January 25, 2012

Welcome back from our winter break. I hope you all had a great holiday season with your friends and family.

Please help our classroom get funding for necessary supplies for our projects. Your support is greatly appreciated!!! Thank you. My project is still under review but in about a week it will be available for your family and friends to make a donation if possible.

My project page is found at: httt://www.donorschoose.org/ms.hurtado.

Thank you for supporting your child’s educational success.

December 8, 2011

***Don’t forget our next Science test will be on March 13-15,2012.

Physical Science Unit

Parents please visit http://fossweb.com/CA/ and choose 5^th grade, then click on Mixtures and Solutions. You will find a vast variety of resources for our next Physical Science Unit.  Resources include:

1.    Audio books for every investigation in our unit, which can be downloaded on to itunes.

2.    Web Sites about facts, museums, and online labs.

3.    Book lists to compliment the information learned in our new unit.

4.    Vocabulary list and definitions.

5.    Periodic Table

6.    Junk Yard Analysis is an interactive game.

Mixtures & Solutions 5th Grade Physical Science Unit

Chemistry is the study of the structure of matter and the changes or transformations that take place in it. Learning about the makeup of substances gives us knowledge about how things go together and how they can be taken apart. Learning about changes in substances is important for several reasons: changes can be controlled to produce new materials; changes can give off energy to run machines. The Mixtures and Solutions Module has four investigations that introduce students to these fundamental ideas in chemistry. Students will • Gain experience with the concepts of mixture and solution and the physical properties of substances that are used to identify them as mixtures and solutions. • Gain experience with the concepts of saturation and supersaturation. • Identify properties of common solid, liquid, and gaseous substances. • Understand that during chemical reactions, atoms rearrange to form products with different properties. • Learn that all matter is made of very small particles called atoms and that atoms combine to form molecules and compounds. • Know that the 90 naturally occurring elements and their combinations account for all the varied types of matter in the world. • Understand that the periodic table organizes the elements by their chemical properties. • Plan and conduct simple chemical investigations. • Use measurement and appropriate tools in the context of scientific investigations. • Record data, develop scientific evidence, and draw conclusions from that evidence. • Acquire vocabulary associated with chemistry and the periodic table.

Web Sites

American Chemical Society

http://chemistry.org

This site provides a guide to accessing information about the American Chemical Society’s educational resources, including curriculum materials, professional-development programs, student programs, and institutional programs. Follow the “Educators and Students” link at the top of the page. Includes a link to introduction in Spanish.

The Atoms Family – Miami Museum of Science

http://www.miamisci.org/af/sln/

This is a fun, interactive site about the different forms of energy. The online activities are organized by grade level.

Bill Nye’s Online Labs

http://www.nyelabs.com/

This site contains Bill Nye the Science Guy’s online labs which contain chemistry experiments.

Borax

http://www.borax.com/borates1.html

This site explains what the mineral borax is, and where it is mined and refined.

CHEM4KIDS

http://www.chem4kids.com/index.html

This site includes a variety of information, activities, and a glossary relating to chemistry.

Chemical Elements

http://www.chemicalelements.com/index.html

Up-to-date periodic table created especially for K-12 students.

Creating Crystals At Home

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/growingcrystals/a/aa012604.htm

Includes information and recipes for homemade crystals, including alum, sodium thiosulfate, and rock candy. Young students may require adult supervision.

Give It A Shake, Cornstarch Comes Alive

http://cdn2.libsyn.com/sciencefriday/cornstarch-031309.mp4?nvb=20090420233802&nva=20090421234802&t=054bedb581d1b9ae9695a

NPR’s Science Friday explores oobleck! From the Science Friday website: Science Friday brings you a science fair project for the recession: combine cornstarch and water and make a fluid with bizarre physical properties, on the cheap. Physicists Robert Deegan, of the University of Michigan, and Harry Swinney, of the University of Texas at Austin, explain why the mixture comes to life under the right conditions.

Grow a Borax Snowflake

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/boraxsnowflake.htm

Follow these instructions to create a borax crystal snowflake.

How Fire Works

http://science.howstuffworks.com/fire.htm

Find out where fire comes from and see why it behaves the way it does at this How Stuff Works website.

I Know That: Science Lab

http://www.iknowthat.com/com/L3?Area=Science%20Lab

This is a great site for activities, animations, simulations and other resources related to the human body, sounds, matter the solar system, weather and other science topics to supplement sound.

