There is no homework scheduled for Friday.

Students have three worksheets, vocabulary, Section 2 of Chapt. 1 in their text, and a drawing of a plant cell to study for their quiz on cell organelles Thurs.

In preparation for a quiz on cell organelles quiz on Thurs. we have another worksheet on yet another model of how a cell functions for homework.

We're heading toward a quiz on cell organelles Thurs. Homework tonight is to complete a worksheet entitled "cell city".

Students were assigned Reviewing Content 1-10 on page 46. Some were able to complete the assignment in class while others have it for homework. They must have all answers in complete sentences.

Follow-up was passed back and segued into cell organelles presentation.
Homework is to re-read Section 2 and on page 45 copy the 13 key terms into vocab section and write their definitions through context from the reading.

Six kingdom quiz was passed back. A followup on Tuesday's reading pages 21-34 was written in class today and handed in.
There was no assigned homework for Thurs.

Leaf Albums Due Tomorrow-
This is a test mark which means if the leaf albums get turned in they will receive some credit. Making it neat and organized and adhering to the rubric as well as possible is all I'm asking.
After tomorrow they may still turn in for partial credit.
They will also have a notebook quiz on the six kingdoms and a few questions on classification. This material should be in their notebooks which they can use.

"Keying" as it applies to taxonomy was introduced in class. After modeling an exercise, students were given a worksheet to practice for homework, due Monday. Leaf albums and rubrics were also passed out and students can take them home to work on. They are due the Tues. after Thanksgiving.

Thanks for the donations to our food pantry. We reviewed our quizzes from yesterday and did a quick leaf walk as well as adding some pressed leaves to our albums. No homework.

Today was spent in the computer lab doing labels for our leaf albums.
Quizzes were passed back. Anyone with a mark less than 80 has an option of a redo, but must purchase a "ticket" by bringing in one item of nonperishable food for our Thanksgiving Food Drive.
"Redos" will be Thurs.
No homework was issued.

Quiz was administered, labs finished up and leaves were put in albums.
No homework.

Our Toothpickase Lab is completed and hopefully students have a better appreciation of the affect of multiple substrates and hot and cold on enzyme activity.
They will be having a quiz tomorrow on the seven levels of classification. They have this material in their notebooks.

No homework tonight.

We started off the week with a "Toothpickase Lab" and we'll be doing parts of it in the beginning of each class. In addition we talked about our homework assignment due tomorrow of reading pages 28-39 in their purple texts. As they read Classifying Organisms they should be using the subheadings of the section for their left column note and then write the explanation of that heading in the right column. Any words that are boldfaced should also be included in the right hand side.

Students were well prepared for our "chilly" outings to gather leaves.
No homework for the weekend.

Tests were passed back today. Tomorrow I would like to walk through the athletic field to the neighboring section of the high school to see what is left for leaves. Students have been advised to dress accordingly.
No homework for tonight.

Testing- no homework.

Students reviewed for a brief test tomorrow which had been postponed from last Wed. due to Pumpkin Chunkin. We covered most of the test in class and referenced notes to study. Organic chemical compounds, needs of living things, levels of cellular organization, and vocabulary would be good to review.

All students were asked to complete a worksheet using the orange books.
In addition Honors were asked to have a rough draft of a a "RAFT" writing assignment due Mon. Finished copies will be due Wed.

Students were asked to read pages 33-37. Fourteen vocab words, the same as found on page 45 under key terms for section 3, were listed on the board. Their homework assignment was to write their definitions from their reading context. For those classes that met with me today we reviewed them but if for any reason they did not finish their assignment, they have another day since due to Pumpkin Chunkin we did not meet with all classes. There was no homework.

Students worked on their leaf albums setting up their pages.
There is no homework tonight.

We did a lab dissolving sugar in water and oil to drive home the concept of water as the universal solvent, sugar as a source of energy, and lipids being really hard to break down!
Tonight's homework is to study their notes for tomorrow's quiz.

Students have a homework assignment to complete a data table on homeostasis as it applies to lizards. They need to have it completed as well as the questions pertaining to it.
On Wed. they will be assessed on the 6 characteristics of life, experiments of Redi and Pasteur, as well the 4 needs of living things.

Leaf walks went well and we started our pressing process. We did a follow up exercise using our two column notes in class and while there was no homework for tonight, some students still need to spend a little more quality time completing their notes. Any books used for that assignment need to be brought back in by this Friday.

