Tests on Chapter 2 were handed back on Mon.
We started Chapter 3 with reading, vocab, and discussion. Notes taken on Chapter 3(pages 80-104) will be transferred on cards which then can be grouped and handled as a way to study and learn the various groups of Protists and characteristics of Fungi.
A test will be given on Mon.(Dec. 22) on Chapt. 3.
Students may use their cards and the information on them while taking their tests.
This will complete book 1 of 3 in the series we're using this year.
I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday season and a safe, healthy and relaxing vacation.

Students will be finishing upChapter 2(pages 46-76) and taking a test on Thurs.
Friday we will be heading to Worcester to watch some plays by Edgar Allen Poe. Bag lunches and drinks(nonbreakable) need to be packed in backpacks and please remind sons or daughters not to forget them!
All Section reviews should be in homework section of notebook.
All key terms have been defined.
Chapter 2 Assessment on page 76 will be completed.
Study Guides have been handed out and should be completed by Wed.

Tests from Chapt 5 were passed back today (Tues., 12/2).
Monday we started Chapt.2 (page 46)- Viruses and Bacteria. We had skipped Chapts. 2 & 3 in order to study plants in conjunction with our leaf albums and outside activities with plants.
Students have been assigned Sect 1(pages 47-54). This includes key terms and section review on page 54.
On Thurs. we'll start Section 2- Bacteria(pages 56-65). There will be 10 key terms that students need to define through reading and write in their notebooks.
On Friday we'll do an interesting activity dealing with the Cholera epidemic in London.
Throughout the week we'll be looking at bacteria with microscopes.

Quizzes on angiosperms and gymnosperms were passed back and reviewed. A test on Chapter 5 will be given next Tues.
This week, 11/17, has some classes not meeting on Mon. and Fri. due to the early dismissals. As a result all Balto found poems will be passed in Thurs. or Fri. depending on the class. All finished poems must be typed and rough drafts must accompany finished product. Another cross curriculum activity is Noun Week where we have 9 types of nouns that we're finding examples of in Chapt. 5.
We will be finishing up Chapt 5 (140-171) by the end of this week. It's a long chapter so students might do well to review the 5 section reviews, notes, key terms, notes, and worksheets.

Lab reports on our gymnosperm lab were passed back on Wed.,Nov. 12. Today students did some hands on dissecting of flowers for an angiosperm lab.
We will be starting on developing found poems on Balto tomorrow. At the same time we'll be finishing up Sect.3, pages 156-161 of Chapter 5. A quiz on the two labs will be given on Fri. Students should be able to identify parts of a scale and parts of a flower as well as the sequence of reproduction in plants.

On Monday, Nov.3, all leaf albums were passed back as was a homework quiz based on a diagram of a woody stem in Sect. 1 of Chapt 5, page 147.
Some leaf albums are displayed in the library.
We are studying Gymnosperms(Sect. 2, pages 150-155) this week by reading, identifying key terms, and a hands on cone lab. By the end of the week we will have completed Section 2.
Our moss projects will be in C124 during parent conferences.

Test on Chapt. 4 was passed back Mon.
We are starting Chapt. 5, Sect 1, with an assigned reading broken into two parts- pgs. 140-145 and Wed. 146-149. There are 10 vocab words that can be found on page 171 for Sect 1.
Regarding Leaf Albums- Due This Fri.
At this point, students should have my taxonomic key or a variation of it in their leaf albums.
Leaves must be in the same order as on their leaf guide.
A table of contents must reflect their respective leafs. While not on their rubric, I have told students to neatly number their pages to correspond with their table of contents.
There is no Beech. Norway Maple and Crimson King are considered the same. Any names and scientific names not done in keyboarding must be neatly labeled.
The cover page is best displayed inside the album unless there is a protective plastic cover on the front. First and last names as well as class periods must be on cover page.
Any albums that have had prior owners must have that information covered.

We've been very goal-orientated this week(10/14):
(1)leaf albums- working on getting our leaves press, identified and into albums to take home this weekend,
(2)tracking our moss terrariums and recording data, and
(3) reviewing for a Chapter 4 Test(pages 108-137).
In preparation for the Chapt. Test 4, two double sided review sheets
that cover the four chapter sections have been assigned.

Friday 10/17 All classes- Chapter 4

Tests on Chapt. 1 were passed back Tues.
We then skipped to Chapt. 4, P. 108, Introduction to Plants. (This was done in conjunction with leaf album work and availability of outside plant growth.)
Key terms for Section 1 and 2 have been assigned for vocab. section as well as Section Review Questions answered in their notes.
A quiz on the 5 plant adaptations for survival on land(P113) will be given on Friday.
Rubrics will be given out Friday for Leaf Projects and we will start work in class on setting up our leaf albums.

First Full Day of Fall!
Classification Quizzes were passed back.
Chapter Review on page 44, Questions 1-10 have been assigned for homework(due Wed.).
A Review Packet for Chapter 1 will be worked on in class Tues., Wed., and Thurs. for Standard Classes. Honors Classes will have class time Wed. and Thurs.
Thurs. homework will be to study Review Packets for Chapt 1 Test on Friday(Sept. 26).
Any students who have not brought in looseleaf binders with "sticky pages" or photo albums should plan on staying Mon. after school to break down donated last year's leaf albums in order to use for this year. Late buses will be running.

Quizzes were passed back Mon. on the Needs of Life.
This weekof 9/15 is focused on Section 3, pages 23-37. Key terms have been defined and page 37, questions 1-4 will be assigned Thurs. A quiz on the 7 levels of classification will be given Friday.
All classes will have had an opportunity to go outside leaf collecting by the end of the week. Photo albums should be brought in and stored in the classroom. Once our leaves have been dried and pressed we will start working on our actual albums. Our leaf guides which were handed out in class are what students are working with.

