The updates for this week are:
We moved rooms this week, upstairs to #201, which was an interesting change! On Monday, we finished up our unit on Plants by taking a Quiz. We started our next unit, on Invertebrates, by doing a quick worksheet on the different Invertebrate phyla. We continued the introduction to Invertebrates today by going through approximately twenty slides on PowerPoint on Sponges and Jellyfish--the first two animal phyla in the students' textbook. We then worked on a lab that looked at specimens of these two phyla under the microscope. Most students finished this in class, but they are welcome to take the lab home to finish if they did not, for 20 points. They will need to know each animal phylum that we study over the next few chapters, and the main vocabulary and features specified in the labs and slides--NOT so much the textbook which goes into too much detail in various places. Chapter 15 homework will be due on Monday, Feb 5. Please don't forget the vocabulary work! It either needs to be written/typed, or put on cards to turn in during class.
0 Comments
The quick update from our last class is:
We worked on two labs this past week, on plants. The first was on leaves, roots, and stems--students had to observe several slides and draw pictures of them, as well as answer some questions that required the textbook. They also made one slide to observe a leaf epidermis. The second lab was on flowers, which we dissected together. These pages will be checked during quiz time on Monday, so have them bring their lab manuals to class. They are worth 25 points, covering the majority of questions (but not all) between pp112 -125. Extra credit points will be given for high quality work (i.e. color drawings, neatness, clear explanations). The quiz will consist of multiple choice, vocabulary matching, and 1 short answer for each chapter. There are also four extra credit questions included. It will cover chapters 13 and 14 which are both on plants. Students should study their homework questions and the Powerpoint slides for the material that will be tested--not the text. They can make additional flashcards to help them, in addition to whatever cards they have already turned into me (which I will have ready on Monday). Cards must be handwritten, not typed/pasted. Diagrams and other visuals on there are fine. The test will need to be completed in 45 minutes. We will have an in-class worksheet to open Chapter 15 material for the remaining 20 minutes. If they want to get ahead, they can do chapter 15 on Invertebrates, but I did not formally assign it as homework. We will begin studying invertebrates when their test is over, and their chapter 15 will be due on Feb 5. So glad to see everyone today! The quick update is:
Homework If students did not turn in Chapter 13 today, please have them bring it into class next week. Some did not complete the vocab on the worksheet or on cards; please make sure they do one or the other for each of the chapter assignments because they are worth a portion of the total points. Flashcards can be done instead of writing/typing words out, but they must be still be turned in on the due date. I assigned Chapter 14. The SRQs will be due next Wednesday, the 24th. Class Students did well in class today. We went over the basics of flowers, seeds, and plant reproduction. We will do labs on Flowers and Leaves next week, so make sure they bring their lab manuals both days. I will collect these labs the following week, to grade them. Regarding illness, I realize this flu season is just crazy, so please don't feel pressure about science in any way. Keep your kids home if they are sick, and we will find ways to help them catch up or skip missed work if necessary; no sense in getting any sicker during this crazy flu season! Upcoming Quiz The first quiz on Chapter 13 an 14 (Plants) will follow the week after labs, on Monday January 29. It will be multiple choice, vocabulary, and two short answer questions. Flashcards can be hand written with any information the student wants, including diagrams. Have them study the SRQ answers and the slides which will be posted here on the Documents page, rather than the text. Tests will not be curved this time, so do make good cards!
There has been some amount of reluctance as we dive right into this semester, but I am confident that we will soon be in the swing of things again! We will be doing more slides on Wednesday for Chapter 14 this time (Flowers, Seeds, Fruit). The next week we will have two labs on Leaves and Flowers which are relatively involved. After that they should be in good shape for the first quiz, on Chapters 13 and 14! The first day of class went really well! I passed back Chapter 12 (Fungus) work which is the first grade for this new semester. Then we went over some important changes--including using this website to download homework and stay up to date. Here are a couple of the other things I mentioned:
After going through all this, we started the new material. Today in class we started Chapter 13: Plants (Yay!) We went through approximately 25 Powerpoint slides on plant basics. Tomorrow we will do some worksheets and more slides. Thank you so much for all of your support! I am so looking forward to this semester! |
AuthorMrs. Riddle teaches Life Science, Biology, and Earth Science at Brighton Academy for 2017-2018. She homeschools four children and has 10 years of co-op teaching experience. Her family is part of Radiant Church in Overland Park, KS. Archives
May 2018
Categories |