March 31, 2013

March 31, 2013

March 31, 2013

Hopefully all of your children had a restful, relaxing spring break and are ready to start 4th quarter with renewed energy!

Events of the Past Week

Monday - I began class by collecting the homework from over the weekend, then lectured for about 15 minutes on spontaneous generation and biogenesis.  The students were then given a radioactive dating activity to begin working on. 

Tuesday - I was gone on Tuesday at a conference.  The students watched a video on from the NOVA series "Origins."  However, my directions for the substitute were not clear enough and the wrong video was shown.  That was my fault, so we watched the correct video on Friday.

Wednesday - We completed the radioactive dating activity, and I lectured to the students about the age of the earth.  For homework, the students needed to complete the questions in the radioactive dating lab.

Thursday -  The students completed an ACT style passage related to evolution on Thursday.  They also had a reading to do on Alexandre von Humboldt.  For homework, they were to tell me about a place they liked to explore growing up.

Friday - We watched a video from the NOVA "Origins" series that explains some of the hypotheses for how the first organic compounds may have arrived or been formed on our planet.  Homework, that will be due the Tuesday after we get back from break, is to complete a study guide that goes along with Chapter 14 in the textbook.

Upcoming Events

Monday - The students will be introduced to the concept of natural selection.  After I lecture to them for a little bit, we will spend the rest of the class period doing a jigsaw reading activity about the different ideas presented in the 1800's that tried to explain the mechanism of change in organisms over time.  The ideas that we will be investigating were proposed by Charles Darwin, Alfred Russell Wallace, and Jean Baptiste Lamarck.

Tuesday - We will be doing a lab investigating natural selection using different colored dots punched out of paper placed onto different colored backgrounds.  The students will investigate the change in their dot "population" over time.  Homework will be to complete the questions in the lab.

Wednesday - Class will begin with the students getting an introduction to the evidence that supports evolution.  When that is complete, we will begin a lab investigation looking at different vertebrate skeletons to investigate homologous and analogous structures.  Your children should be able to explain the difference between those two types of structures when they come home on Wednesday night.  Homework will be to complete the lab questions that go along with the investigation.

Thursday - We will investigate a second type of evidence that supports evolution on Thursday - biochemical evidence.  This investigation will take a close look at amino acid sequences for the same protein in different organisms.  The students will find that the more closely related two organisms are, the more similarities there are between their amino acid sequences for the same protein.  Homework will again be to complete the questions associated with this investigation.

Friday - We will be watching a NOVA video called "Great Transformations" on Friday.  This video shows students the ways in which whales have changed over time, explains how tetrapods evolved, and looks at the genes that control the development of the embryo in organisms from Drosophila melanogaster (oh yeah!) to Homo sapiens.

Graba Geek of the Week

This week's Geek of the Week goes to the lab group of Melinda Coleman, Cara Ward, and Daniel Xu, who wrote an OUTSTANDING fruit fly report!  Good job, group!

March 17, 2013

March 17, 2013

March 17, 2013

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!  Enjoy your corned beef and cabbage - it is the one time of year I will eat either one of those!

Events of the Past Week

Monday - We finished up the last of our new content in the genetics unit.  The students learned about nondisjunction (the improper separation of chromosomes when sperm and eggs are formed that can lead to many different genetic abnormalities in the offspring), and some of the results of nondisjunction occurring.  When we finished, the students were given some review sheets and the opportunity to work on those or their fruit fly reports.  Homework was to work on the fruit fly reports and study for their test.

Tuesday - LATE START DAY.  The students were given the option of studying for their test or working on their fruit fly reports.  Most worked on their reports.  The answer keys for the 3 sets of review problems the students were given between Monday and Tuesday were all posted on www.mrgraba.net, so that the students could check themselves when they completed any of the review problems.  Homework was to work on the fruit fly reports or study for the genetics test.

Wednesday - Wednesday was day 1 of the genetics test.  The class average was a 32.7 out of 40, which is an 82%.  This day of the test was difficult.  The 82% works out to a B average, which is very impressive.  Homework was to work on the fruit fly reports or study for day 2 of the test.

