My name is Tara Kawalec and I teach 8th grade science at Northglenn Middle School, in Northglenn, Colorado, which is just 15 minutes north of Denver. This is my first year participating in LPS, and it certainly won’t be the last! My students were thrilled when they received their first letter from their scientist. As 8th graders, they try to act cool and nonchalant about everything, but you could see the joy in their faces as they opened their envelopes.
Energy is our overarching theme for 8th grade science. We began the year looking at types of energy and energy transfer. The project for this unit was building Rube Goldberg Machines. The students were testing their ability to fail over and over again, and keep on trying. They had a great time, as you can see from the photos below.
Our next unit was Forces, and they made roller coasters and were able to explain Newton’s Laws of Motion in the design and build of their coasters.
The Emotional Roller Coaster was my favorite 🙂 Oh middle school….
