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 31, 2013
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
December 16, 2012
December 16, 2012
December 16, 2012
Happy last week before break everyone. I apologize for not having updated my blog in a few weeks. I promise I will be back on it going forward.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We completed two labs on Monday. In the first, we separated the pigments found in a leaf of spinach using a technique called paper chromatography. Using an organic solvent, the four pigments in a spinach leaf travel different distances on a piece of paper so that the students can see that green is not the only color of the pigments in a plant. While that experiment was running (it takes awhile for the solvent to travel on the paper), the students looked at the structure of a leaf under the microscope. For homework, the students completed any of the lab questions that they did not complete in class.
On a side note, there were several students who did not turn in one of the two assignments, or turned them in incomplete in many of my classes. I know it is close to winter break, but it is important that they keep working hard through the end of the week. Then they can take a couple of weeks off!
Tuesday - I lectured on a part of photosynthesis called the light reactions. This took the full class period. There was no homework on Tuesday night. This particular unit is rather lecture heavy because I still haven't figured out a way to turn learning the intricacies of photosynthesis in a student-centered way. I keep trying, but there are a LOT of new concepts in this unit that students really need to have explained to them by me.
Wednesday - I finished my lecture on photosynthesis by teaching the students about the Calvin cycle, named after Melvin Calvin, who figured out the steps of the cycle in the 1950's. This took most of the period. When I was all done, the students had the opportunity to ask me any questions they had about photosynthesis. Homework was to study for our 30 question photosynthesis quiz on Thursday.
Thursday - We took our quiz on photosynthesis. In most classes, a couple of students took almost the full 50 minutes to work on the quiz. In my 8th hour class, however, the students finished with 20 minutes left, so we began learning about cellular respiration. There was no homework Thursday night.
Friday - We reviewed the results of the photosynthesis quiz. I was very impressed with how well the students did on the quiz. I did light a little fire under some of the classes after being a little disappointed in the number of missing assignments from Tuesday, and I think some of them responded. The students were told that they should look at the list of objectives they were given at the beginning of this unit to help guide their studying. Almost all of them told me they did look at the objectives, and it showed. The average for my four classes was a 27 out of 30.
When we were done looking at our quiz results we moved on to a lecture on the first two stages of cellular respiration, called glycolysis and the Krebs cycle. There was no homework over the weekend; however, it was suggested that the students review their notes before coming to class on Monday so that they don't forget everything they learned on Friday.
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will be finishing the lecture on cellular respiration. For homework, the students will be given a review sheet on cellular respiration and photosynthesis to help start preparing for our test on Thursday.
Tuesday - We will go over the review sheet together in class. The students will then be given a packet to review enzymes, cellular respiration, and photosynthesis that they will work on for the remainder of the class period. Homework will be to finish the review packet (if it was not completed in class).
Wednesday - We will be playing a review game on Wednesday after checking our review packets at the beginning of class. For homework, the students should study for their test. The main resources they should refer to are their notes and the objectives list for the unit. Most all of the information on the test will come from their notes, and they can use their objectives list to determine whether or not they know the important material that will be covered on the test.
Thursday - The students will take a 65 question multiple choice and matching test on enzymes, photosynthesis, and cellular respiration. There will be no homework.
Friday - We will be reviewing our results from the test. When we complete that, the students will be given a DNA History Study Guide that goes along with a website that I put together online. This should be completed over winter break, but I would prefer it actually be completed closer to the time we come back to school than at the beginning of break. After receiving the study guide, we will be working on a couple of fun activities in class.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's Geek of the Week is Nikki Menis. Nikki earned a perfect score on the photosynthesis quiz (one of only two students all day to earn a perfect score, but one of many to earn an A). She also knew the answer to the extra credit question: In what year and in what field did Melvin Calvin earn the Nobel Prize for determining the steps of the Calvin cycle? She correctly answered 1961 and chemistry. Way to go, Nikki! Have a great break, everyone!
Happy last week before break everyone. I apologize for not having updated my blog in a few weeks. I promise I will be back on it going forward.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We completed two labs on Monday. In the first, we separated the pigments found in a leaf of spinach using a technique called paper chromatography. Using an organic solvent, the four pigments in a spinach leaf travel different distances on a piece of paper so that the students can see that green is not the only color of the pigments in a plant. While that experiment was running (it takes awhile for the solvent to travel on the paper), the students looked at the structure of a leaf under the microscope. For homework, the students completed any of the lab questions that they did not complete in class.
On a side note, there were several students who did not turn in one of the two assignments, or turned them in incomplete in many of my classes. I know it is close to winter break, but it is important that they keep working hard through the end of the week. Then they can take a couple of weeks off!
Tuesday - I lectured on a part of photosynthesis called the light reactions. This took the full class period. There was no homework on Tuesday night. This particular unit is rather lecture heavy because I still haven't figured out a way to turn learning the intricacies of photosynthesis in a student-centered way. I keep trying, but there are a LOT of new concepts in this unit that students really need to have explained to them by me.
Wednesday - I finished my lecture on photosynthesis by teaching the students about the Calvin cycle, named after Melvin Calvin, who figured out the steps of the cycle in the 1950's. This took most of the period. When I was all done, the students had the opportunity to ask me any questions they had about photosynthesis. Homework was to study for our 30 question photosynthesis quiz on Thursday.
Thursday - We took our quiz on photosynthesis. In most classes, a couple of students took almost the full 50 minutes to work on the quiz. In my 8th hour class, however, the students finished with 20 minutes left, so we began learning about cellular respiration. There was no homework Thursday night.
Friday - We reviewed the results of the photosynthesis quiz. I was very impressed with how well the students did on the quiz. I did light a little fire under some of the classes after being a little disappointed in the number of missing assignments from Tuesday, and I think some of them responded. The students were told that they should look at the list of objectives they were given at the beginning of this unit to help guide their studying. Almost all of them told me they did look at the objectives, and it showed. The average for my four classes was a 27 out of 30.
When we were done looking at our quiz results we moved on to a lecture on the first two stages of cellular respiration, called glycolysis and the Krebs cycle. There was no homework over the weekend; however, it was suggested that the students review their notes before coming to class on Monday so that they don't forget everything they learned on Friday.
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will be finishing the lecture on cellular respiration. For homework, the students will be given a review sheet on cellular respiration and photosynthesis to help start preparing for our test on Thursday.
Tuesday - We will go over the review sheet together in class. The students will then be given a packet to review enzymes, cellular respiration, and photosynthesis that they will work on for the remainder of the class period. Homework will be to finish the review packet (if it was not completed in class).
Wednesday - We will be playing a review game on Wednesday after checking our review packets at the beginning of class. For homework, the students should study for their test. The main resources they should refer to are their notes and the objectives list for the unit. Most all of the information on the test will come from their notes, and they can use their objectives list to determine whether or not they know the important material that will be covered on the test.
Thursday - The students will take a 65 question multiple choice and matching test on enzymes, photosynthesis, and cellular respiration. There will be no homework.
Friday - We will be reviewing our results from the test. When we complete that, the students will be given a DNA History Study Guide that goes along with a website that I put together online. This should be completed over winter break, but I would prefer it actually be completed closer to the time we come back to school than at the beginning of break. After receiving the study guide, we will be working on a couple of fun activities in class.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's Geek of the Week is Nikki Menis. Nikki earned a perfect score on the photosynthesis quiz (one of only two students all day to earn a perfect score, but one of many to earn an A). She also knew the answer to the extra credit question: In what year and in what field did Melvin Calvin earn the Nobel Prize for determining the steps of the Calvin cycle? She correctly answered 1961 and chemistry. Way to go, Nikki! Have a great break, everyone!
November 18, 2012
November 18, 2012
November 18, 2012
Happy Thanksgiving week! With the warm weather we've been having, it sure doesn't seem like we should be celebrating Thanksgiving already. We had a busy week in accelerated biology this past week.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - No School. Thank you to all of our veterans.
Tuesday - We reviewed for our big cell unit test. We first graded several different review sheets together in class. Then, there were sheets of butcher paper set up on each lab table. I wrote a different heading on each sheet of paper, such as Cell Organelles, or Plant v. Animal Cells, etc. The students had one minute at each lab table to write as much as they could think of to write about that particular topic. When we were all done, the students had another minute to go around to each lab table to see what the class was able to brainstorm about each topic. This was a way to get the students thinking about each of the major topics on the test, and to help them see what they had forgotten that somebody else might have remembered.
Wednesday - We took the 55 question multiple choice and matching test on the topic of cells. The students in all of my classes did well, averaging a B+ overall on the test.
Thursday - We processed the test results by writing test corrections for any questions that the students missed. We then transitioned to our unit on cell division by talking about cancer. Cancer is, in simplest terms, cell division gone bad, so it is a good way for me to get the students' attention in regards to the importance of learning about cell division. I tried to be very sensitive in talking about this topic, since so many students are affected by cancer in some way in their lives, even right now. I also shared with the students my own experience of losing my first wife to cancer in 2003. This was done as a way to share with them that all of us will be affected by cancer in some way most likely during our lives, since 1 in every 2 males and 1 in every 3 females will be diagnosed with some type of cancer in their lives. For homework there was a reading about cancer for the students. I put this together using information from the American Cancer Society and a book called The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Dr.Siddartha Mukherjee. The book is a very good read for those of you interested in cancer. It was one of the New York Times top 10 books of 2010.
Friday - We discussed what the students found interesting from the reading about cancer to start class. We also talked about the fact that our cell organelle project was front page news in the school newspaper! Then, we conducted a lab experiment investigating why cells have to remain small. We used different sized cubes made of a material called agar. The agar had an indicator called bromothymol blue added to it, which turns yellow in the presence of an acid. The students then placed their cubes in a beaker of hydrochloric acid, and timed how long it took the cubes to turn completely yellow. We will be finishing the lab questions in class on Monday. Homework was to read an article from a publication by the National Institutes of Health about cell division, and answer some questions that go together with the reading.
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will be completing the lab questions from our cell size lab that we ran on Friday. When the students are done, I will be lecturing on cell division. For homework, the students should review the content from the cell size lab, as they will be given an 11 question lab quiz on Tuesday on that material.
