Go to the website:   www.education.jlab.org

Click on SOL practice test (yellow box on the right)
Choose 20 questions, Science 8, and "more options please"
Keep all years and "next options page, please"
choose "scientific investigation" or "force, motion, energy and matter"and "next options page, please"
choose "fixed set" and then "I'm ready, let's start"

Answer the questions.

At the end, it will ask if you want to add a name and an e-mail.  Send the results to me at oppenhdm@pwcs.edu.  MAKE SURE YOU PUT YOUR NAME ON IT.

You will receive 20 points for each test completed.

I hope you all have enjoyed the snow.  I love it.  I have gotten to play and shovel and just watch it.  But I am glad to get back to school (hopefully!!)

The CFA test on light and sound was prevously scheduled for Thursday and Friday.  It will be postponed, probably by one week.  Since we have a lot of things to do yet (and hopefully the diffraction glasses activity to do), it would be very helpful if you would have the vocabulary words completed when we come back.  I should already have resonance, diffraction, reflection and refraction.  The other words I would like you to do are:  gamma rays, radio waves, concave lens, convex lens, constructive, destructive, Doppler Effect and medium. 

I'm going to open a blog so you can ask any questions you have during the rest of the weekend and into the beginning of next week.  Chances are, if you have a question, others have questions, too. 

rest, enjoy the snow, and be ready to work when we get back.

 Okay, it is a little early yet, but since we have a whole week to go for break (and I'm flying to Arizona to see my parents), I want to give you the week to catch up on anything that you are missing.  I'm putting a folder at the bottom of the page that will have our updated lessons for the week we come back.  The CFA test is scheduled for Friday/Monday, so we need to work quickly to get all our information and activities in.  

Vocabulary: all words due no later than your vocabulary quiz
Activity labs:  no later than 1/8-11 (vocabulary MUST be completed before you can do the labs)
Vocabulary Quiz:  January 6-7
CFA test:  January 8-11

If you have any questions, please e-mail me.  

 I really enjoyed the inertia cars.  Some of you were VERY creative.  This week, we are in the final stages of the unit.  On Wednesday (white) and Thursday (green), you have two activity choices due on work, power and simple machines. On Friday (white) and Monday (green), you have your vocabulary quiz.  You also have two activity choices due for the uses of simple machines.  And then Tuesday (white) and Wednesday (green) of the following week is the CFA test.  If you are in a white day class, your notebooks will be due on Friday. 

Our next unit is another fun unit -- electricity and magnetism.  

Do not forget to blog.  I'm seeing a lot of improvement there.  

 This seemed fun when I played with it.  

http://www.engineeringinteract.org/resources/parkworldplot.htm

 this is the kind of conversation we should be having on the blog.  Very nice job, folks.  Keep it up.  And -- if you have any suggestions for blog topics, please feel free to send them to me.

 There will be a class blog every week.  Please get yourself on a schedule to get on the class website and check the blog and participate.  You will see some comments from me on the first one.  That is the kind of answer I want you to learn to write.  "cool", "neat idea", etc.  does not show me that you understand what we are learning.  You will see that I wrote a comment (it's the last one on the site) and then interacted with other students.  That is what creates a community.  Do not worry about correcting another student or answering a question.  No one knows who YOU are; I do.  As long as you are respectful when commenting, you are helping another classmate understand which is a good thing.

I will leave discussion 2 live for one more week, as well as discussion 3.  You may have until October 25 to respond to those and then I will grade them.  Make sure you also comment on discussion 4, which will be posted tomorrow.

Welcome to Mrs. O's class web page.  All of the general class handouts will be on this page.  This is also where you will come to participate in the class web log.  If students or parents have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me.  I plan to post our activities for each week as well as any extra credit opportunities.  Check in often!!

handouts from the first week of school

All rubrics being used in class to grade assignments.