The updates for today are:
Today, we reviewed a lot of the information we've been learning, as well as introduced the upcoming chapter, by doing an in-class activity on Vertebrate Classification. Students broke up into small groups to organize animal features into the correct categories. They then recorded this information into a chart. Some of this was meant to review information they needed for the upcoming quiz, which we took immediately following. Students should complete Chapter 14 homework for Monday. Don't forget the vocabulary work which needs to be written/typed, or put on flashcards which can be turned into me in class.
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Quiz on chapter 13 (fish, amphibians, reptiles) is Wednesday! Make sure your student brings their flashcards, if they did not already turn them into me!
Today we moved classrooms to #201, and it was really fun. Everyone was a great sport about it :) Hello there! The quick update for the week is:
Students took their first mini-quiz on Monday, which covered Chapter 12 on Invertebrates. I handed that back on Wednesday, and most students did very well. It was only out of 32 points, so if your student did not score as high as he/she wanted, stay encouraged! There will be quite a number of short quizzes this semester, and some activities that will count as tests to pull that score up. Students are able to use any handwritten cards they make, so continue to take advantage of that. The next quiz is on Wednesday, Jan 31, on Chapter 13 material. It is fast, I know, but we have talked about Fish, Amphibians, and Reptiles for two days already, and will do so again on Monday. Have them review their homework questions (answers are online) and the in-class worksheets and slides (also online)--not the text. We went over a number of Powerpoint slides, and we did three Lab worksheets in class already. We also watched one video clip. We will finish the labs on Monday, do another worksheet or two together, and watch one more video clip before the Quiz on Wednesday. The following week will be Birds and Mammals! Complete with Owl Pellets :) (Chapter 15 homework is posted online and will be due Monday, February 5). Please keep having them bring their Lab Manual. I also have information about the Science Fair on the Life Science opening page--just click on the "Life Science" tab and it will take you there. Have a great week! So glad to see everyone today! The quick update is:
Homework If your student was sick or did not turn in their chapter 12 homework today, have them bring it in next week. It is worth 30 points. Also, some did not write up the vocabulary words or turn in vocab flashcards; Please make sure they do one or the other for each of the chapters because that is worth 10 of the 30 points. Flashcards can be done instead of writing/typing definitions out, but they must still be turned in with the chapter homework on its due date. I assigned Chapter 13 SRQs on Vertebrates (available on the Documents page). This will be due next Wednesday. If students did NOT finish their lab pages for the last two weeks, please have them do that at home. We have covered worksheets 12A-G. Frog dissection pages (Lab 13F) are for extra credit! Class Students did really well in class today. The dissection video was hard for some, but everyone was a really good sport about it :) We will begin Chapter 13 on Vertebrates next week, with more slides. If you're a movie fan, this is a great time to let your kids max out on documentaries on animals,. especially if they are sick! They will hear a lot of what they have learned echoed in a good documentary. Also, regarding sickness, please do not feel pressured to make your kids come to class if they feel terrible. I know the flu and other things are incredibly hard this season, so don't let science ever be a factor. I will work with you to find ways to help them catch up or skip missed work if necessary. Quiz 12 Remember your students can put any information they want to hand write on a flashcard, including diagrams, etc. Flashcards can be used on Monday, and I will provide the ones I already have. Students should study the slides for chapter 12 and their homework answers carefully (which I have posted on the Documents page). The quiz will take up the first 20-25 minutes of class. It consists of 15 multiple choice, 12 vocabulary, 1 short answer, and 1 extra credit question. These will not be curved, so do bring good cards! Thank you!!
The kids did a really good job asking questions and handling the more "gross" information about worms and digestive systems, etc :) We will be doing Labs E, F, and G next, and watching a dissection video. If (you or) your child does not want to watch the video for any reason (on a frog and an earthworm), please just email me or send a note along with them on Wednesday. The Chapter 12 quiz will be first thing the following Monday, about 20 minutes. They will need to study the slides and their Ch 12 homework, and know the basics about invertebrates in each Phylum. They should also bring any flashcards they want to use--although I will bring the cards I already have if they turn them into me on homework day. After the quiz we will begin Chapter 13 on Vertebrates. The first day of class went really well! Everyone was present, which was AMAZING. We gave back the last round of tests, which went on last semester's grade. I also gave them a pep talk about the 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 class! Today in class we started Chapter 12, Invertebrates. (Animals! Yay!) We went through approximately 30 Powerpoint slides on Invertebrates, Sponges, Jellyfish, 3 Types of Worms. Tomorrow they will need their Lab manuals and we will try to finish our 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
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