Thursday - Day 2 of the genetics test was given on Thursday.  The class average for the second day of the genetics test was a 36.5 out of 40, which is a 91%.  Between the two days of the test, the average worked out to be a 69.2 out of 80, or an 86.5%, which is a B+.  The kids clearly worked hard during this unit, and it showed in their test results.

Friday - The students first turned in their fruit fly reports.  They then took the district benchmark assessment in genetics.  This is a 15 question assessment in genetics that all freshman throughout District 211 take.  Almost everyone in class earned an A on the assessment.  From there, we moved on to doing test corrections on the two days of our genetics test.  Finally, the students were given an activity to complete at home interpreting a graph of the geologic history of the earth.

Upcoming Events

Monday - After collecting the geologic history assignment, I will give about a 15 minute lecture on the theories of spontaneous generation, biogenesis, and earth's history.  The students will then begin to work on an activity to learn about radioactive dating of fossils and rocks.  We will focus on the radioactive isotope Carbon-14 in our activity, although there are many other radioactive isotopes that can be used for this purpose.

Tuesday - We will finish our radioactive dating activity, then complete the reading of a passage from an ACT exam related to evolution, and then a study guide that goes with Chapter 14 of their textbook.  Students need to be sure to bring their textbooks to class on Tuesday.  Homework will be to complete the study guide.

Wednesday - We will be watching a NOVA video called "Origins."  This video explores some of they hypotheses of where the first life on earth originated.

Thursday - The students will be reading an excerpt on Alexander von Humboldt from a book by Sean B.Carroll called Remarkable Creatures.  After students have read the article, they will be asked to write about a place they like to or used to like to go explore.  This will be an opportunity to encourage writing in the science classroom as well as have the students do some scientific reading.

Friday - We will be watching three separate 10-15 minute video segments on natural selection working in our modern world.  Each of the video segments was put together by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.  They are very interesting and very well done.  There will be no homework over spring break!

Graba Geek of the Week

This week's Geeks of the Week are Billy Maniscalco and James Qiu.  Each of these young men earned perfect scores on the second day of the genetics test, as well as A's on the first day of the test.  Very well done, gentlemen!

March 10, 2013

March 11, 2013

March 11, 2013

Thank goodness all of this snow is melting!  I've had enough of it - bring on the warm weather!

Events of the Past Week

Monday - On Monday, we took our second quiz on genetics.  The students did very well on the quiz.  I was very proud of them, and you should be, too!  Those students who finished early worked on solving "The Case of the Hooded Murderer."  They had to use their knowledge of pedigrees as well as their reading skills to solve the case.  Most students solved it pretty quickly.

Tuesday - SNOW DAY!

Wednesday - The students were introduced to genes being linked together on the same chromosome after we reviewed the results of their quiz.  While this is a challenging concept, most students understood how it worked by the end of class.  Homework was to complete problem set 5 involving linked genes.

Thursday - After collecting problem set 5, I introduced the students to a statistical analysis tool called Chi-Square.  This tool is used to determine whether or not the differences between your theoretical expected results in an experiment and the actual results of the experiment can be attributed to random chance, or if the experimenter made a mistake in their hypothesis or experimental methods.  Homework was to complete 5 problems that asked the students to evaluate some data using the Chi-Square statistical analysis tool.

Friday - After answering questions about the homework, I gave the students time to work on their Drosophila melanogaster reports.  They were all able to correctly identify the pattern of inheritance for the mutations in their flies, and many began the process of writing their report.  Homework for the weekend was to work on the report and/or start preparing for our genetics test, which has been pushed back due to the snow day on Tuesday.

Upcoming Events

Monday - The students will be introduced to nondisjunction and some genetic diseases related to chromosomal abnormalities on Monday.  Due to the snow day, we did not learn about them last week.  If there is any time left in class, then the students will be given some time to work on their reports.  I will also hand out some review problems for anyone who wants them to help prepare for the genetics test.

Tuesday - Students will be given the choice on Tuesday as to whether they want to work on review problems to prepare them for the genetics test that will take place on Thursday and Friday, or if they want to work on their D. melanogaster reports, which are due on Friday.  Homework will be to prepare for the test.  Tuesday is a late start day, which is why we are not testing on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.  There would not be enough time in the class period to test due to the late start time.

