Modeling Erosion Videos

Here is video 1 like I promised you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08q-51GfATQ

Here is the video 2 link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufhjDnGGHyc

Here is the video 3 link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thln4AKDLAE

Here is the video 4 link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSVuaps_XSU

Here is the video 5 link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t_8Z8m9QFE

Here is the video 6 link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzeJpQ9ZdUc

Here is the video 7 link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ciczkCm7TY

Sorry it took so long. I had a terrible time converting the files over.

Modeling Erosion

Here are some pictures from our Modeling Erosion Lab. Students are trying to figure our how water can erode soil. We look used sand, humus, and a combination of the two. There was a lot of variation in the data depending how students set their experiment up, but that was important for the students to see, since there is a great deal of variety with erosion in real life too. Things such as soil type, temperature, soil depth, location, etc., can all effect how the soil erodes.

Bullying Is Out of Control!

This is a reminder to students, parents, teachers, and administration that bullying is an issue in schools all over the world. However, I would like to remind everyone that it is not something that can and will be tolerated in my classroom. Please speak with me, or another adult if bullying seems to be an issue at our school.

Class Slideshow

Support My Grade 6 Students!

Hi Everyone!

Our students have entered a "Reader's Theatre" competition here in Bangkok and part of the competition involves online voting. Visit the website and take a look at our videos. Our students are quite talented and I hope they can count on our communities support to vote for them!

To vote for our primary kids:

Go to: http://www.asiabooks.com/readers_theatre/Default.aspx
Click on 'DIVISION 3"
Go to the team "Five Yellow Rocks" and VOTE! (5 stars would be nice!)


To vote for our secondary kids:

Go to: http://www.asiabooks.com/readers_theatre/Default.aspx
Click on 'DIVISION 4
Go to the team "Rolling Tones" and VOTE!

Go to the team "Roller Coaster Readers" and VOTE!


You can vote once a day ... so if you have time, you can come back to vote again (and again, and again ...). Thank you for your support!

Aloha,

Mr. Ray

Bangkok Underwater?

To see the full article from yahoo, and learn what other cities may be underwater, click on the title above.

Thailand’s capital is sinking — and sinking fast. However, unlike other cities on our list, a shoddy foundation isn’t necessarily to blame. Resting on the Chao Phraya River — which flows into the Bay of Bangkok about 30 miles south of the city center — this colossal settlement is more likely to drown than sink. Experts now say that this mouthwatering foodie destination — along with the dozens of beautiful temples found here — may be under water in as little as seven years.

According to Thai scientist Dr. Ajong Chumsai na Ayudhya, the fate of Bangkok can best be explained by global warming. Asia News Network reports that “Ajong said humans were mainly to blame for such disasters because they were using up natural resources, chopping down forests and kept emitting greenhouse gases with no regard for the future.” Ajong also says that changes in the earth’s overall climate will lead to more severe tsunamis in the Gulf of Thailand that will have extremely negative effects on the southern portion of the country. With less than a decade to spare, time might be running out for a trip to Thailand’s most popular tourist getaway.

7 Cities About to Sink
By Miriam B. Weiner
Yahoo Travel

Weathering: Oxidation Experiment 3

Students have all experienced oxidation, but they don't have a clear concept of what factors can affect the rate of oxidation. Here are some pictures from our lab.

It's Chic to be Geek!

Weathering: Acid Rain Simulation Experiment 1

I can't make it rain in my classroom, but students can see how acid rain can break down calcite, and limestone, etc. Students measured out a particular amount of limestone chips, and put those into separate jars. In one jar they added water, and in the other they added an equal amount of vinegar. After the rocks sit in the liquids for a few days we are going to weigh them again to see if the mass decreased.

Weathering: Abrasion Experiment

Students are learning about the different types of weathering right now. I think they have a good understanding of the difference between chemical and mechanical weathering, but now we are trying to determine what variables will affect the rate of weathering. Here are a few pictures from Experiment 2.

