Class Korowai on Mr Bones

Every year I get my students to decorate two feathers for their class korowai - one with images or words that represent who they are, and one with a specific goal for their time in science. 

This year I decided to merge all the feathers from my four classes to make one large korowai rather than four smaller one, and actually have it worn as a cloak by Mr Bones rather than displayed flat on the classroom walls. 

Here is the finished product:

A Student Shines at the Halfway Point

Yesterday I set 9PLa and 9RTd an assessment as we are now halfway through the Chemical Reactions unit. 

Students chose whether they would like to work on paper, Google Presentations, Wix websites or Prezi. Most students chose to make a Google Presentation or Prezi, 2 students chose Wix websites and there are a few working on posters.

I set out Achieved, Merit and Excellence criteria, and students chose which grade they would like to aim for and got to work!

One student went home and kept working on their project, and here are some screenshots of her beautiful presentation, handed in days early and to a very high standard! Check them out below:

Here is the Achievement Criteria; what is the highest grade she met all the criteria for?

Achieved

1. Include a safety slide at the start of your prezi. It must have information about:
1. safety around acids and
2. safety around bunsen burners.
2. Include a slide with a definition of a chemical reaction. This slide must:
1. be written in your own words
3. Include a slide that explains the difference between physical and chemical changes. This slide must include:
1. Whether or not a new substance is made
2. Whether or not the change is reversible
3. What you might observe (see) during a chemical change
4. What you might observe (see) during a physical change
4. Include a slide about 2 chemical reactions we have done at class, or others you do all the time at home.
1. You may or may not want to include photos or videos from class
5. Include a slide about the chemical change that happens when a potato is cooked
1. Identify the reactants and the products

Merit

1. Same as Achieved
2. Same as Achieved
3. Same as Achieved
4. Include a slide about 2 chemical reactions we have done at class, or others you do all the time at home.
1. You may or may not want to include photos or videos from class
2. Explain how you knew they were chemical or physical
5. Include a slide about the chemical change that happens when a potato is cooked
1. Identify the reactants and the products
2. Explain how you tested whether there had been a chemical change

Excellence

1. Same as Achieved
2. Same as Achieved
3. Same as Achieved
4. Include a slide about three chemical reactions we have done at class, or others you do all the time at home.
1. You may or may not want to include photos or videos from class
2. Explain how you knew they were chemical or physical
5. Include a slide about the chemical change that happens when a potato is cooked
1. Identify the reactants and the products
2. Explain how you tested whether there had been a chemical change
6. Include a slide about the chemical reaction between iodine and starch
1. Identify the reactants and the products
2. Explain what is happening during the reaction
3. Discuss how you could use iodine to test another food; write a hypothesis of what you think would happen and a method of how you would test it.  

9PTt "Polluted Water" Puzzle

9PTt has been learning about separating mixtures and solutions using decanting, filtering and evaporating. There's only so much you can learn from listening to a teacher, so I decided to challenge them practically. 

I set up large beakers containing rocks, sand, salty water with blue food colouring and topped off the "polluted sample" with a layer of baby oil. Students had to work out how to separate the different parts of the sample to find out how much salt was in the water. 

Students decanted the salty liquid out of the beaker, leaving behind a heavy layer of rocks and sand. There was still some sand floating in the liquid, so students had to filter the liquid through a funnel and filter paper. 

Next students poured the salty liquid into a funnel while holding it closed with their thumb. They (mostly) waited patiently until all the oil rose to the top then let the water out from underneath, leaving the oil behind. 

I didn't quite trust that all the oil had been removed from the sample and didn't really feel like setting anything on fire today, so I collected back their samples and distributed a new one with only salt and water in it!

G opening the bunsen burner hole to get a blue flame

Students then evaporated off the water using an evaporating dish heated over a bunsen burner to find out how much salt was in the solution. There was a lot of engagement during this practical, and I feel that students benefitted a lot from being able to do the separation themselves.  

  Tomorrow the students are going to learn how to separate mixtures using chromatography and make some cool chromatography flowers while they're at it!

Tamaki College Heist

Last Wednesday Tamaki College were visited by the The Royal Family - no not Kate and Wills (although that would have also been very cool) - the Hip Hop Dance Crew! The performance was amazing to watch and the kids looooved it! 

All the credit goes to Jake in Year 13 for organising the campaign and motivating the entire school to participate in the MaiFM competition. 

I can't embed the video but follow the link to watch it here!