Tuesday - Tuesday will be a shortened day due to Late Start meetings. The students will take their lab quiz, and then we will look for cells in prepared slides of an onion root tip in the various stages of the cell cycle. Homework will be to complete the lab questions.
Wednesday - We will be completing a lab called "Time for Mitosis." This lab will have the students investigating how long normal cells spend in each of the stages of the cell cycle, compared to cancerous cells. The students should complete the entire lab in class. There will be no homework for the Thanksgiving break, although we will have a quiz on cell division the Tuesday after Thanksgiving weekend.
Thursday - HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Friday - No School
Graba Geeks of the Week
The Geeks of the Week this week are Jenny Chu and Karishma Desai, who both earned perfect scores on our Cell Unit Test. There were other students who have been previous winners who also scored perfect on the test, including Chloe David, Emily Jia, and Daniel Classon. Way to go, all of you! That is a great accomplishment.
Happy Thanksgiving week! With the warm weather we've been having, it sure doesn't seem like we should be celebrating Thanksgiving already. We had a busy week in accelerated biology this past week.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - No School. Thank you to all of our veterans.
Tuesday - We reviewed for our big cell unit test. We first graded several different review sheets together in class. Then, there were sheets of butcher paper set up on each lab table. I wrote a different heading on each sheet of paper, such as Cell Organelles, or Plant v. Animal Cells, etc. The students had one minute at each lab table to write as much as they could think of to write about that particular topic. When we were all done, the students had another minute to go around to each lab table to see what the class was able to brainstorm about each topic. This was a way to get the students thinking about each of the major topics on the test, and to help them see what they had forgotten that somebody else might have remembered.
Wednesday - We took the 55 question multiple choice and matching test on the topic of cells. The students in all of my classes did well, averaging a B+ overall on the test.
Thursday - We processed the test results by writing test corrections for any questions that the students missed. We then transitioned to our unit on cell division by talking about cancer. Cancer is, in simplest terms, cell division gone bad, so it is a good way for me to get the students' attention in regards to the importance of learning about cell division. I tried to be very sensitive in talking about this topic, since so many students are affected by cancer in some way in their lives, even right now. I also shared with the students my own experience of losing my first wife to cancer in 2003. This was done as a way to share with them that all of us will be affected by cancer in some way most likely during our lives, since 1 in every 2 males and 1 in every 3 females will be diagnosed with some type of cancer in their lives. For homework there was a reading about cancer for the students. I put this together using information from the American Cancer Society and a book called The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Dr.Siddartha Mukherjee. The book is a very good read for those of you interested in cancer. It was one of the New York Times top 10 books of 2010.
Friday - We discussed what the students found interesting from the reading about cancer to start class. We also talked about the fact that our cell organelle project was front page news in the school newspaper! Then, we conducted a lab experiment investigating why cells have to remain small. We used different sized cubes made of a material called agar. The agar had an indicator called bromothymol blue added to it, which turns yellow in the presence of an acid. The students then placed their cubes in a beaker of hydrochloric acid, and timed how long it took the cubes to turn completely yellow. We will be finishing the lab questions in class on Monday. Homework was to read an article from a publication by the National Institutes of Health about cell division, and answer some questions that go together with the reading.
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will be completing the lab questions from our cell size lab that we ran on Friday. When the students are done, I will be lecturing on cell division. For homework, the students should review the content from the cell size lab, as they will be given an 11 question lab quiz on Tuesday on that material.
Tuesday - Tuesday will be a shortened day due to Late Start meetings. The students will take their lab quiz, and then we will look for cells in prepared slides of an onion root tip in the various stages of the cell cycle. Homework will be to complete the lab questions.
Wednesday - We will be completing a lab called "Time for Mitosis." This lab will have the students investigating how long normal cells spend in each of the stages of the cell cycle, compared to cancerous cells. The students should complete the entire lab in class. There will be no homework for the Thanksgiving break, although we will have a quiz on cell division the Tuesday after Thanksgiving weekend.
Thursday - HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Friday - No School
Graba Geeks of the Week
The Geeks of the Week this week are Jenny Chu and Karishma Desai, who both earned perfect scores on our Cell Unit Test. There were other students who have been previous winners who also scored perfect on the test, including Chloe David, Emily Jia, and Daniel Classon. Way to go, all of you! That is a great accomplishment.
November 12, 2012
November 12, 2012
November 12, 2012
Happy Veteran's Day, and thank you to all of our veterans for the sacrifices they have made for our country.
I wanted to make sure that I included at the beginning of this blog post that I made a mistake with informing some of my students about tomorrow. I told some of my classes that we had a late start tomorrow, November 13. That is incorrect. We have a normal school day tomorrow. The late start is the following week.
Events of the Past Week
During the past week, we finished our egg lab and handed that in. We also concluded our dialysis bag lab investigating how particle size affects the movement of material into and out of the cell. We did a final osmosis diffusion lab on Wednesday that had the students looking at red onion cells under the microscope in fresh water and then in salt water to see the effects of those different types of solutions on the contents of the cell. The dialysis bag lab and the egg lab were collected on Tuesday, and the red onion lab was collected on Wednesday. For homework this week the students were working on finishing the questions in those labs, and one night they were supposed to watch a video of me lecturing about osmosis and diffusion on YouTube. Over this four day weekend they have a review packet on cells that is required homework, and 3 other review sheets (except for my 8th hour class, which had done 2 of them already) which were optional to help them prepare for a test on Wednesday. The test will cover cell organelles, the cell theory (including the scientists who were important in helping to develop it), the structure of the plasma membrane, passive transport (osmosis, diffusion, and facilitated diffusion), and active transport (exocytosis, endocytosis, and the sodium-potassium pump).
Upcoming Events
Monday - No school. Please thank a veteran.
Tuesday - We will be reviewing for the test on Tuesday. We will first go through the review packet and additional worksheets to see if there are any questions that the kids need help with, and then move on to our review activity. There will be 7 pieces of butcher paper set up around the room, one on each lab table. A different topic from our unit will be at the top of each sheet, and the students will have one minute to write as many things as they can about the topic on the sheet at that lab table. Each table will have a group of four students at it, and after 1 minute, they will rotate to the next table. When they are all done, they will go back around the room to see what their classmates have produced.
Wednesday - We will take the test on the topics outlined previously.
Thursday - We will spend a good amount of time going over the results of the quiz and answering any questions about it. The students will then be given a reading about cancer and some questions to answer that go along with the reading. Homework will be to complete that activity. Our next unit is cell division, and since cancer is simply uncontrolled cell division, it serves as a good hook to help the students see why we need to study and understand cell division.
Friday - We will run a lab investigating why it is that cells need to divide and remain small. We will be investigating the surface area to volume ratio of "cells" of various sizes. The "cells" will be made out of cubes of a jello-like substance called agar. The students will be timing how long it takes for hydrochloric acid to completely diffuse through their different-sized cubes. Homework will be to finish questions in the lab.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's Geek of the Week goes to Emily Jia and Chloe David, who somehow managed to be co-elected president of the cell in our Cell Organelle Campaign project (otherwise known as #organellewars) even though they had an organelle, the cytoskeleton, which most, if not all, of my students had never heard of before the project. The other group in that class that one, Jessica Lu and Eden Schultz, also deserve special mention because they were trying to get the nucleus elected president, and they were getting smeared by most of the groups in the class. Way to go girls!
Happy Veteran's Day, and thank you to all of our veterans for the sacrifices they have made for our country.
I wanted to make sure that I included at the beginning of this blog post that I made a mistake with informing some of my students about tomorrow. I told some of my classes that we had a late start tomorrow, November 13. That is incorrect. We have a normal school day tomorrow. The late start is the following week.
Events of the Past Week
During the past week, we finished our egg lab and handed that in. We also concluded our dialysis bag lab investigating how particle size affects the movement of material into and out of the cell. We did a final osmosis diffusion lab on Wednesday that had the students looking at red onion cells under the microscope in fresh water and then in salt water to see the effects of those different types of solutions on the contents of the cell. The dialysis bag lab and the egg lab were collected on Tuesday, and the red onion lab was collected on Wednesday. For homework this week the students were working on finishing the questions in those labs, and one night they were supposed to watch a video of me lecturing about osmosis and diffusion on YouTube. Over this four day weekend they have a review packet on cells that is required homework, and 3 other review sheets (except for my 8th hour class, which had done 2 of them already) which were optional to help them prepare for a test on Wednesday. The test will cover cell organelles, the cell theory (including the scientists who were important in helping to develop it), the structure of the plasma membrane, passive transport (osmosis, diffusion, and facilitated diffusion), and active transport (exocytosis, endocytosis, and the sodium-potassium pump).
Upcoming Events
Monday - No school. Please thank a veteran.
Tuesday - We will be reviewing for the test on Tuesday. We will first go through the review packet and additional worksheets to see if there are any questions that the kids need help with, and then move on to our review activity. There will be 7 pieces of butcher paper set up around the room, one on each lab table. A different topic from our unit will be at the top of each sheet, and the students will have one minute to write as many things as they can about the topic on the sheet at that lab table. Each table will have a group of four students at it, and after 1 minute, they will rotate to the next table. When they are all done, they will go back around the room to see what their classmates have produced.
Wednesday - We will take the test on the topics outlined previously.
Thursday - We will spend a good amount of time going over the results of the quiz and answering any questions about it. The students will then be given a reading about cancer and some questions to answer that go along with the reading. Homework will be to complete that activity. Our next unit is cell division, and since cancer is simply uncontrolled cell division, it serves as a good hook to help the students see why we need to study and understand cell division.
Friday - We will run a lab investigating why it is that cells need to divide and remain small. We will be investigating the surface area to volume ratio of "cells" of various sizes. The "cells" will be made out of cubes of a jello-like substance called agar. The students will be timing how long it takes for hydrochloric acid to completely diffuse through their different-sized cubes. Homework will be to finish questions in the lab.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's Geek of the Week goes to Emily Jia and Chloe David, who somehow managed to be co-elected president of the cell in our Cell Organelle Campaign project (otherwise known as #organellewars) even though they had an organelle, the cytoskeleton, which most, if not all, of my students had never heard of before the project. The other group in that class that one, Jessica Lu and Eden Schultz, also deserve special mention because they were trying to get the nucleus elected president, and they were getting smeared by most of the groups in the class. Way to go girls!
