October 30, 2011
Happy Halloween, everyone! We had a really busy week in class this week. The campaign projects turned out great! There are some really creative students in my classes this year!
Events of the Past Week
Monday - Monday was our first day of presentations. The first 10-15 minutes of class were spent passing out flyers and campaign extras to try and earn people's votes! Then we began presentations on each organelle. We made it through about six presentations in each class. Obviously, I underestimated how long the presentations would take, so plans had to be adjusted for the rest of the week. Most of the presentations were very strong both factually and creatively. The groups did an outstanding job learning the functions of their individual organelles.
Tuesday - Tuesday the last 7-8 groups gave their presentations. This took the full class period in most classes. For those that it didn't take all period, the students were able to move around the room and look at everyone's campaign flyers and smear campaigns. There were some excellent smears against organelles such as the nucleus (i.e. "Do you really want a control freak telling you what to do?" and "Just another in a long line of dictators").
Wednesday - On Wednesday I was at the administrative building working with a group of Fremd teachers looking at ACT data and enrollment in accelerated and AP class data. As a result, the students were given a lot of review material to work through. There was a matching review sheet, a crossword puzzle, a short answer and multiple choice review sheet, cell diagrams to label, and Venn diagrams to complete comparing plant and animal cells as well as prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. My student intern in fifth hour ran a flyswatter review game. If you have a child in my 5th hour class, you can ask them to explain how the review worked. Most of the kids really liked it!
Thursday - We began class by voting on the most important organelle in the cell. There was a poll on my website for each class to use to vote. The students were allowed two votes. One was a vote for their own organelle, and the other was a vote for somebody else's organelle. The winners were:
1st Hour - The Ribosome - Matt Cheng and Nathan Cornwell
2nd Hour - The Vacuole - Gina Pfister and Reilly Siepka
3rd Hour - The Mitochondria - Will Lefevre and John Thiel
5th Hour - The Lysosome - Elizabeth Chick and Dan Pinderski
Particularly impressive from that list of winners were the vacuole and the lysosome. The vacuole simply stores water and nutrients, so to convince people to vote for them, Gina and Reilly did an outstanding job on their project. Also, the lysosome was smeared by almost every group because it destroys worn out organelles. It can also rupture and destroy the entire cell. This, of course, made it an easy target, but Elizabeth and Dan did a great job of convincing people to vote for them.
After voting was completed, we took time to look at each review activity the students had completed the day before, and I answered any questions that they had about the review activities or organelles in general.
Friday - This was quiz day. I was anxious to see how the students would do after the project. Since this was the first time doing the project, I wasn't sure whether or not it was going to be an effective way for them to learn the material until there was actually some proof. I had the sense that they had learned the organelle functions well, and they seemed to enjoy the project, but the proof would be in the pudding. The class averages on the quiz were:
1st Hour - 23.4 out of 25
2nd Hour - 22.8 out of 25
3rd Hour - 23.1 out of 25
5th Hour - 23 out of 25
The quiz itself was 50 multiple choice and matching questions about the cell organelles, plant and animal cells, and prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Each question was worth half of a point. The results show that most students only missed around four questions out of fifty, which I consider to be outstanding. As a result, this is a project that will probably be continued in the future.
After everyone was finished with the quiz, we began one of several lab experiments we will be doing to investigate how materials move into and out of cells. The lab we began will be completed over several days. Day one involved measuring 150 mL of vinegar, taking the mass of an egg, placing the egg in a plastic cup, and pouring the vinegar over the egg. The eggs will sit in the plastic cup over the weekend, and we will come back to look at them on Monday. Does anyone know what will happen to the egg while it sits in the vinegar?
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will take our eggs out of their cups and take their mass. We will also measure the amount of vinegar remaining in the cup, then rinse the cups, put the eggs back into the cups, and add 150 mL of deionized water to them. When this is completed (it should take about 10-15 minutes), we will begin our next activity.
One activity we did not get to before the quiz that I would still like to have the students do is look at plant and animal cells underneath the microscope. They will look at cheek cells, onion skin cells, and elodea (a green aquatic plant sold as Anachris in pet stores). They should be able to observe plasma membranes, nuclei, nucleoli, cell walls, chloroplasts, and central vacuoles in this lab. This will be what we do after the egg lab at the beginning of class.
Tuesday - We will again begin class by taking the mass of our eggs and measuring the amount of deionized water left in the cups. Then we will put the eggs back in the cups and add 150 mL of corn syrup to the cups.
After setting this portion of the lab up, we will first finish looking at the onion and elodea. Then I will begin lecturing to the students about the structure of the plasma membrane, diffusion, osmosis, and facilitated diffusion. If there is time, I will do a demonstration with ammonium hydroxide, water, and phenolphthalein (an indicator that turns pink in the presence of a base).
Wednesday - The final day of our egg lab will involve carefully drying the outside of the egg, taking its mass, and measuring the amount of corn syrup in the plastic cup. Students will complete the questions in the lab for homework.
Once this is complete, I will finish lecturing on passive transport and active transport.
Then the students will be looking at red onion cells under the microscope, first in deionized water, then with salt water added to them. The idea will be to look to see what happens to the central vacuole when the salt water is added. Students should notice it shrinks as the cell loses water.
Thursday - We will be doing a lab activity with a selectively permeable plastic bag that allows some materials to pass through it but not others. Small particles can pass through microscopic pores in the bag, while larger particles cannot. The students will be putting a solution of egg white, starch, and glucose into the bags. The bags will then be put in a beaker containing deionized water and let sit for about 15-20 minutes.
After 15-20 minutes of the bags sitting in the water, the students will test the contents of the solution in the beaker to see which nutrients were able to pass out of the bag, and which were not. They will run a benedict's test, a biuret test, and an iodine test on the contents of the beaker. It is always interesting to see who retains the information learned about these indicator tests during our biochemistry unit. Students should note that the glucose was able to pass out of the bag (because it is small enough), while the protein and starch were not able to pass out of the bag (because they are too big). They should also see that iodine enters the bag and causes the solution in the bag to turn purple as it reacts with the starch still in the bag.
Students will complete the questions in the lab experiments with the selectively permeable bags and the red onions. They will also observe two sets of vegetables that will have been soaked overnight. One will have been soaking in salt water, and the other in deionized water. The salt water vegetables should be very flimsy, while the deionized water vegetables will be extremely crisp. Your children should be able to explain why that is the case when they come home from school. I will then lecture on the topic of active transport. When that is completed, the students will be given a review packet on the topics of passive and active transport.
Friday - Students will be given a short, 10 question quiz on the topics of the structure of the cell membrane, passive transport, and active transport. After completing this activity, we will review everything we learned during our cell unit.
There will be long pieces of butcher paper on each lab table. Each piece of paper will have a different heading on it. The headings will be Cell Theory, Prokarytic Cells, Eukaryotic Cells, Plant Cells, Animal Cells, Passive Transport, and Active Transport. At each station will be colored pencils, and the students will be given 1 minute at each lab station to write down anything that they can think of about the topic on the paper. They will then move from table to table doing the same thing on each piece of paper. As they move, they can correct any mistakes they think they notice and add new material that they think is missing. Finally, students will be given 1-2 minutes at each station to go back around and look at each sheet again and see what was added after they left the station. We will then talk about what they observed and I will answer any questions that they have. Right now, the test on this unit is planned for Monday, November 7th.
Graba Geek of the Week
The Geek of the Week goes to the students whom I thought had the most creative and factually accurate smear campaigns. Ryan Moran and Matt Nicholson did an outstanding job with their smears, and for that, they have earned the Graba Geek of the Week. Congratulations, guys, and congratulations to all of my students who did an outstanding job with their projects. I was really impressed with the work that was done by these kids. The t-shirts, stickers, buttons, posters, websites, facebook pages, twitter accounts, food, and many other things that were created were really well done!
October 30, 2011
October 23, 2011
October 23, 2011
October 23, 2011
Happy Mole Day! The mole is an important number to chemists, and it is equal to 6.02 x 10^23; hence, October 23 is Mole Day.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - Monday was a day to finish measuring objects under the microscope. I added to objects for the students to measure in order to give them more practice. Afterwards, we spent a great deal of time reviewing for the test we took on Tuesday and Wednesday. This included reviewing the many things we had learned about the microscope.
Tuesday - We only had 37 minute periods on Tuesday, so I split up the test over two days to make sure that everyone had enough time to take both parts (the written and the multiple choice) of the test. We took the written portion on Tuesday because the class periods were longer on Tuesday than they were on Wednesday. Most students finished early. When everyone was done, the students were given the remaining time to work on their cell organelle campaigns.
Wednesday - Due to College Night we had only 28 minutes in each class period. Most students completed the multiple choice part of the test early. Students were given a reading on the cell theory, with 6 questions to answer at the end of it. Many completed the assignment in class, but a few had to finish for homework.
Thursday - The students began Thursday by taking notes on the similarities and differences between plant and animal cells, as well as prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Feel free to use their notes to quiz them on the similarities and differences between the different types of cells! That took about 15 minutes, and once I was done lecturing to them they had the rest of the time to work on their campaigns.
Friday - We began class by looking at the results of the test the students took on Tuesday and Wednesday on graphing, the metric system, scientific notation, and the microscope. I answered any questions the students had about anything they got wrong, and then the students had time to work on their campaigns. A lot of campaigning began on on Friday, as stickers and business cards were handed out, and posters were hung all over the room! It is quite a colorful place right now!
Upcoming Events
Monday - Monday is the big day for students to present their campaigns to the class! Each time will have 3 minutes to try to convince the class to vote for their organelle as the most important organelle. I've seen some really clever slogans, posters, and smear campaigns. I can't wait to see what they are able to come up with for their presentations! The students posters will be hung in the hallway outside of the classroom after school.
Tuesday - If we have to finish any presentations, we will do that first on Tuesday. Then, we will be looking at various plant and animal cells under the microscope. We will look at a water plant called Elodea, the skin of a yellow onion, and cheek cells which the students will obtain from the inside of their own mouths. Don't worry, nobody will be hurt in this endeavour!
Wednesday - We will finish our plant and animal cell labs if need be. Then, we will review for our quiz on cell organelles, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, plant and animal cells, and the cell theory, which will be on Friday.
Thursday - Class will begin with voting for the most important organelle in the class. I wanted to give the students time to check out people's campaign materials, whether it be a brochure, flyer, sticker, webpage, facebook page, twitter account, video, or anything else that was produced. There will be a little extra credit for the organelle that wins the election, but I don't want to make the vote worth actual points toward the final grade. The reason is that sometimes these can become popularity contests, and I don't want a student's grade to be impacted if they are not the most popular person in class.
When the voting is completed there will be a review sheet for the students to complete in order to help prepare for the Friday quiz.
Friday - This is the final day of first quarter! It's hard to believe how quickly the school year is going. There will be a 50 question, 25 point matching and multiple choice test on everything from our cell unit so far. This will probably not take the full period. Once everyone is done with the quiz we will probably be taking a look at our first quarter grades.
Graba Geek of the Week
We have co-geeks of the week this week, as one lab team from my first period and one from my second period class went above and beyond with their campaign project. Michael Pautler and Katie Zara came in before school on Friday with their completed poster and multiple copies of their flyers to post on the board to surprise people when they came into class. The posters were very clever, colorful, and definitely got a reaction from the class. Here is one of them:
In my second period class, Evan Wieczorek and Aditya Deshpande were bringing in campaign materials as early as Thursday to hand out to the class. They had made up stickers and very colorful flyers for the lysosome. Many people were wearing their campaign stickers and their flyers were all over the classroom. The work done by these two groups so far has been impressive, as has the work I have seen from many other groups. I'm very excited to see what comes to class tomorrow!
Happy Mole Day! The mole is an important number to chemists, and it is equal to 6.02 x 10^23; hence, October 23 is Mole Day.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - Monday was a day to finish measuring objects under the microscope. I added to objects for the students to measure in order to give them more practice. Afterwards, we spent a great deal of time reviewing for the test we took on Tuesday and Wednesday. This included reviewing the many things we had learned about the microscope.
Tuesday - We only had 37 minute periods on Tuesday, so I split up the test over two days to make sure that everyone had enough time to take both parts (the written and the multiple choice) of the test. We took the written portion on Tuesday because the class periods were longer on Tuesday than they were on Wednesday. Most students finished early. When everyone was done, the students were given the remaining time to work on their cell organelle campaigns.
Wednesday - Due to College Night we had only 28 minutes in each class period. Most students completed the multiple choice part of the test early. Students were given a reading on the cell theory, with 6 questions to answer at the end of it. Many completed the assignment in class, but a few had to finish for homework.
Thursday - The students began Thursday by taking notes on the similarities and differences between plant and animal cells, as well as prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Feel free to use their notes to quiz them on the similarities and differences between the different types of cells! That took about 15 minutes, and once I was done lecturing to them they had the rest of the time to work on their campaigns.
Friday - We began class by looking at the results of the test the students took on Tuesday and Wednesday on graphing, the metric system, scientific notation, and the microscope. I answered any questions the students had about anything they got wrong, and then the students had time to work on their campaigns. A lot of campaigning began on on Friday, as stickers and business cards were handed out, and posters were hung all over the room! It is quite a colorful place right now!
Upcoming Events
Monday - Monday is the big day for students to present their campaigns to the class! Each time will have 3 minutes to try to convince the class to vote for their organelle as the most important organelle. I've seen some really clever slogans, posters, and smear campaigns. I can't wait to see what they are able to come up with for their presentations! The students posters will be hung in the hallway outside of the classroom after school.
Tuesday - If we have to finish any presentations, we will do that first on Tuesday. Then, we will be looking at various plant and animal cells under the microscope. We will look at a water plant called Elodea, the skin of a yellow onion, and cheek cells which the students will obtain from the inside of their own mouths. Don't worry, nobody will be hurt in this endeavour!
Wednesday - We will finish our plant and animal cell labs if need be. Then, we will review for our quiz on cell organelles, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, plant and animal cells, and the cell theory, which will be on Friday.
Thursday - Class will begin with voting for the most important organelle in the class. I wanted to give the students time to check out people's campaign materials, whether it be a brochure, flyer, sticker, webpage, facebook page, twitter account, video, or anything else that was produced. There will be a little extra credit for the organelle that wins the election, but I don't want to make the vote worth actual points toward the final grade. The reason is that sometimes these can become popularity contests, and I don't want a student's grade to be impacted if they are not the most popular person in class.
When the voting is completed there will be a review sheet for the students to complete in order to help prepare for the Friday quiz.
