Mr. Thompson – Junior High Health & High School Environmental Science

This week the fourth grade will be finishing up the Texas Revolution and starting Texas as a Republic by learning about the Treaty of Velasco on Monday, completing two worksheets (Tuesday and Wednesday), and working on a time line of events for Thursday and Friday.
They will be learning more about soils on Monday in Science. On Tuesday, they will learn about weathering, erosion, and deposition. Wednesday and Thursday will have them working on a project about weathering, erosion, and deposition that will help them complete a lab about this topic on Friday.

Last Week the 4th grade students had a REALLY Shocking experience in Science class for Halloween while studying electricity. For many of them, it was really HAIR-RAISING.
See the pictures below.

Below are the pictures from October 21 on Fire Safety and chemical reactions.

Below are the pictures of the Indian art the fourth grade got to see and hear about on the 21st of October.

This week in Social Studies the fourth graders will learn about Stephen F. Austin and Martin de Leon, two specific empresarios, on Monday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, they will make a poster to recruit colonists as if their group worked for an empresario. Thursday, they will learn about the causes of the Mexican War of Independence. Friday, they will learn about Texas’ role in this war.

In Science, they will conduct an exploratory lab on measuring force. On Tuesday, they will learn how force, motion, and energy interact. Wednesday, they will play the bonus review game for the test they take over mixtures, solutions, and energy on Thursday. And on Friday, they will learn about ways to use, detect, and measure electrical energy.

The pictures below are from the sound lab the fourth grade did last Friday. It was titled “The World’s Most Obnoxious Science Lab” for reasons most of the parents found out when the students took their project home. For anyone who did not hear the result of the project, put a 1/4 inch hex nut in a balloon, blow up the balloon and spin it. You will get a real ‘buzz’.

This week in Social Studies, the fourth graders will review on Monday for the test they will take on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they will review the mission life worksheet they completed last week. On Thursday, they will learn about what colonization was and what areas of Texas were colonized first. On Friday, they will learn about the effects of colonization on the Indians and the immigrants.
In Science, the fourth graders will watch a video on light optics on Monday. On Tuesday, they will learn about light energy and how light moves and can be manipulated. Wednesday will be spent working on a word search on energy that will be homework if they don’t finish in class. On Thursday, they will learn about sound energy and mediums. They will conduct a lab to explore how energy and force work on Friday.

Remember, Monday is a school holiday.
The fourth graders will complete a word search on early explorers and mission life on Tuesday. Wednesday, they will finish a worksheet started on Friday and go over the unit 2 worksheet to get the correct answers. On Thursday, they will start a drawing of mission life that will be due on Monday as homework. On Friday, they will see various types of artwork from several different Indian nations and see how Europeans influenced their arts over time.
In Science, the fourth graders will finish their foldable on insulators and conductors. On Wednesday and Thursday, they will make a foldable on energy types and forms. On Friday, the Fire Marshall will be here to talk about chemical reactions and fire safety with the kids.

Pictures of Friday’s events will be on here once I get them downloaded next week.

The fourth graders will be learning about early Explorers on Monday in Social Studies. On Tuesday, they will start a letter to the King of Spain pretending to be a conquistador exploring America. The letter will detail why they went exploring and how their trip is affecting the American Indians and their own men. They will finish the letter on Wednesday. They will learn about mission life on Thursday and start on a worksheet on explorers and mission life on Friday. The worksheet will be finished on Tuesday of next week.

In Science, the students will finish their conductor and insulator lab on Monday. Tuesday, they will do a worksheet on mixtures and solutions. They will learn about conductors, insulators and circuits on Wednesday. Thursday’s lesson will be on energy types and forms. They will watch a Bill Nye video on energy forms on Friday.

This week in social studies the students will be learning about some of the daily life of different American Indians prior to European contact on Monday. On Tuesday, they will complete a worksheet on the Native American Indians which will be homework if they don’t finish in class. Wednesday they will begin learning about the motivations of European explorers. This will be followed by learning about specific explorers on Thursday. Friday, they will pretend to be conquistadors and start writing a letter to the Spanish monarch explaining their motivations for exploring the New World as well as detailing some of the things found in the New World.

For science, the students will play the review game on Monday for the test they will take on Tuesday. Wednesday they will complete a worksheet on mixtures and solutions which will become homework if they do not finish in class. Thursday they will learn about the different types and forms of energy. Friday they will conduct an exploratory lab on insulators and conductors.

Please remember to vote daily on Sonic’s Limeades for Learning website for Reagan’s three projects.

This week is Celebrate Freedom week in Social Studies. The students have to memorize an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence to recite on Friday. They will be learning about the Bill of Rights on Monday, the US Declaration of Independence on Tuesday, the Texas Declaration of Independence on Wednesday, and the US Constitution on Thursday. They will also be working on a worksheet about these items in class this week.

The students will be finishing up their learning about physical properties and mixtures & solutions this week in Science. They will be conducting a lab on Monday to determine the mystery item based on specific physical properties. On Tuesday, they will be looking at examples and non-examples of mixtures and solutions. They will be doing a worksheet on physical properties on Wednesday that will be homework if not finished in class. Thursday they will learn about the different types of mixtures and solutions. And, they will be conducting a lab on Friday to see how mixtures in water will separate when shaken.