October 28, 2012
October 28, 2012
October 28, 2012
Hello everyone! There was no newsletter last week because I was too busy with our class project! Two weeks ago we reviewed for our test on microscopes and Measurement, and then took the test over a two day period on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday I assigned our cell campaign project which I am confident you have seen your children working on these past two weeks! As part of the campaign, I suggested that they create a Twitter account for their organelle, if they wanted to, and begin tweeting about their organelle and smearing the other organelles. We continued to work on the project on Friday. What followed was nothing short of amazing. Within about 12 hours of the start of the project, I noticed that there were people I did not recognize getting involved in the campaign online. This, of course, concerned me quite a bit, so I investigated to make sure that the kids were not being put in danger. It turns out that the people who were tweeting with my kids were cell biologists from around the globe! Each of them has a different cell organelle that is their area of interest, and they began helping the groups with their favorites, and helping smear some of the others. One of the scientists, Dr. Anne Osterrieder, is a professor at Oxford-Brookes University in England. She, Dr. David Logan from the Universite d'Angers in France, and Dr. John Runions at the University of Oxford-Brookes (who is also Dr. Molecule on BBC Radio) have been among the scientists tweeting with the kids. If your son or daughter created a Twitter account for their organelle, you should ask them to see what they've been doing and look at the interactions they have had! The cell biologists have been directing them to great research articles, asking them great questions, and sharing great information with them. These experts know so much more about this topic than I do that your children's education on cells has been improved immeasurably by these interactions! We were blogged about at the website www.plantcellbiology.org. The project has gained its own hashtag on Twitter: #organellewars. One biologist even tweeted "Best #war hashtag that doesn't depress me to follow, but gives me hope for humanity: #organellewars. The link to this blog and our hashtag has been retweeted by all kinds of scientists and educators around the globe. One of the retweets came from Ed Yong, who writes a blog for discover magazine. He is a pretty big deal in the online science community, writing a blog called "It's Not Rocket Science" with over 10 million hits since he began writing it. We were also talked about on BBC Radio! Here is a link to the podcast, in which they begin discussing our project around the 6 minute and 10 second mark: http://drmolecule.org/2012/10/23/organellewars-a-fun-school-project-in-cell-biology/.
This experience has by far been the most incredible experience of my fifteen year teaching career. To have your children (my students) interacting with experts from around the world and to be excited about learning about the Golgi Apparatus is unbelievable.
Needless to say, last week was dedicated almost entirely to working on our project. I extended the deadline for the project until Monday, so Monday will be spent with the students giving presentations to persuade people to vote for their cell organelle. Tuesday we will be finishing watching a BBC special on the cell that premiered in Europe last Sunday, and then was sent to me by one of the biologists after he was able to obtain a copy of it from a contact of his at the BBC. Wednesday, Halloween, or, should I say, Cell-o-ween, will be voting day for the organelles. The voting will be online by class period. Following voting, we will begin a lab project investigating how materials move into and out of cells. We will be placing an egg in 150 mL of vinegar. We will be measuring the mass of the egg before we begin, and measuring the mass of the egg each day thereafter throughout the course of this several day project. After the lab is set up, I will be lecturing about the structure of the plasma membrane. There will be no homework on Wednesday. Thursday we will take a look at our eggs to see if there has been a change after soaking in vinegar overnight. Then we will run a second lab investigating osmosis and diffusion. We will use a semipermeable bag that allows some materials to pass through it, but not others. The bag will have starch, protein, and glucose inside of it, and we will use the chemical indicator tests we learned during our biochemistry unit to determine which molecules can and cannot pass through the bag. While the bags are sitting, the students will be looking at red onion under the microscope, first in distilled water, and then in salt water. For homework, the students will be watching a video lecture I will be putting together explaining the processes of passive and active transport. On Friday, we will be placing our eggs in Karo corn syrup to sit over the weekend. Following this activity, we will be completing the questions in the semipermeable bag and red onion lab, and then observing two groups of celery and carrots. One of them will have been sitting in distilled water overnight, and one in salt water. We will then discuss the results of those experiments. Homework over the weekend will be to begin studying for our test on cells, which will probably be the following Tuesday.
Have a great week everybody! I cannot pick a geek of the week this week because all of the students have been doing a tremendous job on their projects, and I just don't want anyone to be upset that they did not get chosen. I have been truly impressed by the effort from almost every student in class on this project!
Hello everyone! There was no newsletter last week because I was too busy with our class project! Two weeks ago we reviewed for our test on microscopes and Measurement, and then took the test over a two day period on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday I assigned our cell campaign project which I am confident you have seen your children working on these past two weeks! As part of the campaign, I suggested that they create a Twitter account for their organelle, if they wanted to, and begin tweeting about their organelle and smearing the other organelles. We continued to work on the project on Friday. What followed was nothing short of amazing. Within about 12 hours of the start of the project, I noticed that there were people I did not recognize getting involved in the campaign online. This, of course, concerned me quite a bit, so I investigated to make sure that the kids were not being put in danger. It turns out that the people who were tweeting with my kids were cell biologists from around the globe! Each of them has a different cell organelle that is their area of interest, and they began helping the groups with their favorites, and helping smear some of the others. One of the scientists, Dr. Anne Osterrieder, is a professor at Oxford-Brookes University in England. She, Dr. David Logan from the Universite d'Angers in France, and Dr. John Runions at the University of Oxford-Brookes (who is also Dr. Molecule on BBC Radio) have been among the scientists tweeting with the kids. If your son or daughter created a Twitter account for their organelle, you should ask them to see what they've been doing and look at the interactions they have had! The cell biologists have been directing them to great research articles, asking them great questions, and sharing great information with them. These experts know so much more about this topic than I do that your children's education on cells has been improved immeasurably by these interactions! We were blogged about at the website www.plantcellbiology.org. The project has gained its own hashtag on Twitter: #organellewars. One biologist even tweeted "Best #war hashtag that doesn't depress me to follow, but gives me hope for humanity: #organellewars. The link to this blog and our hashtag has been retweeted by all kinds of scientists and educators around the globe. One of the retweets came from Ed Yong, who writes a blog for discover magazine. He is a pretty big deal in the online science community, writing a blog called "It's Not Rocket Science" with over 10 million hits since he began writing it. We were also talked about on BBC Radio! Here is a link to the podcast, in which they begin discussing our project around the 6 minute and 10 second mark: http://drmolecule.org/2012/10/23/organellewars-a-fun-school-project-in-cell-biology/.
This experience has by far been the most incredible experience of my fifteen year teaching career. To have your children (my students) interacting with experts from around the world and to be excited about learning about the Golgi Apparatus is unbelievable.
Needless to say, last week was dedicated almost entirely to working on our project. I extended the deadline for the project until Monday, so Monday will be spent with the students giving presentations to persuade people to vote for their cell organelle. Tuesday we will be finishing watching a BBC special on the cell that premiered in Europe last Sunday, and then was sent to me by one of the biologists after he was able to obtain a copy of it from a contact of his at the BBC. Wednesday, Halloween, or, should I say, Cell-o-ween, will be voting day for the organelles. The voting will be online by class period. Following voting, we will begin a lab project investigating how materials move into and out of cells. We will be placing an egg in 150 mL of vinegar. We will be measuring the mass of the egg before we begin, and measuring the mass of the egg each day thereafter throughout the course of this several day project. After the lab is set up, I will be lecturing about the structure of the plasma membrane. There will be no homework on Wednesday. Thursday we will take a look at our eggs to see if there has been a change after soaking in vinegar overnight. Then we will run a second lab investigating osmosis and diffusion. We will use a semipermeable bag that allows some materials to pass through it, but not others. The bag will have starch, protein, and glucose inside of it, and we will use the chemical indicator tests we learned during our biochemistry unit to determine which molecules can and cannot pass through the bag. While the bags are sitting, the students will be looking at red onion under the microscope, first in distilled water, and then in salt water. For homework, the students will be watching a video lecture I will be putting together explaining the processes of passive and active transport. On Friday, we will be placing our eggs in Karo corn syrup to sit over the weekend. Following this activity, we will be completing the questions in the semipermeable bag and red onion lab, and then observing two groups of celery and carrots. One of them will have been sitting in distilled water overnight, and one in salt water. We will then discuss the results of those experiments. Homework over the weekend will be to begin studying for our test on cells, which will probably be the following Tuesday.
Have a great week everybody! I cannot pick a geek of the week this week because all of the students have been doing a tremendous job on their projects, and I just don't want anyone to be upset that they did not get chosen. I have been truly impressed by the effort from almost every student in class on this project!
October 14, 2012
October 14, 2012
October 14, 2012
What a dreary fall weekend this was. Hopefully the sun comes out before it's over!
Events of the Past Week
Tuesday - We spent class working on a lab working with the metric system on Tuesday. The students practiced measuring length, volume, and mass, and then converting their measurements into different metric units. This took most of the class period to complete. For homework, the students were to complete the prelab portion of the metric system lab, which had them converting more units in the metric system.
Wednesday - I collected the metric system lab from the students, and then introduced them to how to write numbers in scientific notation. They were then given one last metric system practice worksheet. When they finished that worksheet, they were given some practice scientific notation problems. For homework, they completed problems 1 through 4 on that sheet.
Thursday - We began class by checking the metric system worksheet and problems 1 through 4 on the scientific notation worksheet for accuracy. After taking a little bit of time for questions on those two assignments, we began a lab called "Measuring With the Microscope." The students first determined the diameter of their field of view in millimeters under the microscope by looking at a ruler. They then calculated the diameter of their high power field of view. Once the diameters of their field of view were determined, the students had to convert the diameters they determined into micrometers. Following this, the size of five different objects were determined by looking at them under the microscope. For homework, the students completed questions 5 and 6 in their scientific notation packet.
Friday - The students were introduced to graphing using Microsoft Excel at the beginning of class. Then, they were allowed time to finish measuring objects under the microscope. Most groups had about 1 or 2 objects to finish looking at, and a few analysis questions to finish answering. Then, they were given time to begin graphing four different data sets on Excel, and answering questions about those data sets. For homework over the weekend, they were to complete any graphs that had not been completed.