Friday - This is the final day of first quarter! It's hard to believe how quickly the school year is going. There will be a 50 question, 25 point matching and multiple choice test on everything from our cell unit so far. This will probably not take the full period. Once everyone is done with the quiz we will probably be taking a look at our first quarter grades.
Graba Geek of the Week
We have co-geeks of the week this week, as one lab team from my first period and one from my second period class went above and beyond with their campaign project. Michael Pautler and Katie Zara came in before school on Friday with their completed poster and multiple copies of their flyers to post on the board to surprise people when they came into class. The posters were very clever, colorful, and definitely got a reaction from the class. Here is one of them:
October 16, 2011
October 16, 2011
October 16, 2011
Events of the Past Week
Monday - COLUMBUS DAY!
Tuesday - We learned how to properly use the microscope through a peer teaching lab. Included in the lab was the proper way to calculate total magnification, the parts of the microscope, how to focus on an object, how to prepare a wet mount, and how to put the microscope away.
Wednesday - Due to testing, this day was shortend significantly. We began to look at objects under the microscope, including Drosophila melanogaster, Paramecium, human blood, frog blood, and blood with sickle-cell anemia.
Thursday - We finished looking for objects under the microscope. The students found Euglena as well as potato cells underneath the microscope.
Friday - We looked at money underneath the microscope. The students found it very interesting to find many different details on the five dollar bill that they had not noticed before. We also began measuring objects underneath the microscope in this lab.
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will finish measuring objects under the microscope, and then review for our test on graphing, metrics, scientific notation, and the microscope. This will include looking at the review sheet students were given on Friday.
Tuesday - Students will take the short answer portion of our test. This day is shortened due to a late start.
Wednesday - We will take the multiple choice portion of the test. This day is also shortened due to college night.
Thursday - Students will be given a day to work on their cell organelle campaign project. They should bring anything they need to work on this day. Homework will be to complete an assignment comparing and contrasting the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
Friday - We will be looking at the difference between plant and animal cells under the microscope.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's geek of the week is Nathan Cornwell. Nathan earned a perfect score on our biochemistry test, and also brought in a microchip to look at under the stereoscope. It was very interesting to see the details of his chip underneath the microscope. Congratulations, Nathan!
Events of the Past Week
Monday - COLUMBUS DAY!
Tuesday - We learned how to properly use the microscope through a peer teaching lab. Included in the lab was the proper way to calculate total magnification, the parts of the microscope, how to focus on an object, how to prepare a wet mount, and how to put the microscope away.
Wednesday - Due to testing, this day was shortend significantly. We began to look at objects under the microscope, including Drosophila melanogaster, Paramecium, human blood, frog blood, and blood with sickle-cell anemia.
Thursday - We finished looking for objects under the microscope. The students found Euglena as well as potato cells underneath the microscope.
Friday - We looked at money underneath the microscope. The students found it very interesting to find many different details on the five dollar bill that they had not noticed before. We also began measuring objects underneath the microscope in this lab.
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will finish measuring objects under the microscope, and then review for our test on graphing, metrics, scientific notation, and the microscope. This will include looking at the review sheet students were given on Friday.
Tuesday - Students will take the short answer portion of our test. This day is shortened due to a late start.
Wednesday - We will take the multiple choice portion of the test. This day is also shortened due to college night.
Thursday - Students will be given a day to work on their cell organelle campaign project. They should bring anything they need to work on this day. Homework will be to complete an assignment comparing and contrasting the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
Friday - We will be looking at the difference between plant and animal cells under the microscope.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's geek of the week is Nathan Cornwell. Nathan earned a perfect score on our biochemistry test, and also brought in a microchip to look at under the stereoscope. It was very interesting to see the details of his chip underneath the microscope. Congratulations, Nathan!
October 9, 2011
October 9, 2011
October 9, 2011
Happy Columbus Day, everyone! Enjoy the beautiful Indian Summer we're having right now, because it sounds like Chicago is supposed to have a rough winter.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We started the week by learning how to use Microsoft Excel to create graphs. This was new for several students, as was e-mailing the partially completed assignment to themselves. Most students have a pretty good graphing foundation, so it was good to be able to teach them how to use technology to create those same graphs for them. We also learned how to use the slope of a line in a graph to make predictions and draw conclusions about the data that has been gathered. It was fun to see the light bulb go off in students' brains as they finally saw a point to all the slope calculating they have been doing in their math classes!
Tuesday - The graphs the students created were collected on Tuesday. One issue we had was that several students came up to me at the beginning of class to tell me they couldn't use Excel at home, or their printer wasn't working, or that they had other problems with the technology at home. I understand that those problems do happen, but I need to be made aware of the problem before class starts, either via e-mail (if the computer is working but Excel is not), or by stopping in to the science office before school starts. Otherwise, I do not know that a student isn't just trying to cover up the fact that they simply did not do their homework. I let the students know this, as well.
After collecting the graphs, the students were introduced to metric prefixes they will use in class or that they will see in their lives outside of class. The students are expected to know: tera, giga, mega, kilo, hecto, deka, deci, centi, milli, micro, and nano. After a brief review of the metric system, we began a lab where the students measured the length, volume, and mass of various objects using the metric system. They then converted their measurements to other units in the metric system and answered a few questions about the metric system when they finished. Most students did not finish all of their measurements in class due to shortened class periods because it was a late start day.
Wednesday - On Wednesday, students worked on two different metric conversion worksheets. After completing each worksheet, they checked their answers to the sheets with answer keys that were provided for them.
Thursday - On Thursday, we completed the metric system lab. Afterwards, the students were given an activity that reviewed using scientific notation with them. They were asked to convert standard notation to scientific notation, and scientific notation to standard notation. They were also asked to multiply and divide in scientific notation, convert from one metric unit to another in scientific notation, and then given some problems that had them apply what they learned about multiplying and dividing in scientific notation. Homework was to complete any problems in the activity that they did not finish in class.
Friday - Class began by checking the homework from the previous night, and then I answered any questions the students had about the homework. There were not too many questions that had to be answered.
After checking our homework, everyone got to work on an online activity that had the students learning about the history of the microscope. There is a link to the document on my website, www.mrgraba.net, which the students can access if they forgot their worksheet at school. The worksheet is located under the Accelerated Biology --> Worksheets and Presentations link on the website.
Upcoming Events
Monday - Monday will begin with the students being given a cooperative group project. Each student at the lab table will be responsible for teaching the other people at the table about one important technique for the proper use of a microscope. One person will be responsible for teaching how to calculate total magnification and the parts of the microscope. One person will be responsible for teaching how to find objects under the microscope. A third person will teach the other members of the group how to create a wet mount properly. The final person will be responsible for teaching how to properly clean the lenses on the microscope and how to properly put the microscope away. Each individual will be given instructions for how to do the things they are responsible for teaching, as well as a little bit of time to practice before they teach.
Tuesday - We will finish teaching each other about the proper use of the microscope. Afterwards, we will look at various prepared slides and wet mounts under the microscope for a little bit of practice using the microscope.
Wednesday - This is a late start day due to testing. On this shortened day, we will be finishing looking at the materials we began looking at on Tuesday. Afterwards, I have a new lab to try where we will be looking at money under the microscope. It will hopefully really catch the interest of the students in class!
Thursday - We will finish looking at money under the microscope, then begin learning how to measure the size of objects under the microscope with our fourth and final introduction to the microscope lab.
Friday - We will finish measuring with the microscope, and then the students will be given a review sheet on graphing, the metric system, scientific notation, and the microscope. The answer key to the review sheet is posted on my website. This way, after they complete the review sheet, the students can check their work over the weekend. The test on this unit will be on Monday.
Happy Columbus Day, everyone! Enjoy the beautiful Indian Summer we're having right now, because it sounds like Chicago is supposed to have a rough winter.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We started the week by learning how to use Microsoft Excel to create graphs. This was new for several students, as was e-mailing the partially completed assignment to themselves. Most students have a pretty good graphing foundation, so it was good to be able to teach them how to use technology to create those same graphs for them. We also learned how to use the slope of a line in a graph to make predictions and draw conclusions about the data that has been gathered. It was fun to see the light bulb go off in students' brains as they finally saw a point to all the slope calculating they have been doing in their math classes!
Tuesday - The graphs the students created were collected on Tuesday. One issue we had was that several students came up to me at the beginning of class to tell me they couldn't use Excel at home, or their printer wasn't working, or that they had other problems with the technology at home. I understand that those problems do happen, but I need to be made aware of the problem before class starts, either via e-mail (if the computer is working but Excel is not), or by stopping in to the science office before school starts. Otherwise, I do not know that a student isn't just trying to cover up the fact that they simply did not do their homework. I let the students know this, as well.
After collecting the graphs, the students were introduced to metric prefixes they will use in class or that they will see in their lives outside of class. The students are expected to know: tera, giga, mega, kilo, hecto, deka, deci, centi, milli, micro, and nano. After a brief review of the metric system, we began a lab where the students measured the length, volume, and mass of various objects using the metric system. They then converted their measurements to other units in the metric system and answered a few questions about the metric system when they finished. Most students did not finish all of their measurements in class due to shortened class periods because it was a late start day.
Wednesday - On Wednesday, students worked on two different metric conversion worksheets. After completing each worksheet, they checked their answers to the sheets with answer keys that were provided for them.
Thursday - On Thursday, we completed the metric system lab. Afterwards, the students were given an activity that reviewed using scientific notation with them. They were asked to convert standard notation to scientific notation, and scientific notation to standard notation. They were also asked to multiply and divide in scientific notation, convert from one metric unit to another in scientific notation, and then given some problems that had them apply what they learned about multiplying and dividing in scientific notation. Homework was to complete any problems in the activity that they did not finish in class.
Friday - Class began by checking the homework from the previous night, and then I answered any questions the students had about the homework. There were not too many questions that had to be answered.
After checking our homework, everyone got to work on an online activity that had the students learning about the history of the microscope. There is a link to the document on my website, www.mrgraba.net, which the students can access if they forgot their worksheet at school. The worksheet is located under the Accelerated Biology --> Worksheets and Presentations link on the website.
Upcoming Events
Monday - Monday will begin with the students being given a cooperative group project. Each student at the lab table will be responsible for teaching the other people at the table about one important technique for the proper use of a microscope. One person will be responsible for teaching how to calculate total magnification and the parts of the microscope. One person will be responsible for teaching how to find objects under the microscope. A third person will teach the other members of the group how to create a wet mount properly. The final person will be responsible for teaching how to properly clean the lenses on the microscope and how to properly put the microscope away. Each individual will be given instructions for how to do the things they are responsible for teaching, as well as a little bit of time to practice before they teach.
Tuesday - We will finish teaching each other about the proper use of the microscope. Afterwards, we will look at various prepared slides and wet mounts under the microscope for a little bit of practice using the microscope.
Wednesday - This is a late start day due to testing. On this shortened day, we will be finishing looking at the materials we began looking at on Tuesday. Afterwards, I have a new lab to try where we will be looking at money under the microscope. It will hopefully really catch the interest of the students in class!
Thursday - We will finish looking at money under the microscope, then begin learning how to measure the size of objects under the microscope with our fourth and final introduction to the microscope lab.
Friday - We will finish measuring with the microscope, and then the students will be given a review sheet on graphing, the metric system, scientific notation, and the microscope. The answer key to the review sheet is posted on my website. This way, after they complete the review sheet, the students can check their work over the weekend. The test on this unit will be on Monday.
October 2, 2011
October 2, 2011
October 2, 2011
It's hard to believe October is already here! I hope all of the kids had a safe and fun Homecoming weekend.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We reviewed for our test on biochemistry on Wednesday. First, the students were given an opportunity to ask questions regarding the lab experiment we did on Thursday and Friday of the previous week. Then they completed a graphic organizer that helped them go through their notes and put think about all of the information they had learned about carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. Finally, they were given a graphic organizer for each different type of biomolecule (carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids) that we learned about. Homework was to complete those graphic organizers. This again was a way to get them thinking about the information they had in their notes on that information.
Tuesday - I handed back to the students their labs that they had turned in on Monday, and we discussed some of the topics that were commonly misunderstood. Students were then given the opportunity to ask questions if they had them about the lab.
After going over the lab, we played a review game with remote control clickers. There were several multiple choice questions that were timed and similar in difficulty level to the questions that would be on the test.
I made the students aware that all of the topics from our quiz, as well as the topics of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids would be covered on the exam in 60 multiple choice questions.
Wednesday - Students took the biochemistry test. There was no homework, as I felt that they had worked extremely hard over the past few days to prepare for their test.
Thursday - On Thursday, I was home with a sick kid, so the students watched a movie in class called "Deep Forest: Monsters of the Jungle". This showed how science is working even now to make new discoveries in a way that really catches the kids' interest!
Friday - We began class by finishing the movie. I don't always do that, but with this video, it was definitely worth the extra 7 minutes of class time to finish. When the movie was over, we reviewed the results from the exam. I was very impressed by how well most students did on the test!
Upcoming Events
Monday - Monday we are going to review some of the rules of graphing, and learn how to use Excel to create graphs. There will be 4 graphs that need to be completed, along with questions to answer using the completed graphs. Any graphs that are not finished will have to be finished for homework.
Tuesday - We are going to be doing a lab on the metric system after I collect and review the graphing homework. I will do a very quick review of the units of the metric system and how to convert from one unit to another before we get started on the lab.
Wednesday - Wednesday will be spent practicing metric conversions and possibly beginning a review of scientific notation.
Thursday - On Thursday, I will review quickly with the students how to write numbers in scientific notation, and we will practice converting numbers into scientific notation.
Friday - We will begin reviewing how to use the microscope with a peer teaching lab. The students will be in groups of 4, and each student will have a different job related to the proper use and care of the microscope that they will practice, and then be responsible for teaching to their classmate.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's geek of the week is Soumyaa Mazumder. Soumyaa earned a perfect score on the biochemistry test this week. That means she got 60 questions correct on the topics of chemistry and biochemistry, which is really impressive! In addition, Soumyaa was informed this last week that she was accepted into the medical internship program through Northwest Memorial Hospital. Way to go, Soumyaa!
It's hard to believe October is already here! I hope all of the kids had a safe and fun Homecoming weekend.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We reviewed for our test on biochemistry on Wednesday. First, the students were given an opportunity to ask questions regarding the lab experiment we did on Thursday and Friday of the previous week. Then they completed a graphic organizer that helped them go through their notes and put think about all of the information they had learned about carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. Finally, they were given a graphic organizer for each different type of biomolecule (carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids) that we learned about. Homework was to complete those graphic organizers. This again was a way to get them thinking about the information they had in their notes on that information.
