Monday - fix your test

Today in class we did an experiment. We poured blue water, babyoil, corn syrup and corn oil in a beaker and watched as the liquids changed positions according to density. We discussed matter, mass, density and physical properties. Then the students had 15 minutes to work on their homework E15 1-5.

Students also had their tests returned and have until tomorrow to get the tests made up. They must do the test makeup on a separate piece of paper. Only do the questions that are wrong. Put the question number, if there is a letter answer put that next. Do not write the questions, but do write complete sentence answers. These makeup tests are due at the beginning of class. If they are not turned in at the beginning of class, no credit will be given.

6th and 8th graders have the Direct Math Assessment on Wednesday morning. 7th graders have the Direct Writing Assessment on Tuesday morning. Please make sure your student has had a good night's sleep and eats a good breakfast on those days. It really helps them.

Tuesday - Test Day

The class took its Science Test today. I will have the grades in, hopefully, at the end of the day. On Monday I will give the tests back to the students and they can correct and make up their test -according to the instructions they have been given. It will be due on Tuesday at the start of class.

On Monday we will start reading in Section E and begin Physical Science. There is no homework over the holidays.

Parents, if your student is having a difficult time with the reading assignments, do team reading. Sit down with them and have both of you read aloud together. This helps the student hear the word, read the word and allows them to learn better.

Monday of Thanksgiving week

We only have two days of school this week, Monday and Tuesday. Today we reviewed for the Science test which will be on Tuesday. We went over every question and the students were instructed to write down any they didn't know. The questions were repeated at least five times (it is part of a game we play to review) so the students should have enough time to write them down. Students were also encouraged to take their Science Journals home tonight so they can study for the test.

Any student who will not be here tomorrow was told to come in after school during learning stations and they will be allowed to take the test.

There is a game in my links called Cells, Quia, All About Cells. It is also on Quia.com. This game should help students practice for the cell part of the test.

Thursday

Just as a heads up, we are having our test on Tuesday. It will cover B1-B125. Some of the things the students should know are the differences between a population, community and ecosystem. They need to understand the organelles of a cell, a little bit of meiosis and mitosis, biomes, and the standard question - what is a hypothesis.

Today we reviewed all of these areas and Monday we will specifically review the test. Students handed in their Human Genetic paper that they worked on with their families last night. Grades are up, minus the Human Genetics assignment.

Thanksgiving break begins after school on Tuesday. So we have Wednesday and Thursday off of school. If your family will be gone on Tuesday the students need to take the test during remediation or after school on Monday. If the student waits until the following Monday, they might not do as well.

Wednesday - test next Tuesday

Today we checked our experiment of the eggs and found that the egg in the corn syrup had lost water, while the eggs in the green water and the salt water had gained water. We talked about osmosis and diffusion. In class we watched a video and then started on today's homework. Students have a worksheet and will be asking their parents, brothers and sisters about specific dominant traits. It should be fun, but it is homework and needs to be turned in tomorrow. Monday we will be reviewing for the test and Tuesday will be the test for this unit.

Monday and Punnett Squares

Gregor Mendel, an Austrian Monk was curious why all brothers and sisters do not look the same. He began experimenting with plants learned how different traits are passed on to their offspring. We discussed this in class today. Then we made a punnett square and learned how traits can be inherited. We talked about pureblood plants and hybrid plants, about dominant traits and recessive traits. We also discussed George Washington Carver, a professor at Tuskagee Institute in Alabama. When the boll weevil destroyed the cotton plant, Carver convinced the farmers to plant peanuts and sweet potatoes. The crops were successful and the farmers were saved. We also discussed Luther Burbank who cross bred many different plants. Reading should move forward to pages B84-B95

Thursday

Teams, organizations, and re-take pictures were taken today. In Science students drew a cell and wrote the parts of the cell. We watched a short video on mitosis. Students have homework of reading to page B95.

Third hour finished their oral reports. Students who did not turn in their reports on time, unless for reason of extended illness, will only earn 60% of the grade.

Go to the Mitosis link under Favorite Links to watch mitosis occur.

Wednesday - picture retakes tomorrow

Students gave their reports today. We are not done yet, but we are getting there. Some of the posters were works of art and the information given by the students was very interesting. We will finish the reports tomorrow.

