Notes

I have shown a lot of growth throughout middle school. Today, I will show you one old and one new artifact, these artifacts reflect on my growth and how much I have changed from sixth to eighth grade.
Science has always been my favorite class. I have always been more intrigued in science class than I have in my other classes. I like the aspect of hands-on learning and being a part of solving a problem or conducting an experiment. In sixth grade, we learned about the scientific method, water, energy, earth plates, and renewable vs. non-renewable energy sources. I was definitely more intrigued when I was in 6th grade because there were more experiments and labs even if the labs had nothing to do with our expedition. In 7th grade, we had a lot of experiments but not as much as we did in 6th grade. We learned about genetics, adolescent brain, brain anatomy, predicting the weather, severe storms, Rube Goldberg, and human anatomy. My favorite topic to learn about in 7th grade had to be the human anatomy and the brain. I was always interested in taking a career related to being a doctor, so learning about the body and the brain made me more interested in taking that opportunity when I am older. In 8th grade, we learned about the engineering design process, inventors, Industrial Revolution inventions, simple machines, chemistry, elements on the periodic table, molecules and how to count atoms, genetics, Punnett Squares, and animal vs. plant cells, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, Henrietta Lacks, animal adaptations, and evolution and natural selection. My favorite topic to learn about in 8th-grade science was the elements on the periodic table. This was my favorite topic because there was a lot that went into the periodic table, it wasn’t just elements, there are different aspects that go into the way that the elements are categorized. One struggle I had with science throughout middle school had to be studying for tests. Science is usually the only test that I have to study for because I need to get all of the facts right. This was a struggle because I can’t retain knowledge very well.
The old artifact that I have chosen is Fred the Caveman. This piece was made to show our ability to construct a hypothesis about objects falling. My artifact made the hypothesis of “If I drop light things, they will go up and if I drop heavy things they will go down.” As I was reading this hypothesis I felt ashamed that I made this hypothesis. I wanted to change what I wrote as I was reading it. I chose this piece because I can show my improvement in developing a hypothesis. My successes with this piece were making it look artistic and making most of it legible. Some of my struggles with this piece were getting a hypothesis right. Overall, I learned that I can use the scientific method successfully and effectively.
My new artifact is my final lab report about baking soda and vinegar. We had to make observations of what happened as the two materials mixed together. We used the scientific method to develop a conclusion about what happens if you mix baking soda and vinegar together in a plastic bag. During the process of filling out the final lab report, I had to be very specific and meticulous about every step I was making and describe the process as best as I could. I chose this piece because it shows my growth with making strong conclusions in comparison to my old piece. A struggle I had with this piece was closing the bag during the experiment. When we were conducting the experiment, we put baking soda into a plastic bag and Mrs. Sally would walk around and pour vinegar in it. As soon as she puts the vinegar in, I had to close the bag and the bag wouldn’t close. If I didn’t close the bag in time I would’ve had vinegar all over my arm. One of my successes with this piece is describing what I observed in the experiment detail by detail. I had to make sure all of my notes were detailed to get the reader to visualize what I was thinking and what I was seeing. This piece shows a lot of my growth because I can make a correct hypothesis, I can use the scientific method, and I can describe exactly what I am seeing for further comprehension of the reader.
I learned a lot about myself as a scientist and as a student. I like learning new things, specifically in science. Also, I like discovering and hands-on learning with experiments and labs. One main struggle that I had in middle school would just tie back to studying for tests. When I have to study for a science test, I would usually hold the studying off until the day before the test. So, if I were to change something for the future, I would try to study in advance to the day before the test. Science in middle school has progressively gotten better and I hope it gets better as I go to high school.