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October 31, 2005
All students should be taking notes and trying to find out all that they can about their chosen topic. Most topics have many variables to consider and develop into an investigation.
At least 15 note cards and 4 bibliography are due for a check on Friday, Nov. 4th. You should begin to think of a question that you want to answer with a controlled experiment that you plan. I will be asking for your experiment plans in about a week. We will discuss the elements of good design in class.
Any students, who are having trouble with the research or topic selection, should plan to stay after school on Tuesday for help. Let me know that you are staying and plan to have a ride to pick you up by 5:15.
Posted by Carroll at 07:30 PM
Today students were evaluated on the genetics objectives that are found in chapter 3. Tests have been scored and will be posted by tomorrow along with several other recent assignments.
If you were absent on Friday, students reviewed for the test by doing the end of chapter questions. You do not have to make up this assignment, but you do need to do the reading skill activity that we also did on Friday.
Class assignment from Friday: Read one or several of the articles found in the Your World biothechnology magazine and list at least three inferences that you have from the reading. State the evidence from the article that led to your inference and explain your thinking. This is the
Posted by Carroll at 07:22 PM
Just a Reminder...Please complete the paperwork for the Jekyll field trip. The three forms (included in the registration packet that was part of the conference folder) need to be completed and turned in along with a copy of the front and back of your child's insurance card. These four items are needed for you to be eligible to make your trip date selection. Trip 2 is filling up fast and may close out soon. Remember that Mrs. Rosengren in the front office will notarize the forms for us and that insurance is available to purchase for the trip (less than $15)if you do not have a card that shows that your child is covered by insurance.
I hope that you will allow your child to participate in this fun learning experience. There were so many times that our experiences on Jekyll were brought up during the remainder of the year that I lost count.
There will be a parent meeting and more detailed information about what to pack, etc. as we get closer to our trip date.
Please let me know if you have any concerns or questions.
Posted by Carroll at 07:12 PM
October 26, 2005
The chapter 3 genetics test has been re-scheduled for Monday instead of Friday. I hope that you use the extra time to make sure that you are prepared.
Students who did not make a B(80) or better on the last test must do workbook pages 27-38 and show them to me by Thursday.
All students should bring their workbook to class tomorrow, Thursday.
Today we watched a video about meiosis and took a video quiz for review. Congratulations to Megan, Jonathan, Danielle and any others who made a 100 or 95 on this fun (and difficult) quiz! Third period will finish the Video review quiz tomorrow.
Here are a few notes from the video to help you distinguish mitosis from meiosis.
Posted by Carroll at 04:43 PM
October 24, 2005
For homework tonight (10/24), read about protein synthesis on pages 107-112 and do the lesson review questions (1-5) on page 112. Answer in complete sentences so that the question is understood.
Chapter 3 Test (Genetics part 1) will be on Friday, Oct. 28. So start reviewing now! Students who made less than a B on the last test need to do workbook pages 27-38 by Thursday. A and B students probably already are doing these pages.
There will be no article summaries due this week because you should be reading and taking notes for your science research project.
Posted by Carroll at 05:31 PM
Students visited the Mabry Media Center for a day of research on Monday, 10/24.
Due Nov. 4th: At least 4 bibliography cards and 15 note cards
You should be working outside of class during the next few weeks to find information about your topic to help you write the "background" part of your report and to help you find a question to answer with an experiment. You will also be reviewing resources and taking notes to help with your experimental design.
Many students seemed behind schedule today and need to re-read the Friday (10/21) handouts to better understand the goal of scientific research. I will be happy to discuss your ideas with you after you have learned something about your topic. Keep digging and thinking.
Remember to pick a topic that interests you.
Posted by Carroll at 05:09 PM
October 21, 2005
Check out these links to learn more about DNA. It is a Trackstar link and you will want to visit each site. I have included several games. Which site is your favorite?