Tuesday - I handed back to the students their labs that they had turned in on Monday, and we discussed some of the topics that were commonly misunderstood. Students were then given the opportunity to ask questions if they had them about the lab.
After going over the lab, we played a review game with remote control clickers. There were several multiple choice questions that were timed and similar in difficulty level to the questions that would be on the test.
I made the students aware that all of the topics from our quiz, as well as the topics of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids would be covered on the exam in 60 multiple choice questions.
Wednesday - Students took the biochemistry test. There was no homework, as I felt that they had worked extremely hard over the past few days to prepare for their test.
Thursday - On Thursday, I was home with a sick kid, so the students watched a movie in class called "Deep Forest: Monsters of the Jungle". This showed how science is working even now to make new discoveries in a way that really catches the kids' interest!
Friday - We began class by finishing the movie. I don't always do that, but with this video, it was definitely worth the extra 7 minutes of class time to finish. When the movie was over, we reviewed the results from the exam. I was very impressed by how well most students did on the test!
Upcoming Events
Monday - Monday we are going to review some of the rules of graphing, and learn how to use Excel to create graphs. There will be 4 graphs that need to be completed, along with questions to answer using the completed graphs. Any graphs that are not finished will have to be finished for homework.
Tuesday - We are going to be doing a lab on the metric system after I collect and review the graphing homework. I will do a very quick review of the units of the metric system and how to convert from one unit to another before we get started on the lab.
Wednesday - Wednesday will be spent practicing metric conversions and possibly beginning a review of scientific notation.
Thursday - On Thursday, I will review quickly with the students how to write numbers in scientific notation, and we will practice converting numbers into scientific notation.
Friday - We will begin reviewing how to use the microscope with a peer teaching lab. The students will be in groups of 4, and each student will have a different job related to the proper use and care of the microscope that they will practice, and then be responsible for teaching to their classmate.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's geek of the week is Soumyaa Mazumder. Soumyaa earned a perfect score on the biochemistry test this week. That means she got 60 questions correct on the topics of chemistry and biochemistry, which is really impressive! In addition, Soumyaa was informed this last week that she was accepted into the medical internship program through Northwest Memorial Hospital. Way to go, Soumyaa!
September 25, 2011
September 25, 2011
September 25, 2011
It's Bears-Packers weekend - GO BEARS! This past week I did two new lab activities with the students. As a result, some of the plans for the week had to be readjusted as I didn't know exactly how much time each activity would take. Hopefully the students benefited from the new material this year more than the material in the past.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - On Monday, I lectured to the students about important characteristics of carbohydrates. Afterwards, they built paper models of carbohydrates. The important idea from this activity,is that the students be able to identify a monosaccharide from a disaccharide from a polysaccharide (the three different types of carbohydrates). They will also need to be able to distinguish those three types of molecules from the molecules we learned about on Tuesday and Wednesday. Homework was to complete the questions in their biochemistry worksheet packet that dealt with lipids.
Tuesday - The students took notes on the important characteristics of lipids. Following that, they built models of lipids. The students need to be able to distinguish lipids from the three types of carbohydrates, as well as identify the building blocks of a lipid molecule (glycerol and fatty acids). Homework was to complete the questions in their biochemistry worksheet packet on proteins.
Wednesday - This was the final day of introduction to a type of biomolecule. Students learned about the important characteristics of proteins, as well as their building blocks, amino acids. They will need to be able to identify an amino acid and a protein, as well. Homework for first hour was to read about the importance of proteins, while my other classes tried identifying important functional groups and types of molecules on a worksheet.
Thursday - We began a two day lab using different indicators for carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. We began by using Benedict's solution to indicate the presence of monosaccharides, and iodine solution to indicate the presence of polysaccharides. Homework was to complete through question eight in their lab packet, as well as to read the introduction of the lab.
Friday - Class began by taking our fourth prefix quiz. Following that, we finished our identification of biomolecules lab by using Biuret solution to test for the presence of proteins, and the grease spot test as well as solubility in water vs. solubility in hexane test for lipids. I also posted the following statements on the board for the students so they would know what they needed to know from the lab experiment:
1) Know which biomolecule Benedict's is used to indicate.
2) Know which biomolecule Iodine is used to indicate.
3) Know which molecule Biuret is used to indicate.
4) Know what a positive and negative test looks like for Benedict's, Iodine, Biuret, and the Grease-Spot
Test.
5) Identify the types of solvents lipids will and will not dissolve in.
6) Be able to distinguish between a positive and a negative control.
7) Be able to use the results of the four indicator tests to determine the contents of an unknown solution.
Upcoming Events:
Monday - This will be a day of review for our test that is scheduled for Wednesday. We will begin Monday by reviewing the results of our lab from Thursday and Friday. Following that, we will review on Monday by using many different graphic organizers that I have put together over the years to help the students organize all of the material they have on carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. Homework will be to study for the test on Wednesday. Today's them for homecoming dress up day is pajama day.
Tuesday - We will play a review game using remote control clickers with the students. Homework will be to study for the test on Wednesday. Today's dress up theme is "Under the Sea".
Wednesday - We will take our test on chemistry and biochemistry. This will cover all of the material from the periodic table webquest through our lab on carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins. The them for dress up day is "Happy Birthday" to celebrate Fremd's 50th birthday. No birthday suits, please!
Thursday - We will review our results from the biochemistry test and begin our unit on the metric system, graphing, and scientific notation with a worksheet on scientific notation. Homework will be to finish the worksheet. Today is class color day. Freshman wear blue, sophomores wear red, juniors wear green, and seniors wear gold.
Friday - We will review the scientific notation worksheet and then conduct a lab reviewing the metric system. The focus of the lab will be units of length, mass, and volume. Homework will be to complete the questions in the lab. Friday is green and gold day. The pep assembly follows 8th period, so the class periods will all be shortened by about 8 minutes.
Graba Geek of the Week
The geek of the week this week goes to Jennie Yang. Jennie has done very well on all of our quizzes and tests, and is always willing to volunteer answers to any questions that I pose. If more of my students were willing to take the risks she does in volunteering, more students would be very successful. Way to go, Jennie!
It's Bears-Packers weekend - GO BEARS! This past week I did two new lab activities with the students. As a result, some of the plans for the week had to be readjusted as I didn't know exactly how much time each activity would take. Hopefully the students benefited from the new material this year more than the material in the past.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - On Monday, I lectured to the students about important characteristics of carbohydrates. Afterwards, they built paper models of carbohydrates. The important idea from this activity,is that the students be able to identify a monosaccharide from a disaccharide from a polysaccharide (the three different types of carbohydrates). They will also need to be able to distinguish those three types of molecules from the molecules we learned about on Tuesday and Wednesday. Homework was to complete the questions in their biochemistry worksheet packet that dealt with lipids.
Tuesday - The students took notes on the important characteristics of lipids. Following that, they built models of lipids. The students need to be able to distinguish lipids from the three types of carbohydrates, as well as identify the building blocks of a lipid molecule (glycerol and fatty acids). Homework was to complete the questions in their biochemistry worksheet packet on proteins.
Wednesday - This was the final day of introduction to a type of biomolecule. Students learned about the important characteristics of proteins, as well as their building blocks, amino acids. They will need to be able to identify an amino acid and a protein, as well. Homework for first hour was to read about the importance of proteins, while my other classes tried identifying important functional groups and types of molecules on a worksheet.
Thursday - We began a two day lab using different indicators for carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. We began by using Benedict's solution to indicate the presence of monosaccharides, and iodine solution to indicate the presence of polysaccharides. Homework was to complete through question eight in their lab packet, as well as to read the introduction of the lab.
Friday - Class began by taking our fourth prefix quiz. Following that, we finished our identification of biomolecules lab by using Biuret solution to test for the presence of proteins, and the grease spot test as well as solubility in water vs. solubility in hexane test for lipids. I also posted the following statements on the board for the students so they would know what they needed to know from the lab experiment:
1) Know which biomolecule Benedict's is used to indicate.
2) Know which biomolecule Iodine is used to indicate.
3) Know which molecule Biuret is used to indicate.
4) Know what a positive and negative test looks like for Benedict's, Iodine, Biuret, and the Grease-Spot
Test.
5) Identify the types of solvents lipids will and will not dissolve in.
6) Be able to distinguish between a positive and a negative control.
7) Be able to use the results of the four indicator tests to determine the contents of an unknown solution.
Upcoming Events:
Monday - This will be a day of review for our test that is scheduled for Wednesday. We will begin Monday by reviewing the results of our lab from Thursday and Friday. Following that, we will review on Monday by using many different graphic organizers that I have put together over the years to help the students organize all of the material they have on carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. Homework will be to study for the test on Wednesday. Today's them for homecoming dress up day is pajama day.
Tuesday - We will play a review game using remote control clickers with the students. Homework will be to study for the test on Wednesday. Today's dress up theme is "Under the Sea".
Wednesday - We will take our test on chemistry and biochemistry. This will cover all of the material from the periodic table webquest through our lab on carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins. The them for dress up day is "Happy Birthday" to celebrate Fremd's 50th birthday. No birthday suits, please!
Thursday - We will review our results from the biochemistry test and begin our unit on the metric system, graphing, and scientific notation with a worksheet on scientific notation. Homework will be to finish the worksheet. Today is class color day. Freshman wear blue, sophomores wear red, juniors wear green, and seniors wear gold.
Friday - We will review the scientific notation worksheet and then conduct a lab reviewing the metric system. The focus of the lab will be units of length, mass, and volume. Homework will be to complete the questions in the lab. Friday is green and gold day. The pep assembly follows 8th period, so the class periods will all be shortened by about 8 minutes.
Graba Geek of the Week
The geek of the week this week goes to Jennie Yang. Jennie has done very well on all of our quizzes and tests, and is always willing to volunteer answers to any questions that I pose. If more of my students were willing to take the risks she does in volunteering, more students would be very successful. Way to go, Jennie!
September 18, 2011
September 18, 2011
September 18, 2011
I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend. Sunday was pretty dreary, but I know we used it to get a lot of cleaning done inside our house, anyway!
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We began the week by finishing our acid/base lab. Students investigated the concept of buffers, chemicals that prevent the pH of a solution from fluctuating, in this lab. Homework was to finish the questions in the lab and study for a quiz on basic chemistry.
Tuesday - The students began class by taking their quiz. When they finished their quiz, the students worked on answering questions in their study guides for biochemistry. The questions pertained to the element carbon, and why it is so important to living things. For homework, they were to finish answering through question 43.
Wednesday - We began class on Wednesday by taking our 3rd prefix quiz. When everyone was finished, I introduced our lab experiment on building models of molecules. Included in this was an explanation of the difference between a molecular and a structural formula.
After introducing the lab, the students were given their quizzes from Tuesday back to go over. There was a checklist that was used to help the students analyze their performance. The list had them focus on which topics they needed to work on before the next quiz.
As soon as they were done checking their quiz results, students immediately moved into beginning their molecule building lab. There was no homework, as no one finished the lab in class.
Thursday - Since Thursday was a half day, all we had time to do was finish building our molecular models. Homework was to finish the 6 questions at the end of the lab.
Friday - On Friday, we began class by asking questions about the homework from Tuesday night about carbon. After everone was finished asking questions, I lectured to the students about some important concepts related to organic molecules.
Students were then given the opportunity to begin their homework, which was to answer questions 44-54 in their biochemistry study guide. Any questions that were not finished had to be finished for homework over the weekend.
Upcoming Events
Monday - The plan for Monday is to begin class by asking for questions related to the homework from the weekend. Hopefully the questions will lead to a productive discussion of important ideas related to carbohydrates. Anything that I consider important for the students to know that we don't cover during the question answer period will be covered during a brief carbohydrate lecture.
The lecture will be followed by a modeling lab, where the students will be building paper models of the three different types of carbohydrates: monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides.
If there is time left, I will lecture on the topic of lipids. Homework will be to answer the questions in their study guides related to proteins and lipids.
Tuesday - We will begin class by building paper models of lipids. I will then lecture briefly on proteins, and then the students will build paper models of proteins. For homework, the students will be asked to read over the lab we will do the next two days.
Wednesday - On Wednesday, we will do day 1 of a 2 day lab. This is the first time I'm attempting this lab, so it may take more than 2 days, but that is the plan for now. We will be using different indicators, and testing them with different types of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. The idea is for the students to learn what the following indicators actually indicate the presence of: Benedict's solution, Biuret solution, and Iodine solution.
Thursday - The students will be given an unknown solution, containing anywhere between 1 and 3 of the different types of molecules we will have used indicators with, and they will have to run the indicator tests on the unknown solution to figure out what is in it.
Friday - Friday will be day 1 of review for our biochemistry unit test. We will play a review game with whiteboards and dry erase markers, or with cell phones (I'm not sure which I'll try yet), to help get the students ready for their test. There is a website called polleverywhere.com, that allows you to type in multiple choice questions, which the site then saves as a PowerPoint slide that can be downloaded. After downloading the slide, the user puts it into a presentation, and when the slide comes up, students text their answers to the question. The results of the texting come up in real time on the PowerPoint slide. I have used it before with kids, and they really enjoy it.
Have a great week!
I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend. Sunday was pretty dreary, but I know we used it to get a lot of cleaning done inside our house, anyway!
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We began the week by finishing our acid/base lab. Students investigated the concept of buffers, chemicals that prevent the pH of a solution from fluctuating, in this lab. Homework was to finish the questions in the lab and study for a quiz on basic chemistry.
Tuesday - The students began class by taking their quiz. When they finished their quiz, the students worked on answering questions in their study guides for biochemistry. The questions pertained to the element carbon, and why it is so important to living things. For homework, they were to finish answering through question 43.
Wednesday - We began class on Wednesday by taking our 3rd prefix quiz. When everyone was finished, I introduced our lab experiment on building models of molecules. Included in this was an explanation of the difference between a molecular and a structural formula.
After introducing the lab, the students were given their quizzes from Tuesday back to go over. There was a checklist that was used to help the students analyze their performance. The list had them focus on which topics they needed to work on before the next quiz.
As soon as they were done checking their quiz results, students immediately moved into beginning their molecule building lab. There was no homework, as no one finished the lab in class.
Thursday - Since Thursday was a half day, all we had time to do was finish building our molecular models. Homework was to finish the 6 questions at the end of the lab.
Friday - On Friday, we began class by asking questions about the homework from Tuesday night about carbon. After everone was finished asking questions, I lectured to the students about some important concepts related to organic molecules.
Students were then given the opportunity to begin their homework, which was to answer questions 44-54 in their biochemistry study guide. Any questions that were not finished had to be finished for homework over the weekend.
