Life Science 2/25-2/28

Objective:  To understand how mutations affect us as well as other living things in the world, and whether those effects are positive, negative, or have no effect at all on an organism's life.

Tuesday
Introduce mutations through an example, and then Q & A session over mutations

Wednesday - Friday
Mutation discussions

Field Biology 2/25-2/28

Objective:  To reach the level of mastery with the frog's anatomy and to understand how frogs are important to the ecosystem

Tuesday
Review for tomorrow's practical exam

Wednesday
Practical exam - frog anatomy

Thursday
Ecosystem importance of frogs

Friday
Ecosystem importance of frogs continued

Anatomy 2/25-2/28

Objective:  To understand how the special senses contribute to your life and help to maintain your body's homeostasis.

Tuesday
Review major parts of the ear; begin discussing the four basic taste sensations

Wednesday
Sense of taste continued

Thursday
Taster lab in class

Friday
Review for special senses quiz

Zoology 2/25-2/28

Objective:  To understand how the anatomy of snakes & reptiles is related to body functioning

Tuesday - Friday
Basic facts about reptiles, including snakes

Biology 2/25-2/28

Objective:  To understand the basics behind the theory of evolution and how it works

Tuesday - Friday
Basics about evolution and natural selection, and what the process actually is.

Field Biology - What to expect on Wednesday's Practical

Okay field biology experts!!  It's that time of year when you will soon start hearing the calls of frogs and toads.  Weather permitting, we will attempt to do field studies with these creatures.  Before that can happen, however, we must familiarize ourself with the frog anatomy.  Over the past week, we have cut open frogs and studied them quite extensively.  Read on to find out what to expect on Wednesday's practical in this blog-exclusive study guide .....

External anatomy:  

• Be able to distinguish between male and female frogs based on the size of their eardrums (tympanum).  
• Camouflage - why do they a particular color pattern?
• Bones, muscles, and skin - what adaptations do they have for survival in water and land??
• The frog's mouth - explain several specializations

Internal anatomy:

• How does surface area play a part in the frog?
• Be able to identify major structures of the digestive system, respiratory system, and reproductive systems.
• Be able to list functions of major organs

An eye-opening experience!!

This week in anatomy class, we dissected a cow eye...students were asked to become familiar with all parts of the eye.  It was a big hit!!!

Monday's Events - A Video Guide ......

Hey everyone, since I'm not in class today and we have a sub, I left you specific VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS that guide you through today's classes.  Be sure to watch the video that goes along with your class section to find out the instructions for what to do in class.....

Today in Biology:


Today in Zoology:


Today in Anatomy:


Today in Field Biology: Please watch this video and use headphones .......


Today in Life Science:

Coyote Found .....

Being an outdoorsman, I find a lot of interesting things while walking around in nature ..... so I carry a small video camera and record as many "teachable moments" as I possibly can, and try to bring the outdoors into the classroom as a learning experience.  I recently found this dead coyote, and filmed an educational piece on it for my students .... enjoy!!

Life Science 2/18-2/21

Objective this week:  To complete a modular-based activity that will help to demonstrate understanding of asexual reproduction and why it's important/how it's different than sexual reproduction

Tuesday
Modular activity day one

Wednesday
Modular activity day two:  Wrap up

Thursday
Quiz - asexual reproduction

Friday
Video today

Field Biology 2/18-2/21

Objective this week:  To complete a dissection and to apply class learning concepts to field work.

Tuesday
Field work weather permitting/dissection

Wednesday
Field work weather permitting/dissection

Thursday
Dissection wrap-up if needed; study for dissection practical

Friday
Study for dissection practical

Anatomy 2/18-2/21

Objective this week:  To understand key parts of the anatomy of an eye through a dissection, as well as understand the basics of taste

Tuesday & Wednesday:

Work to complete the eye dissection and complete a video tutorial over the major components of the eye.  Quiz on Wednesday over the eye and its parts.

Thursday

Discuss homeostatic imbalances of the eye and complete an Edmodo assignment over the eye unit

Friday

Begin discussing the sense of taste

Zoology 2/18-2/21

Objective this week:  To reach a high level of understanding of the frog's anatomy and to successfully complete exams with a 100/85 performance objective.

Tuesday
Review and take the amphibian unit exam.  Wrap up frog dissection

Wednesday
Frog dissection checkoff and review

Thursday
Discuss salamanders and members of the salamander family

Friday
Take the frog dissection practical - there is a 100/85 performance objective on this exam

Biology 2/18-2/21

Objective this week:  To investigate your understanding of genetics through the completion of a written exam, as well as through a critical thinking project.

