Supersaturated Solutions

In learning about supersaturated solutions, our class used borax to make some amazing crystals. Some of the groups made such supersaturated solutions that so many crystals formed it was hard to get them out of the jar!

UNR Basketball Game

On Wednesday, we were invited by the University of Nevada, Reno to attend a women's basketball game on campus. The goal was to introduce students to campus and instill the thought that college is a possibility after high school graduation. Upon returning from the field experience, we took an online tour of the UNR campus and investigated the different colleges on campus.

Saturated Solutions

In science, our class has been learning about saturated solutions. Last week we calculated that cold water holds 12-15 grams of salt and then reaches its saturation point. This week, students investigated if citric acid, when dissolved into cold water, has the same saturation point. Although not finished with the investigation yet, students have found that so far it is holding many more spoonfuls of citric acid. Today they will reach the saturation point and use math to calculate how many grams of the citric acid the water holds.

Baking Bread

Connecting math and reading together, this week we read about the science of bread and yeast. We followed that up by having groups of 2-3 students follow recipes to make loaves of bread. All together, our class brought in 9 bread machines and a table full of ingredients. We will enjoy the different types of bread this afternoon while we share what we are thankful for during this time of year.

Scaled Map of Playground

Today we began a three-day mathematics lesson that deals with analyzing our grass on the school playground. Modeled after the new SBAC test that replaces the CRT test in the spring, the math tasks require students to use a variety of skills to accomplish the task. Today we measured the grass and created a scaled model on paper. Future lessons will involve calculating the cost of new edging to go around, while also determining which product (from Lowe's or Home Depot) would be best based upon cost. They will figure out how much fertilizer to apply based on the area, and calculate how many bags must be purchased and what the total cost would be (including our Nevada tax rate).

Mixtures and Solutions

We kicked off our unit of mixtures and solutions by analyzing sodium chloride, diatomacious earth, and gravel mixed with water. The kicker came when students were told they needed to return ALL the materials so they could be used again next year. Using science, students returned 2 of the 3 materials. Next week, students will prepare the NaCl solution again and use a method that does work to get the salt back.

Geometry Coming to a Close

This week we will conclude our geometry unit, where students analyzed 2-D shapes based on their attributes. Our task today, one of the final tasks, was to create a hierarchy diagram which started with "polygons" at the initial title and then broke down into "triangles" and "quadrilaterals". They had many different categories to sort and the activity took lots of thinking, analyzing, and resorting. We had a very high success with this activity.