April 20-27 The week before NJASK

This week we will be doing short reviews of topics previously learned.

Monday we reviewed plate tectonics.
Tuesday we took our chapter test on plate tectonics.
Wednesday we celebrated Earth Day
Thursday we reviewed physical science with dry ice
Friday we reviewed genetics and punnet squares

April 16th and 17th, the layers of the earth and plate boundaries

Today we covered lots of ground. We created a foldable to organize the layers of the earth. We looked at the layers as defined by its composition, then looked at it as defined by its physical properties. The information for this was found on pages 88-91. Interested students can complete questions 1-4 on page 94 to check their understanding.

We then read about different plate boundaries (divergent, convergent and transform) and also looked at two types of crusts (oceanic and continental). We then completed an activity that used graham crackers to model these different boundary interactions. Read pages 99-101 to refresh your memory about this information.

Remember--test on Tuesday.

April 14-15--welcome back from Spring Break

Hope everyone had fun during their time off!

Today in class we started plate tectonics and also did a bit of review for the State tests (they are in two weeks time).

We discussed gravity, then demonstrated the phases of the moon.

We started chapter four and discussed the break-up of Pangea, then read about continental drift theory on pages 92-93 and 95-98.

We will have a short test on chapter four on April 21st--check the website for the study guide.

April 1-2 Pompeii

Today in class we watched the Discovery Channel movie Pompeii: The Last Day. It re-enacted the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum in AD 79.