers. Damming them has brought energy and flood control, but the costs often include loss of habitat and soil-enriching sediment. As rivers spill downhill and meander into rich deltas, they affect the geography, environment, and living things along the way. Nowhere is this clearer than in New Orleans, a city that owes its existence to the Mississippi River. There will be a worksheet that is due Tuesday.
Earth Science: Oceans
Oceans cover three-quarters of Earth’s surface and are home to its largest variety of life. But there is much we still don’t know about the seas or the life they harbor. The crushing water pressure, extreme cold, and darkness of the ocean depths have prevented us from exploring 90 percent of the ocean floor. We know a bit more about the living marine cities of coral reefs—enough to know that they are endangered by many human activities such as dredging, filling, and pollution. The inner workings of ocean currents are more of a mystery. The movements of mid and deep ocean currents affect everything from water temperature and salinity to Earth’s weather patterns. Just as tides and waves shape the coastlines, currents reshape the ocean floor. There will be a worksheet that is due Wednesday. There will be a quiz.
Earth Science: Rocks and Minerals
Solid as they may seem, rocks are constantly being eroded and reformed in a process called the rock cycle. Nowhere is the geologic history of Earth made plainer than in the Grand Canyon, where rock layers offer us clues to life over the past 1.2 billion years. Thanks to glaciers, another geologically revealing place is Yosemite Valley, where ancient granite walls stand exposed by the ice that carved out the valley millennia ago. Core samples and fossil finds in places such as the Grand Canyon and Yosemite tell of Earth’s geologic past and the evolution of life. Once humans arrive on the scene, rocks take on new stature as objects of art and value. No gem was more valuable to the Maya than jade, and gold is universally prized. They are proof that the Earth holds many treasures. There will be a worksheet that is due Thursday. There will be a quiz.
Earth Science: Earthquakes
It may seem as if we are all on solid ground, but that ground is in constant motion, experiencing more than a million earthquakes a year. Earth’s crust floats on tectonic plates that shift and collide, causing seismic activity. You can actually see the San Andreas Fault, which runs from Mexico to Oregon. It is a hotbed of study, where scientists use everything from seismographs to “creep” meters to measure the Earth’s movement in the area. No one can predict earthquakes yet, but scientists are trying to at least be able to determine when large quakes are coming. Since millions live in quake zones, the best protection is to reinforce buildings so that they can withstand the shaking. One place to see the effect of earthquakes is the Himalayas, the five-mile-high mountain chain still being formed by the collision of the Asian and Indian plates. There will be a worksheet that is due Monday. There will be a quiz.
Health: Alcohol Abuse and Teens: The Turning Point
This program supports Health curriculum units on alcohol and drug education, substance abuse, behavioral choices, and personal health. Student understanding of the effects of alcohol on their bodies is reinforced through the dramatic story of two teenage boys -- friends who share the experiences and problems of most teens. The boys join in the beer-drinking escapades of some older kids, but the fun turns to trouble -- and then to tragedy -- as the boys drink with increasing frequency. This program supports Health curriculum units on alcohol and drug education, behavioral choices, and personal health. There will be a quiz.
