COURSE SELECTION PRESENTATIONS
On Tuesday, February 23, Mr. Habowski will be in Room 200 during our normal class time to speak to all of my ninth grade Foundations of Science students about Ephrata High School's course offerings and the course selection process.
I absolutely love that our guidance department takes the time to meet with students and answer their questions about classes they can take, graduation requirements, future goals, procedures for selecting courses (online), and more.
If you and your child have not done so already, it would be a great idea to look over the Course Selection information on our Guidance webpage this weekend, prior to Mr. Habowski's visit on Tuesday.
Students are welcome to come to class with questions to ask after or during Mr. Habowski's presentation. If you or your child have additional questions that don't get answered during Tuesday's class period, your child can always set up a meeting with his or her guidance counselor to discuss future coursework and scheduling concerns on a one-to-one basis. I will also do my best to point them in the right direction!
CHEMICAL BONDS
This past week, we introduced the idea of chemical bonds. On Tuesday, we did a Crystals Lab, in which students viewed four common household compounds - table salt, Epsom salts, table sugar, and alum - under magnifying glasses. This activity was intended to get students thinking about how what's happening at the atomic level in those compounds translates into the crystals we can see with our eyes.
Wednesday, we learned about Lewis Dot Structures, which are a visual way of representing an atom's valence electrons. Today during class, we used beads to represent valence electrons in our Lewis Dots Lab. In this inquiry activity (pictured below), the students moved valence electrons (beads) between atoms to form compounds. We haven't formally defined ionic and covalent bonds yet, but the students made ionic and covalent bonds today - without even realizing it. The students did a great job problem solving together!
On Tuesday, February 23, Mr. Habowski will be in Room 200 during our normal class time to speak to all of my ninth grade Foundations of Science students about Ephrata High School's course offerings and the course selection process.
I absolutely love that our guidance department takes the time to meet with students and answer their questions about classes they can take, graduation requirements, future goals, procedures for selecting courses (online), and more.
If you and your child have not done so already, it would be a great idea to look over the Course Selection information on our Guidance webpage this weekend, prior to Mr. Habowski's visit on Tuesday.
Students are welcome to come to class with questions to ask after or during Mr. Habowski's presentation. If you or your child have additional questions that don't get answered during Tuesday's class period, your child can always set up a meeting with his or her guidance counselor to discuss future coursework and scheduling concerns on a one-to-one basis. I will also do my best to point them in the right direction!
CHEMICAL BONDS
This past week, we introduced the idea of chemical bonds. On Tuesday, we did a Crystals Lab, in which students viewed four common household compounds - table salt, Epsom salts, table sugar, and alum - under magnifying glasses. This activity was intended to get students thinking about how what's happening at the atomic level in those compounds translates into the crystals we can see with our eyes.
Wednesday, we learned about Lewis Dot Structures, which are a visual way of representing an atom's valence electrons. Today during class, we used beads to represent valence electrons in our Lewis Dots Lab. In this inquiry activity (pictured below), the students moved valence electrons (beads) between atoms to form compounds. We haven't formally defined ionic and covalent bonds yet, but the students made ionic and covalent bonds today - without even realizing it. The students did a great job problem solving together!
WEEKEND WORK
Students will only have homework to complete this weekend if they don't finish and turn in their Lewis Dots Lab, Data Analysis Questions (page 160 #1-6), and Glossary (#68 ion, #69 cation, #70 anion) tomorrow. Friday's class period will be a Work Day devoted to completing these items.