Your Hypothesis......

     Greetings parents, children and educators!  Our students at Blue Ridge are fully engulfed in their science fair projects and that’s great.  I look forward to seeing their finish projects.  The next item due off your Science Fair Time line is your Hypothesis (due 12-19-12).  Simply put, your hypothesis is an educated guess on what the outcome of your experiment will be prior to you actually performing your experiment.  An educated guess uses your prior knowledge on the subject were as a random guess is something you just come up with that doesn't have to make logical sense. 

     The key thing to remember students is to keep up with your Science Fair Time line, and also ask questions to your parent, teacher, and myself if you don't understand a step.  Do not come to your science teacher or me the day of or the day before something is due off your Science Fair Time Line. Your experiment & investigation step should be perform during you winter break so make sure you gather all your materials during the upcoming weeks.  Well I hope this post helps, and remember I am here to assist you with your project but you are the captain.

            

The Science Fair is Coming!!!!

To all Science Fair participates, below is the Science Fair Student packet you have received from me.  Please pay close attention to the 2012 Science Fair Project Timeline as it details what specific components are due to either your Science teacher or myself and the date that it is due.  Remember what I said about the Science Fair, have fun creating your project but do not wait until the last minute to complete it.  The first item due to your teacher is Your Purpose (due 12-17-12).  Parents if you have any questions regarding the Science Fair, please contact me via email or telephone.  Also this Science Fair Website is very informative as well!  Have Fun!

What do you prefer, Open Ciruits or Closed Ciruits?

     As we approach the Christmas Holiday, I hope all my readers have time to reflect on all the great things that happen to you and our country this year, and also enjoy spending time with your family and love ones over the Winter Break.  Now onto the Science Lab!  For the last two weeks I have focused my lessons on electricity. Students are learning what exactly is electricity and how to use it to power devices we use everyday. Doing this lab investigation I gave our students a  1.5 volt battery, a small lightbulb in two insulated wires.  Using their knowledge of what conductors and insulators, students constructed a Closed Circuit and discussed among themselves what Closed Circuit are.  Next,  I gave them a "Bag-O-Stuff" (simply a small zip lock bag with small materials in it) which they tested with the battery & wire to see if those item were conductors or an insulator.  Conductors allow electricity to pass through them, which resulted in the light buld coming on.  Insulators holds in electricity, which produced the light buld not coming on.  The students final project was to design a complex Closed and Open Circuit.  This required for the students to use (4) 1.5 volt batteries, (7) insulated wires, (2) lightbulbs and (2) throw switches, and a sound box.  It took some students a while to construct this circuit, but through teamwork and tapping into their problem solving strategies most students prevailed.  Below are some snapshots of the two week lab assignment. Also, if you want to learn more about electricity, check out this kid friendly Website