Ms. Hyche’s Class Blog

At Challenger Middle, we are SO lucky to have all sorts of technology at our fingertips. Technology is now implemented in daily life, so why not implement it in the classroom?!

Last week, my English classes had the pleasure of using the traveling laptop classroom to review pronouns. It is an amazing sight to see 28-30 students staring into their own computer screen and working with their own personal computer. How lucky we are.

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Today all of my Science classes had the pleasure of playing Jeopardy to review for tomorrow’s test. I wish I got to play Jeopardy with controllers, a life size screen, and the actual Jeopardy music when I was in school. The scoreboard we used today was electronic and kept up with all of the teams’ points. Although I couldn’t be the game show host and photographer all-in-one today, I did take some pictures of the screen and the game module. Next time I will grab some students in action with Jeopardy. Students, share these pictures with your parents. Did they have this kind of fun while preparing for a test?

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Technology is not only fun for the students, but it allows the teacher to use a different style of teaching. So, can technology teach? Of course it can!! This wonderful blog would not be in existence without today’s technology. Technology allows us to email and communicate effectively with others. Cameras allow me to share these fabulous pictures with you. Computers allow you to research, design, and even view your grades! It provides us with a free and quick flow of information to benefit higher learning. Computers even assisted me with getting the job at CMS. I filled out the application for HSV City Schools online! Thank goodness for technology

We have technology present in our classroom that we may take for granted. For example, the projector in our classroom allows all students to view the board and provides us with opportunities to watch presentations and educational movies. It’s not just for your daily starters students. So what do you guys think? Can technology teach? Does technology keep you interested? Let me know your thoughts.

Technology does not and will not replace the teacher. It just enhances our ability to inspire the learner and stimulate young minds! Have a great Monday and brainstorm ways technology has impacted your educational experiences. Share them on the blog, or tomorrow in class.

Science today was exciting…..and kind of smothering! We set up shop in the lab to investigate the movement of hot and cold air. Our materials included: 2 convection tubes, ice, hot water, a flashlight, and punk sticks. Yes, the same sticks you use to light fireworks. The punk sticks were our smoke source and allowed us to see the movement of the air. They also are to blame for our stinky clothes and smoky lab.

We started off investigating the movement of cold air. We placed the ice in one convection tube. From there, we carefully put the smoking punk stick through a funnel connected to the convection tube. We then turned out the lights and shined a flashlight through the tubes to see how the air moved. We found that cold air moved very slowly and hovered around the ice. It looked very heavy and thick.  Also, a lot of the air was pushed out through the funnel, not the top of the tube.  This happened because heavy, dense air sinks.

We then repeated the entire process with hot water. Almost immediately, the smoke from our punk stick began rising out of the top of our convection tube. The air was moving quickly and had a wispy or light look about it. This makes sense because we know that light, less dense air will always rise. There was also a lot of moisture around the convection tube. A few students recognized this process as evaporation.

I was very pleased with every class today in the lab. Thank you students. You all did a very nice job in your investigation.

Apply what you know. If earth’s surface was cold, what would happen to the air above it? If the surface was hot, what would happen to the air above it? Do you think air takes on the temperature of the surface beneath it? Think about it and be ready to discuss this on Monday!

Pictures are below! Enjoy![rockyou 83288876]

Hey students and parents!

In English today we began discussing personal pronouns. When I told the students what the focus of today’s lesson was, they all had a kind of  “ugh” look on their faces. However, we discovered that recognizing personal pronouns in daily activities proved to be fun and entertaining.

With one of The Beatles album as my aide, we played the song Love Me Do in class. As we listened to the lyrics, the students made a tally mark each time they heard a personal pronoun. Many students expressed to me that they had the same album at home. Now this could get fun! Students, explain to your parents what a personal pronoun is. Then challenge them to find the number of personal pronouns used in Love Me Do, just as we did in class.

Tonight I want you to play your favorite “pop” song and count how many personal pronouns are in the lyrics. Let me know the numbers you get and with what song.

**Study for your Spelling/Vocabulary test as you listen**

 Question: How many personal pronouns were used in this post? The first person with the correct answer will receive a homework pass.