Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers of my students! This is one of the nicest groups of kids I have had in my 13 years of teaching; you are obviously doing a great job with your kids.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - On Monday, we began our poster project on the digestive system. The students had to put the parts of the digestive system together like a puzzle, and then figure out which nutrients get chemically digested in which organs. Most students got as far as getting their organs cut out and glued down in the right order. Homework was to complete through question number 7 in the study guide that went with the poster project.
Tuesday - On Tuesday, we completed the poster activity. Homework was to complete any questions in the study guide that were not completed yet.
Wednesday - We reviewed the parts of the digestive system and their functions. Many of the students showed a much better grasp of the important information in the digestive system than in previous years. This was the first time I'd ever tried this particular project, and it really seemed to help! Homework was to study for the quiz on Thursday.
Thursday - We took the digestive system quiz. There were 20 multiple choice questions and 5 questions from a PowerPoint slide that was projected up on the screen in front of class.
Friday - On Friday, the kids took their pigs back out and removed the heart from them. They then cut the heart in half to see the four chambers of the heart and the wall that separates the left half from the right half of the heart.
Upcoming Events
Monday - The students will be handing in their heart anatomy labs. One lab per lab team will be collected, so the students will get 5 minutes at the beginning of class to look over everyone's labs and make sure that they are comfortable with what everyone has done before they hand them in. Afterwards, we will be watching an all-time classic biology movie, "Hemo the Magnificent." It is old, but the parts of the heart and the circulatory system have not changed, so the information is good and presented in an entertaining manner. The kids usually like this movie.
Tuesday - We will review together the parts of the heart and circulatory system, as well as all of their functions. Homework will be a worksheet with a graph of blood pressure, velocity, etc., and several questions that ask the students to interpret the graph. Having a knowledge of the circulatory system will help the students in answering the questions.
Wednesday - We will finish reviewing the parts of the circulatory system and their functions. On Tuesday, as long as Heybeck's comes through for me, I will be picking up a calf heart after school. We will take a look at that as part of our review for the quiz on Thursday. It is much bigger than the fetal pig's heart, so it is much easier to see the chambers and the valves in the heart! Homework will be to study for their quiz on the circulatory system.
Thursday - The kids will be given a 20 question multiple choice quiz on the circulatory system. Afterwards, they will fill out a sheet that will have them label the parts of the respiratory system.
Friday - We will be dissecting the respiratory and excretory systems of the fetal pig. Homework will be to complete the questions that go along with the lab.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's geek of the week is Connor Pozzi. Connor really helps keep the class loose and fun in our 8th hour class, but he also knows when it is time to get serious and work hard. Having students like Connor is really important for the overall class environment.
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