All posts by lspady

2020-21 Weekly Challenge #10: If I had a million…

Current Challenge

If I had a million…

For this week’s Weekly Challenge, you will explore the length of ONE MILLION objects.  You have two options for your recording sheet:  you can either print a copy or fill out a digital version.

When you’re finished with the challenge, submit your work using the Google Form: https://forms.gle/KKW9RsmEhqp3TVoz7

For inspiration, listen to How Much Is A Million by David M. Schwartz.

 

National Junior Honor Society Student Accounts

NJHS

Calling all NJHS Members…

Create your own student account with a parent or guardian and upon doing so, you will receive the most up-to-date information about NJHS programs and activities.

Step 1:  Go to https://www.njhs.us/studentaccount/ and select NOTE: If you are under the age of 13, the COPPA Parental Consent Form needs to be filled out first.  https://www.nhs.us/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/NASSP_COPPA_Parental_Consent_Form_EN.pdf

Fill out the required information to create an account.  You should be able to find Westside Middle School without an Affiliation Number.  Once you’ve finished creating an account and it has been verified, you’ll be able to access the resources on the site.

2020-21 Weekly Challenge #8: Character Quotes

Current Challenge

For this week’s Weekly Challenge, follow these simple steps…

Step 1:  Download Adobe Spark Post for Graphics from Manager.  Here’s a quick video tutorial on how to login.  You can also go to https://spark.adobe.com/sp/ on a computer.

Step 2:  Create a new project that includes a quote from a character in a book you’ve read or from a book you’re currently reading.  Be sure to add the title of the book and the author.

Step 3:  Download your project and submit it here: https://forms.gle/WWvUAwLg3iRZkMCQ6

Don’t forget to check back next week to see the highlighted projects!

 

#4: Bacteria That Eats Oil

Science Mini Spark

Oil-eating bacteria, also called oleophilic bacteria or oil-degrading microbes, are tiny living things that eat oil for food. These bacteria can break down different kinds of oil, like oils from plants and animals, as well as oil from gasoline and other products. When these bacteria digest oil, they get energy to grow and release carbon dioxide and water as waste.

Spark you thinking!

1. Set up your science mini spark recording page:#4: Bacteria That Eats Oil

2. Watch this video about an oil spill, and how we try to clean it up using bacteria. Take 5 notes from the video on your recording page.

 

3. Make a section on your recording page for each of these headings.

  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion

4. Read this article, How can we find oil-eating bacteria to clean up the sea? to learn more about this topic. For each of the sections, write down what you learned on your recording sheet.

5. Answer three of these questions on your recording sheet

  • Why is it bad when crude oil gets into the environment?
  • Why do conventional methods of cleaning up oil spills present us with a problem?
  • What is a better alternative to conventional clean-up methods?
  • What does a higher intensity of the red color of Nile Red say about the oil-eating ability of the bacteria in the new test?

6. Create a chatter pic to show what you learned.

 Make the main character a bacteria. You can draw it or find a picture. Choose two of the questions from step 5 to anwer in your Chatter Pic

Chatter Pic STEP BY STEP!

Step 1 – Find Chatter pic in Mosyle.

Step 2 – Take a picture or get one from the gallery in your device. You can also make a drawing and take a picture of it!

Step 3 – Draw a line on the object to create a mouth.

Step 4 – Record your voice! Remember you only have 30 seconds.

Step 5 – Add stickers if necessary or desired.

Step 6 – Save your project into the camera roll.

8. Share your science mini spark recording page and your chatter pic with your teacher/EY coordinator.

 

#38: STEAM Challenge: Cardboard Tubes

Full STEAM Ahead

Are you ready for a fun paper tube building challenge?  With just a few materials, you can create a cotton ball launcher.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #38: STEAM Challenge: Cardboard Tubes

2. Watch this video. On your recording page write about what will be easy about the STEAM mini spark and what will be more challenging.

 

3. Read this step by step instructions on how to build the launcher. On your recording page explain if you liked the video instructions or the written instructions.

4. Collect your Materials. Ask the EY coordinator at your building for help getting supplies if needed.

  • Short pencil or popsicle stick
  • Thin rubber bands (2)
  • Cardboard tube (2 empty toilet paper tubes or empty paper towel tube cut in half)
  • Packing tape or other strong tape
  • Scissors
  • Cotton balls
  • Single hole punch

 

5. Take pictures of your supplies and add it to your recording page.

6. Use the video or teaching page from steps 2 and 3 as a guide and start building. Make sure to take pictures of your progress.

6. Test it out! If you need to make modifications, do so at this time.

7. Read this information. In this activity, you used two types of energy to load and launch your cotton ball. As you drew back on the pencil with the cotton ball loaded, you added potential energy to the system. The farther you pulled back on the pencil, the more potential energy was being stored. When you released the pencil, the potential energy became kinetic energy, and the cotton ball should have gone flying through the air!

8. Make a pic collage with the pictures from your project. Include the energy terms, information from step 7,  and definitions.

9. Add your pic collage to your recording page

10. Share your STEAM mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Source: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/cotton-ball-launcher#instruction