Class #25--8th Grade Science Class

Monday, December 6, 10:00 A.M., 8th Grade Science Class. Class #25 on my “50 Classes or Bust!” journey. I have reached the halfway point of my 50 observations! It is really good to be back at Calvert and back in a classroom. Over the past week, my travels have taken me to New York City, San Diego, and San Francisco for a combination of Calvert alumni events and the National Association of Independent School (NAIS) People of Color Conference, at which I presented my dissertation findings. Although the trip was extremely worthwhile and productive, I am pleased to be back on campus. As today’s physical science class begins, Mr. Parker collects the lab assignments that are due and moves right into a discussion of mixtures and compounds. (Rust is literally falling out of my brain as the discussion revs up). Mr. Parker employs a “Brain Pop” video and quiz (which the class takes together orally) as an instructional aide. The biggest difference, the class discovers, is as follows: a mixture is created through a physical change, while a compound is created through a chemical change. Among many facts and nuances, the students learn how to discern between a heterogeneous mixture (cereal and milk, for example) and a homogeneous mixtures (salt water) and how to separate a mixture, including distillation and centrifuge. Mr. Parker’s visual aids are very helpful. After the Brain Pop quiz, Mr. Parker projects some fill-in-the blank slides on the screen, and the class works collaboratively to determine the correct answers and then uses the answers as the basis for their class notes. In small groups, the students work on a word scrabble handout in the final few minutes of class. Honestly, I learned a great deal in science class today, and I am confident the students did as well!