Weekly Objectives for 1/7/14 - 1/10/14

Overview - Welcome back students!!  I hope that everyone enjoyed the wonderful vacation over the past two weeks.  It's time to get right back at it!!!  Our central focus over the next five weeks will be on the upcoming Science Fair.  That's right!!  Our students will be holding a Science Fair Competition on February 13th, in the Middle School Cafeteria.  Groups have been created through careful planning and collaboration.  Each group must use the Scientific Method in their experiment/research report.  Teachers are not allowed to get involved in the experiments whatsoever, but parents and other helpers may assist.  Throughout the five weeks, teachers will act as facilitators and guide the students through the processes of researching, experimenting and presenting.  As we get deeper into these projects we will be able to report the progress of the groups.
     Tuesday - 1/7/14 - We did not hold a writing class today, as we were busy collaborating in groups.  Each group is responsible for creating a research topic.  They must first come up with a minimum of five possible ideas.  Through communication and deliberation, the groups will chisel down their ideas into one idea that is due on Thursday.  They must decide whether the project will be experimental, using the Scientific Method, or Topics Based, where they research and present their findings.
     Wednesday - 1/8/14 - The science fair project has begun.  On the first day, students will be drafting a "Driving Question" essay.  In the essay, they are expected to: state what they plan to specifically study, tell what interested them about this topic, what they plan to learn from the research process, and finally, how they plan to deliver the information to others.  This paper will hopefully lay the groundwork and guide the students as they begin this long, and challenging project.
      Thursday - 1/9/14 - Today the students were placed in their research groups.  They were expected to exchange the essays from yesterday and read through them.  Upon the completion of the read-through they were then asked to share ideas.  The purpose of this lesson is to assist the groups in narrowing down their expectations for the research project.  The groups were able to clarify what each member envisioned as a result of the research.  From this process, they were able to refine their Driving Question.  This process takes time, as the students are expected to drive their own instruction.  Stay tuned for further results.
      Friday - 1/10/14 - Scientific research has begun!!  The groups have pinpointed their topics and are now in the process of creating questions to guide their research.  Scientific questions are at the heart of most research conducted in educational settings.  They are simplistic, yet yield wonderful results.  They are: who, what, when, where, why, and how.  Mr. Bish modeled how to record questions onto graphic organizers using his own study.  Examples included: "Who would benefit from this sleep study?", "Why is sleep beneficial to people?", "Where does the best sleep occur?", When does sleep become interrupted?"....... He introduced how sleep is effected by hydration.  The students responded very well to his guidance.  They were given a set amount of time to collaborate on developing the type of questions that would yield the greatest results.  All students were able to complete the task and are feeling more comfortable about their research.  They were given a homework assignment over the weekend, so please check the homework page.