No I do not think they were fair just because he wasn't a geologist. What he had was evidence but all they could see was that he was a meteorologist not a geologist. He knew what he was saying when he presented his theory and his evidence, but they just couldn't accept that it could be possible to move whole continents.
During today's Science Class, we tested our boats that we made out of 3 sheets of paper, 3 straws, and a meter of tape. We were assigned to make a boat that could withstand as many weights as possible. The weights were meant to be students crossing a "moat" which was actually our school fish pond. We were "supposed" to be attacked by chocolate missiles that would turn us into chocolate popsicles if we were shot.We all used the same materials, the same weights and the same water levels without any currents. Only the design of the boat was tested, for everything else was the same.
The uncontrolled variable of the assignment was being able to design whatever container you want. This did affect the outcome of the project because it differed in how many "students" could fit on the boat and whether the boat could withstand the weight.
During our Science class last week, we were given pieces of paper that were cut from a large piece. We were supposed to fit them together and make a one whole sheet of paper. The second day, we had to make it out of newspapers.
We learned in class so far that Alfred Wegener (I think that's how its spelt and pronounced vegener) had a theory about continental drift which is the moving of continents. Earth is actually a huge puzzle and the tectonic plates are the puzzle pieces. The tectonic plates move so the continents that are part of the huge tectonic plates also moves.
Basically I explained how the paper puzzle assignment was related to tectonic plates in the second paragraph.
First of all, let me tell you what SMASH day is. Our Science teacher, Mrs Smith, told us that smash is a day when we spend the entire class making something. We were split into groups and we were given a goal to reach before the end of the class. Do you remember when I last blogged about the paper tower thing? Where we tried to build a paper tower that could withstand 50 grams? Well that was also like SMASH day, but it was during Advisory so Mrs Smith said it doesn't count.
Whatever back on topic, Mrs. Smith told us to summarize what we did that day and here it is. This Monday, during Science class, we tried to build a periscope. Our goal was to be able to use the periscope and without having our heads above the table, look what was inside a cardboard box that was on the table. We were given one cardboard box, 10 sheets of paper, 1 meter of tape, four "magic" mirrors (according to Mrs. Smith), and whatever you find on them. My group did not bother to use the paper and only used 2 of the mirrors.
Next Mrs. Smith told us to reflect on what we did. In our group, which was Victor, Andrew, and me, we first made a model of the periscope, we used the cardboard box to make it hold, but it turned really ugly but it was usable. Next we had to solidify our model for it was falling apart. We used a long strip of tape that we found on the cardboard box and we used that to hold the two sides from opening. We did not model it to like a real periscope, but it worked just as well and it was easier to make. We had two mirrors on the end of the box, and we basically just used the cardboard box for most of it.
Lastly we had to give tips and suggestions to those of you that might have to do this later on in your lives, which is not really likely. Well here it is, firstly, you should make a model out of the box, and then improve it. Secondly, you have to remember to tape the mirrors tightly to the cardboard so it won't fall, which was exactly what happened on our first try. Don't make it fancy or anything, just make sure it worked, because some of the other groups made it too fancy and in the end, they just gave up.
Research Reflections:
For the past month, we have been researching body systems on our own.
One good thing about doing it this way is that we can find information on our own and letting us have more freedom. It is also fun checking out different websites. Researching on our own lets us understand better what we're doing.
One thing I didn't like about doing it this way is that it can get very frustrating when you can't find the answer to a question and you just get really pissed. I don't like it when you just can't find the answer and when you do, you have to change it into your own words.
I think Mrs. Smith planned it this way because we can understand better when we do it on our own instead of Mrs. Smith just printing down the information and we don't understand. We can learn more on our own because we know what we are typing not just reading it or listening to it. If we don't understand the information on the internet, it is useless if we just plagiarize or we can't learn a lot of things.
One suggestion I have for Mrs. Smith is to make us hand in the work earlier so we can do more under pressure because you get really nervous about the work and you have to hand it in the next day. Which means when we are not under pressure we have more time to write so we can write more.
Another suggestion I have for Mrs. Smith is to give us less information so that we can handle harder questions.
The Magic School Bus:
Today in Science we watched "The Magic School Bus". The episode was about the class going into Arnold's digestive system.
One thing that was correct in the movie is villi absorbs nutrients and exports the nutrients into the circulatory system.
Another thing that was correct in the movie is that the esophagus pushes the food down to the stomach.
One thing that was incorrect in the movie is that digestion does not take 10 hours to digest
Another thing that was incorrect in the movie is that there are two holes at the throat and a flap to cover the other one.
Why do you think they do this?
I think Mrs Smith and Mr Truchon gives us a second chance for assignments because, we can learn from our past mistakes and redo them for better grades.
Why do you think this might be important in your learning?
This might be important in our learning because we have to redo it to understand what we did wrong and so we can use trial and error to learn.
What do you like about this approach?
I like this because we can get a better grade and to earn more knowledge.
What do you dislike about this approach?
I don't like this, because we have to do extra work even when you get to have better grades.