This week was busy.
Quizzes were passed back on Mon. and we talked about disproving theories using Redi's and Pasteur's experiments. A follow-up inquiry activity using "mystery boxes" gave hands on application to the scientific method. Once we could use our characteristics of life to determine what was truly living, we moved on to the needs of life.
There will be a quiz on the four basic needs of living things on Friday, Sept 12 for all classes.
Today we went outside to view the results of mentos and coke inserted into a volcano to represent the cooling earth. This served as a lead into Section 2. We also talked about homeostasis being important in maintaining a stable internal condition as a need of life.(It was very cool this morning.)
Homework: Read pages 25-27. Write out questions and answers on page 27. Study for quiz.

Welcome to Life Science!
Students have been issued books and have their first homework assignment to read and make a rough sketch for class tomorrow illustrating how the six characteristics of life can apply to any living organism.
On Friday, 9/5, they will take their first quiz identifying those characteristics.

Starting on Mon. 9/8, leaf albums can be brought in. We will be taking walks on the school grounds, by the library, and near the high school in order to collect specific leaves.

FIELD TRIP FORMS due FRI., 5/10!
>We took a little break and delved into the mysteries of the metric system followed by a quiz which was handed back 4/29. This was an inclass activity and students were allowed to use their notes.
After vacation new books were passed out with a request to get them covered. Starting 5/8, I will invite those who need help covering to come after school so I can help them.
We will be responsible for labeling the different organelles found in plant and animal cells (pretty much the same vocab) on Fri., 5/9, on a quiz.

On Friday, April 10, we will have our last Chapt. test(5) in our current book- Bacteria to Plants. This will cover pages 110-170. Students should have completed their vocabulary and section reviews.

English MCAS is over!
Students have not had any homework during that period, however we are well into Chapt. 5. We've been taking apart cones and flowers in class and learning about their life cycles. They should have read and completed their vocab for Sections 1, 2, and 3. pages 140 through 161. On Friday(4/4) they will have a quiz on gymnosperms and angiosperms.

Students received their tests from Chapt. 4 back on Thurs.
Thanks to all parents who sent in baked goods. Students will probably always think back to this event when 3.14 rolls around.
We have started Chapt. 5-Seed Plants, on page 139. Tonight's homework was to read Sect.1, pages 140-149, and add the ten key terms found on page171 for that section to their vocab. By Thurs. (last day of this week), we'll have completed the section rev. and will be having a quiz on section 1.

Thanks to everyone for completing their book reports!
We're working thru Chapt 4 with Sect. reviews on pages 117, 124, and128 being done in class. They also have been keeping up with their vocab in their notebooks. Today, Fri., 3/7, a quiz was given using their notebooks(Honor's class exempted from notes).
Starting Mon. We'll start Sect. 4, review on Tues. and have a test on Chapt. 4 Wed. (Wed. night is "no homework" night due to "Pi making activity.)

Welcome Back!
Tests from Chapt. 3 as well as their corrected rough drafts of their Scientists Book Reports were passed back Mon. Their final drafts are due back in Friday accompanied by their rough drafts. They must have a cover page as well. Both keyboarding teachers are giving them time in their classes to type their final copies.
We started Chapt. 4- The Plant Kingdom in class today.

Due Thurs., 2/7
We have finished Section 2 about the effects of Algal Blooms. Students will be building off two days of reading, discussing, and working with scenarios about algal blooms in salt and fresh water. They will complete this section by analyzing a situation on page 94 and writing 3 paragraphs using their knowledge of eutrophication and its environmental impact on society.
On Fri. we will have a short quiz to revisit their illustrated "Quest" on Protist from the week of 2/4. The last section deals with fungi and we'll be working through pages 95-106.
By the end of next week (preceeding vacation) we will have worked on our rough drafts in class for our science book reports; passed them in, and finished Chapt 3. Thurs., 2/14, and Fri., 2/15, we will be reviewing and testing for Chapt 3 as well as completing book report rough drafts.
PLEASE KEEP REMINDING YOUR CHILD TO READ!!!! THANK YOU.

Science Book Report

Students will be doing a report on a scientist or an individual associated with some field of science. Most students were able to chose a book on our visit to the school library, however the town library has also been alerted. On Thurs. I will be asking for the title and author of their book.
They were given a rubric that outlines the expectations and steps for completion of this project.

Homework

Chapter 3, Section 1(pages 80-89) deals with Protists.
In order to make this Kingdom more interesting we've been dealing with lots of characteristics and pictures.
On Thurs. students will be respnsible for identification and catagorizing protists on a heavily weighted quiz that I'm referring to as a "Quest". They have worksheets from class that have these drawings to study from.
Friday is a curriculum development day and students don't have school.

Test on Chapt 1 and Balto were passed back after vacation.
Sect 1(Viruses), Chapt 2 has been highlighted in students' notebook with key ideas, key terms and notes. A creative cartoon depicting Virus stages, along with section questions was marked and handed back.
Section 2(Bacteria) is being covered the week of Jan. 6. Today, Jan. 8 students are completing a graded assessment that they can use their homework to complete. We will highlight Sect.2 and tonight's assignment is to read Section 2(pages 56-65).
On Thursday there will be a quiz on the structures of a virus and a bacterium.
We will finish up Chapt 3 by discussing Sect. 3(Infectious Diseases) on Friday.
The week of Jan.14th will be spent with lab work, review, and Test on Chapt 2.