Upcoming Events
Monday - The plan for Monday is to begin class by asking for questions related to the homework from the weekend. Hopefully the questions will lead to a productive discussion of important ideas related to carbohydrates. Anything that I consider important for the students to know that we don't cover during the question answer period will be covered during a brief carbohydrate lecture.
The lecture will be followed by a modeling lab, where the students will be building paper models of the three different types of carbohydrates: monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides.
If there is time left, I will lecture on the topic of lipids. Homework will be to answer the questions in their study guides related to proteins and lipids.
Tuesday - We will begin class by building paper models of lipids. I will then lecture briefly on proteins, and then the students will build paper models of proteins. For homework, the students will be asked to read over the lab we will do the next two days.
Wednesday - On Wednesday, we will do day 1 of a 2 day lab. This is the first time I'm attempting this lab, so it may take more than 2 days, but that is the plan for now. We will be using different indicators, and testing them with different types of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. The idea is for the students to learn what the following indicators actually indicate the presence of: Benedict's solution, Biuret solution, and Iodine solution.
Thursday - The students will be given an unknown solution, containing anywhere between 1 and 3 of the different types of molecules we will have used indicators with, and they will have to run the indicator tests on the unknown solution to figure out what is in it.
Friday - Friday will be day 1 of review for our biochemistry unit test. We will play a review game with whiteboards and dry erase markers, or with cell phones (I'm not sure which I'll try yet), to help get the students ready for their test. There is a website called polleverywhere.com, that allows you to type in multiple choice questions, which the site then saves as a PowerPoint slide that can be downloaded. After downloading the slide, the user puts it into a presentation, and when the slide comes up, students text their answers to the question. The results of the texting come up in real time on the PowerPoint slide. I have used it before with kids, and they really enjoy it.
Have a great week!
September 11, 2011
September 11, 2011
September 11, 2011
On this day of remembrance, I hope that all of you are able to find some time to reflect and find some peace. It is hard to believe that 10 years have passed since that terrible day. It's also hard to believe that these freshmen were only 4 on that day.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - LABOR DAY
Tuesday - On Tuesday we discussed some of the questions from the students' webquest that they completed over the weekend. Afterwards, the students took notes on four different types of bonds: ionic, nonpolar covalent, polar covalent, and hydrogen. For homework, the students completed questions 1-22 in a packet on biochemistry by using their textbook.
Wednesday - We began class by watching a video from the "World of Chemistry" series on the properties of water. The movie was paused several times during the course of watching it so that we could discuss many of the concepts presented, and the students were supposed to take notes while watching the movie.
After finishing the movie, we began our lab activity investigating the properties of water. There were several stations for the students to investigate cohesion, adhesion, capillarity, and surface tension. They should be able to show you some of the activities done in class with materials from around your house, if you're interested! Hopefully they can explain the science behind those activities, as well.
Thursday - The students were given 10 minutes to finish visiting each of our seven lab stations investigating the property of water. Then, they were given a lecture on the properties of water. I tried to draw on their knowledge of water properties gained from their lab experiment, the movie, and their reading to make the lecture as meaningful to them as possible. The PowerPoint used that day is available under the "Worksheets and Presentations" of the accelerated biology page on http://www.mrgraba.net/.
Homework on Thursday was to read the introduction to our lab investigation on acids and bases, and to answer the six prelab questions that followed.
Friday - We began investigating the properties of acids and bases by using pH paper, red litmus paper, and blue litmus paper to determine which household substances are acids and which are bases. Students will be expected to remember what blue litmus paper indicates, and what red litmus paper indicates, but not the exact pH of the household chemicals, nor will they be expected to remember which household chemicals were acids and which were bases.
Homework was to read and highlight the procedure for part 2 of the acid and base lab, which will investigate the properties of buffers.
Upcoming Events
Monday - Monday's plan is to compare how many drops of acid it takes to change the pH of a weak basic solution versus an egg white solution. The students should find that it takes many more drops to change the pH of the egg white because it contains a buffer, which is a chemical that prevents changes in the pH of a solution. The egg white has a buffer because if the pH of the egg white were to change, the developing embryo inside could be harmed. The basic solution does not because no living thing was dependent on the solution I made in the back prep area!
Homework on Monday will be to finish any questions remaining from the lab, and then to study for our quiz on atoms, chemical bonding, the properties of water, and acids and bases. A list of the topics on the quiz was put on the board for the students on Friday.
Tuesday - Quiz day! The students will need to bring their textbooks to begin working on the next section in their "Biochemistry Worksheet" when they finish their quiz. Homework will be to finish the questions from that packet that are assigned in class, and to study for their third prefix quiz.
Wednesday - Class will begin with the third prefix quiz of the year, followed by time to process the results from the quiz on Tuesday.
After finishing those two activities, the students will be introduced to the difference between a molecular formula and a structural formula. This is to prepare them for the lab activity for the day, which will involve using ball and stick models to build several molecules important in biology. The lab will help reinforce the idea of a structural formula, as well as introduce the students to four important groups of atoms called "functional groups" that they will be responsible for knowing and recognizing.
Thursday - We will finish our model building lab. There will then be a lecture on the properties of carbohydrates, again drawing on the knowledge the students have gained from their reading out of the textbook on the topic. This is only a half day due to open house, so I may have to finish the lecture up on Friday. I look forward to meeting all of you!
Friday - Class will begin with a lecture on the properties of proteins, followed by the beginning of a modeling lab to reinforce what students will have learned from their reading and lecture on the topics of carbohydrates and proteins.
For homework, students will read an article called "Why Structure?" about the important role proteins play in living things. You may want to read it, too! I think it's a pretty interesting read. Then again, I am a biology teacher and a bit of a geek!
Interesting Tidbits
As part of our celebration of Fremd's 50th anniversary, each department in the school is planning activities for a different month. This month, the family and consumer sciences department has chosen each Wednesday as a day to dress up from a different decade of Fremd's history. Last Wednesday was 60's day, this Wednesday is 70's day, and next Wednesday is 80's day. Encourage your kids, if you can, to take part! The more people taking part, the more fun these days become.
Also, Mrs. Gattuso shared with me a summer science program available to girls that is run through the University of Illinois. Registration begins in February, but the sooner you are made aware of the opportunity, the better, as far as I'm concerned! Now you'll know to start looking for it. Here is the link to the program:
Have a great week, everyone!
On this day of remembrance, I hope that all of you are able to find some time to reflect and find some peace. It is hard to believe that 10 years have passed since that terrible day. It's also hard to believe that these freshmen were only 4 on that day.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - LABOR DAY
Tuesday - On Tuesday we discussed some of the questions from the students' webquest that they completed over the weekend. Afterwards, the students took notes on four different types of bonds: ionic, nonpolar covalent, polar covalent, and hydrogen. For homework, the students completed questions 1-22 in a packet on biochemistry by using their textbook.
Wednesday - We began class by watching a video from the "World of Chemistry" series on the properties of water. The movie was paused several times during the course of watching it so that we could discuss many of the concepts presented, and the students were supposed to take notes while watching the movie.
After finishing the movie, we began our lab activity investigating the properties of water. There were several stations for the students to investigate cohesion, adhesion, capillarity, and surface tension. They should be able to show you some of the activities done in class with materials from around your house, if you're interested! Hopefully they can explain the science behind those activities, as well.
Thursday - The students were given 10 minutes to finish visiting each of our seven lab stations investigating the property of water. Then, they were given a lecture on the properties of water. I tried to draw on their knowledge of water properties gained from their lab experiment, the movie, and their reading to make the lecture as meaningful to them as possible. The PowerPoint used that day is available under the "Worksheets and Presentations" of the accelerated biology page on http://www.mrgraba.net/.
Homework on Thursday was to read the introduction to our lab investigation on acids and bases, and to answer the six prelab questions that followed.
Friday - We began investigating the properties of acids and bases by using pH paper, red litmus paper, and blue litmus paper to determine which household substances are acids and which are bases. Students will be expected to remember what blue litmus paper indicates, and what red litmus paper indicates, but not the exact pH of the household chemicals, nor will they be expected to remember which household chemicals were acids and which were bases.
Homework was to read and highlight the procedure for part 2 of the acid and base lab, which will investigate the properties of buffers.
Upcoming Events
Monday - Monday's plan is to compare how many drops of acid it takes to change the pH of a weak basic solution versus an egg white solution. The students should find that it takes many more drops to change the pH of the egg white because it contains a buffer, which is a chemical that prevents changes in the pH of a solution. The egg white has a buffer because if the pH of the egg white were to change, the developing embryo inside could be harmed. The basic solution does not because no living thing was dependent on the solution I made in the back prep area!
Homework on Monday will be to finish any questions remaining from the lab, and then to study for our quiz on atoms, chemical bonding, the properties of water, and acids and bases. A list of the topics on the quiz was put on the board for the students on Friday.
Tuesday - Quiz day! The students will need to bring their textbooks to begin working on the next section in their "Biochemistry Worksheet" when they finish their quiz. Homework will be to finish the questions from that packet that are assigned in class, and to study for their third prefix quiz.
Wednesday - Class will begin with the third prefix quiz of the year, followed by time to process the results from the quiz on Tuesday.
After finishing those two activities, the students will be introduced to the difference between a molecular formula and a structural formula. This is to prepare them for the lab activity for the day, which will involve using ball and stick models to build several molecules important in biology. The lab will help reinforce the idea of a structural formula, as well as introduce the students to four important groups of atoms called "functional groups" that they will be responsible for knowing and recognizing.
Thursday - We will finish our model building lab. There will then be a lecture on the properties of carbohydrates, again drawing on the knowledge the students have gained from their reading out of the textbook on the topic. This is only a half day due to open house, so I may have to finish the lecture up on Friday. I look forward to meeting all of you!
Friday - Class will begin with a lecture on the properties of proteins, followed by the beginning of a modeling lab to reinforce what students will have learned from their reading and lecture on the topics of carbohydrates and proteins.
For homework, students will read an article called "Why Structure?" about the important role proteins play in living things. You may want to read it, too! I think it's a pretty interesting read. Then again, I am a biology teacher and a bit of a geek!
Interesting Tidbits
As part of our celebration of Fremd's 50th anniversary, each department in the school is planning activities for a different month. This month, the family and consumer sciences department has chosen each Wednesday as a day to dress up from a different decade of Fremd's history. Last Wednesday was 60's day, this Wednesday is 70's day, and next Wednesday is 80's day. Encourage your kids, if you can, to take part! The more people taking part, the more fun these days become.
Also, Mrs. Gattuso shared with me a summer science program available to girls that is run through the University of Illinois. Registration begins in February, but the sooner you are made aware of the opportunity, the better, as far as I'm concerned! Now you'll know to start looking for it. Here is the link to the program:
Come and learn how a little engineering can make a BIG difference! Campers will discover how chemical engineering and bioengineering are teaming up together to help cure diseases, provide alternative sources of energy, and make a real impact in developing countries. Young women will learn how tissue engineering is working to repair human muscles damaged by illnesses such as polio and how to harness alternative sources of energy to use it for constructive ends, as economically as possible, with the least damaging impacts on our environment. As part of the challenge and fun, students will work in state of the art UIUC labs to establish and observe their own culture of muscle cells, to develop medicine to prevent disease, and to create environmentally friendly alternative sources of energy.
Have a great week, everyone!
September 4, 2011
September 4, 2011
September 4, 2011
I hope everyone is having a relaxing Labor Day weekend with time to enjoy family and friends. We had a busy week in class this last week!
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We completed our scientific method experiment by analyzing the results from the petri dishes we streaked on Friday. There was some really impressive bacterial growth! Unfortunately, we were not able to conclude whether or not antibacterial soap is actually more effective at removing bacteria than regular hand soap.
After analyzing our results, we moved on to our next experiment, which was used to investigate some of the characteristics of living things. The students were given some mystery matter (yeast), sugar, and water that they had to warm up a little bit. All the materials were placed in a flask, tested for the presence of glucose (to see if the mystery matter was metabolizing the sugar), and then a balloon was put on top of the flask. The setup was then allowed to run overnight.
Tuesday - We gathered data from our characteristics of life experiment by testing for the presence of glucose in each flask, and observing how inflated the balloons on our flasks were. There was one question to answer about whether or not the "mystery matter" was alive or not. Everyone figured out that it was, and most students knew that it was yeast.
The next class activity was to observe 15 different specimens set up around the room, and decide whether they were alive, dead, never alive, or the product of a living thing. Some groups in some classes had to finish observing some of the specimens on Wednesday, so the questions in the lab were not assigned for homework.
Wednesday - We began class with a reading about a fish hitting the windshield of an airplane. The students in every class were able to correctly figure out that a bird must have been startled and dropped the fish, which then hit the plane!
After getting our brains going with that activity, we finished looking at all of the specimens and had about 10 more minutes to answer questions from the handout that went along with the activity. Any unfinished questions were homework.
We spent the next 10-15 minutes, depending on the class and how many questions that they had, reviewing the characteristics of living things and the levels of biological organization.
Finally, we had a review worksheet that the students had to complete in class. There was a reading about the scientific process in action, followed by 11 multiple choice questions that the students answered in regards to the reading. Afterwards we briefly discussed the passage and the questions.
Thursday - Everyone got their first taste of an accelerated freshman biology test. This was the shortest, and probably least difficult, test of the year. Overall, each class did pretty well! When the test was completed, every student picked up their very own copy of the periodic table (which I personally believe everyone should have!), and began a packet reviewing the characteristics of atoms, ions, and isotopes. Any parts of the packet that were not completed by the end of class were to be completed for homework.
Friday - We took some time Friday to go over the results from our first test. The kids had some good questions!
Once we were done going over the test, we discussed the homework, "Exploring Atoms", from the night before, and then we began a webquest to review the information found in the periodic table, which will be important for us to know during our biochemistry unit! Homework was to complete any parts of the webquest that were not finished in class.
Upcoming Events
Monday - LABOR DAY!
Tuesday - The students will turn in their webquests, and I'll answer any questions that they may have. Hopefully their questions lead into a discussion of atoms vs. ions vs. isotopes. If not, I'll be trying to lead them there so we can have a discussion about the differences between them!
Afterwards, I will review with them the different types of chemical bonds that will be important in biology. Those are covalent bonds, ionic bonds, and hydrogen bonds.
For homework, the students will be completing a chemical formula writing worksheet. This will involve looking at the charges on two different ions, and determing how many of each ion would be needed to make a molecule.
Wednesday - We will begin class by watching about 15 minutes of a video on the properties of water, an essential molecule for life! Afterwards, we will be doing some experiments investigating the properties of water at various stations set up around the classroom. Ask your kids to show you some of them. Most of them can be done at home, and some of them are pretty cool (at least if you're a geek like me)!
