JCMS students participate in standards based performance tasks

Diego Hernandez, left, and Rubin Wilson discover that they were right on target with their measurements and discoveries as they reveal their "ocean floor". (Photos contributed)

Sixth graders in Mr. Wayne Burke's class are learning about the features on the ocean floor. Many people think the ocean floor is smooth and sandy, but our students are learning that the ocean floor has mountains, valleys, canyons, and volcanoes. These students are using a probe to find out what the floor of their box "oceans" look like without actually looking. Just like real oceanographers use sound waves to "see" the real ocean floor, our sixth graders are using probes to "see" the floor of their "oceans". The students are taking careful measurements over every square inch of their oceans. They will then attempt to draw a picture of the ocean floor using the data they have collected.

This activity is representative of the Georgia Performance Standards for sixth-grade science, particularly S6E3. Students will recognize the significant role of water in earth processes and describe the composition, location, and subsurface topography of the world's oceans.

Mr. Wayne Burke helps Bryce Lane, left, and Justin Stanley get started.