Tuesday
Finish up basic genetics, Mendel's laws, codominance, and incomplete dominance.

Wednesday
Review for tomorrow's genetics test

Thursday
Genetics test today - there is a 100/85 performance objective on this exam

Friday
Introduce the reflection project that will take place next week

Life Science .... STEM with seeds!!!!

STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math - is an integral part of science and the hands-on learning process.  My 7th grade life science students are building "seeds" ... plant seeds of their own design.

Their challenge ..... to build a seed that simulates a seed that sticks to animal fur/hair, and to build a seed that simulates  a seed blowing into the wind.  They must brainstorm, draw designs, build the design with pre-determined materials, and test/measure their designs, and graph their results, all while working together cooperatively in a group.  By the end of the project, students should have a deeper understanding of what makes  a seed become successfully disbursed throughout the ecosystem.

Here's a photo of one seed a group built, it must stay attached to a cotton-flannel cloth for a minimum of 30 seconds to be considered a high-quality/successful build:

Zoology Test .... on TUESDAY!!

As you've seen on my lesson plans, the zoology test that was scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday) has been pushed back to Tuesday.  We needed to put more coverage into frog anatomy before we take the test, thus the reason for pushing it back.

Here are some things to study for on the test:

**Frog lifecycle ... number of eggs, important time frames for gaining/losing body parts in their development, etc

**Taxonomy of frogs and toads - important orders and families

**The importance of a moist environment and moist skin

**Amphibian success ... what makes them this way?

**Anatomical and diet differences between frogs and toads

**The test will be a combination of fill-in, multiple choice, essay, and short answer questions.

Here's a sample question that may (or may not be) on the test:

Question:              ______From the time they’re deposited, frog eggs hatch into tadpoles in approx. how many days?

a.     Two

b.     Three

c.     Five

d.     Seven

e.     Ten

Biology 2/12 .... what you missed

Several students were absent from first period biology this morning .... we discussed blood typing, the importance of blood, and how to construct punnett squares to predict blood types of offspring.  Basically, we related genetics to blood and the importance of that.  Here's an excellent video we watched in class.  Be sure to watch it, write down the different blood types, and know what Rh factors are.  See me if you have any questions ...

Field Biology 2/10-2/13

Objective this week:  To learn about urban wildlife management/nuisance species and introduce big game/small game birds of Kansas to the class.

Monday
Urban wildlife/nuisance species.  Complete the assignment on Edmodo.  The link for today's classroom content can be found here:

http://www.wildlife.ksu.edu/p.aspx?tabid=110

Tuesday
Continue nuisance species assignment.  Create a series of interview questions and interview someone over a nuisance species within the community

Wednesday
Share results of the interview; field work pending weather

Thursday
Introduction to amphibians

Life Science 2/10-2/13

Objective this week:  To successfully complete the STEM project challenge with seed building, and to reach a level of "mastery" with your understanding of genetics and plant pollinators.

Monday
Video today - pollinators

Tuesday
Review for a quiz tomorrow over punnett squares, sexual reproduction, and plant pollinators.   Wrap up the STEM project over seed building.  Concentrate your efforts on the wind-blown vector portion of the project.  The final day of the STEM project will be TOMORROW after the quiz.

Wednesday
Take the quiz over basic genetics and plant pollinators; finish the STEM project.

Thursday
Video today - Teacher conferences in the afternoon.

Anatomy 2/10-2/13

Objective this week:  To learn and understand how the eye works and helps us to see images, colors, and how our brain communicates with our visual field.

Monday
4th:  Introduction to the human eye, it's anatomy, and function
7th:  Present your PNS Prezi today and discuss.

Tuesday
4th:  Eye anatomy continued
7th:  Eye anatomy, anatomy, and function

Wednesday
4th:  Discuss eye anatomy in other life forms and compare them to the human eye
7th:  Continue eye anatomy/function in humans

Thursday
4th:  Eye wrap-up
7th:  No class/conferences

Zoology 2/10-2/13

Objective this week:  To demonstrate understanding of the frog dissection through a video project, and to prepare for Thursday's amphibian written test/Tuesday's lab practical exam.

Monday
Wrap up frog dissection.  Create student-made videos over the internal anatomy of the frog.

Tuesday
Begin review for the amphibian test.  Hand out review sheet.  Take a practical quiz over frog anatomy

Wednesday
Review for amphibian test.  Make study guides

Thursday
Take the amphibian written test; there is a 100/85 performance objective on this test.  There will be a frog practical NEXT TUESDAY

Biology 2/10-2/13

Objective this week:  To apply the knowledge of genetic variation to an in-class lab activity using corn, and to understand "exceptions" to genetic rules through incomplete dominance.  Blood typing will also be discussed.

