Tuesday

Today did not go as planned, but we just changed plans a little. The goal was to practice measuring using the metric system and then correct our invertebrate chart. However, the measuring took longer than I had anticipated, which is fine, but we will not grade the chart until Thursday. I am having the student put the chart in their notebook so it will be safe. This is an advantage to those who didn't get the chart finished.

We are measuring using the Standard English system and the S.I. system. We have pictures of different invertebrates to measure. Since S.I. is used in Science, it is important that the students are as comfortable with S.I. as they are with the Standard English system. We will be doing this all year long.

I will be gone tomorrow afternoon and so the students will be watching a movie about Reptiles and Amphibians, as that is our next unit. Students will have a sheet to answer questions about the movie. On Thursday we will grade the invertebrate chart and finish up on Bacteria and Fungi. There are lots of food made from these two kingdoms and we will be doing some tasting.

Monday

Many students turned in their make-up test today. I should have those graded and in the system by Tuesday.

In class the students filled out a chart while studying about invertebrates. Those who did not finish the chart in class have it as homework tonight. Not all of the information is in the book, but what is there, they are expected to add to the chart. I will help them fill in the blanks tomorrow as we learn more about symmetry and circulation. Anyone who is is worried about their chart can see me before school, during SSR, during lunch or after school today for a little help.

I will be gone in the afternoon on Wednesday. The students will have a movie and a quiz to take during the movie. I am not worried about behavior, but just in case someone decides to be unkind to my substitute, they will receive a zero for the day. I am not worried about any of the students, just a word to the wise.

Thursday

The test is over, graded and handed back. The students received a paper attached to their test for parents to read, sign, date and return no later than Monday. (if it comes in Monday the student gets 10 points.) The paper explains how to fix their test and receive half credit for every question they fix. The questions must be in a complete sentence. Punctuation and spelling must be accurate. I must be able to read it, and most importantly, the answers must be correct. I will re-grade the papers and hopefully the grade will improve.

If this paper is not to me at the beginning of class on Monday, then I will not take it. This is an opportunity for the student to learn some things he/she didn't learn the first time around. The purpose is for learning. The extra points are for encouragement.

Today we learned about protists and how they move. Take a look at the links on the right for a few youtube videos on Protists.

Wednesday

We took our first test today. Yesterday I begged the students to write down any questions or answers that they didn't know. It is clear which students did that and which did not. Some did very well, others did not.

However, there is an escape from a poor grade. Students will be allowed to take their tests home tomorrow. Then, for every question that they missed, they must write a complete sentence with the correct answer. They will receive half of the ponts they missed and that will be added to their score. If the paper is returned without complete sentences, they will receive no points. If the answers are wrong, they will receive no points. This plan enables the student to learn the material he did not get at first and to improve their score. This paper will be due on Monday - no excuses.

Tuesday - test tomorrow

Today we finished the movie on seeds and handed in the seed movie paper. Students had their Six Characteristics of Life rubrick returned to them and their pre-test. You may notice a lot of spelling, punctuation, capitalization and handwriting corrections on each page. Science requires exactness and I hope to help the students learn to be precise in their work.

We spent the last half of the period reviewing for the test. Students were told to write down the question and answer of any of the test questions that they did not know immediately. They were also encouraged to take their book and notebook home tonight to study.

Monday

We corrected Thursday's work and then immediately began watching a movie about seeds. The movie shows the many different ways seeds are transferred from place to place. We will finish the movie tomorrow and then begin to prepare for our test on Plants and Seeds A1-A35. The students have been encouraged to take their notes and books home so they can study for the test.

For the review, we will go over every question of the test. The student will be allowed to take notes on the review. The test will be on Wednesday.

Thursday

Today each team worked together to answer the questions on pgs A34-A35. They were allowed to work with their book opened and talk about the answers. Anyone who did not complete the assignment must finish it at home. Now, a warning, questions 16-20 are difficult. If the student does their best to complete these with thought out answers, they will receive full points. They might have to explain to me where they are coming from, but if it makes any sense at all, it will get full points. This has been explained to the students.

This paper will be corrected first thing Monday morning. After that we will watch a movie on seeds that will last into part of Tuesday. We will then review for the test. The test on A1-A35 will be given on Wednesday unless something interferes. So plan on a test on Wednesday. We will review every question on Tuesday and the students will be allowed to write the questions and answers down to study.

Wednesday

Today we reviewed the last plant division, gymnosperms. These include conifers, cycads, gingko biloba and gnetophytes. We then took apart a pine cone to find the seeds inside.

Homework tonight is to read A22-A33.

Tuesday

Today we reviewed bryophytes and learned about ferns and horsetails. Did you know the pioneers used horsetails to scrub their pots and pans? We learned about sporophytes and gametophytes which are how plants reproduce. We did an experiment, one with moss and one with celery. This allowed us to observe how non-vascular and vascular plants transfer water and nutrients in different ways.

There is no homework tonight although if any student has any pine cones that we could dissect, they could bring those tomorrow.

Monday

Today we learned about angiosperms, plants with enclosed seeds. Angiosperms are the only plants with flowers. The angiosperm breaks into two groups, dicots and monocots. After learning about the differences we went to the lab and tried to identify the differences.

There was no homework tonight.

Thursday

We are ending the week by learning about the classification system. Did you know that there only used to be two kingdoms, Plants and Animals? Now there are five, or six depending on the author. We have Animals, Plants, Monera (which sometimes is divided into two kingdoms, eubactera and archaebacteria) Protist and Fungus.

Today we learned the differences between the plant and animal kingdom. The students looked at different pictures and the captions from the book and, as a team, decided what characteristics the animals and plants had. Then we made patterns from monocot and dicot leaves so the students could tell the difference. We also drew pictures of a moss plant.

Homework: each student is to bring a leaf for Monday (if they forget till they arrive at school, the school grounds have many plants with leaves :))

Wednesday

Welcome to Back to school night. Today we made our Six Characteristics of Life poster. The students worked hard and we got them done by the end of class. They have homework tonight. They are to ready A6-A18. They need to pay special attention to the pictures and the captions. Hope you have a good evening.

September 8th

Welcome to my blog. This is a place for students and parents to find out what is going on in school. I write daily, unless the Internet is down at school or something goes haywire. Hope you enjoy the site.

Homework for tonight is getting a picture or two for our Six Characteristics of Life Poster. This is a team project and the teams assigned out the pictures.