For homework, the students will be getting a packet that corresponds to the chapters in their textbooks on biochemistry. The assignment will be to complete the section in the packet related to the properties of water.
Thursday - We will finish our properties of water lab. Once every team has completed all of our stations, we will process the science behind each station, and the students will be taking some lecture notes on the important characteristics of water.
For homework, everyone will be reading the introduction to a lab we will do on Friday investigating acids and bases, and then completing the prelab questions that go along with it.
Friday - We will investigate several household products using different pH indicators, both pH paper and litmus paper, to determine whether they are acids or bases. The students will also be expected to remember the color changes associated with red and blue litmus paper when they are each placed in an acid or a base. I try to help them with a little rhyme: "Blue to red it's an acid" (I emphasize and slightly mispronounce acid as "a-SAID" so that they remember it better).
Homework will be to complete the questions in the lab that go along with the investigating household chemicals portion of the lab. There is a part 2 to the lab that we will do on Monday of the following week.
Interesting Tidbits
I wanted to remind everyone one last time that if you do not want me to post a picture of your child on this blog, please let me know by e-mailing me at bgraba@d211.org. If I don't hear from you by next Sunday (the 11th), I'll assume that it is OK with you.
Also, I sent an e-mail from Mrs. Oakes, who coordinates internships for us, about an opportunity for those interested in becoming a doctor to intern at Northwest Memorial. If you have any questions about the internship, please contact her at moakes@d211.org. If you did not receive the e-mail, please send me an e-mail at bgraba@d211.org so that I can resend the e-mail to you.
Have a good week!
I hope everyone is having a relaxing Labor Day weekend with time to enjoy family and friends. We had a busy week in class this last week!
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We completed our scientific method experiment by analyzing the results from the petri dishes we streaked on Friday. There was some really impressive bacterial growth! Unfortunately, we were not able to conclude whether or not antibacterial soap is actually more effective at removing bacteria than regular hand soap.
After analyzing our results, we moved on to our next experiment, which was used to investigate some of the characteristics of living things. The students were given some mystery matter (yeast), sugar, and water that they had to warm up a little bit. All the materials were placed in a flask, tested for the presence of glucose (to see if the mystery matter was metabolizing the sugar), and then a balloon was put on top of the flask. The setup was then allowed to run overnight.
Tuesday - We gathered data from our characteristics of life experiment by testing for the presence of glucose in each flask, and observing how inflated the balloons on our flasks were. There was one question to answer about whether or not the "mystery matter" was alive or not. Everyone figured out that it was, and most students knew that it was yeast.
The next class activity was to observe 15 different specimens set up around the room, and decide whether they were alive, dead, never alive, or the product of a living thing. Some groups in some classes had to finish observing some of the specimens on Wednesday, so the questions in the lab were not assigned for homework.
Wednesday - We began class with a reading about a fish hitting the windshield of an airplane. The students in every class were able to correctly figure out that a bird must have been startled and dropped the fish, which then hit the plane!
After getting our brains going with that activity, we finished looking at all of the specimens and had about 10 more minutes to answer questions from the handout that went along with the activity. Any unfinished questions were homework.
We spent the next 10-15 minutes, depending on the class and how many questions that they had, reviewing the characteristics of living things and the levels of biological organization.
Finally, we had a review worksheet that the students had to complete in class. There was a reading about the scientific process in action, followed by 11 multiple choice questions that the students answered in regards to the reading. Afterwards we briefly discussed the passage and the questions.
Thursday - Everyone got their first taste of an accelerated freshman biology test. This was the shortest, and probably least difficult, test of the year. Overall, each class did pretty well! When the test was completed, every student picked up their very own copy of the periodic table (which I personally believe everyone should have!), and began a packet reviewing the characteristics of atoms, ions, and isotopes. Any parts of the packet that were not completed by the end of class were to be completed for homework.
Friday - We took some time Friday to go over the results from our first test. The kids had some good questions!
Once we were done going over the test, we discussed the homework, "Exploring Atoms", from the night before, and then we began a webquest to review the information found in the periodic table, which will be important for us to know during our biochemistry unit! Homework was to complete any parts of the webquest that were not finished in class.
Upcoming Events
Monday - LABOR DAY!
Tuesday - The students will turn in their webquests, and I'll answer any questions that they may have. Hopefully their questions lead into a discussion of atoms vs. ions vs. isotopes. If not, I'll be trying to lead them there so we can have a discussion about the differences between them!
Afterwards, I will review with them the different types of chemical bonds that will be important in biology. Those are covalent bonds, ionic bonds, and hydrogen bonds.
For homework, the students will be completing a chemical formula writing worksheet. This will involve looking at the charges on two different ions, and determing how many of each ion would be needed to make a molecule.
Wednesday - We will begin class by watching about 15 minutes of a video on the properties of water, an essential molecule for life! Afterwards, we will be doing some experiments investigating the properties of water at various stations set up around the classroom. Ask your kids to show you some of them. Most of them can be done at home, and some of them are pretty cool (at least if you're a geek like me)!
For homework, the students will be getting a packet that corresponds to the chapters in their textbooks on biochemistry. The assignment will be to complete the section in the packet related to the properties of water.
Thursday - We will finish our properties of water lab. Once every team has completed all of our stations, we will process the science behind each station, and the students will be taking some lecture notes on the important characteristics of water.
For homework, everyone will be reading the introduction to a lab we will do on Friday investigating acids and bases, and then completing the prelab questions that go along with it.
Friday - We will investigate several household products using different pH indicators, both pH paper and litmus paper, to determine whether they are acids or bases. The students will also be expected to remember the color changes associated with red and blue litmus paper when they are each placed in an acid or a base. I try to help them with a little rhyme: "Blue to red it's an acid" (I emphasize and slightly mispronounce acid as "a-SAID" so that they remember it better).
Homework will be to complete the questions in the lab that go along with the investigating household chemicals portion of the lab. There is a part 2 to the lab that we will do on Monday of the following week.
Interesting Tidbits
I wanted to remind everyone one last time that if you do not want me to post a picture of your child on this blog, please let me know by e-mailing me at bgraba@d211.org. If I don't hear from you by next Sunday (the 11th), I'll assume that it is OK with you.
Also, I sent an e-mail from Mrs. Oakes, who coordinates internships for us, about an opportunity for those interested in becoming a doctor to intern at Northwest Memorial. If you have any questions about the internship, please contact her at moakes@d211.org. If you did not receive the e-mail, please send me an e-mail at bgraba@d211.org so that I can resend the e-mail to you.
Have a good week!
August 28, 2011
August 28, 2011
August 28, 2011
The first week of school is always exciting for me as a teacher. It's always fun to meet, challenge, and have fun with a new group of students!
This blog will be a way for me to communicate with all of the parents of my accelerated biology students on a weekly basis. One part of this blog will be a feature at the end of each one called the "Graba Geek of the Week". I will pick one student each week to highlight. Part of this will include a picture of the student, unless you would rather that I not post a picture of your child on this blog. If that is the case, please let me know by e-mailing me at bgraba@d211.org. I will have no problem with it if you do, and it will not impact a child's opportunity to be the "Geek of the Week".
Events of the Past Week
Monday - The students were not in school, but the teachers were, as we busily made final preparations for the first day of school!
Tuesday - We did quite a few things on our first day. Some were exciting and some were, well, necessary. As their schedules were checked, the students picked up their textbooks. They then had to get themselves into order by birthday, but all communication had to be nonverbal. It was interesting to see how the students approached solving their first problem of the year. Many flashed hand signals, and then some realized that their birthday was on their schedule, which made communicating much easier! The order the students arranged themselves in was then used to put them into their seats for the first quarter (unless I decide that someone's seat needs to be changed).
After that was done, we did a people search to help the kids get to meet other people in their class. Biology is a class where we do a lot of group work in labs and activities, so I want the students to get to know each other early in the year. Finally, we talked about some of the questions in the people search as a way to get to know a few things about several of our classmates.
Homework was to type an answer to the question at the end of "Look Out Below!" The reading passage is a fictional description of a very odd behavior exhibited by some sloths kept in captivity. Many of the students expressed that they were definitely interested in the article, and a few were pretty grossed out!
Wednesday - We first went over the policies and procedures for our class. After this brief discussion, the kids were put into lab teams. I have several quotations from John Wooden, the famous UCLA basketball coach from the 60's and 70's. There were fourteen quotes, and each of the fourteen was found on two notecards. The students had to find the other person in class that had the same quote as they did. The person they found is their lab partner for the first quarter. After discussing a few of the quotes that are some of my favorites (such as "If what you did yesterday still impresses you, then you haven't accomplished much today"), we moved on to our next activity.
We played a little memory game that was used to illustrate the importance of organizing information when you study, and breaking what you study down into small groups to study a little bit at a time. The kids should be able to explain that activity to you.
Finally, we took a look at our first lab, which is being used to learn about the scientific method. For homework, the students read and highlighted the introduction to the lab, and completed a portion of the lab on identifying and writing good, testable hypotheses.
Thursday - The students came into class and we got to work on our lab right away. First, the kids got together with their lab partners to discuss their hypotheses from the night before. Then, we came back together as a class so that we could discuss what the lab teams had determined in regards to the hypotheses from their homework. Then, we took a look at a hypothesis regarding antibacterial soap versus regular soap. After looking at the hypothesis, the kids were given the task of starting to design an experiment to test whether or not antibacterial soap is more effective than regular soap.
For homework, a worksheet was handed out to every period but 1st, which was moving a little slower through the discussion we had, that asked the students to identify what was wrong with seven different experiments, based on their knowledge of the criteria for a good experiment. In addition, the students had to study for their first prefix quiz, which was given on Friday.
Friday - Class started with the first quiz of the year. Most students did very well on this ten point quiz. A few did not, most likely because they forgot about the quiz or studied some of the wrong material. For example, one student let me know that they studied the examples of words with the prefixes in them, rather than the meaning of the prefixes that would be on the first quiz.
After the quiz was completed, we got to work on setting up our lab. Ask your kids to describe the procedure we developed together. They should be able to explain what we did and why we did it. Finally, I handed out the lab we will be running on Monday. Students in every period but 1st period were asked to read and highlight the introduction, and read through the procedure for the lab. We didn't have time to get to handing out the lab during 1st hour, so they did the Criteria for a Good Experiment homework that they did not get on Thursday.
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will analyze the results of our experiment on antibacterial vs. regular soap by checking our petri dishes that have been in the incubator over the weekend for bacterial growth. After looking at the results, we will learn about how statistics are used to analyze data and draw some conclusions as a class.
Then we will investigate the characteristics of living things by trying to determine whether or not some "Mystery Matter" is alive. This is another experiment we will set up on one day and analyze the final results on the next day.
Tuesday - We will be looking at the results of our Mystery Matter lab, and then also looking at several examples of objects that may or may not be alive. It will be the job of the students to determine whether or not the sample is alive, and to defend their decision. Homework will be to finish the questions at the end of both experiments.
Wednesday - Wednesday will be a day to review the scientific method and characteristics of living things for our first test! Homework will obviously be to study for the test.
Thursday - The students will have their first test of the year on Thursday. It will be multiple choice, so they need to make sure they bring a pencil to class! Many of the questions will ask the students to analyze an experiment to identify parts of the experiment, like the hypothesis, data, conclusion, etc. They will also have to identify the proper characteristic of life when given a description of a particular behavior, adaptation, etc. These higher level type questions, where students have to apply their knowledge to a situation, will be typical of tests in accelerated biology.
Friday - Friday will be a day to review our results from the test on the scientific method and characteristics of living things. Afterwards, we will begin our unit on chemistry and biochemistry by reviewing the periodic table. Rather than be lectured to about it, the students will review the information in the periodic table by doing a webquest. Most of the students in class have learned about the periodic table before, but need a little bit of a refresher here at the beginning of the year.
Interesting Tidbits
This year I have started a website for my classes. The web address is http://www.mrgraba.net/. On that site I have links to all of the worksheets for our first two units (as of right now, the subsequent units will be updated as the year goes on), as well as all of our labs, this blog, and a calendar for our course. The calendar is a tentative schedule that can be adjusted as we go and I assess the needs of the students in class.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions you might have at bgraba@d211.org. I also love to have people post comments on the various blog posts, so feel free to leave one here!
The first week of school is always exciting for me as a teacher. It's always fun to meet, challenge, and have fun with a new group of students!
This blog will be a way for me to communicate with all of the parents of my accelerated biology students on a weekly basis. One part of this blog will be a feature at the end of each one called the "Graba Geek of the Week". I will pick one student each week to highlight. Part of this will include a picture of the student, unless you would rather that I not post a picture of your child on this blog. If that is the case, please let me know by e-mailing me at bgraba@d211.org. I will have no problem with it if you do, and it will not impact a child's opportunity to be the "Geek of the Week".
Events of the Past Week
Monday - The students were not in school, but the teachers were, as we busily made final preparations for the first day of school!
Tuesday - We did quite a few things on our first day. Some were exciting and some were, well, necessary. As their schedules were checked, the students picked up their textbooks. They then had to get themselves into order by birthday, but all communication had to be nonverbal. It was interesting to see how the students approached solving their first problem of the year. Many flashed hand signals, and then some realized that their birthday was on their schedule, which made communicating much easier! The order the students arranged themselves in was then used to put them into their seats for the first quarter (unless I decide that someone's seat needs to be changed).
After that was done, we did a people search to help the kids get to meet other people in their class. Biology is a class where we do a lot of group work in labs and activities, so I want the students to get to know each other early in the year. Finally, we talked about some of the questions in the people search as a way to get to know a few things about several of our classmates.
Homework was to type an answer to the question at the end of "Look Out Below!" The reading passage is a fictional description of a very odd behavior exhibited by some sloths kept in captivity. Many of the students expressed that they were definitely interested in the article, and a few were pretty grossed out!
Wednesday - We first went over the policies and procedures for our class. After this brief discussion, the kids were put into lab teams. I have several quotations from John Wooden, the famous UCLA basketball coach from the 60's and 70's. There were fourteen quotes, and each of the fourteen was found on two notecards. The students had to find the other person in class that had the same quote as they did. The person they found is their lab partner for the first quarter. After discussing a few of the quotes that are some of my favorites (such as "If what you did yesterday still impresses you, then you haven't accomplished much today"), we moved on to our next activity.
We played a little memory game that was used to illustrate the importance of organizing information when you study, and breaking what you study down into small groups to study a little bit at a time. The kids should be able to explain that activity to you.