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will review for our test on the metric system, microscope, scientific notation, and graphing. The students will look at crossed threads under the microscope and also complete a review packet for the test. Homework will be to study for the test. The answer key to the review sheet is available at www.mrgraba.net on the accelerated biology 1st semester worksheets page.
Tuesday - The class periods are shortened on Tuesday due to the late start, so the students will only be given the multiple choice portion of the test on the metric system, the microscope, scientific notation, and graphing. They will probably want to spend a little time studying for the short answer portion of the test on Wednesday.
Wednesday - The students will take the short answer portion of the test on Wednesday. The students will be given 35-40 minutes to complete this portion of the test. When everyone is done, the students will be introduced to their organelle campaign projects that I described on open house night. The students will be shown some examples of some of the projects from last year, and be given the expectations for the project. They will also pick their organelles out of a hat. There will be no homework for Wednesday night.
Thursday - The students will be given the day to plan and work on their projects. The project is done in pairs, so the students will need to start assigning parts of the project to each other to complete each night.
Friday - We will spend the day looking at plant and animal cells under the microscope. The students will look at their own cheek cells as an animal cell example, then onion cells, and then cells from an aquatic plant called Elodea. Homework will be to work on their organelle projects over the weekend.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's Geek of the Week goes to Sarah Brand, who has become so good at finding objects under the microscope that she was helping groups around the class find their objects when they were struggling. Thank you, Sarah, and good work!
What a dreary fall weekend this was. Hopefully the sun comes out before it's over!
Events of the Past Week
Tuesday - We spent class working on a lab working with the metric system on Tuesday. The students practiced measuring length, volume, and mass, and then converting their measurements into different metric units. This took most of the class period to complete. For homework, the students were to complete the prelab portion of the metric system lab, which had them converting more units in the metric system.
Wednesday - I collected the metric system lab from the students, and then introduced them to how to write numbers in scientific notation. They were then given one last metric system practice worksheet. When they finished that worksheet, they were given some practice scientific notation problems. For homework, they completed problems 1 through 4 on that sheet.
Thursday - We began class by checking the metric system worksheet and problems 1 through 4 on the scientific notation worksheet for accuracy. After taking a little bit of time for questions on those two assignments, we began a lab called "Measuring With the Microscope." The students first determined the diameter of their field of view in millimeters under the microscope by looking at a ruler. They then calculated the diameter of their high power field of view. Once the diameters of their field of view were determined, the students had to convert the diameters they determined into micrometers. Following this, the size of five different objects were determined by looking at them under the microscope. For homework, the students completed questions 5 and 6 in their scientific notation packet.
Friday - The students were introduced to graphing using Microsoft Excel at the beginning of class. Then, they were allowed time to finish measuring objects under the microscope. Most groups had about 1 or 2 objects to finish looking at, and a few analysis questions to finish answering. Then, they were given time to begin graphing four different data sets on Excel, and answering questions about those data sets. For homework over the weekend, they were to complete any graphs that had not been completed.
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will review for our test on the metric system, microscope, scientific notation, and graphing. The students will look at crossed threads under the microscope and also complete a review packet for the test. Homework will be to study for the test. The answer key to the review sheet is available at www.mrgraba.net on the accelerated biology 1st semester worksheets page.
Tuesday - The class periods are shortened on Tuesday due to the late start, so the students will only be given the multiple choice portion of the test on the metric system, the microscope, scientific notation, and graphing. They will probably want to spend a little time studying for the short answer portion of the test on Wednesday.
Wednesday - The students will take the short answer portion of the test on Wednesday. The students will be given 35-40 minutes to complete this portion of the test. When everyone is done, the students will be introduced to their organelle campaign projects that I described on open house night. The students will be shown some examples of some of the projects from last year, and be given the expectations for the project. They will also pick their organelles out of a hat. There will be no homework for Wednesday night.
Thursday - The students will be given the day to plan and work on their projects. The project is done in pairs, so the students will need to start assigning parts of the project to each other to complete each night.
Friday - We will spend the day looking at plant and animal cells under the microscope. The students will look at their own cheek cells as an animal cell example, then onion cells, and then cells from an aquatic plant called Elodea. Homework will be to work on their organelle projects over the weekend.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's Geek of the Week goes to Sarah Brand, who has become so good at finding objects under the microscope that she was helping groups around the class find their objects when they were struggling. Thank you, Sarah, and good work!
October 8, 2012
October 8, 2012
October 8, 2012
Happy Columbus Day! After a long, cold weekend of camping with the Webelos, I'm ready to get back to work with the kids in class. I hope they are ready to be put to work!
Events of the Past Week
Monday - On Monday we spent much of the class period reviewing our results from the Biochemistry Test from the previous Friday. The average for my classes was an 81%, which is a solid B. After reviewing the results from the test, I introduced the students to the parts of the microscope. There was no homework on Monday night.
Tuesday - I was gone on Tuesday, so the students worked on a history of the microscope webquest. Unfortunately, the school's Internet was really slow, and the periods were shortened. As a result, most students did not finish their webquests. Homework was supposed to be to finish the webquest. At home, however, some students had trouble with a Java plug-in, so the students were also given Wednesday night to finish the assignment.
Wednesday - We did a peer teaching lab in class. The students each had an aspect of the microscope they were to teach the rest of their lab table about. One person was responsible for teaching the parts of the microscope and calculating total magnification. One person was responsible for teaching how to find objects under the microscope. One person taught the students how to make a wet mount, and one person showed the students how to properly clean the microscope and put the microscope away when you are done with it. Homework was to finish the webquest.
Thursday - We began a lab looking at different objects under the microscope. There were five prepared slides (a fruit fly, a Paramecium, human blood, human blood with sickle-cell anemia, and frog blood) for the students to look at on Thursday. Some students also brought in pond water to look at on Thursday. One sample had many microscopic organisms called Daphnia which were very interesting for the students to look at under the microscope.
Friday - We finished the microscope lab by looking at potato slices first without any stain, and then with Iodine as a stain. We tied this staining back to our biochemistry unit by reminding the students what it is that Iodine indicates when it changes color from yellow to purple. Any prepared slides that the students did not get to look at on Thursday were also viewed on Friday. When a lab team finished, they were given a worksheet that had them practicing metric conversions, as our next lab will be having the students working with the metric system. Homework was to finish any lab questions and to finish any metric conversions that were not completed in class.
Upcoming Events
Monday - NO SCHOOL! COLUMBUS DAY!
Tuesday - We will be running a metric system lab to help the students review the metric system, which I'm sure they have learned many times before! The students will be measuring length, volume, and mass, and then converting their measurements from the metric unit the measure in to other metric units. Since it only involves moving decimals, converting in the metric system should not be too difficult for the students! They will be asked to know the following prefixes: tera, giga, mega, kilo, hecto, deka, deci, centi, milli, micro, nano. There are computers being developed with terabytes worth of memory now, and technology being developed using nanotechnology, so I believe that these are useful prefixes for the students to know. Homework will be to complete the questions in the metric system lab.
Wednesday - The metric system lab will be collected, and I will see if the students have any questions about the metric system as we process what they learned from the experiment. The students will then be reintroduced to using scientific notation. They will also be taught how to multiply, divide, add, and subtract while using scientific notation. There will be time given for the students to begin some practice scientific notation problems. Any problems that are not finished in class will be finished for homework.
Thursday - We will spend time reviewing the scientific notation homework. The students will be grading their own work, and then will be given the opportunity to ask for help on any questions that the got wrong. After this, we will conduct a lab experiment called "Measuring with the Microscope." The students will measure the length of the diameter of their field of view under low power on the microscope, and then calculate the diameter of their field of view under high power. Once they have completed that task, they will then estimate the size of various microorganisms as they view them under the microscope. This can be challenging for the students, but we will work to get everyone understanding how to estimate sizes by the end of the lab. This lab ties together everything we will have learned about the microscope, the metric system, and scientific notation. There will be no homework on Thursday.
Friday - At the beginning of class, the students will be shown how to graph a data set by using Microsoft Excel. Then, the students will be given time to finish their "Measuring with the Microscope" lab activity. This should take about 15-20 minutes. After completing the lab activity, the students will hand it in and begin working on a graphing activity using data sets that I will give them. There are a series of questions to answer about the graphs the students create as they work through the graphing activity. I will not be requiring the graphs to be completed for homework, as not all students may have Microsoft Excel at home. The graphs will be completed in class on Monday. Plan on there being a test on the microscope, metric system, scientific notation, and graphing on Tuesday the 16th of October.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's Geek of the Week is Mark Guo, who brought in our Daphnia filled water sample. Without him, the pond water observation portion of our lab would not have been nearly as successful or interesting. Thank you, Mark!
Have a great week everyone!
Happy Columbus Day! After a long, cold weekend of camping with the Webelos, I'm ready to get back to work with the kids in class. I hope they are ready to be put to work!
Events of the Past Week
Monday - On Monday we spent much of the class period reviewing our results from the Biochemistry Test from the previous Friday. The average for my classes was an 81%, which is a solid B. After reviewing the results from the test, I introduced the students to the parts of the microscope. There was no homework on Monday night.
Tuesday - I was gone on Tuesday, so the students worked on a history of the microscope webquest. Unfortunately, the school's Internet was really slow, and the periods were shortened. As a result, most students did not finish their webquests. Homework was supposed to be to finish the webquest. At home, however, some students had trouble with a Java plug-in, so the students were also given Wednesday night to finish the assignment.
Wednesday - We did a peer teaching lab in class. The students each had an aspect of the microscope they were to teach the rest of their lab table about. One person was responsible for teaching the parts of the microscope and calculating total magnification. One person was responsible for teaching how to find objects under the microscope. One person taught the students how to make a wet mount, and one person showed the students how to properly clean the microscope and put the microscope away when you are done with it. Homework was to finish the webquest.
Thursday - We began a lab looking at different objects under the microscope. There were five prepared slides (a fruit fly, a Paramecium, human blood, human blood with sickle-cell anemia, and frog blood) for the students to look at on Thursday. Some students also brought in pond water to look at on Thursday. One sample had many microscopic organisms called Daphnia which were very interesting for the students to look at under the microscope.
