Events of the Past Week
Monday - On Monday the students handed in their "Why Classify?" homework from the weekend and we went through the short answer portion of the evolution test together. Afterwards, I lectured on the topic of taxonomy (rather appropriate for tax day). Then the students did an activity using a dichotomous key to identify different types of bacteria.
Tuesday - We started class on Tuesday by working on an activity titled "Fun With Fictitious Animals." One of the activities was using the descriptions in a dichotomous key to draw one of the fictitious animals and see if someone else could figure out which fictitious animal they had drawn. The kids had fun with this activity. Next we did an activity that involved filling in missing information in a data table and answering a few questions regarding the information in the data table. Finally, the students looked at the pbs website I posted last week and classified a polar bear, an orchid, and a sea cucumber into the proper kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.
Wednesday - I lectured about phylogenetics, and taught the students some of the basics they need to know in order to create a cladogram. After the instruction, the students practiced by making a cladogram of their own using information given to them in a data table.
Thursday - We reviewed for our classification test on Thursday by taking a review quiz and getting the results on it. Afterwards worked on a review packet. The key to the review is available at: http://www.fhs.d211.org/departments/science/bgraba/Calendars/138calendar4.htm
Upcoming Events
Monday - We will take the quiz on taxonomy. The quiz includes 35 multiple choice questions and 1 short answer question.
Tuesday - We will begin our anatomy and physiology unit by beginning our dissection of fetal pigs. We will be working on groups on this assignment. Each group will have at least one dissector and one recorder. I will be picking one lab per lab team to collect. The students will be made aware of this ahead of time. In addition, any students who would like to have gloves need to bring them in themselves.
Wednesday - No school for freshmen
Thursday - I will begin my lecture on the digestive system. This is a shortened day for freshmen due to PSAE testing. If you have juniors taking the test, please make sure they get a good night's sleep!
Friday - We will finish our dissection of the digestive system of the fetal pig. There will be a digestive system quiz on Monday.
Graba Geek of the Week
This week's Graba Geek of the Week award goes to Robert Andrews. Robert earned the highest score of anyone in my four classes on the evolution test. He also did very well on our review quiz on taxonomy, and has been a valuable, contributing member of our eighth hour class all year long. Good job Robert!
For anyone looking for summer opportunities for their children, I have been made aware of a couple of options for you from our career advisor. I encourage those of you whose students may be interested in a career in medicine/veterinary medicine to e-mail me, and I will send you two .pdf files as an attachment for your children to take a look at regarding internships with veterinarians. The other option is not biology related, but it is an opportunity for those students who may have an interest in engineering. The link is here: http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/descriptions/INSPIRE_Project.html.
According to Mrs. Oakes, "Students apply now to be part of an “online community”.
If they’re accepted and they participate in the online community next school year, they are eligible to apply for all expense paid NASA summer programs. Junior and Senior year, these are PAID internships. Students who are on the national school lunch program are also eligible for a free laptop if they’re accepted into the online community." It sounds like a great opportunity to me!
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