So...I decided to change the name of my blog!

Let's be honest, I was having a hard time focusing on Friday!  I had a few people reminding me that my Friday Focus was not out yet...on the next Monday. : ) So, from now on, it will be published whenever I can get to it.  Most of the time it will be weekly!  However, I reserve the right to miss a few weeks if a bulldozer rips my internet line from the ground and my phone company does not get it fixed for a month.  : )  Now I feel better!


Today, Mrs. Buck's  6th Grade Science Class was doing a simulation on offshore drilling.  They had been discussing rocks and fossil fuels.  In our area of the country, there is a great deal of oil drilling going on, so they spent some time discussing oil, where it comes from, and how we depend on it.  This led to a conversation about offshore drilling and Mrs. Buck had this simulation to give the students a better understanding of the process involved and the risks in doing it.  First, they made models with play-doh representing the different parts of the ocean floor.  Then, they buried some black in the play-doh to represent oil.  Next, they swapped models for the simulation so they would not know where the oil was located.  In their group, they had to learn and understand the process and the general cost of a drilling project.  Then they had to review the environmental risk of drilling and make a decision on where to drill.  Then they were ready to drill for oil!  To drill they poked a straw into the play-doh to see if they found any black (oil).  Some of the groups hit oil the first time and were able to finish.  Others missed, and had to weigh the risk of drilling again while consulting with an environmental specialist to measure the impact of another drilling attempt.  Finally, they had to finish recording all of their data and information and calculating the final cost of their drilling project.  This was a great project that forced the students to think about a real world issue that we are facing and gave them some background knowledge to help them form an educated opinion on offshore oil drilling!

 It looked like they had a blast!