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September 29, 2006
Here is the assignment that we worked on in class today. Read and study pages 65-69 to learn more about respiration. Your organizer and summary should be completed by Monday.
Compare and Contrast photo:resp.doc
Also, take some time this weekend to explore your other possible park research questions using the format that we used in the media center on Thursday.
Posted by carroll at 06:11 PM
September 28, 2006
DEAR time was today with a continued emphasis on the skill of understanding conclusions.
We also corrected Test 2 and watched part of a DVD on Photosynthesis. We will finish the video and lesson on photosynthesis tomorrow.
For homework tonight, READ and STUDY pages 61-65.
Our guiding questions:
What happens during photosynthesis? How do chloroplasts function to store energy for a cell?
Standards: S7L2-Describe the structure and function of cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems.
S7L2.a Explain that cells take in nutrients in order to grow and divide and to make needed materials.
S7L2.b Relate cell structures to basic cell functions
Our grass-heads are looking great! We will analyze the data on Monday or Tuesday of next week.
Posted by carroll at 05:26 PM
September 26, 2006
Today EQ: If cells are the building blocks of life, what are the building blocks of cells?
In class today, we used molecular models to learn about carbohydrates, one of the four types of organic compounds found in living things. Students completed a lesson worksheet and should have it in their binders.
Tomorrow our class will visit the media center to work on finding a research focus question for independent study projects this year. Students should have several questions from last Thursday's assignment in the park to use as a starting point.
For homework tonight, write down at least three interesting questions that are suitable for research that is connected to Sweat Mountain Park.
Posted by carroll at 06:19 PM
September 25, 2006
Here is a fun way to review those organelles ...again.
It took me a while to figure it out, but I got better at the end. I bet you can beat my score of over 3 minutes.
Posted by carroll at 05:39 PM
The Duke TIP registration information was distributed to all students in gifted/AC classes in 7th grade. Any students who are interested in taking the SAT or ACT as 7th graders need to pay attention to the registration deadlines for the various tests.
The postmark deadline for the Dec. test date is Oct. 2, 2006. and the final postmark deadline for all other test dates is Nov. 1, 2006.
Posted by carroll at 05:09 PM
Today students visited the Connect 2 Science site at Mabry's Global Learning Collaborative to learn about this interesting opportunity and to read Dr. Berry's post. We had a short lesson about how to write interview questions that might be appropriate for posting on the site.
Connect 2 Science
For homework tonight: Write three quality interview questions and also tell why you would like to be a student author for this project.
The remainder of class was devoted to gaining an understanding of the types of chemical compounds that are in living things. We began working on an activity about carbohydrates using molecular models. We will continue with this tomorrow.
Our grass heads are just beginning to show tiny roots and tomorrow we will be sorting them into two groups per class- an experimental and a control group. Each class will come up with a research question.
Posted by carroll at 05:03 PM
Grades were updated this weekend. Several students have missing assignments. This is unacceptable and very damaging to your average. Please make arrangements to stay after school from 4:20-5:00 on Tuesday (9/26) and Thursday (9/28) to work on the missing assignments.
I will update the grade report with the Egg-speriment as I finish each class. Please check for updates.
Posted by carroll at 09:27 AM
September 21, 2006
Remember that your Egg-speriment reports are due tomorrow. See the earlier post for details.
If you have craft supplies to donate for our grass-head activity, please remember to bring them in tomorrow.
The Grass-Heads are our fun link to our photosynthesis studies. We will create them beginning tomorrow.
Posted by carroll at 05:55 PM
Today was a great day for our second visit to Sweat Mountain Park. The weather was perfect and our outing was fun. During our first visit, students recorded observations and made inferences. For the second trip to the park and the second step in our research process, students were asked to come up with several questions for research. It is hoped that these questions will lead to interesting and significant studies. Sometimes this is the most difficult aspect of research--- deciding the question. We will continue our research and question finding next Wednesday with a visit to the media center.
“If we would have new knowledge, we must get a whole world of new questions.”
Susan Langer
“To be able to ask a question clearly is two-thirds of the way to getting it answered.”
John Ruskin
“The important thing is not to stop questioning.”
Albert Einstein
“The reward for working one’s way through the known is to find a new question on the other side, formulated in a new way.”
Jerome Bruner
Posted by carroll at 05:33 PM
September 19, 2006
Tomorrow there is a test over cell parts and their functions. You should also be able to compare plant, animal, and bacteria cells. See pages 34-42 in your text to review. Are all the cells in an animal (like humans) alike? What about plants, are all their cells alike? So... what are specialized cells and why are they only found in multicellular organisms?
Here is a link to one of the sites that we used in class today to review the parts of cells.
Today, students received the following handout that gives more details about how to write the lab report that is due on Friday.
egg report.doc
Here is the link to the graphing site.
Posted by carroll at 05:27 PM
September 18, 2006
Why did the egg change in mass and circumference in some soaking solutions and not in others?
Students worked on analysis of results from last week's experiment today in class.
In your journal:
1. Create an organized table of your data.
2. Graph your data. Use a ruler; be neat.
3. Describe your results using one or more paragraphs.
4. Explain what you think your data mean. Use diagrams to help with your explanation.
Your final report should be typed and is due on Friday at the beginning of class. Your write-up of the lab should be in your journal and complete by Friday as well.
For homework tonight, complete the three sections of the handout that deal with membrane transport.
Posted by carroll at 04:57 PM
September 15, 2006
How do plant, animal, and bacteria cells compare?
Classwork- create a Venn diagram to analyze and compare the characteristics of plant cells, animal cells, and bacteria cells. See your text pages 34-42 and 192-194 to find details to include in your comparison. Next, write a paragraph to summarize what you have learned.
