8th Grade Motion Experiments

Just before April break, the 8th grade presented their findings after conducting their own experiments involving MOTION. Many groups used toy cars; a few groups used ramps.
Here are a few questions tackled by our investigative teams:
How does the mass of an object affect the distance it will travel?
How does the surface material of a ramp affect a car's speed?
How does the steepness of a ramp affect how fast a car moves across the floor?

Update by Trevor, Alec, and Ethan

The nervous system in our body is the way we react to things like pain, laughing, etc. One nerve can be up to 2 feet long! But, it could also be microscopic. Our spinal cord is just a big bundle of neurons (nerves). If our spinal cord is broken it could cause major problems to our nervous system. There are millions of neurons in our body. The neurons have many parts like the nucleus, axon, myelin sheath, and dendrites.
Here are some suggestions for people who don't exercise. Exercise has a massive effect on your body especially the brain. Exercise helps the brain calm down. Exercise also helps organize your thoughts. And believe it our not it improves your memory. Exercise can increase a person's ability to plan and organize thoughts. The more exercise you get, the farther you will be able to run and you will become less tired. So those are some reasons you should exercise more.

Physical Activity Boosts Brain Activity

Recent research shows that physical activity improves certain aspects of brain function. Very soon, all middle school students will be studying the science behind this important link. I'm proud that Guilford's middle school population is so active, fit, and (for the most part) happy to be outdoors! We'll be incorporating more physical activities into our daily school schedule so that we can reap the academic benefits.
Please read the article in the post below-- it includes tips for helping students achieve academic success (yes, exercise is one suggestion!).

Helpful Advice from ThinkingStorm.com

Six Ways to Help Students Raise Their Grades

Friday, 06 June 2008 10:48 administrator

By Annie Burnquist
With the school year ending, millions of high-school students are preparing for that last minute push to raise their grades -- and parents are looking for ways to help. Here are six tips to boost your child's final-exam scores.

1) Exercise the body to give the brain a boost.

Physical activity increases blood flow to the brain, feeding it with oxygen and learning-boosting nutrients like glucose. "Exercise in many ways optimizes your brain to learn," says Dr. John Ratey, a Harvard Medical School professor.

Getting students to workout greatly improves their classroom performance. One study found that 15 to 45 minutes of exercise before class reduced fidgeting among children by half. In a study that looked at three groups of students with different physical education routines, the group that exercised the most did the best on tests, even though they spent the least amount of time in class.

2) Create a healthy study space.
Where kids study is almost as important as what they study. So designate a specific spot for studying. Doing so sends the message that your household takes academics seriously. And although the area should be free of distractions like TV, video games, and phones, it should also reflect what the student needs -- not what mom wants. Developing this habit early in life will pay off immensely during college.

Aesthetics matter. One study found that grades were 25 percent better for students who study near a window; natural lighting promotes concentration.

3) Encourage interactive learning.
An ancient Chinese proverb goes: "Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand." Students perform better when actively engaged with the material. A great way to ensure that engagement is to hire a personal tutor.

Tutors were once too expensive for most Americans. Calculus tutors cost about $100 per hour -- and an instructor's quality varied with location. That's all changed thanks to online tutoring services They provide all the benefits of old-fashioned tutoring -- like one-on-one attention, a customized educational experience, and instant feedback -- at a considerably lower price. Kids who use our tutoring service typically raise their grade by at least half a letter.

4) Get plenty of sleep.
Sleep is essential to the brain's ability to learn. Teenagers should get at least eight hours each night. Grade schoolers need at least 10. Late-night cram sessions don't produce much long-lasting knowledge, and they compromise the ability to analyze and recall information during tests.

One study by Harvard psychiatry professor Robert Stickgold found that after learning a new skill, student performance didn't improve until after at least six hours of sleep. "It's as if you have to wait for the dough to rise," he explained.

Psychology professor Pamela Thacher cross-referenced college student grade point averages with sleeping habits and found that "you can't do your best work when you're sleep-deprived. . . If you use all-nighters, your GPA is slightly lower on average."

5) Encourage communal learning.
Group learning is more exciting than thumbing through a textbook. As social psychologists David Brandon and Andrea Hollingshead have concluded, "interaction with others leads to active processing of information by the individual."

Thanks to the internet, kids don't need to confine their study partners to people in their immediate area. There are plenty of high-quality online forums for kids to talk to each other or adult experts. As psychology professor Rena Palloff and international studies professor Keith Pratt noted in a paper on online learning communities, the "keys to the learning process are. . . the collaboration in learning that results from these interactions."

6) Have a study plan.
Creating a study plan is an effective way to manage stress and use time efficiently. A recent study by the American College Health Association rated stress as the #1 impediment to academic performance among college students in the United States. And during finals season, academic anxiety can be especially bad.

Luckily stress can be substantially reduced with just a little bit of planning. By creating a realistic study schedule and breaking down assignments into small, manageable pieces, students can avoid stress leading up to an exam.

Annie Burnquist is the founder and president of ThinkingStorm.com, an online tutoring service.

Pop Quiz!

Is this an animal cell or a plant cell? How can you tell?

December Curriculum Update

After Thanksgiving, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades started new units in science class. 6th and 7th have been learning about the tiny units that make up all living things: cells! After we got some perspective about the sizes of things (atoms, molecules, cells, tissues, organs...), we learned about the many parts of cells (organelles). We'll spend next week making our own Cell Cities!
Each student will make a city that carries out all of the jobs that our cell organelles perform.

8th grade is working on an electricity unit. We've seen the effects of static electricity, and now we're moving on to current electricity. Students are working in pairs to complete their electricity challenges. So far, they've succeeded in lighting a bulb with only a wire and a battery (not as easy as it sounds!); next week each team will explore circuits and invent a device that can tell if a material is a conductor or nonconductor.

After the holiday break, we'll be learning about how materials move in and out of cells. Experiments will involve eggs, potatoes, vinegar, salt water, food coloring, and corn syrup. No, we won't be eating them! We'll also focus on the important processes that happen in our cells (cellular respiration) and in plant cells (photosynthesis).

The Microbe Investigators did an excellent job!

The science room was bustling on Friday as the Microbe Investigators presented their experiments to the public! The 7th and 8th grades hosted two 1st grade classes, the 6th grade, and many parents. The Investigators taught our visitors about microbes and graciously answered questions. One investigative team even brought microbe-produced food to attract visitors to their poster (it worked!).