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!