Monday
Corn kernel lab - dihybrid genetics

Tuesday
Review corn kernel lab; assignment from lab due today.  Discuss how to determine parental genotypes from this

Wednesday
Begin discussing incomplete dominance and codominant traits.  Specifically, discussion of blood types and the genetics behind them

Thursday
Discuss incomplete dominance and codominant traits

Field Biology Activity: Aging Deer via Tooth Wear

A major objective for my Field Biology class is to learn and understand how to identify animal remains/parts while out in the field.  One fairly common artifact to find while in the field is a deer's jaw bone.  We can learn several things from these jaw bones, including an approximate age of the animal at the end of its life....

Students were given the task of creating a tutorial on how to age deer based on tooth wear from the lower jaw bones.  Through a rubric-based activity, they designed the tutorial and then filmed it.  I'm a firm believer that students understand material better when they present their work to others.  Here is an EXCELLENT video on the subject....enjoy!!!

Life Science 2/3-2/7

Objective this week:  To understand how asexual reproduction is different than sexual reproduction, how genes are modified by mutations, and how artificial selection can have positive and/or negative impacts on our lives.

Monday
Watch a video over artificial selection

Tuesday
Discuss mutations today.  Do an extension activity over mutations

Wednesday
Students need to complete a modular activity over genetics

Thursday
Discuss sexual vs asexual reproduction.  Concentrate on bacterial reproduction and facts about bacteria. Give students an extension activity over asexual reproduction in certain life forms and present what they've learned to the class.

Friday
Continue discussion of sexual vs asexual reproduction.  Quiz today over mutations and asexual reproduction.

Field Biology 2/3-2/7

Objective:  To understand the variety of mammals in Kansas through the completion of a poster project.
Monday
Continue working on posters

Tuesday
Finish poster project.  Film poster content.

Wednesday
Present posters to class

Thursday
Raccoons, opossums, and skunks.  Mammal tracks.

Friday
Mammal track investigation

Anatomy 2/3-2/7

Objective:  To demonstrate a level of "mastery" in understanding of the peripheral nervous system through the construction and student teaching of a multimedia project

Monday
Work on multimedia project in class.  Need an example of how one works?  Check out this one I made over the reproductive success of plants ......granted, it's not about the peripheral nervous system, but you'll get the idea; your project should flow like this one, but you don't have to narrate it or screencast it like I did here.....

AND ....... here are the specifics for the assignment in case you mis-placed your handout:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17pKWP7cpd2CPLXDnW190VR1m92b0yloxi-cJ-NNEdUY/edit?usp=sharing

Tuesday
Continue working on multimedia project.  This project is due TOMORROW, and we will present IN CLASS!

Wednesday
Present multimedia project today.

Thursday
Finish presenting multimedia project if necessary

Friday
Begin discussing special senses.

Zoology 2/3-2/7

Objective this week:  To understand the anatomy and body plan of a frog through a dissection of a frog specimen.

Monday

Frog dissection day one - external anatomy of a leopard frog.  Film the external anatomy for a YouTube video that will go on this blog.

Tuesday

Frog dissection day two - review external anatomy; begin muscle identification.  Transition to internal anatomy and organ identification.  Film all progress.

Wednesday

Frog dissection day three - continue dissection.  Map out digestive system and remove.  Dissect heart under a dissection microscope.  Look at lung anatomy.

Thursday

Clean up and review frog dissection.  Begin studying for checkoffs.  Lab practical next Monday 2/10.  

Friday

Begin reviewing for amphibian test (next Wed, 2/12)

Biology 2/3-2/7

Objective:  To understand how two traits combine together and how to predict probabilities of what traits offspring will show from the combination.  There will be a "traditional" method discussed as well as a "simpler" method.

Monday
Construct a pedigree chart with five generations of families.  Determine your own traits and genotypes to put on the pedigree chart.

Tuesday
Begin discussing dihybrid crosses.  Use the traditional method.  Write out practice problem(s).  Here's a video discussing the traditional method of dihybrids:


Wednesday
Review dihybrids using the traditional method.  Answer any and all questions from the class.  Then show students how to do the "simpler" method.  Give a worksheet and allow students to choose which method they want to use.

Thursday
Practice - punnett squares

Friday
Punnett square quiz.  Show variations that can exist in genetics such as codominance with blood type, incomplete dominance in snapdragons, etc.