Wednesday - Day 1 of the genetics test.  Anyone who finishes early may work on their D. melanogaster reports.

Thursday - Day 2 of the genetics test.  Anyone who finishes early may work on their D. melanogaster reports.

Friday - The D. melanogaster reports will be collected.  The students will then work on test corrections for their genetics test.  With any remaining time, the students will complete a Geologic History worksheet that will be for homework if it is not completed in class.

Graba Geek of the Week

This week's Geek of the Week is Alex Johnson, who has earned a perfect score on our last 3 genetics problem sets, and done very well on both of our genetics quizzes so far this unit.  Way to go, Alex! Keep up the good work!

March 3, 2013

March 3, 2013

March 3, 2013

We had the first day of meteorological spring on Friday, but it sure doesn't look or feel like anyone has told Mother Nature yet!

Events of the Past Week

Monday - We took a quiz on Monday that consisted of 15 multiple choice questions and 1 written question. There was no homework on Monday.

Tuesday - To begin class, we reviewed our results from our first genetics quiz.  We then learned about two types of inheritance (multiple alleles and codominance) by learning about how we inherit our blood type.  When we were done with that, the students were given the opportunity to get started on their homework, which was to complete questions 1-7 in Problem Set 4.

Wednesday - The students were introduced to polygenic traits.  Those are traits controlled by more than one pair of genes, like height, skin color, and eye color, to name a few.  In fact, most of our traits are probably not as simple as many of the practice work we do, but rather more complex, polygenic traits.  For homework, the students completed numbers 9 and 10 in Problem Set 4.  We skipped number 8 in that problem set because it covers a topic we will learn about during our evolution unit, instead.

Thursday - Problem Set 4 was collected, and we spent the day reviewing much of the material we have learned throughout the unit with a couple of practice problem sets.  Homework was to finish any work not completed in class, and then to watch my video lecture on a type of inheritance called epistasis.  Fur color in labrador retrievers, mice, and sheep are all controlled by epistasis.

Friday - The students were given an open note quiz on the notes they should have taken from watching the video that was linked to my website.  The questions were simple.  I asked for the definition of epistasis, two examples of epistasis (I gave 3 in the lecture), and one expected ratio from a cross involving epistasis (2 were given in the video).  11 out of 27 students could answer those questions, which means 16 students did not watch the video.  It is tough to be successful in an accelerated class if you don't do some of the assigned work, especially when the assigned work is to watch an explanation of content that is new.  Those students who had completed watching the video at home were then given two practice epistasis problems, while the others had to watch the video in class first, and then worked on the two practice problems.  There was a review packet given to those students who were able to complete the two epistasis problems in class.  Homework is to study for our quiz on Monday.

Upcoming Events

Monday - We will take our second genetics quiz on Monday.  Any content we have covered during our genetics unit up to this point is fair game for the quiz.

Tuesday - The students will be introduced to linked genes.  These are genes located on the same chromosome.  They do not follow Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment, so their inheritance pattern is somewhat unpredictable.  Homework will be to complete Problem Set 5.

Wednesday - Problem Set 5 will be collected.  The students will then be introduced to Chi-Square Analysis.  This is a statistical tool that can be used to compare the expected outcome of an experiment with the actual outcome.  This tool will need to be used by the students in writing up their Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) lab reports.  We will then conduct a lab experiment where we look at the percentage of different colored M&M's in a bag of M&M's.  The Mars candy company says that there is supposed to be a certain percentage of each color M&M in one of their bags.  We can use those expected percentages and compare them to the actual percentages of each color using the Chi-Square Analysis tool to see if the company's claims are accurate.

Thursday - The students will be introduced to nondisjunction, which is when chromosomes do not separate properly during meiosis.  As a result of nondisjunction, many genetic disorders arise, such as Down Syndrome, Klinefelter's Syndrome, Turner's Syndrome, and many others.  We will learn a little bit about those on Thursday.  After the students are done, they will be given a group of Chi-Square practice problems to complete for homework if they do not complete them in class.

