Friday, January 22, 2016

Perspectives on Science Next Week

Next week we will be having a bridge week as we shift gears from physical to life science in 7/8 and vice versa in 6th. We will be taking a week to examine perspectives about the earth, its origins, the origins of life, and the interesting positions that it creates at times for believers. Believing that God is greater than our questions, it's a good time to think about what some of the big ideas mean.

Our sweet kids transition to high school from a nest of grace, God's word, and room to think about big ideas from a perspective of faith. As we've heard feedback from former students over the years, it's been important to them to have a good start on understanding big ideas, particularly in the realm of science education. Two ideas that can be tricky for some kids include evolution and geologic time. 

If we just ignore these two ideas, one of a few things typically occur. When faced with some of the ideas that can be conflicting, some students refuse to learn in high school classes and miss out on other opportunities or their grades are adversely affected. Some students are thoroughly confused by what they hear and feel that we omitted an important part of their education by ignoring these bits and feel like they're lacking. Others are swayed by new information that appeals to their intellect and walk away from the faith, feeling as if they were lied to or that things were hidden from them. NONE of these outcomes are what I want your students to encounter as they go to high school and college.

Keith Quentin will be coming in to sub Tuesday. I'm in the middle of a move, so I am thankful he was willing to help on a day that I could not be there. 

I will be giving a presentation on current ideas about geologic time in science on Monday. The purpose and framing of these presentations will not be to undermine belief or to ask students to accept a different way of thinking. Instead, our goal will be to simply explain what these ideas mean by giving an explanation. Students will take notes and be able to explain the basic tenets behind these ideas. Wednesday we will go over the theory of evolution and its role in current science. 

On Thursday, we will be discussing what this means for believers. We always bring it back to the personhood of Jesus Christ and what it means to follow and believe in Him as Creator and Savior. I will have power points available for parents over what I discuss. Look for those links after the classes.

Our current 8th graders will be required to take 3 years of high school science. We're endeavoring to give them the best foundation possible. We want to prepare them for what they'll hear and learn later on, and give them a safe platform to discuss ideas that might be tough for some. This should also start some good conversations at home for you as a family.

Love your kids, thank you so much for entrusting them to Cornerstone. Please call if you have any questions or shoot me an email.
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Monday, October 12, 2015

Vocab this week October 12-15

electrons
protons
neutrons
atomic number
amu
isotopes
atomic weight
atomic mass
family
period

Monday, October 5, 2015

Solids, liquids and gases, oh my!

Vocabulary for Week of October 5-9.

Boyle's Law
Charles' Law
Physical Change
Chemical Change
Melt
Freeze
Boil
Evaporation
Condensation
Sublimation
Oxidation
Combustion

Be thinking about the Solid, Liquid, Gas molecular arrangement.

also
Cohesion
Adhesion

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Vocabulary 9/29 Quiz 11/2

Physical Properties

Characteristic Properties
Density
Boiling point
Melting Point

Non-characteristic Properties
Weight
Mass
Volume


Gravity
Phase States

This week's periodic table quiz:

Hydrogen
Helium
Lithium
Beryllium
Boron
Carbon
Nitrogen
Oxygen
Fluorine

Monday, September 21, 2015

Sept. 21 Physical Science

Pure Substance
Element
Atom

Matter
 Compound
Molecule
Mixtures
Heterogeneous
Homogeneous
Suspension
Colloid

Beryllium
Boron
Carbon

Monday, September 14, 2015

This Week's Vocabulary


Vocabulary from book

Celsius scale
Liter
Gram
Meter

 List the six steps of the scientific method:
1. Problem
2. Hypothesis to solve or explain problem, based onresearch
3. Experiment, controlling the variables (only change 1 thing)
4. Collect data using tools to measure or observe
5. Draw conclusion based on data
(6.) Apply findings.

Experiments must be repeatable by others using the same materials and procedures.


Know these prefixes and the number or fraction/decimal part they represent:
Deci
Kilo
Milli
Centi

Elements:
Hydrogen H 1
Helium He 2
Lithium Li 3