NMY Math Science

We will be watching these lectures to help us understand stem cells and the role they play in medical research.

6th Grade Bread Making: This week was bread week for the sixth grade.  They wrapped up their study of fermentation and yeast with two rounds of bread making.  The first attempt was the application of their scientific studies to see if their findings would produce bread with lots of carbon dioxide.  After making and consuming that bread, the students were given the opportunity to make a flavored loaf of bread.  We had sundried tomato/onion/garlic bread, chocolate/vanilla bread, cheesy garlic bread and gummy worm bread!  If you are interested in reading more about each student’s experience, look for their reflections on their blogs.

This week was busy with visits from candidates for Head of School and we had a lot to accomplish this week.

6^th Grade: We continued to solidify our understanding of how to solve algebraic equations.  The skills were then applied to finding perimeter and area of rectangles and squares.  It was a real world application of the abstract skills.  The class also combined a series of skills to graph basic functions.  They had to apply order of operations, create function tables, identify ordered pairs and then graph them on a coordinate plane.

In science, the students performed the third iteration of their yeast experiment to identify the “best” sucrose solution to produce the most carbon dioxide.  The rest of the week was learning about the steps required to make bread and identifying the supplies needed.  We are scheduled to make our first loaves of bread on Monday.  Check back for the results!

7^th Grade:  The Pre-Algebra students have been grappling with square roots, estimating square roots and learning Pythagorean’s Theorem.  The Algebra class is working through terms such as relations, functions, linear functions, x and y intercepts, zeros and arithmetic sequences.

In science, the class was introduced to cell division.  They have read materials and had discussions around the stages of cell division and mitosis.  Each student is creating a “storyboard/cartoon” illustrating his or her understanding of cell division.  Look for those in the coming weeks.  On Friday, we performed an onion root tip mitosis lab with the brand new microscopes that were purchased through the Great Scientist Program.  We saw nuclei in various phases of mitosis.  It was pretty cool.

In both grades, the students have been reading and discussing current event science articles.  Each student posted an article they found interesting and we have been systematically reading them as a group and discussing the ideas presented.  If you are interested in engaging your child in these discussions too, you can find the articles posted on their Tumblrs.

7th Grade Mitosis Lab: The seventh graders are studying cell division and mitosis.  They used microscopes to see cells in different phases of mitosis using onion root tips.  The science clubhouse just purchased new microscopes and equipment through the Great Scientist Program. As you can see, the equipment has already been put to great use! Thank you to all that helped to make these purchases possible!  If you are interested in learning more about what the class is doing, be sure to check out the student’s individual Tumblrs.

Listed below are links that can be used to find current event articles to share in science class.

New York Times: Science News

Union Tribune: Science News

Time Magazine

Newsweek

Scientific American

Science Magazine

Popular Science

Wired Magazine: Science

SEED Magazine

Where has the time gone.  It is difficult to believe Thanksgiving is around the corner. Here is what the NMY students have been up to in the last week:

6^th Grade: Math class has been interesting.  We have been doing some pre-algebra work.  They have practiced translating verbal descriptions into algebraic expressions and equations.  The class is currently working on one-step and two-step equations.

In science, the students took their first yeast experiment and they designed their own experiment with yeast and three different concentrations of sucrose.  We are in the process of learning how to use Excel to turn our data into graphs.  Check out the sixth grader’s Tumblrs to hear their first impressions of this experiment.  They will be refining their experiments and performing a second version of the experiment.

7^th Grade:  Exponents and scientific notation were the topics of the week for the Pre-algebra students.  They are growing more comfortable with using scientific notation for writing extremely large and extremely small numbers.  The Algebra students hit their first major stumbling block this year.  They struggled with weighted averages and rate problems.  The students have been persistent and many are finally feeling successful with the skills.

Bread!  This week was the final opportunity for the students to apply their knowledge gathered in previous experiments to make their own unique loaf of bread.  We had a formal bread tasting and the loaves represented a wide range of flavors and tastes.  The seventh graders have posted photos and reflections on the whole process on their Tumblrs.  Up next: cell division!

Have a great Thanksgiving vacation!

Thank you to everyone who came to the NMY Information Morning about Math and Science on Tuesday.

6^th Grade: The class had their third concept checklist quiz this week.  Some students are demonstrating strong study habit and others are slowly learning recognizing the habits they need to be successful.  We just started to look at solving one-step equations.

This week in science, the students got their first chance to experience cellular respiration via their first yeast experiment.  We outlined the steps used to set up an experiment and how to approach a controlled experiment.  Many members of the class were impressed by the results of these experiments.  You should ask a sixth grader about what they learned!

7^th Grade:  Pre-algebra students are working on mastering the ins and outs of solving equations with positive and negative fractions.  Many of them are realizing success is in paying attention to the details.  The Algebra students are working on solving equations with variables on both sides of the equations and isolating a specific variable.

In science, the students documented their yeast experiments in written form.  Many of them are posted on their tumblrs if you are interested in reading their findings.  We are now going to apply our finding to making bread.  We made our first attempt at bread using the findings of their yeast experiments.  Stay tuned for the results of our bake off!

The 7th Graders have taken their yeast experiments to new heights.   They were very interested in applying what they learned about the relationships between sugar, water temperature and yeast production of carbon dioxide.  As a result, we are having a bread bake off!  This is our first attempt at making bread.  You will have to check back to see how the project turns out!  Here is a link to more photos.

Each group needs to coordinate bringing in the following items for our bread-making project.

• cutting board or kneading surface
• measuring cups
• medium mixing bowl
• spatula/mixing implement
• clean dishcloth

It has been a couple of weeks since the last update.  The student-parent-teacher conferences were productive and informative.  We now have clear goals to work towards in the coming months.

6^th Grade: The students learned about the concept checklist that will be used to track their progress in math class.  It is very different than what they are used to seeing and I hope it will become clear as we move forward.  Ask a sixth grader to share their checklist with you and learn what they are currently working on.  They have moved into the realm of integers and are exploring the other half of the number line.

A lot has transpired in science over the last few weeks. We used microscopes to explore the microscopic world.  The students enjoyed getting a glimpse of what normally goes unnoticed.  They completed and turned in their cell model projects on November 2nd.  The variety and creativity of the projects was tremendous.  Pictures of the cell projects are also posted on this blog.  If you want to find out more about what each student created and learned, please check each student’s blog.

7^th Grade:  The classes continue to plug along.  The Pre-Algebra students are performing basic functions with positive and negative fractions and mixed numbers.  The Algebra group has been solving one-step, two-step and multi-step equations.

The students have been having a “gas” in science class.  They performed experiments with yeast to illustrate fermentation, a form of cellular respiration.  They performed two iterations of their experiments and are working to share their work with a greater audience.  Stay tuned for their write-ups on their blogs!  Also posted on this blog are photos of their cell model projects.

We will be running our second NMY Parent Information Session on Tuesday, November 10.  The topic for presentation will be Math and Science in the NMY program.  We hope to see you then!