Friday - We will review for our genetics test, which will take place on Monday and Tuesday of the next week (March 11 and March 12).  It is a two day test because it is the same length as my other tests in terms of the number of questions, but genetics problems take much longer to do.  As a result, we decided to split the test up over two days in order to be fair to the students.

Graba Geek of the Week

This week's Geek of the Week is Chase Jauch, who came in for extra help a few times, and, after initially struggling a little bit in our genetics unit, was able to earn himself a perfect score on our first genetics quiz!  Way to go, Chase!

February 22, 2013

February 24, 2013

February 24, 2013

I hope everyone was able to enjoy their weekend.  I know ours was a busy one with lots of family time!

Events of the Past Week

Monday - No School.  Happy President's Day!

Tuesday - We began the Mendelian Genetics portion of our genetics unit on Tuesday.  The students were introduced to monohybrid crosses involving simple dominance and incomplete dominance, as well as a type of experiment called a testcross.  For homework, the students completed Problem Set 1.

Wednesday - Problem Set 1 was collected at the beginning of class.  We then spent a little time talking about some common human traits controlled by one pair of genes, such as having a widow's peak, a hitch-hiker's thumb, a longer second toe than big toe, or the ability to roll your tongue.  After investigating some of our own traits, we then learned how to perform a dihybrid cross.  The dihybrid cross is used to predict the outcome of a cross involving two different traits at the same time.  For homework, the students were given Problem Set 2.

Thursday - We learned about X-linked traits on Thursday.  Examples of common X-linked traits are red-green colorblindness, hemophilia, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.  These are all traits whose genes are located on the X chromosome.  This means that males are more likely to have them because they only inherit one gene for any X-linked trait, meaning that a recessive gene cannot be hidden.  The students then worked on the first 8 problems for Problem Set 3, which were to be completed for homework.

Friday - The students began class by taking a prequiz assessment to see how ready they were for their quiz on Monday, which will cover monohybrid crosses, dihybrid crosses, simple dominance, incomplete dominance, X-linked traits, pedigrees, and testcrosses.  After the prequiz, the students were introduced to pedigrees, which are basically family trees.  After being introduced to pedigrees and how to interpret them, the students were given time to work on problems 9 and 10 from Problem Set 3, which are to be done for Monday.

Upcoming Events

Monday - The students will take their first genetics quiz, which will consist of 15 multiple choice problems and one, 3 part written problem.  After the quiz, the students will take a look at the pedigree for Queen Victoria's family to learn how an X-linked recessive trait caused the Russian Revolution and the rise of communism!  Afterwards we will listen to the song "I'm My Own Grandpa" by Ray Stevens and try to draw a pedigree of the family described in the song.  At the end of class I will take some time to explain the requirements of the lab report the students will be writing using the data from their fruit fly computer simulation that was run at the beginning of our unit.

Tuesday - We will learn about traits for which more than one allele exists in the population on Tuesday (such as blood types).  We will also learn about a type of inheritance called codominance (not to be confused with incomplete dominance) at the same time when we study blood types that day.  Homework will be to complete numbers 1-7 on Problem Set 4.

Wednesday - The students will be introduced to polygenic inheritance (traits controlled by more than one pair of genes, such as height and skin color).  For homework they will complete questions 9 and 10 in Problem Set 4.  Question 8 will be skipped as it covers a topic that we will learn about during our evolution unit.

Thursday - Problem Set 4 will be collected.  The students will then be introduced to the concept of epistasis, in which one pair of genes controls the expression of another set of genes.  We will look at coat color in labrador retrievers as our example.  For homework there will be worksheet with 2 different epistasis problems.

Friday - We will review everything we learned during the course of the week in preparation for our second genetics quiz on Monday.  If there is any time remaining after our review, the students can use that time to work on their fruit fly reports with their groups.  Homework will be to study for the quiz on Monday.

Graba Geek of the Week

This week's Geek of the Week goes to Madelyn Ziaj, who earned excellent grades on both Problem Set 1 and Problem Set 2, and was not afraid to send me questions via e-mail to help her when she was confused on anything in the homework.  Keep up the hard work, Madelyn!

