New Rotation of intermediates yr7&8 STEAM

 Regardless of whether you’re forewarned or not, your mind is usually whirring with all the things you need to organise to help your new child get sorted. This week is a new rotation of intermediates kids and I will see them online due to Covid lockdown. But to make science interesting I planned few online activities for them to make science interesting. 

Today is the first day, so the day starts with the introduction I introduced myself and gave students an ice breaker. They have to write about themselves like, favourite colour, where are they from, favourite movie etc. That is a good way to communicate with students. Some of them put pictures of their favourite food, favourite movie and we talk about it. We spend 15 mins on Ice breaker activity. Everyone liked it and we start talking with each other.

After that, I introduced my website that we will follow all the time. I instruct them to create a science folder in their drive and share it with me so every time when they will start a new topic in class they will create a new doc in that folder and write on it. This is like a piece of evidence for us to track learning.

Then, we start new topic 1 ie introduction of science. I this lesson we talk about some science facts and science pictures. At the end of the class, I instruct them to start writing blogs on STEAM. 

                ICE BREAKER

Flying Rockets(with Mr. Dunn)

 In this week, we have planned to prepare rockets. For this, Firstly, Mr Dunn instructs students about how to make rockets. What things we will use to make our rockets, what precautions we will take while making our rockets. It took 10 mins after that, everyone started making their rockets. We helped students in their rockets and checked their rockets is it properly fixed.  After making rockets, we went to the school ground to fly rockets. And successfully, students launched their rockets with the help of Mr Dunn.

Rocket Science with Mr. Dunn(STEAM)

 This week was a very special and exciting week for me as well as intermediate students. This time we are going to make and fly rockets. Students were very excited to make their own rockets. They have a lot of questions about rocket science. This session was very extraordinary just because of Mr Dunn, who was the in-charge of rocket science. Mr Dunn is deputy principal of Tamaki college and a very good chemistry teacher. He loves science and technology. So, this time intermediates were working with Mr Dunn.

Rocket Science session divided into two parts. In the first session, students discussed rocket and forces acts on rockets. Students also discussed gravity and planets. They got all their answers while discussing rockets. This time we planned to make paper rockets as a demo. This was a very exciting activity. In this way, students came to know about drag force and the number of fins. And how they act on a flying rocket.

For this activity we need, Pencil Scissors Tape Soda straw (plastic or reusable) Meter stick or measuring tape Rocket template and data log.

1. Cut out and shape the rocket body. Cut out the rectangle. This will be the body tube of the rocket. Wrap the rectangle around a pencil length-wise and tape the rectangle so that it forms a tube.

 2. Cut out the two fin units. Align the bottom of the rectangle that extends between the fins with the end of the rocket body, and tape the fin to the body tube. Do the same thing for the other fin on the opposite side, making a “fin sandwich.” 

3. Bend the fins on each fin unit 90 degrees so that they are each at a right angle to each other. When you look along the back of the rocket, the fins should form a “+” mark.

 4. Twist the top of the body tube into a nose cone around the sharpened end of your pencil. Measure your nose cone from its base to its tip and record the length on the data log and on the rocket itself. 

5. Prepare to launch! Remove the pencil and replace it with a soda straw. Be sure your launch area is clear of people and hazards. Then, blow into the straw to launch your rocket! Record the distance the rocket travels on your data log.

Last day of Term 3(Mufti day)

 Our time is important. The kids that we teach are precious to us, and they need to know that our time together was worth it. So don’t just let the year-end: Celebrate learning, celebrate the moments you’ve had, and savour the time you have left together. 

At the end of the race, we like to hear cheers, and when kids graduate, it’s a climactic event. Really, the end of every school year should be climactic. It should be exciting. So, as teachers, we have to be very careful not to let the bell ring and have kids wondering what just happened. The end of the school year should be a time of review, reflection, and celebration.

I celebrated the last day of week three by performing various science activities and fun activities in the class with students. For STEAM, we saw earthworms, note down their behaviour. For yr 9 &10 we discuss the structure of the eye, label parts and quiz on Kahoot. In yr 10, we did the periodic table and found out different properties of Metals and non-metals.

 

Elephant toothpaste Yr 7&8 Reflection

                                                    STEAM

This week the topic was Fascinating water, so I decided to make elephant toothpaste with yr 7&8 students. Create a giant foaming reaction, and use science to wow your friends with this classic activity. With just a few ingredients you can make something that looks like foamy toothpaste being squeezed from a tube—but so big that it seems almost fit for an elephant.

 Materials: Empty plastic bottle, Dry yeast (found in the baking section of the grocery store), Warm water, Liquid dish soap, 3% hydrogen peroxide, Measuring cups, Measuring spoons, Safety glasses, Large tub or tray to catch the foam. 
1. Measure 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide, and carefully pour it into the bottle. 2. Add a big squirt of dish soap into the bottle, and swirl gently to mix. 3. To make your foam a single colour, add a few drops of food colouring directly into the hydrogen peroxide, and swirl the bottle gently to mix. If you want to give your foam stripes like some toothpaste, put the drops along the inside rim of the bottle’s mouth. Let them drip down the inside of the bottle, but do not mix.  4. In a measuring cup mix together one tablespoon of yeast and three tablespoons of warm water. Stir for about 30 seconds. 5. Pour the yeast mixture into the bottle then quickly step back, and watch your reaction go! 

