Old Roos blog

I am excited to announce that this blog is no longer being updated!  That is because the Team S teachers all put our heads together and have created a single blog that we are all maintaining together.  It is also hosted on edublogs.

Go check it out …  and change your bookmark if needed:

S Team News Blog

: ) peace out!

Homework: Read the Rich in Resources Moon article passed out in class.  On the gold sheet, write down 3 facts per section (12 total) and at least 2 questions the article made you wonder about.

Absent: Get a copy of the article and worksheet from the extras basket.

Today in Science:

Most classes completed task #2 with their groups and began reporting their ideas for possible lunar stations.  This activity was to get our feet wet … students should now be thinking about what types of features may be important to include in a future lunar outpost.

Apologies for the lack of blog entries this week.  I must be recovering slowly from a relaxing spring break!

I thought I’d quickly post what we have been up to.  Space, space and more space!!

The final unit of 6th grade is meant to be on waste management – answering the question …where does stuff go when we throw it away?  In previous years I have stopped Astronomy cold turkey, and waded into learning about waste water and landfills. Oddly (not), these topics didn’t seem as interesting to students and much of the excitement generated during Astronomy slowly faded.  We just can’t ever seem to get enough of astronomy, and have a difficult time getting just as jazzed about flushing toilets.  Go figure.

SO… this year, I’ve decided – why not study BOTH!  NASA is planning (assuming budgets hold out), to return to the Moon in 2020 – and this time they plan to build lunar stations for future research and space exploration.  So that got me thinking… “hey…they’ll need toilets on the moon, and they’ll generate trash ….why not continue our astronomy studies but focus more on lunar stations and learn about energy sources, ecosystems and waste management along the way?”  So that is the key to my secret plan to keep exploring space as long as possible. : )

If you were absent this week, here is a wrap-up of what you missed:

Monday:  I introduced our current topic (lunar stations); students brainstormed basic differences between the Earth and the Moon, as well as the unique features of Earth that sustain life.  We then watched a short video presentation on NASA that will kick off our 3-5 day mission to plan and design a lunar station.

Tuesday and Wednesday: Mr. Hansen and I switched classes.  Students with Mr. Hansen played a game called Solar System Rescue in which they used their knowledge of the solar system to help them located a missing space probe.  Students reported this to be great fun and were impressed with all they had learned last quarter.  Students with me completed the lunar lander challenge that my students did just before spring break.

Thursday:  Students were placed in 6 different teams and selected a communications officer to speak for them.  I explained that in then next week or so, each team would be responsible for completing two tasks that would contribute to the planning and design of a lunar station.  Teams were assigned one of the following jobs:

- Navigation team: to select WHERE on the Moon our station should be built based on factors such as available resources.

- Geology team: to select which minerals and rocks on the Moon can be used to build our station, and where they can be mined

- Ecosystem team – to determine how basic human needs will be met (air, water, food, shelter)

- Medical team – to decide which medical equipment should be brought to the Moon and how to deal with Lunar emergencies

- Habitat team – to determine what type of living and working spaces will be needed and create a blueprint of these spaces

- Engineering team – to decide how we will generate power on the Moon (Solar? Geothermal? Biomass? etc)

Each team’s communication officer read their task card to the class so that all teams were familiar with what other teams will be doing.  Many teams will rely on the decisions made by other teams.  For example, the types of minerals and rocks mined by the Geology team will depend on what resources are available at the site selected by the Navigation team.

Friday: Teams selected material managers that will gather and manage all materials needed for tasks.  The Geology team was given access to rock samples, magnifying glasses and computer chips (containing silica which can be found on the Moon).  The Medical team was given access to a variety of medical equipment to examine including a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff.  The habitat team will have the use of a variety of drafting stencils and curves to use in designing their blueprint.

Let me just say that these students have totally blown me away on day one of this project!  The enthusiasm and explosion of creative ideas is overwhelming.  I really think we have an impressive group of young scientists here!