February 17, 2013

February 17, 2013

February 17, 2013

We have been very busy in class this past week collecting data that will be used in our fruit fly lab reports that will be due near the end of our genetics unit.

Events of the Past Week

Monday - Class began with an explanation of the differences between the formation of sperm in males (spermatogenesis) and the formation of eggs in females (oogenesis).  We then spent some time reviewing our meiosis material in preparation for our meiosis quiz on Tuesday.  Homework was to study for the meiosis quiz that we took on Tuesday.

Tuesday - Periods were shortened on Tuesday due to the Late Start Day.  The quiz took most of the class period, but there was time to introduce our fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster, for you science geeks out there) computer software.  The students learned how to use the program, and were given their groups for the project.  I attempted to group students according to their math levels and grades, such that each group should have at least one strong math student in it.  Genetics is a very mathematically based unit, and this particular project requires quite a bit of math skill, so this seems to be the best way for me to group students.  I created the groups for all four of my classes.

Wednesday - The students began using the computer program to collect data for their projects.  They were given two different fruit flies, each with a different mutation, to breed.  They then counted 100 of their offspring, classifying them as male or female, and also looking for any mutations in the flies.

Thursday - The students continued collecting data, first by breeding 2 of the offspring from their first generation and counting 200 of their offspring, then by breeding two different males and females and counting them through two generations.

Friday - We finished collecting data, and the students then handed their data over to me so that I have a copy of it.  This will prevent them from changing their data later in the genetics unit after they have determined how their traits are inherited.  Class periods were only 28 minutes on Friday due to an early dismissal.

Upcoming Events

Monday - No school - PRESIDENT'S DAY

Tuesday - Students will be introduced to how to predict the results of a breeding between two individuals where we look at only one trait being passed down to the next generation.  These types of problems are called "monohybrid" crosses.  They will also be introduced to a special type of cross called a "testcross", and a type of inheritance called "incomplete dominance."  Homework will be to complete Problem Set 1 on a separate piece of paper.

Wednesday - Problem Set 1 will be collected.  5 of the 10 problems will be graded.  Each problem that is graded will be worth 2 points, with one point coming from the work that is shown being accurate, and the other point coming from having the correct answer.  If an answer is given with no work, then no credit will be given for the problem.  Since it is homework, without any work being shown, I have no way of knowing if the student just asked for the answers from a friend, or if they actually took the time to do the work.

After collecting Problem Set 1, the students will be introduced to "dihybrid crosses," where they will be determining the expected outcomes of a cross between two individuals where we look at two traits being passed down at the same time to the next generation.  Homework will be to complete Problem Set 2 on a separate piece of paper.

Thursday - Problem Set 2 will be collected from the students, with 5 of those questions being graded at 2 points each.  After being collected, the students will be given the opportunity to ask any questions they may have from Problem Set 2.

We will then be looking at traits that are carried on the sex chromosomes (specifically, the X-chromosome). This type of inheritance is called X-linked, or sometimes sex-linked, inheritance.  The students will then be given Problem Set 3, and will complete up through and including number 7 on a separate piece of paper.  Any problems not finished will be completed for homework

Friday - At the beginning of class, the students will be taking their first genetics quiz.  The quiz will cover the topics of monohybrid crosses, incomplete dominance, and test crosses.  In addition, the students will be expected to know any new vocabulary learned during the course of the week. 

When everone finishes the quiz, we will learn about pedigrees.  Pedigrees are family trees that trace the inheritance of a particular trait through a family.  After looking at a few pedigrees, the students and I will look at the inheritance of hemophilia in Queen Victoria's descendants.  We will look at how the inheritance of this X-linked recessive trait led to the rise of communism and the Cold War between the United States and Russia (we might be stretching it a little bit, but we'll have fun with it)!  Homework will be to complete the worksheet "Human Pedigree Genetics" on a separate piece of paper.

Graba Geek of the Week

This week's Geek of the Week is Matt McCabe, who earned a perfect score on his meiosis quiz in the beginning of the week.  Fantastic job, Matt!

January 27, 2013

January 27, 2013

January 27, 2013

It was a busy 3 day week for the students (and for me) as we began second semester by learning some of the introductory material in our biotechnology unit.