Interactive Periodic Table

http://www.webelements.com/

Welcome to WebElements includes an interactive and clickable periodic table. You can access information about the different elements by clicking on their symbol on the table.

Journal of Chemical Education

http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/

Follow links in the “Only at JCE on-line” box to find biographical snapshots of chemists, the ChemEd Resource Shelf, Hal’s Picks (recommended readings for teachers of chemistry and related sciences), and a list of reviewed Internet sites.

The Periodic Table Comic Books

http://www.uky.edu/Projects/Chemcomics/

John P. Selegue and F. James Holler of the Chemistry Department of the University of Kentucky developed the Periodic Table of Comic Books, linking all of the known elements to references in historic and modern comic books. Included are pictures, stories, and information on the historical relevance of each reference. Click on an element in this table and see full, referenced comic book pages and covers involving that element. See how comic book heroes have been influenced by chemistry.

Science of Candy: Rock Candy Recipe

http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/recipe-rockcandy.html

Find out about the science of candy and how to make rock candy at this Exploratorium website.

Soap Chemistry

http://www.sdahq.org/cleaning/chemistry/

An illustrated discussion of the chemistry of soap. Sponsored by the Soap and Detergent Association.

Tryscience.org Field Trips

http://www.tryscience.org/fieldtrips/fieldtrip_home.html

Find out about more than 400 science and technology centers and museums worldwide. Use an interactive map of the world to find and explore a science and technology center or museum near you. You can also find online adventures and field trips, ideas for experiments at home, plus live webcams. TryScience.org is your gateway to experience the excitement of contemporary science and technology through on and offline interactivity with science and technology centers worldwide. TryScience is brought to you through a partnership between IBM Corporation, the New York Hall of Science (NYHOS), the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), and science centers worldwide.

WebElements

http://www.webelements.com/

The most inclusive and up-to-date website dealing with the elements. It has periodic tables to download, from simple to very complex, and a great deal of information. Excellent resource for teachers.

Wonderwise: Women in Science Learning Series

http://wonderwise.unl.edu/

Introduces you to women who have made science their career. You can take several field trips, including space geology, African plant exploration, and urban ecology.

World of Chemistry

http://members.aol.com/profchm/

This website is maintained by Ralph Logan, instructor of chemistry, Dallas County Community College District, North Lake College. It is recommended by NSTA and contains a frequently asked questions section, a good list of chemical education sources, and an extensive list of sites on distance education.

December 6, 2011

Hi parents,

I’m glad to be able to communicate with wonderful parents and students. If you have any questions or concerns please email me at drh6256@lausd.net or call (323) 661-2125.

The Winter Season has rapidly approached us…

Our class had our first classroom pizza party on November 30, for those students who achieved a benchmark score on either one of their Periodic Assessments or accumulated $650.00 in classroom cash.  November was an extremely busy month in which our students took three Periodic Assessments in: Math, Science, and Language Arts.

Our Winter Extravaganza will be on December 14, 2011. Our class will be singing, “Once Upon a Christmas Song.” We are looking forward to your attendance at 1:00 (parent performance).  Moreover, our Winter Break will begin on December 19, 2011 and end on January 6, 2012. Therefore, classes will resume on Monday, January 9, 2012.

I have sent a letter with a password and user name for your child to access Pearson Success Net.  This website provides extended support for your child in Mathematics.  I have assigned the topics that we are covering for this Math block.  The second Math Periodic Assessment will be on February 7-9, 2012. In addition, we will begin our Physical Science Unit in January 2012.  The Physical Science Assessment will be on March 13-15, 2012.

Hooray!! Hooray!! Save the date for our special events that will nurture your child’s artistic endeavors.  Furthermore, I’m excited to inform you that we will be visiting The Norton Simon Museum of Art for our 1st field trip on Monday, February 27, 2012.  For our second field trip we will visit The Music Center on Thursday, March 29, 2012.

Wish List Items: If you would like to donate an additional set to our classroom, your donations will be greatly appreciated.

The Meridian-Webster Everyday Language Reference Set is a great resource that we use on a daily basis in our classroom, they are available on amazon.com for about $13.00. Unfortunately, I only have 8 sets for 32 students.  I would greatly appreciate it if you can purchase a set for your child to bring to school and keep in our class for the whole year.

Highlighters

White-out correction tape

1.5″ binder

tab dividers