Is There Life Beyond Earth?

In Earth Science we always end up discussing the sun, our universe, etc., and the topic of life beyond Earth always comes up. Check out this interesting article from yahoo that may help us answer the question sooner then we think. Click on the title above to be linked to the article.

Earth Science Poster Project

Life Science Experiment

My Life Science Students have been busy learning about life, cell structure and function, cell energy, etc. On September 15th my Life Science students had the opportunity to test which foods contain starch and simple sugars. If time permits we will also test for proteins. Enjoy the pictures.

Indentifying Minerals. Harder Then it Looks!

My Earth Science class started a lab on identifying minerals today (8/30/2010). They had to start with trying to make observations of ink stamps (yes that is right, if they can't identify things they are comfortable with then identifying minerals will be very uncomfortable for them). Students found that it was difficult to come up with categories for organizing the characteristics of the stamps, and that if their discriptions were not detailed, no one could indentify the stamp they used. I'm hoping this makes them take the mineral identification process seriously. We will finish the lab later this week, and see how many groups are able to indetify their minerals by observing the physical proterties of the mineral they are given.

Once we finish the lab I will post more pictures, but for now here is a picture of the minerals we are trying to identify, as well as some of the supplies we will use to identify them.

Earth Science Rocks? Yes, It Does!

In the past 4 years I have gained such an appreciation for Earth Science, and I am begining to truely enjoy it as much as the Life Sciences. This year in Earth Science we are starting off with trying to understand rocks and minerals. What are they, how are they the building blocks of Earth, how do they shape the Earth, how to we classify them, and how are they used in our lives? These are some of the many questions that we are trying to answer as we go on our mission with the Jason Project Argonots (see www.jason.org for more information).

As we talked about the physical and chemical properties that help classify minerals, I remembered to take a few pictures of the class. We will definitely take more pictures, and have more posts as the year moves on.

Grade 6 Homeroom Class

I'm very pleased to be one of the grade six homeroom teachers this year. I have a great group of students, who I'm lucky to teach for Life Sciences as well. We have a lot of great activities planned for the year, and we are thinking about planning and fundraising for a spectacular field trip. I will do my best to post updates as often as possible. Please feel free to coment on the blog when you find something interesting or have questions.

So far our first lab had students creating their own mini-pond and then looking for microorganisms under the microscope. we will be back with more.

Thailand Has Some BIG Spiders

I was walking up the stairs to the bank this afternoon, and when I got to the top I froze in my tracks. I saw the biggest spider I've ever seen, and it was blocking my way into the bank. I was like "I guess going to the bank isn't too important today." I mean I was wearing flip flops, and a dress. With my luck that thing would have plopped right on my leg, and I would be at the emergency room for another visit. So I just stood there. Then the bank guard came out and looked at me like I was crazy, so I pointed to the spider. He kicked it with his shoe (not a good idea in my mind). The darn thing started coming at me, so I ran back down the stairs and screamed. The guard finally got him away from the door and I entered the bank with an apology to the patrons there. The picture posted here looks like the spider I saw, but I don't know what kind it was, and I really don't want to bump into it again.

DOE: Academies Creating Teacher Scientists

This summer I have had the privlage of working in the lab of Dr. Ian Schneider a chemical biological engineer. I was able to observe different projects that students in his group are working on, learn some lithography techniques common to biological engineering, review data collection analysis, and refamiliarize myself with common lab supplies. Enjoy the photos. Click on the title above to see more about my summer.

What's It Like to Work for NASA?

Do you have what it takes to become an engineer? Have you ever wondered what type of people really become engineers? Hear from three different scientists, all at different stages in their career, what it really takes to become a NASA engineer. Click on the title above to watch the video.

Yeah! Master DOE Teacher is Honored.

President Barack Obama recently announced that Jessica Gogerty, a graduate student in Drake's School of Education and a science teacher at Des Moines North High School, is one of 103 teachers nationwide selected as recipients of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching...(click on the title to read the full article).