Thursday, March 26, 2009

Thinking about Cells

For Tuesday, March 31st, please freewrite in as much detail as you can in response to this prompt:

What are living cells?

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

As we continue with water.....

Hi All,

As we continue our water studies, I will be getting you a complete data set to begin working with next Tuesday. While you await that, I want you to begin viewing a very interesting film that is the starting point for our next unit on cells and DNA - The Journey of Man. Please complete the following work for Thursday's class.

At the halfway point of The Journey of Man, I hope that you are enjoying the scientific and cultural intensity of this film. Spencer Wells sums up the common difficulty of bridging science and culture when he asks, "What do you do when everything you believe in flies in the face of everything you know?" As a good scientist, he sets out with a set of hypotheses to gather data and test those hypotheses. Please answer the following two questions in your science notebooks for Thursday, March 26th:
1. For you, what was the most profound or useful scientific information or phenomenon addressed in the film so far? How and why did it affect you?

2. What was the most interesting or profound cultural element addressed in the film so far ? How and why did it affect you?

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Trip Letter

Hi All,

Don't forget to get the 7th Grade Travel Letter signed by a parent for today's class.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Homework for Thursday, 3/5 and Topics for the Rest of the Year

Hey All,

Homework for Thursday:
1. Write a detailed explanation of YOUR town development preferences (following up on yesterday's activity).
2. Complete your conference prep responses from yesterday's blog entry.


As you set goals for the remainder of the year, I want you to know where we are headed. Main topics include:
1. Completing our water quality studies and lab reports around land use in the Strawberry Creek Watershed.
2. The ecological and biological effects of climate change.
3. Cellular biology, chromosomes, DNA, and population genetics.

These areas can be included in your goal setting as you prepare for conferences. Please talk to me for more specifics to help you set good goals.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Conferences, Self-assessment, and NO QUIZ

Hi All,

Conferences are next week. Time to get ready......

For Wednesday, 3/4:
Look at your science progress report and also consider our current water quality work. Please respond to the following in your notebook:
1. Identify one science content Strength.
2. Identify one science content Area of Growth.
3. Identify one science content Challenge.
4. For #1-3, find at least one piece of work that demonstrates each.
5. Reflect on your personal goals at the end of your report card: A. Have you met them? B. If not, how will you meet them? C. Come up with three more goals for the rest of the year.

NO TEST OR QUIZ THIS WEEK. JUST CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON YOUR LAB REPORTS.