Friday - We finished the microscope lab by looking at potato slices first without any stain, and then with Iodine as a stain. We tied this staining back to our biochemistry unit by reminding the students what it is that Iodine indicates when it changes color from yellow to purple. Any prepared slides that the students did not get to look at on Thursday were also viewed on Friday. When a lab team finished, they were given a worksheet that had them practicing metric conversions, as our next lab will be having the students working with the metric system. Homework was to finish any lab questions and to finish any metric conversions that were not completed in class.
Upcoming Events
Monday - NO SCHOOL! COLUMBUS DAY!
Tuesday - We will be running a metric system lab to help the students review the metric system, which I'm sure they have learned many times before! The students will be measuring length, volume, and mass, and then converting their measurements from the metric unit the measure in to other metric units. Since it only involves moving decimals, converting in the metric system should not be too difficult for the students! They will be asked to know the following prefixes: tera, giga, mega, kilo, hecto, deka, deci, centi, milli, micro, nano. There are computers being developed with terabytes worth of memory now, and technology being developed using nanotechnology, so I believe that these are useful prefixes for the students to know. Homework will be to complete the questions in the metric system lab.
Wednesday - The metric system lab will be collected, and I will see if the students have any questions about the metric system as we process what they learned from the experiment. The students will then be reintroduced to using scientific notation. They will also be taught how to multiply, divide, add, and subtract while using scientific notation. There will be time given for the students to begin some practice scientific notation problems. Any problems that are not finished in class will be finished for homework.
Thursday - We will spend time reviewing the scientific notation homework. The students will be grading their own work, and then will be given the opportunity to ask for help on any questions that the got wrong. After this, we will conduct a lab experiment called "Measuring with the Microscope." The students will measure the length of the diameter of their field of view under low power on the microscope, and then calculate the diameter of their field of view under high power. Once they have completed that task, they will then estimate the size of various microorganisms as they view them under the microscope. This can be challenging for the students, but we will work to get everyone understanding how to estimate sizes by the end of the lab. This lab ties together everything we will have learned about the microscope, the metric system, and scientific notation. There will be no homework on Thursday.
Friday - At the beginning of class, the students will be shown how to graph a data set by using Microsoft Excel. Then, the students will be given time to finish their "Measuring with the Microscope" lab activity. This should take about 15-20 minutes. After completing the lab activity, the students will hand it in and begin working on a graphing activity using data sets that I will give them. There are a series of questions to answer about the graphs the students create as they work through the graphing activity. I will not be requiring the graphs to be completed for homework, as not all students may have Microsoft Excel at home. The graphs will be completed in class on Monday. Plan on there being a test on the microscope, metric system, scientific notation, and graphing on Tuesday the 16th of October.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's Geek of the Week is Mark Guo, who brought in our Daphnia filled water sample. Without him, the pond water observation portion of our lab would not have been nearly as successful or interesting. Thank you, Mark!
Have a great week everyone!
September 30, 2012
September 30, 2012
September 30, 2012
I hope everyone has plans to enjoy this wonderful early fall weather we are having today! We were very busy in class this last week, and have a lot planned for the upcoming week.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We began our lab using different indicator's to determine the presence of certain macromolecules in a solution. We used Benedict's Solution to test for monosaccharides, Iodine to test for polysaccharides, Biuret to test for proteins, and a grease-spot test and a solubility test to test for the presence of lipids. On Monday, the students were able to complete the tests for monosaccharides, starch, and proteins so that they could learn what each indicator looked like in a positive test and in a negative test. Homework was to complete questions 1-15 in the lab.
Tuesday - The students completed the grease-spot test for lipids, and I demonstrated the solubility test in water (a polar solvent) and hexane (a nonpolar solvent). The students saw that the oil dissolved in the nonpolar solvent, and did not dissolve in the polar solvent. We then figured out why this was the case. Homework was to complete the rest of the questions in the lab handout., and to complete their graphic organizers on carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids.
Wednesday - We began class by turning in the lab, and then discussing the objectives for the lab. The goal was to make sure that the students understood what was important to know after having completed this lab. The students were then given a handout with the objectives for our entire biochemistry unit, so they knew what they needed to study for the test.
After the objectives were handed out, we began reviewing. The students were given 10 minutes to get together with their partners and review what they each came up with for their carbohydrate, protein, and lipid graphic organizers. I then asked the students for any questions on those graphic organizers. Then, we did a review sheet that asked the students to identify many different macromolecules based on their structural formulas. This was challenging, but many students were doing much better at the identification of molecules by the time we were done. Finally, the students were given a review sheet on carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids that asked them to identify different characteristics of those three macromolecules. They were to complete this for homework.
Thursday - Rather than test, we reviewed for one more day. First, the students were given the opportunity to ask any questions that they had from the review sheet they completed for homework. Then, we played a review game where approximately 35 multiple choice questions were asked using a software program that we have called Classroom Performance System. Each student had a remote control, and would click their answer to each question in. The program keeps track of who gets each question correct, and lets the students know immediately whether or not they got the question correct. We had some fun with this. The high score in each class earned a couple of points of extra credit for the test on Friday. Homework was to study for the test on Friday.
Friday - The students took the biochemistry test. In each class, some students worked up to the bell. There was no homework for the weekend.
Upcoming Events
Monday - The students will get back their biochemistry tests. Each student will spend time analyzing which questions they got correct and which questions they got wrong. The idea will be to help them figure out what topics they knew well, and which they did not. This will hopefully help them when it comes time to study for final exams. It will also help us to have a discussion about amount of time spent studying, and what kind of studying was done for the test.
After going over the test, the students will take a 15 question district assessment test on biochemistry. This will be significantly easier than the test for our class, since every freshman in the school district takes this test. This will be a small, 5 point grade in the gradebook.
When the students are done with the district assessment, they will begin a webquest on the history of the microscope. Homework will be to complete the webquest, which can be found on the 1st semester labs page of my website, for those of you who are interested.
Tuesday - We will begin a cooperative group project learning about the parts of the microscope, how to use the microscope, and how to take care of the microscope. This is a late start day, so we may not finish the project. Each student is responsible for teaching the other people in their group one topic related to the microscope, so homework will be to complete preparing to teach the other people in their group about their topic.
Wednesday - We will be finishing the microscope peer teaching lab at the beginning of the class. This will be followed by looking at several different objects under the microscope. The goal of the lab is to learn how to use many of the different parts of the microscope, such as the diaphragm, the coarse and fine adjustments, etc., effectively. There will be no homework.
Thursday - We will finish looking at objects under the microscope, and then begin a lab looking at money under the microscope. The idea will be for the students to learn how to use the stereoscope, to learn a little about our currency, and to spark some interest in the microscope by looking at something everyone is interested in - money!
Friday - We will do a quick review of the metric system, and the students will complete a lab where they will be measuring length, volume, and mass, and then converting between different units in the metric system. Homework will be to complete the lab questions that they have remaining.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week we have co-Geek of the Week winners. Both Emily Jia and Jiamin Huang earned perfect scores on our biochemistry test on Friday. This was no small feat, as the test was relatively difficult. Very impressive, girls! Keep up the good work!
I hope everyone has plans to enjoy this wonderful early fall weather we are having today! We were very busy in class this last week, and have a lot planned for the upcoming week.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We began our lab using different indicator's to determine the presence of certain macromolecules in a solution. We used Benedict's Solution to test for monosaccharides, Iodine to test for polysaccharides, Biuret to test for proteins, and a grease-spot test and a solubility test to test for the presence of lipids. On Monday, the students were able to complete the tests for monosaccharides, starch, and proteins so that they could learn what each indicator looked like in a positive test and in a negative test. Homework was to complete questions 1-15 in the lab.
Tuesday - The students completed the grease-spot test for lipids, and I demonstrated the solubility test in water (a polar solvent) and hexane (a nonpolar solvent). The students saw that the oil dissolved in the nonpolar solvent, and did not dissolve in the polar solvent. We then figured out why this was the case. Homework was to complete the rest of the questions in the lab handout., and to complete their graphic organizers on carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids.
Wednesday - We began class by turning in the lab, and then discussing the objectives for the lab. The goal was to make sure that the students understood what was important to know after having completed this lab. The students were then given a handout with the objectives for our entire biochemistry unit, so they knew what they needed to study for the test.
After the objectives were handed out, we began reviewing. The students were given 10 minutes to get together with their partners and review what they each came up with for their carbohydrate, protein, and lipid graphic organizers. I then asked the students for any questions on those graphic organizers. Then, we did a review sheet that asked the students to identify many different macromolecules based on their structural formulas. This was challenging, but many students were doing much better at the identification of molecules by the time we were done. Finally, the students were given a review sheet on carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids that asked them to identify different characteristics of those three macromolecules. They were to complete this for homework.
Thursday - Rather than test, we reviewed for one more day. First, the students were given the opportunity to ask any questions that they had from the review sheet they completed for homework. Then, we played a review game where approximately 35 multiple choice questions were asked using a software program that we have called Classroom Performance System. Each student had a remote control, and would click their answer to each question in. The program keeps track of who gets each question correct, and lets the students know immediately whether or not they got the question correct. We had some fun with this. The high score in each class earned a couple of points of extra credit for the test on Friday. Homework was to study for the test on Friday.
Friday - The students took the biochemistry test. In each class, some students worked up to the bell. There was no homework for the weekend.
Upcoming Events
Monday - The students will get back their biochemistry tests. Each student will spend time analyzing which questions they got correct and which questions they got wrong. The idea will be to help them figure out what topics they knew well, and which they did not. This will hopefully help them when it comes time to study for final exams. It will also help us to have a discussion about amount of time spent studying, and what kind of studying was done for the test.
After going over the test, the students will take a 15 question district assessment test on biochemistry. This will be significantly easier than the test for our class, since every freshman in the school district takes this test. This will be a small, 5 point grade in the gradebook.
When the students are done with the district assessment, they will begin a webquest on the history of the microscope. Homework will be to complete the webquest, which can be found on the 1st semester labs page of my website, for those of you who are interested.
