Students are asked to reflect on the previous year in science and to write down their thoughts about their experiences, units that they learned about, and suggestions on how I can improve in becoming a better teacher.
This is due on Wed/Thurs, and is their final homework assignment.
Wednesday:
Finish lab notebook entry (Life of a Forest Video) D(Th)
Thursday:
Fill out Compare and Contrast Plant adaptations D (F)
Plant Adaptation Compare/Contrast Worksheet
Plant Adaptations in Biomes = Use this website to fill out the worksheet, courtesy of Missouri Botanical Gardens.
Friday:
No homework
Students are designing experiments to run on their Fast Plant that they’ve been growing for the last 4 weeks. Right now, the plants are in the flower/fruit life cycle stage, and are preparing to produce seeds to start the whole cycle again. By changing one variable in the experiment (sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, adding other liquids, pruning all but one, changing soil, etc.) we are trying to see the results of how it will impact the size of the fruit growing.
For homework, students will need to bring in any materials necessary to run their experiment. We plan to start the experiment on Friday, May 28th, and run them all the way till Monday/Tuesday, June 7th/8th.
Students worked in class to learn and understand the cell division through meiosis. As an in class example, we crossbred ‘dragons’ to see what the results would be through this type of cell reproduction. The following sheets will assist students who did not finish in class, to be able to draw the resulting dragon.
Plant Diary Redo- Students who need additional time to finish plant diaries will be allowed until the 19th/20th to submit them by printing out a black and white copy or submit it through the Honey Creek web server in:
Middle School > Science > Dropbox
Plant Reproduction - Students will read/highlight important information about plant reproduction, and get introduced to the difference between asexual vs sexual reproduction. This coincides with what we are doing in class by pollinating our Wisconsin Fast Plants and continuing in the plant life cycle.
Students will use the following web resources to help identify and label their plant diary projects. After arranging all the photos taken from the Honey Creek forest, students will identify different parts of their plant as well as give general information about it.
We are attempting to identify our plants that we’ve taken photos of, back behind in the forest of Honey Creek. By using these websites, we will use keys to figure out what plant/tree we’ve been following.
Tree Identification Keys:
Tree ID for Michigan specifically = Link from MSU’s site, with trees often found in Michigan
Tree ID for the US = Link from VT’s site, with trees found all over the United States (For finding trees in Michigan, select “Michigan” and “Zone 5″ for the beginning search criteria.
Plant Identification Keys:
Native Plants found in Michigan (flowers)
Additional Links to other Plant ID sites
http://utc.usu.edu/keys/
The following links will help you to understand the invasive plant species that are affecting Michigan.
http://www.invasive.org/
http://www.invasive.org/gist/esadocs/allipeti.html
http://www.invasive.org/weedcd/pdfs/wow/dames-rocket.pdf
http://www.invasiveplantatlas.org/subject.html?sub=5702
http://www.invasiveplantatlas.org/list.html?id=83
http://www.invasiveplantatlas.org/subject.html?sub=3005
Please use the following link to practice Mitosis:
Mitosis Online Animation = Link to Biologyinmotion.com
This link shows the phases of mitosis, especially in an onion root tip!
Students are in the process of learning about photosynthesis and cellular respiration, and how these two plant functions help to create and use energy. Before we get into the finer details about this, I want students to think about and take guesses about how plants actually increase in size, shape, and structure and what the biological process is behind it. With this homework, students will show what they know first, and then we’ll learn about it in class.
The quiz that was on the reading “Up Goes the Water” was returned to students today. Those that did not do as well as they should were instructed to “Redo” the quiz by fixing the errors (either on the sheet or writing on the back which is blank), and turning it in the next time they come to class.
They will need to look back at the homework “Up Goes the Water” in order to correct their mistakes. If there was no “Redo” at the top of their quiz, then they can fix their minor errors without having to turn it back in.
No additional homework over this weekend.