Finally, we took a look at our first lab, which is being used to learn about the scientific method. For homework, the students read and highlighted the introduction to the lab, and completed a portion of the lab on identifying and writing good, testable hypotheses.
Thursday - The students came into class and we got to work on our lab right away. First, the kids got together with their lab partners to discuss their hypotheses from the night before. Then, we came back together as a class so that we could discuss what the lab teams had determined in regards to the hypotheses from their homework. Then, we took a look at a hypothesis regarding antibacterial soap versus regular soap. After looking at the hypothesis, the kids were given the task of starting to design an experiment to test whether or not antibacterial soap is more effective than regular soap.
For homework, a worksheet was handed out to every period but 1st, which was moving a little slower through the discussion we had, that asked the students to identify what was wrong with seven different experiments, based on their knowledge of the criteria for a good experiment. In addition, the students had to study for their first prefix quiz, which was given on Friday.
Friday - Class started with the first quiz of the year. Most students did very well on this ten point quiz. A few did not, most likely because they forgot about the quiz or studied some of the wrong material. For example, one student let me know that they studied the examples of words with the prefixes in them, rather than the meaning of the prefixes that would be on the first quiz.
After the quiz was completed, we got to work on setting up our lab. Ask your kids to describe the procedure we developed together. They should be able to explain what we did and why we did it. Finally, I handed out the lab we will be running on Monday. Students in every period but 1st period were asked to read and highlight the introduction, and read through the procedure for the lab. We didn't have time to get to handing out the lab during 1st hour, so they did the Criteria for a Good Experiment homework that they did not get on Thursday.
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will analyze the results of our experiment on antibacterial vs. regular soap by checking our petri dishes that have been in the incubator over the weekend for bacterial growth. After looking at the results, we will learn about how statistics are used to analyze data and draw some conclusions as a class.
Then we will investigate the characteristics of living things by trying to determine whether or not some "Mystery Matter" is alive. This is another experiment we will set up on one day and analyze the final results on the next day.
Tuesday - We will be looking at the results of our Mystery Matter lab, and then also looking at several examples of objects that may or may not be alive. It will be the job of the students to determine whether or not the sample is alive, and to defend their decision. Homework will be to finish the questions at the end of both experiments.
Wednesday - Wednesday will be a day to review the scientific method and characteristics of living things for our first test! Homework will obviously be to study for the test.
Thursday - The students will have their first test of the year on Thursday. It will be multiple choice, so they need to make sure they bring a pencil to class! Many of the questions will ask the students to analyze an experiment to identify parts of the experiment, like the hypothesis, data, conclusion, etc. They will also have to identify the proper characteristic of life when given a description of a particular behavior, adaptation, etc. These higher level type questions, where students have to apply their knowledge to a situation, will be typical of tests in accelerated biology.
Friday - Friday will be a day to review our results from the test on the scientific method and characteristics of living things. Afterwards, we will begin our unit on chemistry and biochemistry by reviewing the periodic table. Rather than be lectured to about it, the students will review the information in the periodic table by doing a webquest. Most of the students in class have learned about the periodic table before, but need a little bit of a refresher here at the beginning of the year.
Interesting Tidbits
This year I have started a website for my classes. The web address is http://www.mrgraba.net/. On that site I have links to all of the worksheets for our first two units (as of right now, the subsequent units will be updated as the year goes on), as well as all of our labs, this blog, and a calendar for our course. The calendar is a tentative schedule that can be adjusted as we go and I assess the needs of the students in class.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions you might have at bgraba@d211.org. I also love to have people post comments on the various blog posts, so feel free to leave one here!
June 5, 2011
June 5, 2011
June 5, 2011
Another school year is coming to a close! This will be the last post of the school year. It's hard to believe that the year is actually ending. I've had a really enjoyable experience with this group of students, so it will be hard to say goodbye to them.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - No School. Thank you to all those who have served our country and paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Tuesday - We first learned a little bit about a topic called succession. There are two types of succession, both primary and secondary, which the students learned about through a PowerPoint presentation. Afterwards, they worked on a packet that had them try to relate some vocabulary words we learned during the course of the unit. There were also some questions related to succession in that packet. Homework was to finish the packet.
Wednesday - We first did a worksheet that taught students about the concept of population density, and had them calculate population density in two ways. The first was the counting method, where every individual in a given area is counted. The second was the census method, in which a few small areas within an entire habitat are chosen to be counted, and the population density is calculated from the sample taken.
Afterwards, the students were introduced to age structure graphs. They were given population data for Germany, Haiti, and the United States. The population data was divided by age groups (0-4, 5-9, 10-14, etc. all the way to 100+). It was also divided by gender within each age group. The students created a bar graph using this data, then answered questions about the graphs they created. One of their tasks was to identify which country went with which graph (they were not given that information at the start).
Homework was to finish the age structure graphs by Friday.
Thursday - The students took the district assessment test, which was a pilot test this year. Not surprisingly, the topics on which the students did the worst were first semester topics like biochemistry. There will be a small point value assigned to this test. Homework was to complete the age structure graphs if they were not done with them yet.
Friday - I collected the age structure graphs from the students and talked to them about the results of the district assessment test. Following that, we went over the population density assignment together. Then we learned about our last two ecology concepts: the niche, and survivorship curves. Neither concept is extremely complex, and everyone seemed to have a good handle on the concepts when we were done. Finally, we watched the YouTube video "Battle at Kruger," which showed the interactions between predators and their prey in a very real, very interesting way!
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will review for finals. The students will be able to ask me any questions they have about any second semester topics. Afterwards, they will be given time to study on their own or with a partner, whichever they choose.
Tuesday - The plan is the same as Monday.
Wednesday - Final Exams for my second and third hour accelerated biology classes. The final exam for all of my classes is 165 multiple choice questions covering the following topics: Meiosis, Mendelian Genetics, Evolution, Taxonomy, Anatomy and Physiology, and Ecology.
Thursday - Final Exam for my fourth hour accelerated biology class.
Friday - Final Exam for my eighth hour accelerated biology class.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week, my geek of the week goes to all of my students who managed to make it through a whole year of accelerated freshman biology! It was not an easy road to make it to the end, and I know it. I think, however, that most of my students would tell you that they have learned a lot about biology, about being successful in school, and about how much they are capable of accomplishing when they are pushed. Have a good summer, everyone!
Another school year is coming to a close! This will be the last post of the school year. It's hard to believe that the year is actually ending. I've had a really enjoyable experience with this group of students, so it will be hard to say goodbye to them.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - No School. Thank you to all those who have served our country and paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Tuesday - We first learned a little bit about a topic called succession. There are two types of succession, both primary and secondary, which the students learned about through a PowerPoint presentation. Afterwards, they worked on a packet that had them try to relate some vocabulary words we learned during the course of the unit. There were also some questions related to succession in that packet. Homework was to finish the packet.
Wednesday - We first did a worksheet that taught students about the concept of population density, and had them calculate population density in two ways. The first was the counting method, where every individual in a given area is counted. The second was the census method, in which a few small areas within an entire habitat are chosen to be counted, and the population density is calculated from the sample taken.
Afterwards, the students were introduced to age structure graphs. They were given population data for Germany, Haiti, and the United States. The population data was divided by age groups (0-4, 5-9, 10-14, etc. all the way to 100+). It was also divided by gender within each age group. The students created a bar graph using this data, then answered questions about the graphs they created. One of their tasks was to identify which country went with which graph (they were not given that information at the start).
Homework was to finish the age structure graphs by Friday.
Thursday - The students took the district assessment test, which was a pilot test this year. Not surprisingly, the topics on which the students did the worst were first semester topics like biochemistry. There will be a small point value assigned to this test. Homework was to complete the age structure graphs if they were not done with them yet.
Friday - I collected the age structure graphs from the students and talked to them about the results of the district assessment test. Following that, we went over the population density assignment together. Then we learned about our last two ecology concepts: the niche, and survivorship curves. Neither concept is extremely complex, and everyone seemed to have a good handle on the concepts when we were done. Finally, we watched the YouTube video "Battle at Kruger," which showed the interactions between predators and their prey in a very real, very interesting way!
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will review for finals. The students will be able to ask me any questions they have about any second semester topics. Afterwards, they will be given time to study on their own or with a partner, whichever they choose.
Tuesday - The plan is the same as Monday.
Wednesday - Final Exams for my second and third hour accelerated biology classes. The final exam for all of my classes is 165 multiple choice questions covering the following topics: Meiosis, Mendelian Genetics, Evolution, Taxonomy, Anatomy and Physiology, and Ecology.
Thursday - Final Exam for my fourth hour accelerated biology class.
Friday - Final Exam for my eighth hour accelerated biology class.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week, my geek of the week goes to all of my students who managed to make it through a whole year of accelerated freshman biology! It was not an easy road to make it to the end, and I know it. I think, however, that most of my students would tell you that they have learned a lot about biology, about being successful in school, and about how much they are capable of accomplishing when they are pushed. Have a good summer, everyone!
May 29, 2011
May 29, 2011
Happy Memorial Day! I hope everyone enjoys a good hot dog or hamburger and the great outdoors this weekend.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - The students turned in their "Introduction to Ecology" packets to me.
Aftwerwards, we went over the Anatomy and Physiology test from the previous week. The results on the multiple choice portion of the test were outstanding! The lab practical proved to be a little bit more difficult; however, many students did very well on that part of the test. In comparison to previous years, the kids did very well.
Finally, we began our ecology unit in earnest by reading aloud an article called "A View From the Top of the Food Pyramid." After that, we did an activity that had the students look at how energy moves through an ecosystem, which they had to finish for homework.
Tuesday - I collected from the students their homework on energy flow in ecosystems. Then we worked on a case study to introduce the concepts of bioaccumulation and biomagnification. It was called "Tuna for Lunch," and had the students examine what happens to toxins such as mercury as they pass from one level of a food chain to the next. Your kids should be able to tell you the distinction between bioaccumulation and biomagnification after doing this activity. One neat memory trick that a student came up with was a rhyme that went something like, "Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism is single, biomagnification occurs when organisms mingle." That will make more sense to you after you ask your kids to explain the distinction if you don't already know what those two terms mean!
Wednesday - We learned about how three nutrients (carbon, nitrogen, and water) cycle through ecosystems. The activity took less time than anticipated, so we were able to move on to learn about the natural cycle between predators and their prey that occurs in nature.
We took a look at data from two real life examples (the deer of the Kaibab plateau in Arizona and the Moose of Isle Royale in Michigan) to begin our study of these cycles. Homework was to finish the analysis of the data they were presented with in the activity.
Thursday - We modeled predator/prey population cycles by doing a lab simulating populations of mice and weasels in a forest. Most groups generally got good data that showed that the population of prey always increases before the predator population, then decreases before the predator population. Homework was to finish graphing the data that was collected during the lab and to answer four questions related to the simulation. I also collected the homework from the night before.
Friday - We began class by taking a look at our data from the previous day's activity and making sure everyone was comfortable with the concept that was intended to be learned from that activity.
We then moved on to learn about symbiotic relationships such as mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, predation, and competition. Students were given descriptions of several different real life examples of these types of relationships, and then asked to identify the type of relationship described. When everyone was finished (this activity took about 15 minutes), the students checked their answers against my key.
Finally, we watched a movie that is a cautionary tale about the impact of humans on the environment, "The Lorax"! The kids loved it, and also had some pretty thought provoking questions to answer as they watched the movie.
For homework, I passed out a reading called "Lessons from the Wolf." This article was taken from a 2004 edition of Scientific American. There are several questions that go along with the reading that the students are to type their answers to using complete sentences.
Upcoming Events
Monday - NO SCHOOL! Thank you to those who have served our country, especially to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for us.
Tuesday - I will collect the answers the students typed to the questions that went with their weekend reading.
Afterwards, we will learn about succession in an ecosystem (where either a new ecosystem develops where one had never been there before, such as on a new island formed from a volcanic eruption; or one develops to replace an older ecosystem that had been destroyed, such as in Yosemite after a massive forest fire).
We will then take a look at gross and net primary productivity in an ecosystem.
Wednesday - We will begin class by learning about population density, including how it is calculated and what factors affect it. We will be then learning about how to interpret age structure graphs. After that, we will take a look at survivorships curves.
Thursday - The students will take the 55 question district assessment test. This test was designed with regular level biology students in mind, so it should be relatively easy for most students in accelerated biology. It will be worth a small number of point (no more than 20-25). The topics covered are the scientific method, biochemistry, cells, molecular genetics, evolution, and Mendelian genetics.
Friday - We will only have 28 minutes in class, so we will spend a little bit of time going over the district assessment test. Then I'll pass out the final exam review sheet to the students and look it over with them, answering any questions they might have about the final exam or any of the topics on the review sheet.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's geek of the week is Helen Chvoy. Helen is incredibly helpful to anyone who asks for her help in class. She also does a great job with her homework, labs, quizzes, and tests. Helen is one of the first people to volunteer to answer a question, especially when nobody else is willing to take a shot at it. It has been fantastic to have her as a student this year!
Other tidbits
There was a recent article in The Economist about a teacher who used a "flipped classroom" for his college class. It involved students watching video of his lectures at home that he recorded for them. Class time was then spent reinforcing those ideas and asking the students to think critically about them. The results were astounding at the university level, and many teachers on the AP Biology listserv I'm a part of are thinking about doing it in their classrooms. My only concern is that it would really add to the students' homework load, which is already very high. I'm also not sure it would be an appropriate approach for a high school freshman level course. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the concept. The article is available here: http://www.economist.com/node/18678925
I also received an e-mail from the United States Achievement Academy regarding potential scholarship grants for students in grades 6-12. Here is a section from the e-mail I received:
Events of the Past Week
Monday - The students turned in their "Introduction to Ecology" packets to me.
Aftwerwards, we went over the Anatomy and Physiology test from the previous week. The results on the multiple choice portion of the test were outstanding! The lab practical proved to be a little bit more difficult; however, many students did very well on that part of the test. In comparison to previous years, the kids did very well.
Finally, we began our ecology unit in earnest by reading aloud an article called "A View From the Top of the Food Pyramid." After that, we did an activity that had the students look at how energy moves through an ecosystem, which they had to finish for homework.
Tuesday - I collected from the students their homework on energy flow in ecosystems. Then we worked on a case study to introduce the concepts of bioaccumulation and biomagnification. It was called "Tuna for Lunch," and had the students examine what happens to toxins such as mercury as they pass from one level of a food chain to the next. Your kids should be able to tell you the distinction between bioaccumulation and biomagnification after doing this activity. One neat memory trick that a student came up with was a rhyme that went something like, "Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism is single, biomagnification occurs when organisms mingle." That will make more sense to you after you ask your kids to explain the distinction if you don't already know what those two terms mean!
