Celebrating the birth of Christ was wonderful and being able to spend time with family a friends made it even more special. As we start the new year off in my science class we will be starting our skeletal anatomy unit. This is one of my favorite units as we will be dissecting owl pellets! We then lay out the bone to make a skeleton of the remains found in the pellet (usually of a rat, but sometimes we will get a baby bird). The students spend about a week dissecting and putting it all together, and are very proud of their hard work. As a class we will be learning the names of our bones, how bones and muscle work together, the names of different levers found in our joints and hinges, and how God designed our bodies for movement. :)
-Mrs.DuBransky
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Welcome to a new school year at Upland Christian Academy!!! I am so excited to see the growth in my students and how God will be using them this coming school year.
We have been spending the first 3 weeks of school learning about the scientific method and how God is the grand designer behind all we see. Our labs that we have done over the past few weeks have included building a tower from toothpicks and sponges, a gummy bear lab, and making paper airplanes. And yes, behind all these labs we are learning about the scientific method, how to apply it, and studying the important components of the method.
For the toothpick and sponges lab students were given these materials to build a tower as tall as possible. The next day students could switch out one of their variables to try to build a tower taller than their previous one. They either had to pick longer wooden skewers or longer sturdier sponges. Most students were able to make a tower taller, the record 62 cm!
In the gummy bear lab, students got into groups and picked from a list, 4 different liquids (variables) to choose to soak their gummy bears in for 5, 15, and 30 minutes. Some of the different liquids with added water included soda, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alchol, Hawaiian punch, salt, and sugar. They used the triple blance beam to measure the weight in grams and made a line graph to display their data.
For their final test in our scientific method unit students made paper airplanes and given a list of variables, picked out 3 to test (coins, straws, brass clasps, wall putty, tape, 3x5 cards, Paperclips). Students made their hypothesis about which variable would cause the paper airplane to fly the furthest. The goal was to try to make their airplane fly further than the control group by adding different variables.
Overall, it has been a great start to the school year. Our next unit we will start after we get back from our Catalina trip will be Taxonomy :)
We have been spending the first 3 weeks of school learning about the scientific method and how God is the grand designer behind all we see. Our labs that we have done over the past few weeks have included building a tower from toothpicks and sponges, a gummy bear lab, and making paper airplanes. And yes, behind all these labs we are learning about the scientific method, how to apply it, and studying the important components of the method.
For the toothpick and sponges lab students were given these materials to build a tower as tall as possible. The next day students could switch out one of their variables to try to build a tower taller than their previous one. They either had to pick longer wooden skewers or longer sturdier sponges. Most students were able to make a tower taller, the record 62 cm!
In the gummy bear lab, students got into groups and picked from a list, 4 different liquids (variables) to choose to soak their gummy bears in for 5, 15, and 30 minutes. Some of the different liquids with added water included soda, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alchol, Hawaiian punch, salt, and sugar. They used the triple blance beam to measure the weight in grams and made a line graph to display their data.
For their final test in our scientific method unit students made paper airplanes and given a list of variables, picked out 3 to test (coins, straws, brass clasps, wall putty, tape, 3x5 cards, Paperclips). Students made their hypothesis about which variable would cause the paper airplane to fly the furthest. The goal was to try to make their airplane fly further than the control group by adding different variables.
Overall, it has been a great start to the school year. Our next unit we will start after we get back from our Catalina trip will be Taxonomy :)
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Organs and Flowers
The trimester is almost over and then only 3 more months of school! Where did the year go? The last unit we were learning about was our different body systems. Digestive, respiratory, and the nervous system are a few we learned about. Our class also dissected a frog to see these organs and how they all work together to allow the body to function. God is an amazing Creator!
The unit we are in right now is flowering plant reproduction. We have been learning about the structures of a plant, how they all work together, and the process of pollination and fertilization in plants. Yesterday we dissected a flower to see the structure up close and learn more about their functions. We are also doing a Baby Bean Lab and learning about what parts of the bean turn into what structures. It has been a fun week and more to come!
The unit we are in right now is flowering plant reproduction. We have been learning about the structures of a plant, how they all work together, and the process of pollination and fertilization in plants. Yesterday we dissected a flower to see the structure up close and learn more about their functions. We are also doing a Baby Bean Lab and learning about what parts of the bean turn into what structures. It has been a fun week and more to come!
Sunday, January 11, 2015
No Bones About It....
We have been back for a week now since Christmas Break and getting back into the swing of the school year. We have been learning about our skeletal and muscular system and have about two more weeks left. Last week we dissected chicken wings and looked at how bones and muscles work together to support the framework for our movement. This week we will be learning about the 3 classes of levers as well as the joints in our skeletal system. We will also be starting our owl pellet dissection! From the bones of the owl pellets we will rebuild the skeleton of what the owl ate.
Our next unit we will be learning about all of our different organ systems and yes, another dissection! :)
Our next unit we will be learning about all of our different organ systems and yes, another dissection! :)
Sunday, November 16, 2014
It is crazy to believe that Thanksgiving is only about a week away and our first trimester is over. We have finished up our vertebrate unit and have started our taxonomy unit. We started this unit out by making our own classification system based off of stores, libraries, dance, superheroes, and even Starbucks. One of our class assignments will be watching part of the BBC Life video series and then placing all the animals we see in order of their classification. Students have been enjoying the different LSP (learning support points) options as well. We will be learning about dichotomous keys and learning how to make our own.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
We have finished up our Scientific Method unit and started our Inveterbrate unit about a week ago. Last week we spent three days learning about and observing snails. Students brought snails into the class and we talked about how they eat, move, reproduce, sense their environment, breath, and saw their heart beat. This week we will be learning about squids and worms. We will also cover arthopods and have a project where students bring in their own arthropod to show the class. Looking forward to another great week!
Saturday, September 13, 2014
It has been a crazy and amazing start of the school year at UCA. I feel so blessed to be able to a part of this school and the wonderful staff. We are half way through September and it will soon be October. In a lot of ways school is already going by fast, but it has been great so far.
In 7th grade Science class we have spent about a week on the scientific method and have about two more weeks to finish our unit. Last week student's were building towers out of sponges and toothpicks to see what group could build the tallest tower. After allowing students to switch one of their variables the tallest tower was 62 centimeters. Also, in this unit we are learning about different science specialties and the characteristics of living things.
Next week our class will be using the scientific method and be experimenting with gummy bears :) and different liquids. I will try my best to remember to take picture and post them. Everyone is doing well with the unit and enjoying exploring and learning about the scientific method through different labs and classwork.
Mrs. DuBransky
In 7th grade Science class we have spent about a week on the scientific method and have about two more weeks to finish our unit. Last week student's were building towers out of sponges and toothpicks to see what group could build the tallest tower. After allowing students to switch one of their variables the tallest tower was 62 centimeters. Also, in this unit we are learning about different science specialties and the characteristics of living things.
Next week our class will be using the scientific method and be experimenting with gummy bears :) and different liquids. I will try my best to remember to take picture and post them. Everyone is doing well with the unit and enjoying exploring and learning about the scientific method through different labs and classwork.
Mrs. DuBransky
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