That’s the driving question 7th graders have been pondering.   This week students are looking more closely at what is happening inside of a cell.  They have learned about the various organelles found in plant and animal cells and began designing and creating cell models.  Students will use their models to discuss the value and limitations of using them to explain scientific phenomena.

After two weeks of collaboration, brainstorming, research, planning, designing, getting feedback, thinking, and rethinking, the 8th graders began construction of their building prototypes last week.  Students quickly learned that moving from imagining to doing can be tricky.  They are seeing that even with a well-designed written plan it can be challenging to create the actual prototype.  Necessary steps are missed, materials don’t work well or ideas fail.  And, through it all students are persevering and pushing themselves to come up with solutions to improve their design.    The classroom is a flurry of students supporting one another, respectively disagreeing, challenging one another, thinking critically and problem solving.  Stay tuned for the final designs.

How do I design and construct a prototype of a building that withstands an earthquake?  That is the challenge facing the 8th graders.  And, they welcomed the challenge!  Students spent this week figuring out what they know and what they needed to investigate and learn to build a successful prototype.  They began their initial research and used a journal to document their thinking and ideas.   Students will be taking their final prototypes to UWM in March to test them on the shake table and to get feedback from a panel of professors.  Let the challenge begin!

What a great week in 7th grade science!   Students were so excited to use the microscopes to view three different single-celled organisms–Paramecium, Euglena, and Amoeba.  They documented their work by creating detailed sketches of what they saw and writing meaningful observations.   To support each others’ learning, each student gave and received peer feedback on their sketches and observations.  When asked what stood out about feedback, N.R. exclaimed, “I learned how to improve my own drawings by giving feedback to another student.”  This was followed by lots of nodding heads.  HAPPY TEACHER MOMENT!  This begins our unit on cells.  From here we will use student questions to drive the learning process forward and engage in an in-depth study of what cells are, how they get what they need, and how they reproduce.   Such exciting stuff!