Wednesday - We learned about how three nutrients (carbon, nitrogen, and water) cycle through ecosystems. The activity took less time than anticipated, so we were able to move on to learn about the natural cycle between predators and their prey that occurs in nature.
We took a look at data from two real life examples (the deer of the Kaibab plateau in Arizona and the Moose of Isle Royale in Michigan) to begin our study of these cycles. Homework was to finish the analysis of the data they were presented with in the activity.
Thursday - We modeled predator/prey population cycles by doing a lab simulating populations of mice and weasels in a forest. Most groups generally got good data that showed that the population of prey always increases before the predator population, then decreases before the predator population. Homework was to finish graphing the data that was collected during the lab and to answer four questions related to the simulation. I also collected the homework from the night before.
Friday - We began class by taking a look at our data from the previous day's activity and making sure everyone was comfortable with the concept that was intended to be learned from that activity.
We then moved on to learn about symbiotic relationships such as mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, predation, and competition. Students were given descriptions of several different real life examples of these types of relationships, and then asked to identify the type of relationship described. When everyone was finished (this activity took about 15 minutes), the students checked their answers against my key.
Finally, we watched a movie that is a cautionary tale about the impact of humans on the environment, "The Lorax"! The kids loved it, and also had some pretty thought provoking questions to answer as they watched the movie.
For homework, I passed out a reading called "Lessons from the Wolf." This article was taken from a 2004 edition of Scientific American. There are several questions that go along with the reading that the students are to type their answers to using complete sentences.
Upcoming Events
Monday - NO SCHOOL! Thank you to those who have served our country, especially to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for us.
Tuesday - I will collect the answers the students typed to the questions that went with their weekend reading.
Afterwards, we will learn about succession in an ecosystem (where either a new ecosystem develops where one had never been there before, such as on a new island formed from a volcanic eruption; or one develops to replace an older ecosystem that had been destroyed, such as in Yosemite after a massive forest fire).
We will then take a look at gross and net primary productivity in an ecosystem.
Wednesday - We will begin class by learning about population density, including how it is calculated and what factors affect it. We will be then learning about how to interpret age structure graphs. After that, we will take a look at survivorships curves.
Thursday - The students will take the 55 question district assessment test. This test was designed with regular level biology students in mind, so it should be relatively easy for most students in accelerated biology. It will be worth a small number of point (no more than 20-25). The topics covered are the scientific method, biochemistry, cells, molecular genetics, evolution, and Mendelian genetics.
Friday - We will only have 28 minutes in class, so we will spend a little bit of time going over the district assessment test. Then I'll pass out the final exam review sheet to the students and look it over with them, answering any questions they might have about the final exam or any of the topics on the review sheet.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's geek of the week is Helen Chvoy. Helen is incredibly helpful to anyone who asks for her help in class. She also does a great job with her homework, labs, quizzes, and tests. Helen is one of the first people to volunteer to answer a question, especially when nobody else is willing to take a shot at it. It has been fantastic to have her as a student this year!
There was a recent article in The Economist about a teacher who used a "flipped classroom" for his college class. It involved students watching video of his lectures at home that he recorded for them. Class time was then spent reinforcing those ideas and asking the students to think critically about them. The results were astounding at the university level, and many teachers on the AP Biology listserv I'm a part of are thinking about doing it in their classrooms. My only concern is that it would really add to the students' homework load, which is already very high. I'm also not sure it would be an appropriate approach for a high school freshman level course. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the concept. The article is available here: http://www.economist.com/node/18678925
I also received an e-mail from the United States Achievement Academy regarding potential scholarship grants for students in grades 6-12. Here is a section from the e-mail I received:
"For more than 30 years, the USAA Scholarship Foundation has recognized outstanding students because of dedicated teachers like you. The Foundation is happy to provide the students you recognized the opportunity to apply for cash grants.
It is the sole purpose of the USAA Scholarship Foundations to help students in grades 6-12 by awarding cash grants to use now or later for any educational expense.
* $40,000 in scholarship cash grants reserved for middle school students
* $40,000 in scholarship cash grants reserved for high school students
* One $10,000 Dr. George A. Stevens, Founder's Award
Choose your students based on any two of the following Standards for Selection: 3.0 minimum in your subject, motivation to learn and improve, attitude, dependability, responsibility, and leadership qualities."
There is a link provided for parents to begin the application process as well. This will allow you to apply without necessarily requiring a recommendation from me. Here is the website to apply for the scholarships: http://fs22.formsite.com/USAA/form23/index.html
May 22, 2011
May 22, 2011
I hope everyone enjoyed the great weather we had over this last weekend! Our family played a lot of baseball together and enjoyed being outside.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We watched a video in class because I was not there. The video was about reptiles and many of their adaptations, including adaptations for breathing which tied into learning about the respiratory system.
Tuesday - We reviewed the functions of the parts of the respiratory system and learned about the urinary system via a lecture about the parts of the system and what they do.
Wednesday - The students reviewed for their test on anatomy and physiology by looking at the quizzes they had taken during this unit as well as by looking at labs and homework assignments they had completed. They were able to ask me any questions that they had on anything related to those quizzes and assignments as well as about the test itself.
Thursday - The students took the 75 question multiple choice test on anatomy and physiology and did very well, for the most part. I was very impressed with their effort!
Friday - We took the lab practical portion of the test. There were 7 pigs and one calf heart set up around the room with pins in them. At each station the students had 1 minute to answer three questions about the organs the pins were placed into. While they waited for their turn or after they finished, the students were working on a packet that introduced them to some important terms and concepts related to ecology, which is our next unit. Anything in that packet that was not finished needs to be completed for homework.
Upcoming Events
Monday - I will be collecting the "Introduction to Ecology" packet from the students. After that we are going to take a look at both parts of our test on anatomy and physiology.
We will then be spending our class time working on learning about food chains and energy transfer in an ecosystem. There is an activity the students will be doing in pairs to help them learn about this topic. Our focus will be more about what happens to the energy in a food chain than on what organisms eat what other organisms. I assume that most of the students know that some kind of herbivore will eat plants, and some kind of carnivore will eat the herbivores, so I don't want to bore them. By focusing on the flow of energy through an ecosystem the students will be asked to think at a higher level than if they were just asked to identify which organism eats which other organism. A food chain and food web packet will be assigned for homework, as well.
Tuesday - The assignment that we worked on in class will be collected, while the homework will be gone over in class. Anyone who does not have the homework assignment completed, however, will be asked to step into the hallway to complete it while the rest of us go over it together.
After we have gone over the homework, the students will be doing a case study called "Tuna for Lunch?" They will be working in pairs on this assignment. The purpose of the assignment is to investigate the way in which toxins such as mercury accumulate and undergo what is called "biomagnification" as they pass up the food chain. Hopefully your children will be able to tell you what biomagnification is after having completed this assignment.
Wednesday - We will begin looking at how nutrients are cycled through an ecosystem with a jigsaw assignment. The students will be in groups of 3. One person will become an expert on the carbon cycle, one on the nitrogen cycle, and one on the water cycle. After each person has become an expert, they will teach the other members of the group about their topic. Then the students will have some questions to answer about each cycle. For homework, the students will be doing an assignment called "Ecology Cycles" to look at how other factors may cycle in an ecosystem.
Thursday - On Thursday, we will be doing a lab to look at how predator and prey populations affect one another and have a definite cycle in nature. For homework, the students will be completing an assignment called "Analyzing Ecological Relationships," where they will be asked to look at 3 different graphs and interpret the information they present.
Friday - I will collect the homework on Friday, and then we will look at a real life example of the effects of the removal of a predator (the wolf) on their prey (the deer) on the island of Kaibab.
Afterwards, the students will be introduced to symbiotic relationships. These are relationships in which two organisms live in close association with one another. The types of relationships can be mutualistic (where both organisms benefit), commensalistic (where one benefits while the other is neither hurt nor harmed), parasitic (where one organism benefits at the other's expense), competitive (where both organisms are trying to obtain the same resource), or predatory (where one organism preys on the other). After a brief introduction to these relationships, the students will be given a variety of different examples of symbiotic relationships to read about and identify.
For homework, the students will be given an article to read about the importance of the wolf to the ecosystem in Yellowstone. This article comes from the journal Scientific American. There will be several questions the students will be answering to go along with this reading. The article does an excellent job explaining how many of the organisms in Yellowstone are dependent on one another, as well as how disrupting even just one of those organisms dramatically impacts the rest.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's Geek of the Week is Hannah Kuhl. Hannah has been one of the top-performing students in class all year long, and culminated her efforts with a perfect score on the 75 question multiple choice test we took on anatomy and physiology. In addition, she earned 24 out 25 possible points on the lab practical we took on Friday, earning her high score on that part of the test as well. Way to go, Hannah!
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We watched a video in class because I was not there. The video was about reptiles and many of their adaptations, including adaptations for breathing which tied into learning about the respiratory system.
Tuesday - We reviewed the functions of the parts of the respiratory system and learned about the urinary system via a lecture about the parts of the system and what they do.
Wednesday - The students reviewed for their test on anatomy and physiology by looking at the quizzes they had taken during this unit as well as by looking at labs and homework assignments they had completed. They were able to ask me any questions that they had on anything related to those quizzes and assignments as well as about the test itself.
Thursday - The students took the 75 question multiple choice test on anatomy and physiology and did very well, for the most part. I was very impressed with their effort!
Friday - We took the lab practical portion of the test. There were 7 pigs and one calf heart set up around the room with pins in them. At each station the students had 1 minute to answer three questions about the organs the pins were placed into. While they waited for their turn or after they finished, the students were working on a packet that introduced them to some important terms and concepts related to ecology, which is our next unit. Anything in that packet that was not finished needs to be completed for homework.
Upcoming Events
Monday - I will be collecting the "Introduction to Ecology" packet from the students. After that we are going to take a look at both parts of our test on anatomy and physiology.
We will then be spending our class time working on learning about food chains and energy transfer in an ecosystem. There is an activity the students will be doing in pairs to help them learn about this topic. Our focus will be more about what happens to the energy in a food chain than on what organisms eat what other organisms. I assume that most of the students know that some kind of herbivore will eat plants, and some kind of carnivore will eat the herbivores, so I don't want to bore them. By focusing on the flow of energy through an ecosystem the students will be asked to think at a higher level than if they were just asked to identify which organism eats which other organism. A food chain and food web packet will be assigned for homework, as well.
Tuesday - The assignment that we worked on in class will be collected, while the homework will be gone over in class. Anyone who does not have the homework assignment completed, however, will be asked to step into the hallway to complete it while the rest of us go over it together.
After we have gone over the homework, the students will be doing a case study called "Tuna for Lunch?" They will be working in pairs on this assignment. The purpose of the assignment is to investigate the way in which toxins such as mercury accumulate and undergo what is called "biomagnification" as they pass up the food chain. Hopefully your children will be able to tell you what biomagnification is after having completed this assignment.
Wednesday - We will begin looking at how nutrients are cycled through an ecosystem with a jigsaw assignment. The students will be in groups of 3. One person will become an expert on the carbon cycle, one on the nitrogen cycle, and one on the water cycle. After each person has become an expert, they will teach the other members of the group about their topic. Then the students will have some questions to answer about each cycle. For homework, the students will be doing an assignment called "Ecology Cycles" to look at how other factors may cycle in an ecosystem.
Thursday - On Thursday, we will be doing a lab to look at how predator and prey populations affect one another and have a definite cycle in nature. For homework, the students will be completing an assignment called "Analyzing Ecological Relationships," where they will be asked to look at 3 different graphs and interpret the information they present.
Friday - I will collect the homework on Friday, and then we will look at a real life example of the effects of the removal of a predator (the wolf) on their prey (the deer) on the island of Kaibab.
Afterwards, the students will be introduced to symbiotic relationships. These are relationships in which two organisms live in close association with one another. The types of relationships can be mutualistic (where both organisms benefit), commensalistic (where one benefits while the other is neither hurt nor harmed), parasitic (where one organism benefits at the other's expense), competitive (where both organisms are trying to obtain the same resource), or predatory (where one organism preys on the other). After a brief introduction to these relationships, the students will be given a variety of different examples of symbiotic relationships to read about and identify.
For homework, the students will be given an article to read about the importance of the wolf to the ecosystem in Yellowstone. This article comes from the journal Scientific American. There will be several questions the students will be answering to go along with this reading. The article does an excellent job explaining how many of the organisms in Yellowstone are dependent on one another, as well as how disrupting even just one of those organisms dramatically impacts the rest.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's Geek of the Week is Hannah Kuhl. Hannah has been one of the top-performing students in class all year long, and culminated her efforts with a perfect score on the 75 question multiple choice test we took on anatomy and physiology. In addition, she earned 24 out 25 possible points on the lab practical we took on Friday, earning her high score on that part of the test as well. Way to go, Hannah!
May 15, 2011
May 15, 2011
May 15, 2011
Events of the Past Week
Monday - The first thing we did in class was take 5 minutes with our lab partners to look over our heart anatomy labs that were due. Afterwards, I chose one student's lab from each group to collect and grade. We then looked at our digestive system quizzes so that the students could figure out what they did not know that they were asked about on the quiz. Finally, we watched the movie "Hemo the Magnificent," which does a nice job of giving an overview of the heart, blood circulation, and characteristics of arteries, veins, and capillaries.
Tuesday - I lectured to the students on the circulatory system. We covered the functions of the circulatory system, the parts of blood, the anatomy and physiology of the heart, and the anatomy of blood vessels.
Wednesday - All of the freshman biology teachers were given a time grant on Wednesday to work on developing our ecology unit. Ecology is a topic we usually do not spend much time on, but given the new push globally for going green and finding renewable resources, we thought that this ought to be a topic we spend more time on in class. While we were meeting, the students were working on interpreting a graph related to the circulatory system, labeling a diagram of the heart, completing a crossword puzzle of vocabulary from the circulatory system, and working on a study guide that corresponded with their textbook on the circulatory system. For homework the students completed the study guide.
Thursday - We took a quiz on the circulatory system. Afterwards, the students completed a diagram that had them label the parts of the respiratory system, which we then checked afterwards.
Friday - We completed our final dissection of our fetal pigs! This included the parts of the respiratory system both in the mouth and the thoracic (chest) cavity, as well as the parts of the urinary system. Your kids should be able to tell what the four parts of the urinary system are and what the general function of each part is. For homework they should be completing all of the questions in the lab handout from our dissection.
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will be using our textbooks in class to review some of the anatomy and physiology of the respiratory system. Please let your children know that they need to bring their textbooks to class, as I forgot to remind them on Friday. Thank you!