Elephant toothpaste emerges out.

"Teach-in ways that enable learners to learn from one another, to collaborate, to self-regulate and to develop agency over their learning."

Reflection Starch test in plants(Yr7&8)

Photosynthesis is the process in which green plants (primarily) convert energy from the sun’s light into usable, chemical energy. Starch is a white and powdery substance. It houses glucose, which plants use for food. The presence of starch in a leaf is reliable evidence of photosynthesis.



Starch Testing Experiment
Leaves, Beaker, Test Tube, Bunsen burner, Ethanol, Iodine solution.

Boil the water and dip the leaf for one minute. After that, remove the leaf from water. Next is take ethanol in the test tube and boil the test tube in the bathtub. Then, put the boiled soft leaf in an ethanol test tube. The leaf will drop its chlorophyll in ethanol and turns light yellow. Then, remove the leaf from ethanol in a petri dish and put some iodine solution on a leaf. You will see leaf will turn into brown. That shows the starch present in the leaf.

A leaf is boiling in water

Add Ethanol and leaf in test and boil in water tub

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Leaf started to boil and left colour(Chlorophyll)

Add iodine on leaf and it turns brown

"Teach-in ways that ensure all learners are making sufficient progress, and monitor the extent and pace of learning, focusing on equity and excellence for all."
"Use an increasing repertoire of teaching strategies, approaches, learning activities, technologies and assessment for learning strategies and modify these in response to the needs of individuals and groups of learners."

Bones and Skeleton(Reflection)

This week's topic was Bones and Skeleton. I tried a few activities with my STEAM classes. I start class with the introduction of bones and skeleton, and we discuss functions of bones and frame in the human body and in animals. The first activity was dissected fish head and count bones of a fish head. Students really enjoyed this activity and helped me in examining fish and counting bones.

Skeletal System: All the bones in the human body together are called the skeletal system. The skeletal system provides strength and rigidity to our agency, so we don't just flop around like jellyfish. We have 206 bones in our body. Each one has a function. Some bones offer protection to softer more fragile parts of the body. For example, the skull protects the brain, and the rib cage protects our heart and lungs. 

Other bones, like bones in our legs and arms, help us to move around by providing support for our muscles. The skeletal system includes more than just bones. It also includes tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. Tendons attach our bones to muscles so we can move around. Ligaments connect bones to other bones.

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In the first half of the class, students learned about different types of bones in the human body. Students did dissection and complete worksheets and read handouts about bones and skeleton. The second half, students draw different bones skeleton in their science project books—Skeleton of dog, fish, bird and many more.

In the end, I played a video for students.

It was a perfect topic, and students participated very well.

"Provide opportunities and support for learners to engage with, practise and apply learning to different contexts and make connections with prior learning".

Earthworms-Reflection

This week's topic was Earthworms. It was good to know, the student knows about earthworms, their advantages in our garden and why worms help in nutrition and growth of plants. The topic starts with a discussion of earthworms, it' behaviour and functions. After that, I showed them a video related to worms. Students took notes and discuss the video in the class.

After that, we read handout in the class and highlight the critical thing on handouts. In the end, I gave them real worms and students notice them and their behaviour, length, width etc.

STEAM INTERMEDIATES

                          
Students Blog
                                 Rotation 1(Term One)
Date: 11 May2020


Kia Ora

It was the last week of STEAM rotations and first time Tamaki College introduced Science. Term Rotation 1 was for ten weeks. I have planned ten topics for ten weeks and tried to do a science experiment in each lesson. Students from different schools came for the science classes from Tamaki region. Such as Glen Innes, Point England, Glen Taylor, Glenbrae, Ruapotaka and St Pius X.

Students were very excited and eager to do science experiments in the science lab. They were very passionate about Science and actively listened to my instructions. I enjoyed to teach them.


As a teacher, I always encourage my students to write a blog about your science learning. Here is some link for my student's blog, who continuously present their understandings via Blogs.

 Zaeeda from Pt England School. Blog Link
Alaana from Glen Taylor School. Blog Link
Pisirina from Pt England School Blog Link
Satui from Ruapotaka School Blog  Link 
Agueer from Ruapotaka School Blog Link






"Develop learning-focused relationships with learners, enabling them to be active participants in the process of learning, sharing ownership and responsibility for learning."

Plastic- Save Environment(Reflection)

This week was a fabulous week for STEAM. This week we discussed different types of plastics, and it's uses and dangerous effect on the environment. Class starts with a simple discussion of plastics. Like, Plastic is a kind of material that is made by people and can be formed into almost any shape. Most plastics are strong, long-lasting, and lightweight. They resist damage by water, heat, chemicals, and electricity. Also, plastics can be made in many colours. After discussion, we read handouts of plastics and then students did cut and paste activity of uses of plastics. It was the positive, negative and neutral effect of plastics.

Last activity on Plastic was sorting out different plastics according to their codes from 1 to 7.

Students brought their own Plastic from their homes and then in groups, they sorted out their plastics and gave them codes.

"Design and plan culturally responsive, evidence-based approaches which reflect the local community and Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership in New Zealand."

"Gather, analyse and use appropriate assessment information, identifying progress and needs of learners to design clear next steps in learning and to identify additional supports or adaptations that may be required."