Clip Art on entire website provided by My Cute Graphics @ http://www.mycutegraphics.com/buttons/mycutegraphics-small-logo.
Welcome to Ridgeview's Science Lab website!
This site has been designed to help my Science Lab students extend their science education from the classroom to home! This is also the place for families to see just what their child is learning in science this year. Just click on the "Physical Science Guide" tab above to see all that your child will be learning between September and December, then click the "Experiments at Home" tab to see simple experiments and games you can do at home to reinforce your child's understanding. So many families spend time together by watching TV at night... why not spend some quality FUN time together playing a game or doing an experiment? This will not only help your child learn in a fun, exciting way but will teach them that you think science is important, too!
It is my belief that by learning the scientific process, students will just naturally learn the scientific concepts that they are required to learn. All students will be learning about the scientific process via the "Nature of Science" standard that will be taught throughout the entire year and during nearly every experiment we do in class. The Nature of Science incorporates: scientific understanding; making predictions (hypotheses); how to plan and carry out investigations, observations, and experiments using data and charts; how to organize data; and how to analyze information to defend conclusions. This may sound like a difficult standard, but when students are able to use hands-on experiments to learn it, it becomes second nature to them... even to my young 1st Graders! I want my students to cooperatively explore questions, use critical thinking, and physcially DO science as a way to understand it and utilize it in our ever-increasing technological world.
Students began the year learning about Physical Science. Now we get into the unit that seems to be the favorite of most students... and one of my favorites, too ~ EARTH & SPACE SCIENCE! December and part of January will be spent learning about our own planet Earth. We will begin by studying The Water Cycle, then weather, and then we'll move into geology, studying soil, rocks and minerals. By February, all grades will be learning about our Solar System and the Universe! Every year I am amazed by the fantastic questions I get asked concerning the mysteries of our Universe, so parents... prepare yourselves for some thought-provoking questions at home, too!
My 4th & 5th graders will also have the opportunity to participate in the "2014 Severe Weather Awareness Week Poster Contest" sponsored by the American Red Cross and the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Last year was the 1st year Ridgeview participated and the FDEM were blown away by the nearly 200 entries we had! We also had a 1st place winner at our school, Aleish Ramirez, who was honored at a school-wide assembly by myself and members of the FDEM and American Red Cross. Let's see if we can't get another winner this year! Pariticipation is completely optional (but encouraged!) and information will be coming home regarding this contest before the Winter Break, at which time I will post a tab above with further details and information. So, keep a look out!
The "Science Buddies" program will also continue into this unit with 4th and 5th Grade students. I had originally included 3rd Graders as well, but because the majority of their Science grade comes from their classroom teacher, I have limited it to 4th and 5th graders only. This does NOT mean that 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders cannot participate, though. I will continue posting the Science Buddies experiments, as well as mini-experiments everyone can do at home, I just won't be collecting them from 3rd grade anymore. The Science Buddies experiments are designed by Laura Candler in conjunction with Kagan Cooperative Science Activities for families to do at home together as an optional, extra-credit activity! Check out the "Science Buddies" tab above for more information.
Feel free to visit this site often, and do the experiments throughout the next several weeks. I will not be doing any major updates to the website - other than the poster contest - until this spring when we begin our unit on Life Science.
Enjoy!
It is my belief that by learning the scientific process, students will just naturally learn the scientific concepts that they are required to learn. All students will be learning about the scientific process via the "Nature of Science" standard that will be taught throughout the entire year and during nearly every experiment we do in class. The Nature of Science incorporates: scientific understanding; making predictions (hypotheses); how to plan and carry out investigations, observations, and experiments using data and charts; how to organize data; and how to analyze information to defend conclusions. This may sound like a difficult standard, but when students are able to use hands-on experiments to learn it, it becomes second nature to them... even to my young 1st Graders! I want my students to cooperatively explore questions, use critical thinking, and physcially DO science as a way to understand it and utilize it in our ever-increasing technological world.
Students began the year learning about Physical Science. Now we get into the unit that seems to be the favorite of most students... and one of my favorites, too ~ EARTH & SPACE SCIENCE! December and part of January will be spent learning about our own planet Earth. We will begin by studying The Water Cycle, then weather, and then we'll move into geology, studying soil, rocks and minerals. By February, all grades will be learning about our Solar System and the Universe! Every year I am amazed by the fantastic questions I get asked concerning the mysteries of our Universe, so parents... prepare yourselves for some thought-provoking questions at home, too!
My 4th & 5th graders will also have the opportunity to participate in the "2014 Severe Weather Awareness Week Poster Contest" sponsored by the American Red Cross and the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Last year was the 1st year Ridgeview participated and the FDEM were blown away by the nearly 200 entries we had! We also had a 1st place winner at our school, Aleish Ramirez, who was honored at a school-wide assembly by myself and members of the FDEM and American Red Cross. Let's see if we can't get another winner this year! Pariticipation is completely optional (but encouraged!) and information will be coming home regarding this contest before the Winter Break, at which time I will post a tab above with further details and information. So, keep a look out!
The "Science Buddies" program will also continue into this unit with 4th and 5th Grade students. I had originally included 3rd Graders as well, but because the majority of their Science grade comes from their classroom teacher, I have limited it to 4th and 5th graders only. This does NOT mean that 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders cannot participate, though. I will continue posting the Science Buddies experiments, as well as mini-experiments everyone can do at home, I just won't be collecting them from 3rd grade anymore. The Science Buddies experiments are designed by Laura Candler in conjunction with Kagan Cooperative Science Activities for families to do at home together as an optional, extra-credit activity! Check out the "Science Buddies" tab above for more information.
Feel free to visit this site often, and do the experiments throughout the next several weeks. I will not be doing any major updates to the website - other than the poster contest - until this spring when we begin our unit on Life Science.
Enjoy!