October 2, 2011

October 2, 2011

It's hard to believe October is already here!  I hope all of the kids had a safe and fun Homecoming weekend.

Events of the Past Week

Monday - We reviewed for our test on biochemistry on Wednesday.  First, the students were given an opportunity to ask questions regarding the lab experiment we did on Thursday and Friday of the previous week.  Then they completed a graphic organizer that helped them go through their notes and put think about all of the information they had learned about carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids.  Finally, they were given a graphic organizer for each different type of biomolecule (carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids) that we learned about.  Homework was to complete those graphic organizers.  This again was a way to get them thinking about the information they had in their notes on that information.

Tuesday - I handed back to the students their labs that they had turned in on Monday, and we discussed some of the topics that were commonly misunderstood.  Students were then given the opportunity to ask questions if they had them about the lab.

After going over the lab, we played a review game with remote control clickers.  There were several multiple choice questions that were timed and similar in difficulty level to the questions that would be on the test.

I made the students aware that all of the topics from our quiz, as well as the topics of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids would be covered on the exam in 60 multiple choice questions.

Wednesday - Students took the biochemistry test.  There was no homework, as I felt that they had worked extremely hard over the past few days to prepare for their test.

Thursday - On Thursday, I was home with a sick kid, so the students watched a movie in class called "Deep Forest: Monsters of the Jungle".  This showed how science is working even now to make new discoveries in a way that really catches the kids' interest!

Friday - We began class by finishing the movie.  I don't always do that, but with this video, it was definitely worth the extra 7 minutes of class time to finish.  When the movie was over, we reviewed the results from the exam.  I was very impressed by how well most students did on the test!

Upcoming Events

Monday - Monday we are going to review some of the rules of graphing, and learn how to use Excel to create graphs.  There will be 4 graphs that need to be completed, along with questions to answer using the completed graphs.  Any graphs that are not finished will have to be finished for homework.

Tuesday - We are going to be doing a lab on the metric system after I collect and review the graphing homework.  I will do a very quick review of the units of the metric system and how to convert from one unit to another before we get started on the lab.

Wednesday - Wednesday will be spent practicing metric conversions and possibly beginning a review of scientific notation.

Thursday - On Thursday, I will review quickly with the students how to write numbers in scientific notation, and we will practice converting numbers into scientific notation.

Friday - We will begin reviewing how to use the microscope with a peer teaching lab.  The students will be in groups of 4, and each student will have a different job related to the proper use and care of the microscope that they will practice, and then be responsible for teaching to their classmate.

Graba Geek of the Week

This week's geek of the week is Soumyaa Mazumder.  Soumyaa earned a perfect score on the biochemistry test this week.  That means she got 60 questions correct on the topics of chemistry and biochemistry, which is really impressive!  In addition, Soumyaa was informed this last week that she was accepted into the medical internship program through Northwest Memorial Hospital.  Way to go, Soumyaa!