Tuesday - I'll be lecturing on the anatomy and physiology of the respiratory system, including the functions of each of the parts of the respiratory system as well as the mechanics and control of breathing rate.
Wednesday - We will review for our test on Thursday. We may use our CPS system (remote control quiz setup) to do this. The test is usually relatively difficult because there is a lot of material to remember, so make sure your children start studying before Wednesday night. They should study their class notes and their lab handouts.
Thursday - The test will include approximately 75 multiple choice questions and 25 lab practical questions. The lab practical will involve 8 stations with 7 pigs and my calf heart. At each station the students will have one minute to look at various parts of the pig or heart with pins in them. There will be about 3 questions per station that either ask the students to identify a body part or tell me something about what the body part does for the organism.
Friday - We will review our test results and begin our ecology unit with a handout called "Introduction to Ecology," which the students will be completing for homework.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's geek of the week goes to Matt Faust, who works really hard at everything he does in biology. As a result, he is consistently at the top of the class on quizzes and tests. His homework and lab work are also very well done, which is probably one of the big reasons he does so well on quizzes and tests. Matt also asks very good questions in class and is not afraid to answer questions, either. Congratulations, Matt!
Events of the Past Week
Monday - The first thing we did in class was take 5 minutes with our lab partners to look over our heart anatomy labs that were due. Afterwards, I chose one student's lab from each group to collect and grade. We then looked at our digestive system quizzes so that the students could figure out what they did not know that they were asked about on the quiz. Finally, we watched the movie "Hemo the Magnificent," which does a nice job of giving an overview of the heart, blood circulation, and characteristics of arteries, veins, and capillaries.
Tuesday - I lectured to the students on the circulatory system. We covered the functions of the circulatory system, the parts of blood, the anatomy and physiology of the heart, and the anatomy of blood vessels.
Wednesday - All of the freshman biology teachers were given a time grant on Wednesday to work on developing our ecology unit. Ecology is a topic we usually do not spend much time on, but given the new push globally for going green and finding renewable resources, we thought that this ought to be a topic we spend more time on in class. While we were meeting, the students were working on interpreting a graph related to the circulatory system, labeling a diagram of the heart, completing a crossword puzzle of vocabulary from the circulatory system, and working on a study guide that corresponded with their textbook on the circulatory system. For homework the students completed the study guide.
Thursday - We took a quiz on the circulatory system. Afterwards, the students completed a diagram that had them label the parts of the respiratory system, which we then checked afterwards.
Friday - We completed our final dissection of our fetal pigs! This included the parts of the respiratory system both in the mouth and the thoracic (chest) cavity, as well as the parts of the urinary system. Your kids should be able to tell what the four parts of the urinary system are and what the general function of each part is. For homework they should be completing all of the questions in the lab handout from our dissection.
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will be using our textbooks in class to review some of the anatomy and physiology of the respiratory system. Please let your children know that they need to bring their textbooks to class, as I forgot to remind them on Friday. Thank you!
Tuesday - I'll be lecturing on the anatomy and physiology of the respiratory system, including the functions of each of the parts of the respiratory system as well as the mechanics and control of breathing rate.
Wednesday - We will review for our test on Thursday. We may use our CPS system (remote control quiz setup) to do this. The test is usually relatively difficult because there is a lot of material to remember, so make sure your children start studying before Wednesday night. They should study their class notes and their lab handouts.
Thursday - The test will include approximately 75 multiple choice questions and 25 lab practical questions. The lab practical will involve 8 stations with 7 pigs and my calf heart. At each station the students will have one minute to look at various parts of the pig or heart with pins in them. There will be about 3 questions per station that either ask the students to identify a body part or tell me something about what the body part does for the organism.
Friday - We will review our test results and begin our ecology unit with a handout called "Introduction to Ecology," which the students will be completing for homework.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's geek of the week goes to Matt Faust, who works really hard at everything he does in biology. As a result, he is consistently at the top of the class on quizzes and tests. His homework and lab work are also very well done, which is probably one of the big reasons he does so well on quizzes and tests. Matt also asks very good questions in class and is not afraid to answer questions, either. Congratulations, Matt!
May 8, 2011
May 8, 2011
May 8, 2011
Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers of my students! This is one of the nicest groups of kids I have had in my 13 years of teaching; you are obviously doing a great job with your kids.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - On Monday, we began our poster project on the digestive system. The students had to put the parts of the digestive system together like a puzzle, and then figure out which nutrients get chemically digested in which organs. Most students got as far as getting their organs cut out and glued down in the right order. Homework was to complete through question number 7 in the study guide that went with the poster project.
Tuesday - On Tuesday, we completed the poster activity. Homework was to complete any questions in the study guide that were not completed yet.
Wednesday - We reviewed the parts of the digestive system and their functions. Many of the students showed a much better grasp of the important information in the digestive system than in previous years. This was the first time I'd ever tried this particular project, and it really seemed to help! Homework was to study for the quiz on Thursday.
Thursday - We took the digestive system quiz. There were 20 multiple choice questions and 5 questions from a PowerPoint slide that was projected up on the screen in front of class.
Friday - On Friday, the kids took their pigs back out and removed the heart from them. They then cut the heart in half to see the four chambers of the heart and the wall that separates the left half from the right half of the heart.
Upcoming Events
Monday - The students will be handing in their heart anatomy labs. One lab per lab team will be collected, so the students will get 5 minutes at the beginning of class to look over everyone's labs and make sure that they are comfortable with what everyone has done before they hand them in. Afterwards, we will be watching an all-time classic biology movie, "Hemo the Magnificent." It is old, but the parts of the heart and the circulatory system have not changed, so the information is good and presented in an entertaining manner. The kids usually like this movie.
Tuesday - We will review together the parts of the heart and circulatory system, as well as all of their functions. Homework will be a worksheet with a graph of blood pressure, velocity, etc., and several questions that ask the students to interpret the graph. Having a knowledge of the circulatory system will help the students in answering the questions.
Wednesday - We will finish reviewing the parts of the circulatory system and their functions. On Tuesday, as long as Heybeck's comes through for me, I will be picking up a calf heart after school. We will take a look at that as part of our review for the quiz on Thursday. It is much bigger than the fetal pig's heart, so it is much easier to see the chambers and the valves in the heart! Homework will be to study for their quiz on the circulatory system.
Thursday - The kids will be given a 20 question multiple choice quiz on the circulatory system. Afterwards, they will fill out a sheet that will have them label the parts of the respiratory system.
Friday - We will be dissecting the respiratory and excretory systems of the fetal pig. Homework will be to complete the questions that go along with the lab.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's geek of the week is Connor Pozzi. Connor really helps keep the class loose and fun in our 8th hour class, but he also knows when it is time to get serious and work hard. Having students like Connor is really important for the overall class environment.
Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers of my students! This is one of the nicest groups of kids I have had in my 13 years of teaching; you are obviously doing a great job with your kids.
Events of the Past Week
Monday - On Monday, we began our poster project on the digestive system. The students had to put the parts of the digestive system together like a puzzle, and then figure out which nutrients get chemically digested in which organs. Most students got as far as getting their organs cut out and glued down in the right order. Homework was to complete through question number 7 in the study guide that went with the poster project.
Tuesday - On Tuesday, we completed the poster activity. Homework was to complete any questions in the study guide that were not completed yet.
Wednesday - We reviewed the parts of the digestive system and their functions. Many of the students showed a much better grasp of the important information in the digestive system than in previous years. This was the first time I'd ever tried this particular project, and it really seemed to help! Homework was to study for the quiz on Thursday.
Thursday - We took the digestive system quiz. There were 20 multiple choice questions and 5 questions from a PowerPoint slide that was projected up on the screen in front of class.
Friday - On Friday, the kids took their pigs back out and removed the heart from them. They then cut the heart in half to see the four chambers of the heart and the wall that separates the left half from the right half of the heart.
Upcoming Events
Monday - The students will be handing in their heart anatomy labs. One lab per lab team will be collected, so the students will get 5 minutes at the beginning of class to look over everyone's labs and make sure that they are comfortable with what everyone has done before they hand them in. Afterwards, we will be watching an all-time classic biology movie, "Hemo the Magnificent." It is old, but the parts of the heart and the circulatory system have not changed, so the information is good and presented in an entertaining manner. The kids usually like this movie.
Tuesday - We will review together the parts of the heart and circulatory system, as well as all of their functions. Homework will be a worksheet with a graph of blood pressure, velocity, etc., and several questions that ask the students to interpret the graph. Having a knowledge of the circulatory system will help the students in answering the questions.
Wednesday - We will finish reviewing the parts of the circulatory system and their functions. On Tuesday, as long as Heybeck's comes through for me, I will be picking up a calf heart after school. We will take a look at that as part of our review for the quiz on Thursday. It is much bigger than the fetal pig's heart, so it is much easier to see the chambers and the valves in the heart! Homework will be to study for their quiz on the circulatory system.
Thursday - The kids will be given a 20 question multiple choice quiz on the circulatory system. Afterwards, they will fill out a sheet that will have them label the parts of the respiratory system.
Friday - We will be dissecting the respiratory and excretory systems of the fetal pig. Homework will be to complete the questions that go along with the lab.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's geek of the week is Connor Pozzi. Connor really helps keep the class loose and fun in our 8th hour class, but he also knows when it is time to get serious and work hard. Having students like Connor is really important for the overall class environment.
April 30, 2011
May 1, 2011
May 1, 2011
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We took our classification quest with 35 multiple choice questions and one written question. In general the students did well on it.
Tuesday - We began our pig dissection by looking at the external anatomy of the pig, determining if they were male or female, and finding a salivary gland. Some groups began cutting open the abdominal cavity and finding some of the organs in the abdominal cavity.
Wednesday - No school for freshmen while our sophomores took a practice ACT exam and our juniors took the real thing. This was day one of the PSAE exam which our school's success or failure in meeting the standards set by No Child Left Behind is measured.
Thursday - School started late as our sophomores took a practice WorkKeys test and our juniors took the real thing. This was day two of the PSAE exam. This test is designed by the state using the state standards in science, math, and English as a guide. The science exam, for example, contains questions from biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics.
Friday - We completed our dissection of the digestive system of the fetal pig. The lab questions will be due on Monday. In addition, each lab team needs to bring one posterboard, their textbooks, and colored pencils or markers to class for Monday.
Upcoming Events
Monday - The students will be doing a group project that is designed to be a hands-on way for them to learn the parts of the digestive system and their functions. They will have to put the parts of the digestive system together like a puzzle and then answer several questions about the digestive system. I believe it will take two days of class time to complete, but that is an estimate because this is the first time we will be trying this project in one of my classes.
Tuesday - We will finish the digestive system project on Tuesday.
Wednesday - We will review the functions of all of the parts of the digestive system with a PowerPoint presentation I have put together.
Thursday - On Thursday the students will be taking a quiz on the digestive system. There will be twenty multiple choice questions and five questions that will involve the students looking at pictures of the fetal pig's digestive system and identifying organs or answering questions about the functions of organs in the picture.
This will help me assess the students' progress in their dissections, as well as prepare them for their test at the end of the unit, which will include stations set up around the room with the fetal pigs. The students will have 1 minute per station to answer 2-3 questions about different parts of each pig.
Friday - We will begin studying the circulatory system by dissecting the thoracic cavity of the fetal pig to look at its heart. This will include removing the heart in order to look at the internal anatomy, which essentially the same as the internal anatomy of our hearts.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's geek of the week is Susan Szuch. Susan is an incredibly kind, honest young lady who has been a positive contributor to class all year long. She did well on her classification quest and worked really hard on her pig dissection this week. Good job, Susan!
Events of the Past Week
Monday - We took our classification quest with 35 multiple choice questions and one written question. In general the students did well on it.
Tuesday - We began our pig dissection by looking at the external anatomy of the pig, determining if they were male or female, and finding a salivary gland. Some groups began cutting open the abdominal cavity and finding some of the organs in the abdominal cavity.
Wednesday - No school for freshmen while our sophomores took a practice ACT exam and our juniors took the real thing. This was day one of the PSAE exam which our school's success or failure in meeting the standards set by No Child Left Behind is measured.
Thursday - School started late as our sophomores took a practice WorkKeys test and our juniors took the real thing. This was day two of the PSAE exam. This test is designed by the state using the state standards in science, math, and English as a guide. The science exam, for example, contains questions from biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics.
Friday - We completed our dissection of the digestive system of the fetal pig. The lab questions will be due on Monday. In addition, each lab team needs to bring one posterboard, their textbooks, and colored pencils or markers to class for Monday.
Upcoming Events
Monday - The students will be doing a group project that is designed to be a hands-on way for them to learn the parts of the digestive system and their functions. They will have to put the parts of the digestive system together like a puzzle and then answer several questions about the digestive system. I believe it will take two days of class time to complete, but that is an estimate because this is the first time we will be trying this project in one of my classes.
Tuesday - We will finish the digestive system project on Tuesday.
Wednesday - We will review the functions of all of the parts of the digestive system with a PowerPoint presentation I have put together.
Thursday - On Thursday the students will be taking a quiz on the digestive system. There will be twenty multiple choice questions and five questions that will involve the students looking at pictures of the fetal pig's digestive system and identifying organs or answering questions about the functions of organs in the picture.
This will help me assess the students' progress in their dissections, as well as prepare them for their test at the end of the unit, which will include stations set up around the room with the fetal pigs. The students will have 1 minute per station to answer 2-3 questions about different parts of each pig.
Friday - We will begin studying the circulatory system by dissecting the thoracic cavity of the fetal pig to look at its heart. This will include removing the heart in order to look at the internal anatomy, which essentially the same as the internal anatomy of our hearts.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's geek of the week is Susan Szuch. Susan is an incredibly kind, honest young lady who has been a positive contributor to class all year long. She did well on her classification quest and worked really hard on her pig dissection this week. Good job, Susan!
Finally, this is the time of year when summer internship/job/learning opportunities start coming in for me. For those students who might be interested in the environmental sciences and green technologies, there is a summer camp available at Northern Illinois University. It sounds exciting and I wish I could take part in it myself! The description from their website says, "Get ready to play at the farm, in the forest, and with green technologies. Participants in this year’s Environment and Sustainability Camp will dig into today’s efforts to address environmental challenges and improve sustainable practices. Campers will test water quality, experiment with alternative fuels, and visit a local sustainable farm, among other green activities. Professors of anthropology, geology, biology, geography, and technology will help students get dirty while working for a cleaner, more sustainable future."
Here is a link where with that description and more information about the program: http://www.niu.edu/clasep/camps/science/index.shtml
Have a good week!
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