Properties of Water

Wow, that was a quick week. We started off by reviewing last week's "Drops on a Penny" lab, then took some notes over the properties of water. I introduced the students to a KWL+ chart, a graphic organizer that helps them with reading new material and reflecting back on what was important. There are lots of ways to make sure a student has pulled out the important concepts in a reading without "answering questions 1-10 in complete sentences" (Not that there isn't a time and a place for questions and answers - almost all the time, almost everywhere). Hopefully students will be exposed to a lot of new strategies this year in all their classes. At the end of the week we worked on a lab that illustrated the concept of specific heat, one of the toughest concepts students learn in 6th grade science. Water has a very high specific heat capacity, which gives it some unique properties. It's a tough concept because it's very abstract. Hopefully calculating that number will help the concept become real.
Click to see the schedules for sports that started Wednesday. Finally, we all have the option of an after-school outlet for all that nervous energy that builds up over the course of the day. In the past I've found that school life gets much better when sports are in the mix. I coach girl's soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, and baseball in the spring, and I know that I appreciate the chance to get out and interact with students on a different level than in the classroom or at lunch. Sports give teachers and students a more well-rounded view of the folks they come into contact with every day.
Finally, this afternoon is the first 6th grade mixer at Skateland. "What schools are going to be there?" "Do I have to go?" "Will there be a lot of girls?" "Will there be boys?" "Will I have to talk to them?" So many questions. So many concerns. So little time...