At the request of a certain commenter who posted a LONG time ago, I am listing the programs we have used this year. Enjoy

1- Stellarium ... Free Astronomy Program where you can watch the sky and stars and zoom in on celestial objects
2- Celestia ... Free Astronomy Program where you can fly around the solar system and beyond to watch objects like planets and asteroids move.
3- Zamzar.com .... Allows you to download youtube videos for free using the URL
4- Cartoon Physics - You all know this one! another freebee
5- Google Earth ... You can zoom in on any place on Earth and find topographical, cultural, and photographic information. Free but needs internet connection to store information
6- Seashore ... A program that lets you create and edit pictures
7- Mac Widgets and Google Gadgets... All kinds of cool applications like the earthquake watch and moon monitor.

The Final Push

The Big Dance is over, the Big Trip is Done,

and so our time together this year is ending. I am changing the grade sheets to only include your exit projects. They are due June 18th (Next Thursday). Remember, the 5 areas I am looking at are the:

1- Title/Introduction
2- Hypothesis
3- Procedure
4- Results
5- Discussion

I am posting a model powerpoint on the links section, check it out before you finish yours up in class next week, it is different than the one we went over in class. Remember, animations, pictures, graphs, all help to give your reader a better experience with your study.

Post Test

ITS OVER!!!! (almost)!

The 83 questions New York State Intermediate Science Exam for eighth graders is over. Having the luxury of grading some of your performance exams led me to one conclusion: That test "ain't got nothing" on you (note the parentheses for improper grammar)! A few even recieved 43's out of 45's! Now that we have made it through that barrier, it is time for the last and great adventure of eighth grade science.... your exit projects! Now you get to do the science for yourself. YOU get to set up an experiment. YOU get to set up the results, and YOU get to present it to your classmates. No more Mr. Smith getting materials for you or saying what material to cover. Any science topic you can test without hurting someone or raising moral red flags is fair game. Tomorrow I will show a sample project.


PS- Alfonso Martinez received the lowest grade in the history of state exams. In fact, because he didn't put his name on his performance exam, he got a negative score! Congratulations.
(joking)(well, not really)(well yes, actually I am joking)