Events of the Past Week

Everything went as planned last week, with the exception being that the students were asked to complete the Polymerase Chain Reaction worksheet for homework on Thursday night.  This allowed them to work on the Gel Electrophoresis lab questions for the weekend.  They were to complete the first five questions in the lab by Monday, with the rest to be finished on Monday night.






 









Upcoming Events

Monday - We will observe the results from our gel electrophoresis lab.  It was fun to work with the food coloring as opposed to the DNA for this lab because the students were able to see the dyes separating as the period went on.  Usually, the students have to wait until after I've stained the DNA to see anything separating in this lab.  Homework will be to finish the questions in this lab (questions 6-10).

When we are done observing our results (which should take about 15 minutes) we will begin watching a video called The Human Race about the Human Genome Project.  It is really well done, and explains very well what the goals, obstacles, and results of the Human Genome Project were.  The students will be completing a worksheet while we watch the video.  This is one of the only units all year where we will be watching some videos.  There are some really good videos out there about biotechnology.

Tuesday - We will finish watching The Human Race, and then conduct an experiment investigating how recombinant DNA is made.  Recombinant DNA is a DNA molecule that contains the DNA from two different organisms mixed together.  For example, human insulin can be made by bacteria now because scientists have genetically engineered bacteria that contain the gene for producing human insulin.  When the bacteria grow, they produce human insulin, and since they can reproduce about once every 20 minutes, it does not take too long before there are millions and millions of bacteria producing insulin!  Homework will be to complete the recombinant DNA activity.

Wednesday - We will watch a frontline special called "Harvest of Fear" about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's).  The video investigates the promise and the dangers of genetically modified organisms.

Thursday - The students will be completing two online activities in class.  The first will have them investigate the science of cloning organisms.  The second will have them learning what stem cells are, where they come from, and what the potential uses of stem cells could be.  For homework the students will be completing the stem cell activity.

Friday - We will be watching a video on epigenetics.  The video investigates the physical changes that occur to our DNA as a result of our experiences and our ancestors' experiences.  For homework the students will be reading an article from TIME magazine related to epigenetics and answering questions related to the article.  There will be a short, 20 question quiz on biotechnology on Monday the 4th, as well.

Graba Geek of the Week

This week's Geek of the Week is Ippei Togo, who worked extremely hard at using the proper technique with his micropipette during our gel electrophoresis lab.  Good work, Ippei!

January 13, 2013

January 13, 2013

January 13, 2013

One semester is almost in the books!  It's hard to believe how quickly the year goes by.

Events of the Past Week

Monday - After discussing the history of DNA homework the students had over break, they were introduced to the structure of a DNA molecule.  After that was done, we did an activity where we acted out the process of DNA replication.  Following the activity, the students were given a worksheet to reinforce the concepts we learned during the class period, and to introduce the students to RNA, as well.  Homework was to finish the reinforcement worksheet.

Tuesday - The students were introduced to the process of transcription, which I drew on the board for them.  Then, they modeled transcription with a paper and scissors activity.  Finally, I explained the process of translation on the board at the end of the period.  Transcription and translation are the two steps to a process called protein synthesis.  In protein synthesis, the instructions for building a protein coded into our DNA, called a gene, are first copied onto a molecule of messenger RNA.  Then, the instructions on the messenger RNA are read by a ribosome in the cell, which uses those instructions to build a protein.

Wednesday - We modeled the process of translation by finishing the paper activity we had started the day before.  The students then worked on the questions at the end of the activity for the remainder of the period. Homework was to finish the activity.

Thursday - We reviewed the material learned on Tuesday and Wednesday with 3 review sheets and one review packet.  I lectured for the last 15 minutes of class about the different types of mutations and their impact on the protein that was supposed to be built from the instructions that were changed in the DNA by a mutation.  Homework was to complete the review packet.