Posted by Carroll at 07:11 AM
Conference Week has been a pleasure this year. My students are interesting and wonderful individuals and they have strong and caring parents supporting them. It is useful to have the insight that parents offer about their children as we work together to maximize the educational opportunities for each one. Communication is so important as we progress through the school year. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you have concerns. Thank you parents!
In our shortened classes this week, we have been working on understanding how specific traits are passed from parents to offspring. We have learned how to use Punnett squares to explore the probability of possible outcomes in cases where traits are controlled by a single pair of alleles using examples from Spong Bob and the Bikini Bottom gang. We have also worked through some cases of imcomplete dominance and discussed codominance. Check out our Smiley Family Portraits to see the many outcomes that could arise from Mr. and Mrs. Smiley.
Posted by Carroll at 05:37 AM
October 20, 2005
Here are several links to help you with your independent study topic selection process.
Project topics are due to me on Friday. We will begin taking notes on note cards in the media center on Monday. Plan ahead and have your index cards with you on Monday. You should also have a new logbook to use for your independent study project by the end of next week.
Posted by Carroll at 09:39 AM
October 17, 2005
For homework due this Thursday, 10/20, please read and summarize a science news article that is about research in one of our GA universities. Here are a few sites to check. Most have a research link...look for articles about what science research is happening at that school.
Georgia Institute of Technology
Remember to include the citation for your source on your summary.
Posted by Carroll at 05:55 PM
October 11, 2005
Monday students corrected their tests from Friday and analyzed the errors. When finished, students worked on creating an oragimi model of DNA. This acitvity is found on a great site called DNA interactive. Some students have asked "How did scientists figure out the shape of DNA?". See if you can find the answer as you examine the timeline feature on this site.
For homework, students were asked to read section 1 in chapter 3.
Posted by Carroll at 06:42 AM
October 06, 2005
The test Friday 10/7 has questions from our past several weeks of study. Most of the information is in chapter 2 and one section of chapter 1. Some questions will come from our class activities. Review your study guide that we went over in class today and your workbook.
Here is a list the text pages and some of the things that you have done during this unit to learn about cells and their activities:
Section 1-3 (pages 34-41)Cell structures and their functions
-cell art
-cell analogies
-WB pages 10-11
-online review
This site has an interactive review of plant and animal cells.
Section 2-1 (pages 52-55) Chemical Compounds in Cells
- WB pages 15-17 and Skill --Table
-Molecular model activities and worksheets: #10 (carbohydrates), #11 (lipids), and #12 (proteins)
Section 2-2 The Cell in Its Environment (pages 56-60)
- Remember our egg-speriment lab and report
Do the WB pages 17-19 for extra practice if you have time.
Section 2-3 on Photosynthesis and Section 2-4 on Respiration (pages 61-70)
-Compare and Contrast table and paragraph
Do the workbook pages 19-23 if you have time.
Section 2-5 Cell Division (pages 72-79)
-Modeling mitosis activity and questions handout
-Online onion root tip lab and viewing prepared slides with microscopes
-Two column note on the cell cycle
Remember to check out the resources on an earlier post of the blog.
- 2 optional coloring worksheets on The Cell Cycle and Mitosis - Bring these to class tomorrow for a few bonus points on your test.
Posted by Carroll at 05:22 PM
Remember that there is a test this Friday and that you have a science news article summary due on Thursday.
Monday 10/3 - Online onion root tips lab: What percent the life cycle of root tip cells is spent in interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telphase? Identify the stage of cells and calculate the percentage. Also- view prepared slides of onion root tips (cs and ls) using a microscope. Draw a cell in each of the above stages.
HW- workbook pages 26-29 (sec. 2-5).
Tuesday 10/4- Finish the cell cycle modeling activity and questions. Answer questions during lab. Cell cycle and mitosis color sheets available as an optional activity.
Wednesday 10/5 - Check and correct answers to the modeling activity. Begin working on your study guide for the test.
Posted by Carroll at 05:48 AM