Photosynthesis and Respiration homework sheet. Please attempt the worksheet and come into class on Friday, ready to learn the answers as well.
Plants have an amazing and wonderful way of using internal “organs” to take natural resources and create food for itself. Students will read about photosynthesis and answer three questions on the back of the reading.
Photosynthesis Reading & 3 questions = Adapted from biology4kids.com
Web References:
biology4kids.com
During Thursday and Friday, students will identify and research a native Michigan plant that they find in the forest behind our school. Using the following link, and a photograph taken during class, students will research information about native plants.
Native Plant Directory = Link to The Native Plant Nursery’s Directory of native plants in Michigan.
Water is a resource that plants cannot live without. As we look at the internal structure of plants, we need to understand the science that explains why water is used, where it enters the plant, and the cycle of where it goes or how it is used. The following reading will help us to understand that process, and the lab we started in class (placing celery in the water) will show us the results on Thursday/Friday.
There will be a short quiz on the reading, so please be sure to read the article.
Below are the links that will help you identify the different parts of the plant as well as detailed descriptions of the function of each part. Consider what you read and compare it to what you are observing on each day you look at your plant.
Botanical Online (descriptions to parts of plants)
Life Cycle of Plants = online activity to see the life cycle of plants, from seeds to dispersal.
The first class from spring break, we do not have a homework assignment. In class, the students spent time reviewing the way that energy is transferred from the sun to their projects (they took salt water and tried to build a device that would help to get fresh water). Concepts like conduction, convection, and radiation were discussed to help them understand the way heat energy can transferred from one location to another.
As a transition point, we then start our final unit where we try to understand the importance of the sun for plant/animal life. Plants recently are starting to “grow” and in science we will looking at how these plants are and what the science is behind it.
Check out a picture of plant growth in the forest behind Honey Creek! We will be photographing the next 4-5 weeks and seeing how things grow!
Plant growth on the forest floor
End of the tree branch
Students were introduced to 3 ways energy can transfer, by conduction, convection, or radiation. Using “heat” as our specific form of energy, we looked at the example of an electric stove, and a beaker of water. How does conduction (transfer through solids), convection (transfer through fluids), and radiation (transfer through electromagnetic waves) show through those examples?
For homework, students will work through examples to identify which energy transfer is being used.
Click on the following link:
Test_Yourself_Conduction_Convection_Radiation
(credited to Utah Education Network)
Wed and Thurs were filled with boisterous debate as students argued either For or Against Life on Mars. While students brought up the possibilities and evidence for possible life existing on the planet, others refuted those arguments with the climate conditions of the planet and the thin atmosphere that would allow harmful ultraviolet light to hit the surface. All in all, it was quite active and revealed wonderful student thought about the nature of life.
For homework, students are to reflect upon their debate in three ways: Participation, preparation, and group performance. Click on the following link to download a worksheet to write down your thoughts.
On Wed and Thurs of this week, students will participate in their first scientific debate about the possibilities of Life on Mars. Using the previous HW assignment (March 19th) and web links, students will share their arguments or pieces of evidence pointing either FOR POSSIBLE LIFE ON MARS, or AGAINST it. Some students will serve as moderators/judges, who will maintain decorum and evaluate the quality and quantity that other students bring up. They will eventually analyze the arguments presented, and vote on which team presented their case better.
All students will become research experts in different topics, with some examples like the following:
Harsh Environments (Can life exist in harsh environments on Mars? Does Earth’s extreme climates point towards possibilities for Mars?)
History of Mars (Has Mars’ environment changed over the years? Could life have existed earlier?)
Landforms (How do the landforms around Mars tell us anything about how Mars developed?)
Discoveries (What discoveries have scientists made over the years to point towards possible life? What missions are planned for the future and what will they tell us?)
Climate conditions of Mars (What does Mars have/lack that makes it possible/difficult to support life on Mars?)
Additional Resources to use:
Recent Discovery of Methane on Mars (NASA 2009)
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