For Tuesday, March 31st, please freewrite in as much detail as you can in response to this prompt:
What are living cells?
Thursday, March 26, 2009
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Strawberry Creek Lab Report Criteria
The following are the standards for your Strawberry Creek Lab Report. Please follow them carefully (final due date to be determined):
GENERAL EXPECTATIONS FOR THE PAPER
Format:
12-point “normal” font
Double-spaced
1” margins
Headers (titles) at the beginning of each paper section
Writing Quality:
Pay attention to: legibility, spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence and paragraph structure. Be DETAILED and DESCRIPTIVE!
Sources:
For this paper, please compile a bibliography at the end of the paper, at least including: author, title, URL (if applicable), and publication date.
SECTIONS OF THE PAPER
Introduction: A few sentences introducing the reader to what follows in the paper
Hypothesis:
• Should be an “If….., then…..” statement.
• Should show cause and effect with one independent and one dependent variable.
• State your reasoning for the hypothesis (i.e. past observations, experience, research, etc.).
• Needs to be TESTABLE.
Experiment Methodology:
• What will you test for and why?
• What equipment will you use?
• What sites will be tested and why?
• What will be the frequency, duration, timing, and number of samples you will use and why?
Performing the Experiment:
• Describe your testing sites in as much detail as possible.
• Explain why you chose to use the data that you did.
• Explain how and by whom the data were collected.
• Describe what the field experience was like.
Data Analysis:
• Describe the data that you used, and what they mean.
• Compare the results from your different test sites and/or conditions.
• You must have at least one graph, well labeled with your independent variable on the x-axis and your dependent variable on the y-axis.
Conclusion:
• Explain whether your hypothesis was confirmed, disproved, or partially confirmed/disproved, and why you say this.
• What were some occurrences in the lab process that may have affected your results unintentionally? (e.g. human error)
• What are the next steps for this scientific process?
• What further questions or possible future research do you come away with from this experiment?
GENERAL EXPECTATIONS FOR THE PAPER
Format:
12-point “normal” font
Double-spaced
1” margins
Headers (titles) at the beginning of each paper section
Writing Quality:
Pay attention to: legibility, spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence and paragraph structure. Be DETAILED and DESCRIPTIVE!
Sources:
For this paper, please compile a bibliography at the end of the paper, at least including: author, title, URL (if applicable), and publication date.
SECTIONS OF THE PAPER
Introduction: A few sentences introducing the reader to what follows in the paper
Hypothesis:
• Should be an “If….., then…..” statement.
• Should show cause and effect with one independent and one dependent variable.
• State your reasoning for the hypothesis (i.e. past observations, experience, research, etc.).
• Needs to be TESTABLE.
Experiment Methodology:
• What will you test for and why?
• What equipment will you use?
• What sites will be tested and why?
• What will be the frequency, duration, timing, and number of samples you will use and why?
Performing the Experiment:
• Describe your testing sites in as much detail as possible.
• Explain why you chose to use the data that you did.
• Explain how and by whom the data were collected.
• Describe what the field experience was like.
Data Analysis:
• Describe the data that you used, and what they mean.
• Compare the results from your different test sites and/or conditions.
• You must have at least one graph, well labeled with your independent variable on the x-axis and your dependent variable on the y-axis.
Conclusion:
• Explain whether your hypothesis was confirmed, disproved, or partially confirmed/disproved, and why you say this.
• What were some occurrences in the lab process that may have affected your results unintentionally? (e.g. human error)
• What are the next steps for this scientific process?
• What further questions or possible future research do you come away with from this experiment?
Water Quality Hypothesis and Methodology
Hi All,
For today, you should have typed and printed your hypothesis and experiment methodology. For tomorrow, Wednesday 2/25, make sure the two following assignments are completed: 1. IMPROVE your hypothesis and methodology based on the criteria from today's class. and 2. Make sure that you have a hypothesis in your notebook for how you think our Ecolab riparian model (willows) will affect nitrate levels in our "stream" (water bottle).
For today, you should have typed and printed your hypothesis and experiment methodology. For tomorrow, Wednesday 2/25, make sure the two following assignments are completed: 1. IMPROVE your hypothesis and methodology based on the criteria from today's class. and 2. Make sure that you have a hypothesis in your notebook for how you think our Ecolab riparian model (willows) will affect nitrate levels in our "stream" (water bottle).
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