Give Thanks!

....and we're back....

First and foremost, I would like to thank EVERYONE that is helping get the word out about what we are doing here in Noel. This is the third week of this blog and it has grown in leaps and bounds thanks to all the supportive bloggers out there. Also I would like to especially thank Mr. C and Tamaki Today for all their efforts.

Next up, I am so glad to be back from Thanksgiving break, as I am sure all the students are too. After having such a great Thanksgiving it made me realize just how fortunate I am for the many blessings that I have in my life. I LITERALLY COULD NOT ASK FOR MORE. With that said, during the first part of our class on Monday my homeroom students will be leaving comments about what all they are grateful/thankful for. I feel with the holidays being upon us, it is so important to keep in perspective what the holidays are all about and what makes them so important to each and every one of us. So check out our thankful list....and visitors, please feel free to leave a comment about what your thankful for.

A little preview for our science class this week, we will be looking at how to not only find the epicenter of an earthquake, but also how to plot earthquakes as well. In social studies this week, students will be starting their unit on Christmas Around the World. There is a good chance we may be asking for a little help from some of overseas visitors during this unit. Lastly in math, students will be starting their lesson in economics. Looking forward to a great week, and just remember only 25 more days until Christmas!

Mr. McClung

Sixth Grade Parent's Night.....Ancient Egypt Night

Night so long.....

Its been a long day, getting a late start to my post for parents night. We had a great turn out tonight for parent's night. For those not familiar with the Ancient Egypt Night, the sixth grade has been studying Ancient Egypt and the countries of Africa for a little over a month now. In this time they have done numerous activities that they have been keeping track of in an Ancient Egypt folder.

This week they culminated this project with museum night. In this museum students were given characters from various stories from Ancient Egypt time. These students then had to dress up and perform as WAX models in a museum. Keep in mind these students had to stand quietly and hold their positions while friends and family came through the museum. After this, the students went into the gym to perform a short skit from each one of their stories.

All of these students have practiced and researched their museum pieces for several weeks, and everyone of these students knocked it out of the park. Everyone of them did such a great job and all the sixth grade teachers could not be more proud. With that said, below are some pictures from this museum night. Everyone needs to check these out and see what an outstanding job these students did. Enjoy.

Mr. McClung

Stamp Out Smoking

Today we had a visit from the MCHS Drama Team. They presented a Stamp Out Smoking assembly for our 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. These students preformed several different skits addressing smoking and drinking and the dangers they present for teenagers. Above is a video of one the skits, and below are a few pictures from the show. All of these students did a great job and it is worth checking out, enjoy.

Mr. McClung

Earthquake Drill

Today in class we had a GREAT teachable moment. While in the middle of studying The Great Alaskan Earthquake, we had a surprise earthquake drill. Just thought I would share a couple of quick photos with everyone.



Mr. McClung

"The Great Alaskan Earthquake" = "a bunch of squiggly lines"

Monday we began to study The Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964. We used a copy of the seismogram (shown above) from the great earthquake to help us in our investigation. This earthquake (that registered 9.2 on the Richter Scale) and its aftershocks lasted for two days (March 27 & 28) and rendered over 1,000 aftershocks, countless tsunami waves, and numerous lives lost.



During this class today we discussed the different aspects of the seismogram and also discussed how to read it. By doing this we were able pin point at what time the first P-Wave was recorded (7:40 pm) and also track and record at what times the aftershocks occurred.



Listed below is a link to some great information about the earthquake, aftershocks and tsunami's that occured on this Good Friday on March 27th 1964.

http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/64quake.htm

Mr. McClung

Crowder College Talent Search

Thursday we took a field trip to Crowder College as a part of the Crowder College Talent Search. Throughout the day we visited several different departments at the school. Some of the highlights included the agri barn, library, solar house, and the vet. clinic.

At the solar house we learned about a house that runs of solar power only and how every can use resources (other than fossil fuels) to power the world. There we saw several different types of solar panels, a car and golf chart that ran off solar power. The house had included a battery that stored the suns energy, and held enough charge to power the house for one week without sunlight.

Check out the pictures and enjoy.

Mr. McClung

Studying Earth Quakes

Today we used a downsized version of a seismograph to record vibrations. We studied three different variables: distance, direction, and force. We did this by beating on the tables in a variety of way to create different types of waves and conditions. Below are some of the videos from our lesson today. Enjoy.

Above: This was probably one of the best readings we had all day. This group consisted of Cendy, Elio, and Shelby they were hitting the table in a perpendicular direction.

Above: This video is from Daisy, Evelyn, and Carlos performing the same direction.

Above: This video is Ismael, Josh, and Jasmin. This is one of the more violent "earthquakes" we recorded today. These students were told to beat the table (perpendicular direction) as hard as they want for this last trial.

Mr. McClung

Seismographs

New business....I would like to welcome my first follower, Mr. Matt Millard. This is one of my best friends from college, and I am glad he is on board with us.

In class on Wednesday, we will be learning how to not only studying earthquakes, but also how to record them. Our class will be using seismographs to record our man made earthquakes. There will be pictures/videos to follow after the experiment.

In the meantime, check out this short video that we will be watch in class. It is over early seismologist and how they studied earthquakes. After all, after today we will be seismologist ourselves.

http://link.history.com/services/link/bcpid1766638695/bclid1803311433/bctid1601306752

Harry Potter, Twlight, Edward Cullen

All Shook Up

Found some great information about earthquakes on the USGS (United States Geological Survey) website. This is a website that updates constantly throughout the day and gives the most recent earthquake activity in the entire world. You can look through several maps and check out any earthquake activity (big or small) in the past hour, day, or week. Notice the map below and notice how much movement there is in Arkansas to the south of us, and the Boot Heal of Missouri.

There is also an interactive map 7-day map you can check out on their website. This map allows you to look at location, time, and magnitude of all these earthquakes. There is also a world map available.

U.S. Map: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/

World Map: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/

Mr. McClung

P-Waves and S-Waves

In class we have been studying about earthquakes and the different types of waves that can occur during an earthquake. In this post you will notice two different types of waves demonstrated (P-waves and S-waves). Both of these waves are considered body waves.

In our experiment, we had one person moving the slinky while the other held it. A third person would time how long it took for the wave to reach the holder and vibrate back to the person that started the movement in the first place. In the videos, notice the wave "bounces" back after reaching the holder.

In this first video, Ben and Alberto demonstrating a P-wave using a Slinky. P-wave stands for primary wave, it is also a compressional wave. Primary waves are the first waves observed during an earthquake. These waves move in a up and down motion (compression), and are followed by S-waves.

Again Ben and Alberto are helping demonstrate for us. This time they are demonstrating S-waves. S-wave stands for secondary wave, these are also called transverse waves. These waves move from side-to-side, in a "S" motion. In our experiment we found that s-waves are the slower of the two and cause the most damage in real-life earthquakes.

Mr. McClung

Lets get it started....

This will be my first blog ever in my attempt to catch up with the rest of the blogging nation.

The main focus of this blog will be to share information and happenings in our sixth grade science classes. By doing this I hope that I can keep everyone "in the know" about what is going on, and share some insight to what our students are doing everyday in science. I am also challenging parents and students a like to interact with this blog as much as possible. Feel free to use this blog to express any comments or ideas you may have about our science class.

In the mean time, I hope you enjoy our work, and as always feel free to contact me at anytime.
jkmcclung@gmail.com

Mr. McClung