Tuesday - We will begin a cooperative group project learning about the parts of the microscope, how to use the microscope, and how to take care of the microscope. This is a late start day, so we may not finish the project. Each student is responsible for teaching the other people in their group one topic related to the microscope, so homework will be to complete preparing to teach the other people in their group about their topic.
Wednesday - We will be finishing the microscope peer teaching lab at the beginning of the class. This will be followed by looking at several different objects under the microscope. The goal of the lab is to learn how to use many of the different parts of the microscope, such as the diaphragm, the coarse and fine adjustments, etc., effectively. There will be no homework.
Thursday - We will finish looking at objects under the microscope, and then begin a lab looking at money under the microscope. The idea will be for the students to learn how to use the stereoscope, to learn a little about our currency, and to spark some interest in the microscope by looking at something everyone is interested in - money!
Friday - We will do a quick review of the metric system, and the students will complete a lab where they will be measuring length, volume, and mass, and then converting between different units in the metric system. Homework will be to complete the lab questions that they have remaining.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week we have co-Geek of the Week winners. Both Emily Jia and Jiamin Huang earned perfect scores on our biochemistry test on Friday. This was no small feat, as the test was relatively difficult. Very impressive, girls! Keep up the good work!
September 23, 2012
September 23, 2012
September 23, 2012
I hope you all had a wonderful first official weekend of fall! Hopefully all of our freshmen enjoyed their first Homecoming experience as well.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - To begin class, I collected a lab activity that we had finished in class on Friday. We then took notes on carbohydrates.
Tuesday - All of our class periods were shortened due to the late start day. The students busily built models of carbohydrates during the course of the class period. We ended up building a polysaccharide that was 28 monosaccharides long. We used our model to review some of the characteristics of carbohydrates that we had learned the day before. Homework was to complete the section on proteins from the students' biocchemistry worksheet.
Wednesday - The students took notes on the functions and characteristics of proteins. When we were done, they built models of proteins by joining together many amino acids. When we were all done, we used several of the students models to review some of the characteristics of proteins. Homework was to complete the section on lipids in their biochemistry worksheet.
Thursday - The periods on Thursday were only 28 minutes long. We began class by taking prefix quiz number 3. When everyone was done, we then built models of triglycerides. Homework was to complete the section on nucleic acids in their biochemistry worksheet.
Friday - Class periods were shortened to 42 minutes due to the Pep Assembly at the end of the day. We began class by taking notes on lipids. We then reviewed the lipid models the students had built on Thursday, and then the students were given 3 separate graphic organizers to work on. There was one graphic organizer for carbohydrates, one for proteins, and one for lipids. I encouraged the students to work on them over the weekend, but did not require it since it was Homecoming weekend.
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will complete day one of our biochemistry lab, identifying molecules using three different indicators: Benedict's, Iodine, and Biuret. The students should learn from doing the lab which macromolecule each of these indicators is used to identify. Homework will be to complete the graphic organizers the students received on Friday.
Tuesday - We will complete day two of our lab, using our indicators to identify the components of an unknown solution. Homework will be to answer the questions that go along with the lab.
Wednesday - The students will hand in their labs, and then we will complete two different review sheets to help prepare for our test on Thursday. Homework will be to study for our test on Thursday.
Thursday - The students will take their biochemistry test that will cover the periodic table, chemical bonding, properties of water, acids and bases, carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids.
Friday - The students will take the district assessment on biochemistry, which is 15 questions long and should be relatively easy for the students. We will then review our results from the biochemistry test, and if time permits, begin our unit on graphing, the microscope, the metric system, and scientific notation.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's Geek of the Week goes to Billy Maniscalco, who makes significant contributions to class on a daily basis by volunteering frequently and staying on task at all times. Way to go, Billy!
I hope you all had a wonderful first official weekend of fall! Hopefully all of our freshmen enjoyed their first Homecoming experience as well.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - To begin class, I collected a lab activity that we had finished in class on Friday. We then took notes on carbohydrates.
Tuesday - All of our class periods were shortened due to the late start day. The students busily built models of carbohydrates during the course of the class period. We ended up building a polysaccharide that was 28 monosaccharides long. We used our model to review some of the characteristics of carbohydrates that we had learned the day before. Homework was to complete the section on proteins from the students' biocchemistry worksheet.
Wednesday - The students took notes on the functions and characteristics of proteins. When we were done, they built models of proteins by joining together many amino acids. When we were all done, we used several of the students models to review some of the characteristics of proteins. Homework was to complete the section on lipids in their biochemistry worksheet.
Thursday - The periods on Thursday were only 28 minutes long. We began class by taking prefix quiz number 3. When everyone was done, we then built models of triglycerides. Homework was to complete the section on nucleic acids in their biochemistry worksheet.
Friday - Class periods were shortened to 42 minutes due to the Pep Assembly at the end of the day. We began class by taking notes on lipids. We then reviewed the lipid models the students had built on Thursday, and then the students were given 3 separate graphic organizers to work on. There was one graphic organizer for carbohydrates, one for proteins, and one for lipids. I encouraged the students to work on them over the weekend, but did not require it since it was Homecoming weekend.
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will complete day one of our biochemistry lab, identifying molecules using three different indicators: Benedict's, Iodine, and Biuret. The students should learn from doing the lab which macromolecule each of these indicators is used to identify. Homework will be to complete the graphic organizers the students received on Friday.
Tuesday - We will complete day two of our lab, using our indicators to identify the components of an unknown solution. Homework will be to answer the questions that go along with the lab.
Wednesday - The students will hand in their labs, and then we will complete two different review sheets to help prepare for our test on Thursday. Homework will be to study for our test on Thursday.
Thursday - The students will take their biochemistry test that will cover the periodic table, chemical bonding, properties of water, acids and bases, carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids.
Friday - The students will take the district assessment on biochemistry, which is 15 questions long and should be relatively easy for the students. We will then review our results from the biochemistry test, and if time permits, begin our unit on graphing, the microscope, the metric system, and scientific notation.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's Geek of the Week goes to Billy Maniscalco, who makes significant contributions to class on a daily basis by volunteering frequently and staying on task at all times. Way to go, Billy!
September 9, 2012
September 9, 2012
September 9, 2012
Happy first day of the NFL season! It's been a beautiful weekend. I hope many of you have been able to get out and enjoy it!
Events of the Past Week
Last week went as planned. There were no major changes to the schedule I had planned in last week's blog. If you would like to review it, you can find it in the September 3rd post.
Upcoming Events
Monday - Except for first hour students, my other students will be taking a prefix quiz on our second set of prefixes. Due to a couple of circumstances, my first hour class will take their prefix quiz on Thursday. After the quiz, we will be conducting a lab experiment to investigate the role of buffers in living things. Students will be comparing the time it takes to neutralize a weakly basic solution that I have made using sodium hydroxide, versus how long it takes to neutralize an egg white solution with the same pH as the basic solution I made. It should take much longer for the egg white to neutralize because it has a chemical called a buffer in it to resist changes to the pH of the egg white. This, of course, is to help maintain the health of the developing embryo inside of the egg (if there were one). Homework will be to complete all questions in the acid/base lab.
Tuesday - We will spend Tuesday reviewing some information about acids and bases and the role of buffers in living things. We will then review for our quiz on basic chemistry on Wednesday. The quiz will cover atomic structure, the periodic table, bonding, properties of water, and acids and bases. Homework will be to study for the quiz.
Wednesday - We will take our quiz on chemistry. Students should bring their textbooks and their packet called "Biochemistry Worksheet" to class. They will work on questions that I assign to them from that packet when they finish their quiz. Homework will be to complete the assigned questions.
Thursday - We will process the results from the quiz to begin class. Then, after a brief explanation of the difference between molecular and structural formulas, the students will complete a lab activity building different molecules with important roles in biology. The purpose of the lab is for the students to learn how to draw structural formulas, and to introduce students to important groups of atoms called "functional groups". For homework, the students will need to complete the questions I assign to them from their Biochemistry Worksheet packet.
Friday - The students will be given some time at the beginning of class to finish the molecule building activity with their lab partners. Following the completion of the lab activity, the students will take notes on the properties of carbohydrates. I will be drawing on the knowledge they should have gained from completing their homework to help get them involved in the process. When we are done with the notes, the students will be reading a packet titled, "Why Structure?" about the important role of proteins in living things. This handout came from the National Institutes of Health, and I personally find it to be a really interesting read, aimed at people who may not necessarily have a PhD in biochemistry! For homework, there will be questions assigned from the Biochemistry Worksheet packet on the topic of proteins.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's Geek of the Week award goes to Caleb Vail, who has done a great job of getting involved in class discussions. His willingness to volunteer and answer questions has really helped to keep our 8th hour class moving in the right direction! Hopefully more students in class will follow his lead!
Happy first day of the NFL season! It's been a beautiful weekend. I hope many of you have been able to get out and enjoy it!
Events of the Past Week
Last week went as planned. There were no major changes to the schedule I had planned in last week's blog. If you would like to review it, you can find it in the September 3rd post.
Upcoming Events
Monday - Except for first hour students, my other students will be taking a prefix quiz on our second set of prefixes. Due to a couple of circumstances, my first hour class will take their prefix quiz on Thursday. After the quiz, we will be conducting a lab experiment to investigate the role of buffers in living things. Students will be comparing the time it takes to neutralize a weakly basic solution that I have made using sodium hydroxide, versus how long it takes to neutralize an egg white solution with the same pH as the basic solution I made. It should take much longer for the egg white to neutralize because it has a chemical called a buffer in it to resist changes to the pH of the egg white. This, of course, is to help maintain the health of the developing embryo inside of the egg (if there were one). Homework will be to complete all questions in the acid/base lab.
Tuesday - We will spend Tuesday reviewing some information about acids and bases and the role of buffers in living things. We will then review for our quiz on basic chemistry on Wednesday. The quiz will cover atomic structure, the periodic table, bonding, properties of water, and acids and bases. Homework will be to study for the quiz.
Wednesday - We will take our quiz on chemistry. Students should bring their textbooks and their packet called "Biochemistry Worksheet" to class. They will work on questions that I assign to them from that packet when they finish their quiz. Homework will be to complete the assigned questions.
