Today in class, students in integrated science worked on determining what characteristics different plate boundaries have. Students were assigned to groups with different maps of the world and they were asked to determine what categorizations they could make based on the map data. We will share our results tomorrow.

Science 8 students worked on the Baby Lab v2.

HOMEWORK: Integrated=none
Science 8= Finish the baby lab tonight; Read the article “Is there a gene for liking broccoli?”; Quiz Friday over genetics

Today in class, students in integrated science took notes on earth’s interior and the evidence we have for earth’s interior. Students learned that seismic wave data and other indirect evidence are used to infer properties of the mantle, outer core, and inner core. We then took a short quiz covering the reading from last night titled “Tracking warfare with ‘earth shakes'”. Students then were given a brief intro to the lab they will begin on Monday.

Science 8 students reviewed how taste can be an evolutionary adaptation, specifically with sweet or bitter foods. We read a short section of the article titled “Is there a gene for liking broccoli?” and then we did a series of detection tests to determine whether students had the genetics to taste certain substances. We then analyzed our data and reviewed the fact that the most common phenotype is not necessarily the dominant one (as discussed in the entry/exit ticket from yesterday). For the remainder of class, students were able to work on the Spongebob Genetics worksheet.

HOMEWORK: Integrated= none
Science 8= Spongebob genetics worksheet due Monday. You may want to revisit the Genotype phenotype worksheet and/or watch the Punnett Square Video for help.

Today in class, students in integrated worked on analyzing a diagram on P-wave and S-wave speed in the earth and what they determine about different layers.

Science 8 students took a small entry ticket about inferring dominance or recessiveness(?). Then we learned about how Mendel used pea plants to determine some of the information we now use for genetics, and students read a short selection that we’ll be using to do a lab tomorrow.

HOMEWORK: Integrated= read your “Tracking warfare with earth waves” reading quiz over it tomorrow.
Science 8= None

Today in class, students in integrated science began presenting their work for the energy resources project. Presentations will continue tomorrow.

Science 8 went through a crash course review of mitosis and then took a mitosis quiz. Students were then asked to reflect on the following prompt:
“Gametes (egg and sperm cells) have half the DNA of a ‘normal’ cell. A normal cell has 2 copies of every gene. Gametes are made through the process of meiosis.
Why can’t cells make gametes by no replicating and then just dividing through mitosis? Why do we need a separate process?”

HOMEWORK: NONE

Today in integrated, students worked on their quantitative LOL diagrams and determined their predictions for the Ball Bounce Lab. Five groups have tested, and all have scored in the 90’s! Tomorrow will be another test day, and students have their projects due Wednesday!

Science 8 students spent time editing their de-extinction essays, taking a pre-assessment, and then finishing the mitosis worksheet from Friday.

HOMEWORK: Integrated= Project due Wednesday, Quantitative LOL diagram and ball bounce prediction due by the end of tomorrow.
Science 8= Lab notebooks, De-extinction essay, and mitosis worksheet due tomorrow.

Today in our two-hour delay, students worked on whiteboarding the first two problems from  Qualitative Energy Storage and Conservation Charts (LOL Diagrams). Yesterday, Students viewed a short video on their google classroom that introduced LOL diagrams, which show energy transfer into and out of a system (WORK). Students will continue to work on this concept and then will develop a lab that they do  to create a prediction based on energy transfer.

Science 8 students shared their work from yesterday on the Investigating Reproductive Strategies activity. Students did a gallery walk today of the work their peers had done, and then determined a “master set” of characteristics of sexually and asexually reproducing organisms.

HOMEWORK: Integrated= Project Due Wednesday
Science 8= Argumentative essay due Monday

Today was the visit to north, so no real changes today!

HOMEWORK:Integrated = Energy Bar Charts  due Monday in class;  Project due in 2 weeks.
Science 8= Rough Draft of Argumentative Essay on De-extinction due Monday.

Today in integrated science, students reviewed a short practice problem about a bungee jumper for energy pie charts and then took a 2-question quiz over the concept. Afterwards, students began working on Energy Bar Charts and learning how they are done. We’ll use this information Friday to learn about system flow and energy transfers.

Students in science 8 reviewed the asexual reproduction/replication information from yesterday and wrote some big ideas that they should understand from those concepts. Then students took a look at the sexual reproduction DNA strands they picked up on the way in. Students created random DNA sequences and then copied them through replication (step 1) so that their offspring have DNA and so do the parents.  The DNA is then split (step 2, Meiosis) so that the offspring don’t end up with too much DNA after reproduction. During step 3, they found a partner, and in step 4 (sex) they were able to exchange half of their DNA with their partner. In step 5, they created a genetically unique individual.

HOMEWORK: Integrated = Energy Bar Charts  due Friday in class;  Thursday is a work day for the project; Project due in 2 weeks.
Science 8= Rough Draft of Argumentative Essay on De-extinction due Monday. Thursday is quiz retake over Evolution and Natural Selection Quiz (bring headphones)

Today in class, students in integrated science worked on a practice problem when they came in. Then we whiteboarded and analyzed problems # 5 and #8 from the Qualitative Energy Pie Charts 1b worksheet. Tomorrow, students will have a quiz over energy pie charts that consists of 2 problems.

Science 8 students today began learning about DNA and replication. We watched a video on DNA  to learn about the complexity and intricacies of how DNA works and what replication does. DNA has many base pairs, and A always matches up with T, C always matches up with G. During replication, one DNA molecule unzips and its 2 halves are used to make 2 identical DNA strands. If it weren’t for replication, your DNA would divide between offspring until there was none left! To finish out the period, we practiced making the base pairs for DNA and creating 2 new strands of DNA from 1 strand through replication.

HOMEWORK: Integrated = Quiz tomorrow over energy pie charts; Thursday is a work day for the project; Project due in about 2 weeks.
Science 8= Rough Draft of Argumentative Essay on De-extinction due Monday. Thursday is quiz retake over Evolution and Natural Selection Quiz (bring headphones)

Today in integrated science, students reviewed problem 4 from the Qualitative Energy Pie Charts 1b. The lessons from this problem were that elastic PE could be stored only in a compressed or stretched spring, the energy of a system depends on the objects in the system, and the proportionality of energy is important when drawing your pies. Afterwards, students worked on their projects for about 10-15 minutes.

Science 8 students set up their new notebook units on Reproduction and DNA, and then their outlines were checked. They also reviewed their quizzes over natural selection and evolution. A retake of the quiz will occur on Thursday!

HOMEWORK: Integrated = Thursday is a work day for the project; Project due in about 2 weeks.
Science 8= Rough Draft of Argumentative Essay on De-extinction due Monday. Thursday is quiz retake over Evolution and Natural Selection Quiz