To learn about the Earth's layers, students created foldables.  To create these, students colored the four layers of the Earth (crust, mantle, inner core and outer core), and labeled them.  After learning about what the composition and states of matter were in each layer, students answered two questions: 1) How does matter move in this layer? and 2) What physical mechanisms cause this?  I helped them with the inner core, and the students determined the rest of the answers in groups.

For the week of 1/27/14, our Earth Science class engaged in making concept maps in their groups to review Heat, Density and Temperature.  This was their first time working with concept maps, and they came up with great work! Students were working with the words: Density, Hot, Cold, Heat, Conduction, Convection, Radiation, Temperature, Transfer, Fluid, Celsius, Energy and Molecules.  Students generated their own connections between terms and ideas.  

After students created their concept maps, they gave each other feedback.  Feedback was facilitated through the use of colored sticky notes.  The red sticky note was for asking a question, the blue sticky note was for suggesting a revision, and the yellow sticky note was for suggesting an addition.  Groups circulated to three other groups and left one sticky note of each color.  Afterwards, students read the feedback and made changes, if desired.