Here, I will share some of the things I'm learning in 8th grade science.

Our monthly goals will also be described. The goal for August and September was curiosity. Activities that we did for this were our wonder journals, the Hungry Hungry Sphero challenge, water quality testing, evaluating article authenticity, the cicada lab, and the microscopy lab. My favorite was the  water testing because I love to be outside, and it reminded me of testing pool water with my grandfather.

I really enjoy activities based on Quakefeed, so much so that I even downloaded the app for myself! I also loved the plate tectonics project, because we had many different options regarding what our project was going to be. I think I could do better on some of the worksheets, but I just find it so difficult to focus on them after all of the fun activities we do. Water testing is also a fun way to get students moving while still doing something educational, especially since we don't get recess anymore. I love how interactive the class is, and how much I have learned from it.

We've done many activities in science in the last few months, and it is all very interesting. I especially enjoyed using the Van de Graaf generator to create electricity; it was quite fascinating. I also liked the enviroscape and stream table labs, because they were hands on activities.

In the last couple of months, we've gone over more life science than anything else. We've learned about an invasive plant called frogbit, and we made contraptions to help get rid of it. We also went to the boat basin to test the water quality, and we then did a project on our chosen aspect of the testing. We then did a lab about bird beaks. We learned about punnet squares, which determine the odds of certain genetic combinations. The alien genetics gizmo furthered our knowledge on phenotypes. We learned about mitosis and meiosis, or how the cells divide. The evidence for evolution and rock pocket mouse projects helped us learn about how evolution works in favor of some creatures and against others. 

I thoroughly enjoyed science class this past year. I really liked the Water Quality testing, as well as the other hands-on activities. I wasn't as much of a fan of the digital projects, but that's just my personal preference. I would love to learn about forensic science in the future, but that's obviously not 8th grade material. Overall, I loved my experience in 8th grade science.