Dear Parents,

Just a reminder that Science Fair is now here! The project was assigned the first week of October and we have talked in class about the requirements many times. Please return the signature sheet by Thursday, October 30th.

All Science Fair Experiments must be COMPLETE by December 3. This means all sections TYPED! All students must have boards – they have the option of ordering through the school, if they do not they must buy their own; they are available at Walgreens, Wal-Mart, etc.

Late Projects will not be accepted. The science fair will be held at Shoesmith on December 10. This is 10% of students’ 2nd quarter grades.

All projects should contain the following:

1.    Title
2.    Purpose (or Problem) -  (A question – Why you’re doing the experiment –  Example “Do tennis balls bounce farther than baseballs?”)
3.    Hypothesis – “I think….” Your prediction.
4.    Review of Literature –.Information related to your topic that you learned from your research.
5.    Materials – Everything used. Include amounts (in Metric system).
6.    Procedures – Step by Step instructions of what you need to do/did for the experiment
7.    Results – What happened? Observations and Graphs, Charts and Tables. Also photos may go here.
8.    Conclusion – Interpret your findings. What did you learn, what did results mean? Include if your hypothesis was correct.
9.    References - at least five references – only two should be websites.
10.    Abstract – A statement of purpose, a brief summary of the procedure and conclusion (one-three paragraphs in total).
11.    Safety Sheet – Provided by teacher – shows safety precautions taken during experiment.

Please return the bottom section with parent signature that you understand the final deadline and steps required for project. Thank you – Please feel free to check my website for this and other information. http://shoesmith205.cuipblogs.org/  or Ms. Corbin’s webpage for http://vlcorbin.cuipblogs.org/ more information.
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My child _____________________________ has shown me the requirements for Science Fair and I understand it is due December 3rd, and the School Science Fair will be held December 10th.
____________________________________________________
(Parent Signature)

If you have not paid your $50 student fee yet, please do so immediately. We use the student fees to pay for student AVID binders, planners, writing notebooks and math materials. These fees go directly toward materials for your child’s education.

Thank you!

Following are some good places to start looking for a science fair project, or to use as reference resources for a project you have chosen. Remember to choose a project appropriate for your grade level.

Chicago Public Schools Science Fair Website:
http://www.chicagostudentsciencefair.org/

Hunkin’s Experiments
These experiments are presented as cool cartoons. Choose from experiments dealing with food, math, biology, electricity, the office, sound, hobbies, science, clothes, light, objects, materials, miscellaneous, or waterclocks. What a selection!
http://www.hunkinsexperiments.com/

K-12 Science Ed. Resources
This site includes an index of shortcuts to other sections, list of link collections, and list of other useful sites. There are discussion groups, demonstration sites, science projects, ‘ask a scientist’ sites, science education sites, and more.
http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/edu.html

Science Fair Center
This site offers general science fair project ideas, ideas grouped according to subject, middle school science projects, and high school science projects.
http://www.homeworkspot.com/sciencefair/

Science Fair Central
In addition to ideas for science fair projects and experiments, this site offers a nice clip art gallery.
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/

Science Fairs Homepage
The Eastern Newfoundland Science Fairs Council has designed this site to help students find an idea for a science fair project. There are also resources to help plan the project once you have found an idea.
http://www.cdli.ca/sciencefairs/

Spark, Bang, Buzz and Other Good Stuff
This site describes some scientific and technical projects. In addition to other projects, there are ones involving explosions, magnetism, refrigerants, and electricity.
http://home.earthlink.net/~lenyr/

The Adventures of Science Bob
Science Bob has more than just experiments. He also hosts ‘Ask Bob’ and has a teacher’s section and links.
http://www.sciencebob.com/

The Ultimate Science Fair Resource
This site offers science fair project ideas, information, help, and links.
http://www.scifair.org/

Hello Parents and students,

Please note the following final science fair timeline:

Due:

9/18          Science Fair Topics (questions) due

10/13        Research due - typed

Must have minimum of 5 Sources

Only 2 sources may be from the internet

Problem, Hypothesis, Materials List and Procedure must be turned in (typed).

11/20        Results and Conclusion are due (meaning experiment must be completed).

11/28        Final Papers must be turned in containing all parts together

12/3          Final Project due - on board, ready to present

12/10        Shoesmith Science Fair

Please encourage your child to use a memory stick, or to save the work in a word file that can be emailed to their account and accessed from school and home/library, so they can correct and work on it at any time in any location.

Good luck!!!

Hello! I hope everyone has enjoyed their summer, and that our students are rested and ready for a great new year at school. I’m really excited about beginning this new year. I’ve worked with the incoming 6th graders last year as their 5th grade science teacher, and they are truly a wonderful group of students. I look forward to seeing them grow into their role as leaders of our school, and am sure they will continue to exhibit the humor, kindness, responsibility and good attitudes that made them such a pleasure to work with last year. I’m also excited to meet and get to know our incoming 5th graders. I know some of them already as the younger brothers and sisters of our older students, and am sure they will be an interesting and exciting group as well.

The 5th graders have an exciting year of hands-on integrative activities that will focus on four main units in the following order: Microworlds, Measuring Time, Levers and Pulleys, and Solar Energy. We will use these units to learn about the scientific method, building models, analyzing results and modifying models. This program focuses on students observing and creating concrete models of ideas, and learning how to observe and carefully record data. Students will also be pushed to clarify and correct their thinking throughout the units.

The 6th graders will also have many hands-on activities, but the 6th grade program also will push students to the next academic level needed for middle and high-school. The 6th grade unit programs are in the following order: Energy Resources, Climate and Weather, Dynamic Planet, And Fossils. This program focuses on the Earth sciences, and students will learn to further their thinking processes and hone their skills in creating questions and hypothesis, correctly observing, organizing and documenting data, and researching and analyzing their thinking and models they have created. Students should be prepared for a little more book and writing work than they may have been accustomed to from the 5th grade program.

Finally, our writing classes; in 205, we’ve already created some amazing writing - in only a few weeks. So far we’ve been focused on collecting ideas (seeds) for our writing, learning how to draft with details and dialogue, and building our writing stamina. In the coming months our focus will move to the complete writing process including revision, editing, and publishing. Please encourage your young author to share their work at home, you’ll be impressed with what you hear.

Please feel free to contact me at any time with questions, concerns or news about your child. My email address is jepeterson2@cps.edu. I look forward to working with you and your child this year.

Thank you,

Ms. Peterson-Teckchandani