Ms. Parkhill

Dear Parents,
Your child's class will soon begin a unit called Mystery Festival, in which the students will act as crime lab scientists to help solve an imaginary mystery. In an effort to discover which fictional suspect (or suspects) may have committed a “crime” at Felix's beach house, the class will examine a large variety of clues and do tests on evidence, while learning important science skills and concepts. This program was developed by the Great Explorations in Math and Science programs at the Lawrence Hall of Science and tested in classrooms nationwide.
There are many materials that we need for this unit, so we are asking for you help. Please see if you have any of the following items to donate, or if you know of others who do. We need materials by May 8.

Thank you!
Ms. Parkhill
-16 or more plastic cups
-1 comb
-3 colognes or perfumes, as different from each other as possible(samples from department stores or magazines are fine.
-3x5in “post-it”
-1 small container of Krazy Glue
-4 empty film canisters
-1 package of aluminum foil
-4 eggs of silly putty
-4 old sweaters or T-shirts

There will be Quiz on Tuesday for chapters 1-4 in The Outsiders. On Wednesday we will have s vocabulary quiz on chapter 1-4.

Vocabulary:
absolute magnitude,apparent magnitude,spectrum, parallax, main sequence star, red giant, white dwarf, black hole, elliptical galaxy, spiral galaxy, big bang, cosmic background radiation.

Review Questions:
The majority of stars in our galaxy are...

What stars are most like our sun?

In which part of a spiral galaxy do you expect to find nebulas?

Describe hoe the apparent magnitude of a star varies with its distance from Earth.

If you are looking for more information on space stations here is a cool website that will show you what goes into making one.

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/spacestation/

Make sure you have your Outsiders book with you for the rest of the week. It is VERY important that you bring the supplies needed for the class(the book);)

This week we will continue to work on our phylum projects. Make sure that you bring your sources to class. The project is due on Monday, May 5 for the 7-4 class. It will be due on May 7 for 7-3.

There will be a test on Chapter 4, Thursday, May 1. I will posting the study guide on Tuesday.

4/14- Students have their rough draft of their narrative. In class we will peer edit.
4/15-Narratives due
4/22- Giver test! Students will also need to have Chapter 24 written and typed.

Vocabulary: Astronomical unit, terrestial planets, prograde rotation, retrograde rotation, gas giants, satellite, phases, eclipse, comet, asteroid, asteroid belt, meteroroid, meteor.

Things to know:
-The nine planets and their distance from the sun.
-You should which planets are inner and which are outter planets.
-How does being an otter planet change the temp. of the planet.
-How did the Earth's moon form.
-What does it look like when there is an eclipses
Why do we only see one side of the moon?

In English we have been working on writing narratives. The students have one narrative due on Wednesday and another due on Friday.

Things to remember:
-Think about where and how your story begins.
-Create an opening for your story that makes the reader want to keep reading.
-Center your story around an unusual conflict, problem, or question.
-Figure out how the conflict, problem, or question will be resolved.
-Let the readers know when and where the story takes place.