The IASA funded graphing calculators should be available when school starts in September. The other eighth grade science teacher and I will need to learn the basics of how to use them. We will also need to become familiar with the operation of the CBLs that the AAAS grant would provide. Students use a rubber ball and a motion detector to investigate rebound heights of successive bounces. They determine sound waves' periods and frequencies and investigate beat patterns.
Students use the light probe and a light source to investigate distance versus light intensity.
Students use a pH probe to compare commoin household liquids. The students will be encouraged to follow through on ideas that interest them and to incorporate them into their firms' reports. Students may use the full variety of probes available to them or may select one type of probe to either conduct several activities or to conduct a long range investigation. Students who show an exception interest in using CBLs may be invited and allowed to use the probes ahead of the proposed schedule. Throughout each introductory activity, the teachers will observe and evaluate student interest, participation, and skill mastery through conversations and performance observations.