8th Grade Science - Guest Speaker

The 8th grade science classes welcomed Mark Kleinginna to CMS to share his knowledge and expertise in the energy field.  

English 8 & Advanced English 8: Rorschach Inkblot Test

The students pictured above are Mrs. Porter's period 6/7 English class. 

     The students are currently reading the short story, "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes.  The story is about a dynamic character named Charlie who is chosen to undergo an experimental surgery to increase a person's intelligence. Before Charlie was selected for the experimental surgery,  he was given a series of psychological tests.  One of the tests that was administered to Charlie was the Rorschach test.     

     The Rorschach test also known as the Rorschach inkblot test is a psychological test in which subjects' perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analyzed using psychological interpretation, complex algorithms, or both. Some psychologists use this test to examine a person's personality characteristics and emotional functioning. It has been employed to detect underlying thought disorder, especially in cases where patients are reluctant to describe their thinking processes openly. The test is named after its creator, Swiss psychologist Hermann Rorschach. 

      The students assumed the role of a psychologist, created inkblots, and asked three other students what they thought his or her inkblot looked like.  The students recorded their responses and analyzed the results.  The students also decided if they thought this test was an effective way of determining someone's personality. 

     

English 8 & Advanced English 8: "Flowers for Algernon" Terms

The vocabulary list has been posted for the short story, "Flowers for Algernon" on Quizlet. 

Students of the Month: November

The Supernova teachers would like to congratulate the following Supernovas for earning student of the month honors for the month of November.

Social Studies: Brandon J.
Science: Josh L.
English: Katelyn O.

Outstanding Supernova Citizen: Jordan U.

"Robo-Legs" & "Eureka: Scientific Twists of Fate" Research

  Both of the articles that the students are currently reading in Mrs. Porter's English class contain references to important people and events related to the selections’ essential question: How has science changed our lives? 

    To better understand these topics before reading, the students completed a mini-research project. The students selected a topic at random from an envelope. They were required to find six to eight facts by using the search engines provided by the school's library. The students were reminded to evaluate their resources as they worked. The topics researched were the C-Leg, prosthetics, robots in medicine, Isaac Newton, Dr. Edward Jenner, smallpox, Louis Pasteur, and Alexander Fleming.
    Next, the students met with the other students in the class that had selected the same topic. As a group, they selected what they thought were the six most interesting facts about their topic. Then, they created a poster and shared their information with the class.  As each group shared their information with the class, the students were encouraged to ask the presenting group questions.

   

Science Class: Friday - 12/5/14

You will not be getting into your groups today.  Please complete all the steps in order.

You may complete some of the "Presentation Notes" that are located at the back of your "Energy Research and Presentation Notes" packet while watching the videos.

1. Watch - Hydroelectric Power - How it Works (Headphones Required)

2. Watch - Nuclear Power - How it Works (Headphones Required)

3. Watch - Chain Reaction - Nuclear Power (Headphones Required)

4. Watch - Geothermal Power Plant (Headphones Required)

5. Watch - Biomass in Pennsylvania (Headphones Required)

6. Watch - Fossil Fuels - Electricity (Headphones Required)

7. Watch - Solar Powered House - Bill Nye (Headphones Required)

8. Once you have viewed ALL the above videos, you may use the rest of the time to research your specific energy resource.

• Energy Debate Information and Useful Websites

2014-2015 Carson Scholar Nominee

    Congratulations to Jenna Rush who has been nominated by Mrs. Porter as the Canonsburg Middle School's Carson Scholar Nominee.  Each teacher in the building has the opportunity to nominate one student for Dr. Taranto's approval, but only one student can be nominated to the Carson Scholars Fund by the Canonsburg Middle School.

    Jenna was selected because of her academic performance and her extensive list of service activities.  She has been approved as a nominee by the Carson Scholarship Foundation and now has to go through an extensive application process.  Please check back in March to see if she won the scholarship!

For more information on the Carson Scholarship, or to see the qualifications that a student must have to be nominated, please check out the Carson Scholars Fund website.

English 8 & Advanced English 8: Vocabulary Terms

The vocabulary list has been posted on Quizlet for "Robo-Legs" and "Eureka: Scientific Twists of Fate".  The test on these terms will be Tuesday, December 9th.

Energy Research Debate General Information: 14-15

Energy Research Debate (Digital Copy)
Energy Research and Presentation Notes (Digital Copy)

Google Presentation (AKA: Google Slides) Due Date: December 15, 2014

• Create in Google Drive
• Share with Mr. Wolf: wolfp@cmsd.k12.pa.us
• Power Companies: Share with your group members
• Power Companies: Make sure your group members have permission to edit
• How to Name Your Google Presentation (AKA: Google Slides):
• Power Companies: classperiod_energyresource
• Example: 4-5_hydropower
• This would be the name of the file for the power company researching hydropower in my period 4-5 class.
• Panel Members: classperiod_energyresource_panel
• Example: 6-7_fossilfuels_panel
• This would be the name of the file for the panel member researching fossil fuels in my period 6-7 class.

Energy Pathfinder

Please use the following pathfinder to help you get started with your research.  The pathfinder can also be accessed from the library's website.

http://cmspathfinders.wikispaces.com/Energy

Energy Resource Quiz (15 Points) - December 19th, 2014

Advanced English 8: Swarm Theory Mini-Research Project

    Bees, ants, and wasps are examples of highly social insects. Though individually not intelligent, as a group these insects are capable of highly complex behaviors. Scientists refer to this phenomenon as “swarm intelligence.”
    The students of Mrs. Porter's Advanced English class researched swarm intelligence because this topic was discussed in their last short story, "Hallucination". Their goal was to find out what insects and other animals show this type of intelligence and what complex behaviors they perform. With the information that they gathered, they made a poster showing what they had learned about swarm intelligence. The students also wrote a minimum of three paragraphs explaining their findings and also created a works cited page.

    The students also selected from one of the two essential questions to guide them with their research.  Question 1: How could studying swarm intelligence help humans solve real-world problems? or Question 2: Why are computer scientists interested in the idea of swarm intelligence?  To get inspired before they started their research, they listened to the Canonsburg Middle School Band's performance of a song called "Swarm Theory".