I teach 5th and 6th grade STEM in the lovely Pacific Northwest in a small, rural town called Chimacum. My goal is to help students discover that all learning is life-long and that 21st century tools can be used for work as well as fun.
Dec 04
Help your child get off to a great start in Science for the Second Trimester. If your child is in my 6th grade Science class, last Monday, Nov 26, was the deadline for teams to work on their Salmon Life Cycle Webquest. If students did not finish then they have homework. That webquest is their …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/12/04/second-trimester/
Nov 23
Parents can check Science grades through Skyward’s Family Access as I have finished updating them. Otherwise I will give all students a paper copy of their progress reports Monday, Nov 26. Students can show those to me signed by a parent for an extra two points. I will give them back. Sixth and 7th grade …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/11/23/science-grades/
Nov 11
As the end of the Trimester approaches all 6th graders are done testing all seven Hood Canal sites. Sixth graders are busy conducting research to learn about their water quality jobs and about salmon life cycle and more about pollution. After Thanksgiving they will start putting together PowerPoint presentations to teach their classmates what they’ve …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/11/11/last-day-of-trimester-nov-29/
Nov 03
This week 6th graders will conduct their water quality tests on seven sites along both sides of the Hood Canal. My 1st period class will be going to the Dosewallips River, the Duckabush River and Triton Cove Beach on Wednesday, Nov 7. My 2nd period class will be going to the Dewatto River and Belfair …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/11/03/hood-canal-testing/
Oct 26
The 7th grade field trip was great! Thank goodness we got two beautiful Fridays in a row. My 7th grade Science classes are getting close to completing their field guide websites. Look here for when they go live! Also make sure your child shows you my blogging permission slip (see my homework page, week 9 …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/10/26/field-trips/
Oct 20
Monday, Oct 22, sixth grade classes will begin conducting their water quality testing on Chimacum Creek. We will go down to the creek early in the period, after some preparation, where the groups that use probes will do their testing. The groups that use kits will collect water samples and then wait to return to …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/10/20/chimacum-creek-testing-begins/
Oct 18
After deliberation Mr. DiPrete and Mr. Gonzalez voted in favor of cancelling our Oct 19, 8:40am field trip in light of the recent storm. Weather reports say that there is another storm due to hit us tomorrow and this morning was so wet that we thought instead of ruining our field trip we would just …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/10/18/7th-grade-field-trip-cancelled/
Oct 08
This is midterm week. Midterm is a chance for kids to see what they are missing so they can make it up. Although it is best to stay caught up, if your child has fallen behind he or she must catch up quickly. November 29 is the end of the 1st Trimester but we want …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/10/08/midterm-is-friday-oct-12/
Sep 30
Sixth graders have begun our Water Quality Project. They are starting to learn how to take notes from the textbook in outline format. While they use the book to study fresh water pollution I will start training teams to do their specific jobs so we can begin our testing of Chimacum Creek. So far I …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/09/30/projects-have-begun/
Sep 14
Homework seems to be a difficulty for parents and teachers. We always try to balance between the need for homework and the fact that many students just don’t do it. In Science I offer plenty of extra credit opportunities for those students who would do homework anyway but I do not give regular homework. Now …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/09/14/homework-explanation/
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I've presented at NCCE
2016, 2017, 2019, 2022,
2023 and 2024!
