This week you and your group will continue working towards answering the question, "Why do we save endangered species?". By finishing the stations and really understanding the concepts and ideas related to each one, you be able to get to the heart of why your species is being saved OR if it even should be. The stations are now all on the website, so that you may work on them outside of class, but (and this is a big BUT) you must show that you are working on these outside of class together (because showing that you have collaborated is part of your grade). The easiest way to show you are collaborating is by creating a Google Doc and sharing it with the members of your group and Mr. Bowles. There are only eight school days until this project is due, so depending on how efficiently you are getting through the stations, your group may need to work on this outside of class. Please see Mr. Bowles if you have questions. Don't stress, keep focused, stay curious, and keep looking for answers!
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Buckle up...we've got a busy week! To start, we will be doing the flower dissection and make some connections between a flower's anatomy and Gregor Mendel's discoveries related to genetics and heredity. On Tuesday, we will review for the DNA and Genetics Test (4 bars) with JEOPARDY! - winning teams will get a bonus of 2 points on their exams. After the exam on Wednesday, we will be starting the Ecology unit. In this unit, you will work with a group to investigate an endangered specie from Massachusetts in order to help you answer the question "Why do we protect endangered species?". Stay curious and keep looking for answers!
This week we will be diving back into the Human Genome Debate to argue (respectfully) if altering a person's DNA is ethically right or not. We will also take a quick look at a type of DNA mutation that causes Sickle Cell Anemia and how the deadly malaria parasite affects people with this condition. Then as we move on to our next unit - Genetics! - you will discover how people can only be "carriers" of the Sickle Cell gene as you learn to solve a punnett square. As we get into the middle of the week we will be looking closely at how the "father of genetics", Gregor Mendel, first researched how traits (characteristics) are passed down from parents to offspring and how he created the first punnett square. Lastly, we will do a flower dissection to look at its male and female reproductive organs. Do you know that flowers have both!? Good luck on MCAS this week! Stay curious and keep looking for answers!
Welcome back - hope you all had a restful break! This week we will be watching everyone's Cell Cycle Animations - so make sure you finish them by Monday night! We'll be continuing to look at DNA - your genetic map - by learning how different types of cells can be created by the same DNA - this is called cell differentiation. We will also look at how DNA copies itself and the history of its discovery. Grades close for progress reports on Friday, so if you any incomplete work or exam corrections to do, make sure to check in with Mr. Bowles. Stay curious and keep looking for answers!
Last week before April break - wohoo! By the end of this week we'll be all done with the mitosis unit - very quick and no exam! After completing the PowerPoint notes and Cell Cycle drawings in class on Monday, you will be introduced to the Cell Cycle Animation Project. Similar to the membrane transport animations, you'll be animating the cell cycle (which includes the four stages of mitosis) to help explain your understanding of this cellular process. You have every class period this week to work on this and it will be due by the end of the week. Stay curious and keep looking for answers!
This week we will be finishing up the Cycles of Nature unit by looking at succession in nature – seeing how a community of plants establishes itself and then replace each other over time. We will do a quick review of the unit on Tuesday (with a crossword puzzle) and then have a 2 bar quiz on Wednesday. Our next unit will be zooming into the nucleus of the cell to look at mitosis. Mitosis is when the DNA in the nucleus copies itself, then the whole nucleus divides (as well as the whole cell) splitting into two separate cells. This is a simple explanation for why you grow taller and stronger as you get older. Stay curious and keep looking for answers!
After finishing up our global warming soap box debate on Friday, we will now jump into the other cycles in this unit - water and nitrogen. We will do a quick review of the water cycle early in the week and add some new terms to the elementary school version. Then we'll check out the ways the element nitrogen moves through living and non-living things, and the effects that excess nitrogen can have on the environment. Good luck on your last ELA MCAS this week! Stay curious and keep looking for answers!
This week is chock full of MCAS, so there will be no homework - lucky you! We're going to continue our analysis of how the carbon cycle works, then begin a group investigation on the debate about climate change today. Later in the week, we will begin looking at the nitrogen cycle and its affect on the Mississippi River Delta. Good luck on MCAS this week! Stay curious and keep looking for answers!
This will be a great week in the digestion unit because we are doing the worm dissection! To start, you'll be finishing up your enzyme and chemical tables, then begin your pre-lab work for the worm dissection. On Tuesday, you will be having the parts of the digestive system quiz (2 bars). Then on Wednesday and Thursday we be working with a number of organisms. To begin, you will be dissecting earthworms with your lab partners to take a closer look at their digestive system and then compare it to our own. Please make sure to email Mr. Bowles by Tuesday, if you will choose do a virtual dissection instead of the real one. Then on Thursday, we will be comparing the anatomy of the earthworm to that of a rat and dogfish (both will already be dissected). Then to top off the week, we'll play Jeopardy on Friday to prepare for the Digestion test (4 bars) next Wednesday the 18th. Stay curious and keep looking for answers!
Last week we began the grossest unit of the year - Digestion! We will be talking about how your food gets processed, watching videos that explore what really happens to all that food, and will actually dissect a worm to look at its digestive system (compared to ours). These all sound really fun (maybe only to some), but an important step in understanding how this system works is knowing that just because your eating doesn't mean your digesting . Breaking down your food into its most basic pieces (molecules), then absorbing all of those nutrients into your blood stream and eventually your cells is REALLY digestion. Just because you eat doesn't mean you absorb those nutrients. Your body uses many organs that both physically mash up and chemically breakdown food to help it get absorbed more easily. If these processes don't work correctly, not all of your food is digested. This week we will be looking at these topics in more depth - specifically at how each organ breaks down incoming food and contribute to nutrient absorption.
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