Homework- Read about the cell in it's environment (pages 56-60). This is section 2 in chapter 2. We will begin the analysis of your egg data on Monday and I will explain what you should include in your report that is due on Friday, Sept.20. (See the rubric on the back of your lab handout.)
There will be a test over cell parts and functions on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
We had some great Job Descriptions and Want Ads turned in today! I am looking forward to evaluating them.
We said goodbye to our eggs today. Today was fun, pretty messy, interesting, and a little disgusting. We made many interesting observations that will be shared in our reports next week.
Posted by carroll at 06:51 PM
September 13, 2006
Link here for the assignment. Remember your login? It is the same as the lesson/activity on cell size. The quick link is 248.
For homework, students should prepare a first draft of a want ad or job description for their team's organelle. It should be typed and ready for editing in class. The final product is due on Friday.
Remember each person should do only one of the assignments...the job description or the want ad.
Here is a sample want ad that I found online; it is adapted from the work of a student in South Lake, TX. Can you guess the organelle?
“Looking for a great opportunity to lead? Do you enjoy making decisions for others? Is guidance your strong point? If so, we are seeking to fill a managerial position. We are in need of a control center for a cell. Must be able to operate a cell. Should have solid experience reading and de-coding DNA. Should exhibit strong leadership skills. Benefits include: placement in low-stress arm cells, long life guaranteed...you don't die; you just divide and multiply! If interested contact The Body at 817-8WE-CELL.”
Your want ad should be created with a 2.5 in wide space for the text. Change your margins or create a text box for your ad. We will try to piece our ads together to make a "page from the newspaper" to post in the room. Do not include the name of your organelle in the ad so other students can try to figure out which one it is.
Your grade will be determined by how well you communicate what you have learned about your organelle. See the rubric below.
Tomorrow is DEAR time in science and we will spend some time finishing our egg-speriment on membrane transport. Remember to bring in the last soaking liquid for your egg.
Posted by carroll at 06:19 PM
September 12, 2006
Use the above link to get to the list of sites that I have collected for your research on cell organelles. You should become very familiar with your selected cell structure so that you will be able to complete the activities, including writing a job description. We will work on this assignment during class tomorrow.
Posted by carroll at 06:42 PM
September 11, 2006
Today you will complete a web lesson that will be launched from the following site.
Why are cells so small?
You will get a copy of the handout in class.
Please finish this assignment for homework if you do not finish it during class today.
Posted by carroll at 07:39 AM
September 07, 2006
Wednesday in class we watched a quirky DVD about the various parts of a cell. Students created a three column table to compare the parts of cells that included the cell part, structure of description, and functions using information from the video and the book. We will complete this assignment later this week. This information will not be evaluated on Friday's test. We also used some props in class as analogies for the cell parts. Can you think of another good analogy for a particular cell part? Do you know what types of cells are we using to learn about the organelles...was that prokaryote or eukaryote?
Our focus question: What are the parts of cells and their functions?
EQ: Why are some parts of cells called organelles and others are not?
DEAR on Thursday. We will continue to find examples of cause and effect in our reading.
You have a TEST on Friday so study.
Posted by carroll at 07:14 AM
Wednesday in class we watched a quirky DVD about the various parts of a cell. Students created a three column table to compare the parts of cells that included the cell part, structure of description, and functions using information from the video and the book. We will complete this assignment later this week. This information will not be evaluated on Friday's test. We also used some props in class as analogies for the cell parts. Can you think of another good analogy for a particular cell part? Do you know what types of cells are we using to learn about the organelles...was that prokaryote or eukaryote?
Our focus question: What are the parts of cells and their functions?
EQ: Why are some parts of cells called organelles and others are not?
DEAR on Thursday. We will continue to find examples of cause and effect in our reading.
You have a TEST on Friday so study.
Posted by carroll at 07:14 AM
Science journals were recently evaluated. Here is some feedback about grading. Grades will be posted today.
Posted by carroll at 07:00 AM
September 05, 2006
Please prepare for your test on Friday. Here are some items that will be included.
Sept. 8th Science Test
- Chapter 1 concepts on pages 17-33 (pay attention to vocabulary in these sections)
- Characteristics and needs of living things – handout and notes
- Development of the Cell Theory- Notes
- Parts and use of a microscope, questions on magnification – see page 802 for a diagram, “How to use a Microscope”, “How big is that cell?”
- Comparison of light microscopes and electron microscopes
- Experimental Design: Independent (manipulated) and dependent (responding) variables, controlled variables (constants), controls (no treatment and experimenter selected), levels of the independent variable, repetition of trials, hypothesis, conclusion.
- Safety rules and symbols - see handouts in your notebook
There is no homework due tomorrow.
Posted by carroll at 05:07 PM
September 01, 2006
Classes visited Sweat Mountain Park today to make and record observations and inferences. We are fortunate to have a such a nice natural park space that is adjacent to and shared by our school property. In class we have been learning about the scientists who made observations that were instrumental in the development the Cell Theory. These naturalists were fascinated by the natural world around them and made many observations of everyday things. Today students gathered a few items to view and learned how to use the stereoscopes. You would be surprised to see how interesting a butterfly wing appears when maginfied. Acorns, mushrooms, pinestraw, rocks, insect larvae, leaves, etc. were all objects of study today. As we continue with our study of the habits of scientists, it will be interesting to see what interesting questions arise in my classes for experimentation and research.
The record of student observations, inferences, and questions was collected for a classwork grade.
There is no homework for this weekend. Have a great holiday everyone!
Posted by carroll at 05:51 PM