Thursday - We will process the results from the quiz to begin class. Then, after a brief explanation of the difference between molecular and structural formulas, the students will complete a lab activity building different molecules with important roles in biology. The purpose of the lab is for the students to learn how to draw structural formulas, and to introduce students to important groups of atoms called "functional groups". For homework, the students will need to complete the questions I assign to them from their Biochemistry Worksheet packet.
Friday - The students will be given some time at the beginning of class to finish the molecule building activity with their lab partners. Following the completion of the lab activity, the students will take notes on the properties of carbohydrates. I will be drawing on the knowledge they should have gained from completing their homework to help get them involved in the process. When we are done with the notes, the students will be reading a packet titled, "Why Structure?" about the important role of proteins in living things. This handout came from the National Institutes of Health, and I personally find it to be a really interesting read, aimed at people who may not necessarily have a PhD in biochemistry! For homework, there will be questions assigned from the Biochemistry Worksheet packet on the topic of proteins.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's Geek of the Week award goes to Caleb Vail, who has done a great job of getting involved in class discussions. His willingness to volunteer and answer questions has really helped to keep our 8th hour class moving in the right direction! Hopefully more students in class will follow his lead!
September 3, 2012
September 3, 2012
September 3, 2012
We had a very busy week as we prepared for our test on Friday. In general, the students did well on their first biology test of the year!
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We set up our experiment to test the effectiveness of regular vs. antibacterial soaps. 3 groups used regular soap, 3 used antibacterial soap, and 1 group used no soap. Your children should be able to explain to you why one group used no soap! Homework was to prepare for the prefix quiz on Tuesday.
Tuesday - There was not much bacterial growth on the plates on Tuesday, so we moved on to run our characteristics of life lab after taking our prefix quiz. Due to the large number of sections of accelerated biology, there was not enough glassware for all of us to run the same experiment on the same day. We did a different lab instead of the one I had originally planned that met the same objectives. The main objective was to have students think about and generate a list of the characteristics of life exhibited by living things. The lab we ran had the students investigate 15 different specimens, and then determine if they were alive, alive but dormant, never alive, the product of a living thing, or dead. Homework was to complete questions 1-3 and 8-13 in the lab handout.
Wednesday - We began class by looking at our petri dishes to see if there was any bacterial growth on the plates. There were quite a few colonies of bacteria, so the students gathered data on the number of bacteria on the plate that was streaked before they washed their hands, and also on the plate that was streaked after they washed their hands. They were then told which groups had antibacterial soap, and which had regular soap. In most classes, there were more bacteria on the plate after washing with regular soap than before. However, as I explained to the classes, we did not have nearly enough test cases, nor did we perfectly eliminate all variables except for the type of soap being used. Hopefully they are all still washing their hands regularly! Afterwards, we had a class discussion about what statistics like mean, median, mode, and range can be used for.
Finally, we had a class discussion about the characteristics of living things, and reviewed the steps of the scientific method. Homework was to begin preparing for our test on Friday.
Thursday - The students began class by reading an article from that I found on the TIME: Ideas website about how to observe like a scientist. Here is a link to that article at a different location on the web, if you are interested - http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/how-be-brilliant/201207/sharpen-your-powers-observation. We used that to review the scientific method one last time. Afterwards, the students were offered the opportunity to ask any questions they had about our test on Friday. With about 30 minutes left in class, we then began a webquest on the Periodic Table. The students were made aware of the fact that the information they learned in the webquest would not be on the test on Friday. Homework was to study for the test.
Friday - Friday was test day. The students took a 30 question multiple choice assessment on the scientific method and the characteristics of living things that is used by all 4 accelerated biology teachers at Fremd. Afterwards, they took a 10 question district assessment test given to all freshmen in the district on the topic of the scientific method.
For homework the students were to complete the rest of the scientific method webquest.
Upcoming Events
Monday - Labor Day! NO SCHOOL!
Tuesday - We will begin class by analyzing our results from our scientific method test. The mean score was an 84% (a B+), and the median score was an 87% (an A-), which are pretty good results for the first test of the year. Following this, we will review the webquest and I will see if the students have anything they would like me to review about the periodic table. I will also ask a few questions myself to see what they really did learn by doing their homework. Following this, the students will take notes on ionic bonds, nonpolar covalent bonds, polar covalent bonds, and hydrogen bonds. Homework will be to complete questions 1-22 in a Biochemistry worksheet packet that goes along with their textbook.
Wednesday - We will be watching a 20 minute "World of Chemistry" video about the properties of water. The video will be stopped several times to have discussions about some of the properties of water that will be explained to the students. Following the video, we will be experimenting with water at seven different stations set up around the room. Ask your kids to show you one or two of the experiments. All of them are repeatable and easy to do at home! More importantly, see if they can explain any of them. If not, don't worry. We'll be explaining how every experiment works on Thursday.
Thursday - We will be finishing our water properties lab, and then the students will be taking notes on the properties of water, what causes water to have those properties, and why those properties are important to living things. Those are the three key pieces of information I will expect each student to know about each of the properties of water: the name of the property, what causes water to have that property, and why it is important to living things. Homework will be to read the prelab information for our next experiment on acids and bases, and to answer the 6 prelab questions that go along with the reading.
Friday - We will run the first part of our acid base experiment. The students will test approximately 10 different household items with red and blue litmus paper, and then with pH paper. The idea is that they will determine what red litmus paper is an indicator of, and what blue litmus paper is an indicator of. They should be able to tell you that when they come home from school. Homework will be to answer any questions in the lab that go along with testing these household chemicals, and to read Part II of our lab, which will involve investigating the function of buffers in living things.
Interesting Tidbits
For those of you who are interested, most of the handouts for this class can be found on my website - www.mrgraba.net. Click on the accelerated biology link, and you will be taken to a page where you can access first and second semester worksheets and labs, along with a few of my PowerPoint presentations. Hopefully you find the website and this blog helpful! As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them on this blog or to e-mail me at bgraba@d211.org.
Graba Geek of the Week
The first Geek of the Week for this year goes to two people: Kevin Stevens and Tony Lu, who both earned a perfect score on our first test of the year! Way to go, guys!
We had a very busy week as we prepared for our test on Friday. In general, the students did well on their first biology test of the year!
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We set up our experiment to test the effectiveness of regular vs. antibacterial soaps. 3 groups used regular soap, 3 used antibacterial soap, and 1 group used no soap. Your children should be able to explain to you why one group used no soap! Homework was to prepare for the prefix quiz on Tuesday.
Tuesday - There was not much bacterial growth on the plates on Tuesday, so we moved on to run our characteristics of life lab after taking our prefix quiz. Due to the large number of sections of accelerated biology, there was not enough glassware for all of us to run the same experiment on the same day. We did a different lab instead of the one I had originally planned that met the same objectives. The main objective was to have students think about and generate a list of the characteristics of life exhibited by living things. The lab we ran had the students investigate 15 different specimens, and then determine if they were alive, alive but dormant, never alive, the product of a living thing, or dead. Homework was to complete questions 1-3 and 8-13 in the lab handout.
Wednesday - We began class by looking at our petri dishes to see if there was any bacterial growth on the plates. There were quite a few colonies of bacteria, so the students gathered data on the number of bacteria on the plate that was streaked before they washed their hands, and also on the plate that was streaked after they washed their hands. They were then told which groups had antibacterial soap, and which had regular soap. In most classes, there were more bacteria on the plate after washing with regular soap than before. However, as I explained to the classes, we did not have nearly enough test cases, nor did we perfectly eliminate all variables except for the type of soap being used. Hopefully they are all still washing their hands regularly! Afterwards, we had a class discussion about what statistics like mean, median, mode, and range can be used for.
Finally, we had a class discussion about the characteristics of living things, and reviewed the steps of the scientific method. Homework was to begin preparing for our test on Friday.
Thursday - The students began class by reading an article from that I found on the TIME: Ideas website about how to observe like a scientist. Here is a link to that article at a different location on the web, if you are interested - http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/how-be-brilliant/201207/sharpen-your-powers-observation. We used that to review the scientific method one last time. Afterwards, the students were offered the opportunity to ask any questions they had about our test on Friday. With about 30 minutes left in class, we then began a webquest on the Periodic Table. The students were made aware of the fact that the information they learned in the webquest would not be on the test on Friday. Homework was to study for the test.
Friday - Friday was test day. The students took a 30 question multiple choice assessment on the scientific method and the characteristics of living things that is used by all 4 accelerated biology teachers at Fremd. Afterwards, they took a 10 question district assessment test given to all freshmen in the district on the topic of the scientific method.
For homework the students were to complete the rest of the scientific method webquest.
Upcoming Events
Monday - Labor Day! NO SCHOOL!
Tuesday - We will begin class by analyzing our results from our scientific method test. The mean score was an 84% (a B+), and the median score was an 87% (an A-), which are pretty good results for the first test of the year. Following this, we will review the webquest and I will see if the students have anything they would like me to review about the periodic table. I will also ask a few questions myself to see what they really did learn by doing their homework. Following this, the students will take notes on ionic bonds, nonpolar covalent bonds, polar covalent bonds, and hydrogen bonds. Homework will be to complete questions 1-22 in a Biochemistry worksheet packet that goes along with their textbook.
Wednesday - We will be watching a 20 minute "World of Chemistry" video about the properties of water. The video will be stopped several times to have discussions about some of the properties of water that will be explained to the students. Following the video, we will be experimenting with water at seven different stations set up around the room. Ask your kids to show you one or two of the experiments. All of them are repeatable and easy to do at home! More importantly, see if they can explain any of them. If not, don't worry. We'll be explaining how every experiment works on Thursday.
Thursday - We will be finishing our water properties lab, and then the students will be taking notes on the properties of water, what causes water to have those properties, and why those properties are important to living things. Those are the three key pieces of information I will expect each student to know about each of the properties of water: the name of the property, what causes water to have that property, and why it is important to living things. Homework will be to read the prelab information for our next experiment on acids and bases, and to answer the 6 prelab questions that go along with the reading.