Tomorrow is picture re-take day during first hour. If you want your picture redone you must bring the pictures you want to exchange them for. You also must pay at the time of the picture taking. There will also be pictures taken for the teams, choir, band etc.

It is likely that our next test will be November 24th.

Tuesday - Reports and poster are due tomorrow

We started class with a couple of experiments about osmosis, diffusion, passive transport and active transport. First we opened a container of perfume. Students were asked to raise their hands when they could smell the perfume as it diffused through the room. We talked about molecules moving from areas of high concentration to areas of lower concentration. Then we had all the students move into a tight huddle at the front of the classroom. We talked about how they wanted to move further away from the huddle - just as the perfume molecules wanted to diffuse and move to an area of lower concentration.

Next we put a tea bag and sand in warm water. After 15 minutes we observed that that the tea - through passive transport had moved out of the tea bag, but the sand hadn't moved into the tea bag because there needed to be active transport, energy, to move the sand into the bag.

Our last experiment was putting 3/4 cup of water in two separate beakers. To one we added 15 grams of salt and a slice of potato. To the other we added only the slice of potato. After 20 minutes we took out the potato and noticed that osmosis caused the potato in the salt water to lose water, it was very bendable. The water in the potato left the potato to balance with the salt water. The potato in the plain water was still firm.

Veterans assembly is tomorrow at 10:40. Thursday morning will be picture retakes.

Monday

There was a sign outside the classroom door this morning reminding all students to bring their biomes and that the report is due on Wednesday. I am sure it helped with some students. Some still forgot. We worked on the biomes and fixing the cell organelle quiz for the first half of class. During the second half of class we discussed the importance of nutrition. I found some good information on mypyramid.gov to help the students understand how much of each category they should eat.

Remember the final animal paper and poster are due on Wednesday at the beginning of each class.

Thursday

Today students took a quiz on the job of each cell. Some students didn't know as much as they thought. We talked about atoms, elements, molecules and compounds just briefly. We also talked about the different elements in the human body. Then we went into the lab and looked at the different things inside the food we eat.

Students were told to write down everything they eat in one day. On Monday we will look at that list and compare it to the foods they should be eating. Biome drawings should be about done and are due on Monday. Also, the final animal reports have been coming in for the last two weeks. Students need to be sure to have the reports and posters turned in by Wednesday at the start of class. They will be giving their oral report Wednesday and if necessary on Thursday.

Thursday morning is the day for picture re-takes. The pictures will be going home today or Monday.

Wednesday

In class we reviewed cells and then we went to the lab. The students were supposed to bring supplies representing different parts of the cell. One girl brought a purse to represent the Golgi complex as it packs and moves cellular material. Students brought batteries to represent the mitochondria, the energy producer of the cell. A belt was brought to represent the endoplasmic reticulum, the conveyor belt of the cell. It was fun, and the students learned what the parts of the cell do.

Homework tonight is to read b42 - B55. Students should read the question in red at the top of each section. Do they know the answer? Then read the chapter, find the answer and ask the question again? If they know the answer, read the next section, if not, re-read until they find the answer. Students also should be working on finishing their biome drawings, they have had three hours in class to work on them. The biomes will be due on Monday. They must have each biome drawn and colored.

The cell parts we have covered are: Cell membrane - to provide a barrier and protection for the cell, Nucleus: information center, Endoplasmic reticulum: moves the cellular material in the cell, Mitochondria: makes energy for the cell, Golgi Complex: packs and stores cellular material, Lysosomes: disposal unit of the cell, Ribosomes: links amino acids to make protein, Vacuole: Stores food and water for the cell, small in an animal cell. Additional organelles in a plant cell are: Cell wall: to support and give stability to the plant cell, Chloroplast: uses the sun for photosynthesis, Large Vacuole: a plant cell has a very large vacuole to store the food made by the chloroplast during photosynthesis

Tuesday

We worked on the cell organelles today. We watched a video showing the different organelles.

The students have homework tonight. Each team assigned its members different things that represent the organelles in the cell. An example would be to bring a water bottle which would represent the vacuole. Tomorrow we are going to put the different materials the students bring in and build some cells. By doing this the students should remember the jobs of the cell organelles.

Monday

Today we worked on our biomes. The students who do not have them done took the biomes home for homework. We will be starting on cells tomorrow. Students who have been absent need to make up their work and get their notes copied.

Picture retakes were scheduled for tomorrow, they have been changed to next week.