Friday - The students began class by taking the district benchmark assessment on DNA structure, replication, transcription, and translation.  After completing the benchmark assessment, we began an activity studying the impact of mutations on two different proteins.  The first mutation studied impacts a protein called myostatin.  Ask your students if they can explain what that protein is supposed to do, and what happens when it doesn't work.  It's pretty interesting!  The second mutation studied impacts the protein hemoglobin, which carries oxygen around our bodies.  Most students had finished the myostatin portion of the activity, but not the hemoglobin portion.  For homework, the students were asked to study for finals rather than complete the activity.

Upcoming Events

Monday - We will complete the activity on mutations that we began on Friday.  Then, the students will be given the opportunity to ask any questions that they have in regards to the material on the final exam.  Homework will be to study for finals.

Tuesday - We will play a review game with remote control clickers to help the students prepare for the final exam.

Wednesday - Students in my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd hour classes will take their final exam.  The final exam periods are 90 minutes long.  There are 140 questions on the test, which the students should have no trouble completing in time.

Thursday - None of my freshman classes have their final exams on Thursday.

Friday - My 8th hour class will have their final exam on Friday.

Graba Geek of the Week

This week's Graba Geek of the Week is Allison Leczycki, who earned A's on both our bioenergetics test and our DNA Benchmark Assessment.  Allison learned that the most important thing to do before a test is to look at the objectives sheet that I pass out at the beginning of a unit so she knows which material is important to know.  Good job, Allison!

January 6, 2013

January 6, 2012

January 6, 2012

I hope everyone's children had the opportunity to rest up and recharge their batteries over the last 2 weeks!  My time with my family was wonderful, but I'm ready to get going again.  Hopefully your children are, too!

Events of the Past Week

Monday - I concluded the lecture on Photosynthesis on Monday.  For homework, the students worked on a review sheet to get ready for the test on Thursday.

Tuesday - We spent the day going over the review sheet and working on a second review sheet.  Homework was to finish the second review sheet.

Wednesday - We corrected the second review sheet of the week.  Then I spent time answering any questions the students had about the test or the content on the test, and then gave the students time to study with a partner and ask me any individual questions that they had.

Thursday - Thursday was the big test day.  This was one of the most difficult tests of the year on what I consider to be the most difficult content.  The mean score was a 53.66 out of 65 (83%), and the median score was a 56 out of 65 (86%).  That is a very impressive showing on this particular test!

Friday - We reviewed the results of the cellular respiration test, then spent some time exercising our brains with some brain teasers.  At the end of class, I passed out the review sheet for the final exam and the homework to be done over break.  Homework was to work on a study guide that will have the students learn about the discovery of the structure of DNA.  The study guide goes along with a sort of webquest that I created using the website www.dnai.org.  Hopefully the students will find the story of the discovery a little bit interesting.  It is a classic story of the way in which science works.

Upcoming Events

Monday - We will spend the day reviewing the story of the discovery of the structure of DNA.  The students will then learn about how it is that DNA replicates, followed by some reinforcement activities on the structure and replication of DNA.  Homework will be to complete those reinforcement activities.

Tuesday - The students will begin a two day paper and pencil activity to learn about the way in which protein synthesis works.  The instructions in DNA are used to direct the building of all of our proteins, so this is a vitally important piece of information for students to understand going forward.

Wednesday - We will complete the paper and pencil activity on protein synthesis in class.  The students will complete the questions in the activity for homework.

Thursday - The students will hand in their protein synthesis activity, and they will be given the opportunity to ask me any questions they may have about how the process works.  Once that is completed, we will be working on an activity to help the students understand the different types of mutations and what their impact on living things might be.  We will be looking at mutations in the genes that direct the formation of the protein myostatin and the protein hemoglobin.  The students are usually pretty amazed by the results of the myostatin mutation!

Friday - We will be completing the mutation activity, which will be collected in class.  Then, the students will be introduced to special enzymes called restriction enzymes, which cut DNA at specific sequences of 4-8 bases.  The sequences in the DNA are usually palindromes, so we will have some fun with those at the beginning of the lesson.  Homework will be to begin studying for final exams.

Graba Geek of the Week

This week's Geek of the Week award goes to Michael Qian.  Michael missed significant class time during this unit due to an injury he incurred while playing soccer.  Despite missing all of that time, he earned one of the highest scores on our bioenergetics test.  That is really impressive to me.  Great job, Michael!