Friday - We will run the first part of our acid base experiment. The students will test approximately 10 different household items with red and blue litmus paper, and then with pH paper. The idea is that they will determine what red litmus paper is an indicator of, and what blue litmus paper is an indicator of. They should be able to tell you that when they come home from school. Homework will be to answer any questions in the lab that go along with testing these household chemicals, and to read Part II of our lab, which will involve investigating the function of buffers in living things.
Interesting Tidbits
For those of you who are interested, most of the handouts for this class can be found on my website - www.mrgraba.net. Click on the accelerated biology link, and you will be taken to a page where you can access first and second semester worksheets and labs, along with a few of my PowerPoint presentations. Hopefully you find the website and this blog helpful! As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them on this blog or to e-mail me at bgraba@d211.org.
Graba Geek of the Week
The first Geek of the Week for this year goes to two people: Kevin Stevens and Tony Lu, who both earned a perfect score on our first test of the year! Way to go, guys!
August 26, 2012
August 26, 2012
August 26, 2012
Welcome to a new school year! My name is Brad Graba, and I am your child's accelerated freshman biology teacher. I will be using this blog as a way to communicate with you throughout the year so that you have a good idea of what is going on in our biology classroom.
Events of the Past Week
Thursday - Monday was a day to get ourselves organized and ready to go for the year to come. After checking schedules and handing out textbooks, we started to do some activities to become more comfortable with each other and high school. By the way, the students were instructed to write their names in ink in the inside front cover of their textbooks, and also to write down any damage they noticed to their book. Please check to see that this was done if you have the opportunity.
The first activity was for the students to place themselves in order by birthdate without speaking. This allows me to see who might be willing to think outside of the box to solve a problem. Most people simply hold up fingers to try and communicate, but this takes awhile and can be misinterpreted. I did see some students start writing their birthdays on the whiteboard, and others typing it into their phones, all of which were fine with me! After that, the students were placed into their seats by the way they arranged themselves. The final activity was a people search, where the students looked for members of their class with different interests and hobbies as a way to get to know each other.
For homework, the students had to read a brief fictional account called "Look Out Below!" They then were to type a short hypothesis explaining why the events they read about in the article may have occurred. Many of them had a little bit of fun with this, I believe. Also, the students were to read the prelab introduction for our first lab, and then read 4 hypotheses. They were to identify the hypotheses as well-written or not, and then to re-write the bad hypotheses to make them better. Due on Monday is a signed lab safety contract.
Friday - We began class on Friday by discussing our "Look Out Below!" homework. Lab teams were then chosen. Each student received a strip of paper with a word on it, such as Ford.
The students then had to find three other people in their class who had words that belonged in a group with their word. For example, the other choices that went with Ford were Chevy, Dodge, and Honda. The tricky part was that there was another group with four presidents, which made it a little more challenging!
We then spent some time talking about what makes a hypothesis a good hypothesis, and discussing the homework on hypotheses that the students had completed the night before. We jumped from there into discussing the elements of a well-designed experiment that would effectively test a good hypothesis. We then determined how we were going to test the effectiveness of antibacterial soap versus regular soap in lab on Monday. The homework for the weekend was to get the lab safety contract signed if it was not already signed, and to study for a prefix quiz scheduled for Tuesday. The quiz will be 20 matching questions, using the students knowledge of the prefixes listed under "Quiz #1" on their study guide.
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will be running our experiment to test the effectiveness of different types of soaps in removing bacteria from our hands. The students will be taking before and after washing swabs of their hands, and then growing bacteria on petri dishes in an incubator overnight. Once that is completed, the students will be given a worksheet that will have them apply their knowledge of the criteria for a good experiment to seven different scenarios. They will have to determine what is wrong with the experiments described in each of the different scenarios. Homework will be to complete the worksheet and study for the prefix quiz on Tuesday.
Tuesday - Class will begin with our prefix quiz. We will then check the results of our experiment by counting the number of bacterial colonies on both of their petri dishes. We will record our data, then discuss the importance of statistics in examining data, and then try to draw some conclusions from our data.
We will also be looking at the homework and discussing the students answers to the questions regarding what was wrong with the seven different experiments.
Class will conclude with the students setting up an experiment involving some "Mystery Matter." The "Mystery Matter" will be placed into four different Erlenmeyer flasks with some sugar and warm water. A balloon will be placed over the mouth of the flask, and the students will come back the next day to observe the balloons. This lab will be used to lead the students to a discussion of the characteristics of living things.
Wednesday - We will observe the results of our "Mystery Matter" experiment, and then discuss the characteristics shared by living things. We will also discuss the levels of organization in the living world, starting with the atom, and moving all the way up to the level of biosphere.
Thursday - We will review the scientific method, characteristics of life, and levels of organization in living things. The students will be reading a passage about how scientists solved the problem of yellow fever, and then answering 11 questions regarding the use of the scientific method in solving that problem as part of their review. Homework will be to study for our first test on Friday.
Friday - We will be taking our first test of the year on the topics of the scientific method and the characteristics of living things. When the students are finished with their test, they will begin a webquest that will help them review some of the characteristics of the periodic table. Homework will be to complete through the third page of the periodic table webquest packet.
Interesting Tidbits
Throughout the course of the year, I will be choosing one student a week to be the "Graba Geek of the Week." This award will be given to students who do something particularly outstanding in class, or who show a lot of improvement. As part of the Geek of the Week award, I like to post a picture of the winning student. If you would rather I not post a picture of your child, please e-mail me at bgraba@d211.org to let me know. I typically write this blog on Sunday's, so if you could let me know by next Sunday, it would be appreciated, as I would like to start handing out the Geek of the Week award next week.
Please feel free to leave any comments about this blog!
Welcome to a new school year! My name is Brad Graba, and I am your child's accelerated freshman biology teacher. I will be using this blog as a way to communicate with you throughout the year so that you have a good idea of what is going on in our biology classroom.
Events of the Past Week
Thursday - Monday was a day to get ourselves organized and ready to go for the year to come. After checking schedules and handing out textbooks, we started to do some activities to become more comfortable with each other and high school. By the way, the students were instructed to write their names in ink in the inside front cover of their textbooks, and also to write down any damage they noticed to their book. Please check to see that this was done if you have the opportunity.
The first activity was for the students to place themselves in order by birthdate without speaking. This allows me to see who might be willing to think outside of the box to solve a problem. Most people simply hold up fingers to try and communicate, but this takes awhile and can be misinterpreted. I did see some students start writing their birthdays on the whiteboard, and others typing it into their phones, all of which were fine with me! After that, the students were placed into their seats by the way they arranged themselves. The final activity was a people search, where the students looked for members of their class with different interests and hobbies as a way to get to know each other.
For homework, the students had to read a brief fictional account called "Look Out Below!" They then were to type a short hypothesis explaining why the events they read about in the article may have occurred. Many of them had a little bit of fun with this, I believe. Also, the students were to read the prelab introduction for our first lab, and then read 4 hypotheses. They were to identify the hypotheses as well-written or not, and then to re-write the bad hypotheses to make them better. Due on Monday is a signed lab safety contract.
Friday - We began class on Friday by discussing our "Look Out Below!" homework. Lab teams were then chosen. Each student received a strip of paper with a word on it, such as Ford.
The students then had to find three other people in their class who had words that belonged in a group with their word. For example, the other choices that went with Ford were Chevy, Dodge, and Honda. The tricky part was that there was another group with four presidents, which made it a little more challenging!
We then spent some time talking about what makes a hypothesis a good hypothesis, and discussing the homework on hypotheses that the students had completed the night before. We jumped from there into discussing the elements of a well-designed experiment that would effectively test a good hypothesis. We then determined how we were going to test the effectiveness of antibacterial soap versus regular soap in lab on Monday. The homework for the weekend was to get the lab safety contract signed if it was not already signed, and to study for a prefix quiz scheduled for Tuesday. The quiz will be 20 matching questions, using the students knowledge of the prefixes listed under "Quiz #1" on their study guide.
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will be running our experiment to test the effectiveness of different types of soaps in removing bacteria from our hands. The students will be taking before and after washing swabs of their hands, and then growing bacteria on petri dishes in an incubator overnight. Once that is completed, the students will be given a worksheet that will have them apply their knowledge of the criteria for a good experiment to seven different scenarios. They will have to determine what is wrong with the experiments described in each of the different scenarios. Homework will be to complete the worksheet and study for the prefix quiz on Tuesday.
Tuesday - Class will begin with our prefix quiz. We will then check the results of our experiment by counting the number of bacterial colonies on both of their petri dishes. We will record our data, then discuss the importance of statistics in examining data, and then try to draw some conclusions from our data.
We will also be looking at the homework and discussing the students answers to the questions regarding what was wrong with the seven different experiments.
Class will conclude with the students setting up an experiment involving some "Mystery Matter." The "Mystery Matter" will be placed into four different Erlenmeyer flasks with some sugar and warm water. A balloon will be placed over the mouth of the flask, and the students will come back the next day to observe the balloons. This lab will be used to lead the students to a discussion of the characteristics of living things.
Wednesday - We will observe the results of our "Mystery Matter" experiment, and then discuss the characteristics shared by living things. We will also discuss the levels of organization in the living world, starting with the atom, and moving all the way up to the level of biosphere.
Thursday - We will review the scientific method, characteristics of life, and levels of organization in living things. The students will be reading a passage about how scientists solved the problem of yellow fever, and then answering 11 questions regarding the use of the scientific method in solving that problem as part of their review. Homework will be to study for our first test on Friday.
Friday - We will be taking our first test of the year on the topics of the scientific method and the characteristics of living things. When the students are finished with their test, they will begin a webquest that will help them review some of the characteristics of the periodic table. Homework will be to complete through the third page of the periodic table webquest packet.
Interesting Tidbits
Throughout the course of the year, I will be choosing one student a week to be the "Graba Geek of the Week." This award will be given to students who do something particularly outstanding in class, or who show a lot of improvement. As part of the Geek of the Week award, I like to post a picture of the winning student. If you would rather I not post a picture of your child, please e-mail me at bgraba@d211.org to let me know. I typically write this blog on Sunday's, so if you could let me know by next Sunday, it would be appreciated, as I would like to start handing out the Geek of the Week award next week.
Please feel free to leave any comments about this blog!
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