I hope everyone had a nice long weekend!
We were working on two column notes in class using pages 16-23. Students were told to take textbooks with them and complete assignment for homework if not finished in class.
Tomorrow we will be taking our 1st leaf walk. Students were advised to dress appropriately.

We mounted and stained yeast cells today.
Tomorrow afternoon we will have our team building outside. Appropriate clothing for physical activities was advised to classes.
Depending on the printing return we will have a lab practical based on their last two days' activities. There is no homework.

Everyone had the opportunity to wet mount the letter "e" and view it under the microscope. While doing this they had to complete the 1st page(front and back). For homework they had to answer questions 1-4(back side) on white lined paper for Wed.

Hopefully lots of papers went home today. We started microscope work and will be preparing slides this week.
No homework.

Homework was to graph their turtle hatchings. Many finished in class.
Aquarium is up and running with pond life.
Lots of folks staying after school today finishing up their popper packets and putting together leaf albums. I was not able to individualize as much as was needed.
If the weather allows we'll be outside for a team bonding activity tomorrow p.m.- sneaks and pants.

We reviewed the metric system in conjunction with our homework which dealt with temperature.
Plugging into the formula F=( C x 9/5) + 32 made things a little more relevant.
There is no homework except what was mentioned on Mon.'s blog.
This may be redundant as I was interrupted by a fire drill.

In an effort to create closure to our popper challenge activity I have asked anyone that has more outstanding work to come in either after school Mon. or Wed., or before school to finish their lab.
The last two paragraphs can be done at home on lined paper and added to their packet.
The questions are:
-One paragraph summarizing what you did during the experiment.
-One paragraph discussing what you learned from doing this project and any new questions that were raised from doing this lab.
Quizzes from the scientific method taken Wed. were passed back today.
Weather permitting, we will take a leaf walk Fri.

We're trying to wrap up the Great Popper Challenge Lab. Hopefully everyone will be finished compiling, analyzing, and Monday we start our graphing.
There is no homework this weekend.

Students received their MCAS writing prompts back today which we used as a pre-assessment. Once we went over and corrected it they were able to review for their quizzes.
We're finishing up our popper labs but will need to work on them Friday as well.
I will be out tomorrow, but have assigned a pretest to see what their backgrounds are.
There will be no homework.

No homework tonight.

Homework due in Fri. was passed back and reviewed.
For homework an MCAS prompt was distributed and students were to write a paragraph critiquing it. This is due Tues.
They will have a quiz on Wed. covering their notes and vocab dealing with a scientific investigation. (It may be delayed until Thurs. if printing has not been completed.)

It was a pleasure meeting you last night.
Thursday's homework was passed back, Friday's collected.
There is no homework over the weekend.

Today we'll approach a scientific investigation from another perspective using groups- control and experimental to solve problems created by the "Simpson Neighborhood". Hopefully after discussing the homework in class students will enjoy this worksheet for homework!

Today we're identifying the control, independent variable and dependent variable to an in class reading. We're going to practice our vocab on a homework assignment that involves a worksheet with many hypothetical situations that will ask the student to apply their vocab knowledge and identify parts of the problems. The key is looking at the question to identify the variable!
This assignment can be modified down to one side asking only for an illustration. Standard classes need only isolate the independent variable. Honors will be asked to name a dependent variable as well.

Week 2 started with handing back their writing samples from Friday. From our work using a logical thinking process to describe a drawing of a flamingo, we segued into the scientific method. Students were asked to create a problem that interested them or simply base it on the model of a plant used in class. Giving ownership made using the scientific method more interesting and we've been sharing these in class.
Today we used a text to define factors of an actual experiment such as manipulated and responding variables.
I have heard that Staples is out of sticky 8.5 x 11 sheets for their leaf albums but A.C. Moore and Micheals still has them. Anyone who would like to take advantage of my extra binders and sticky pages should come after school Mon. or Wed. to set one up for themselves.
There is no homework for Wed.

Today we completed our mystery box lab and applied three vocab words to different situations. This is a two step process where they need to understand and use a science term. Tomorrow they will individually be asked to explain their three vocab words as they apply to a drawing on the board.
All forms should be passed in during homeroom.
Friday is NFL day and students can participate by wearing their favorite shirts. (I believe Mr Lind mentioned this in his parent email)

While I missed my Period 3 Science class, all other classes participated in a Mystery Box Lab where groups used evidence gained from sound or feel to make an inference about what was inside each of seven "mystery boxes." This led to their predictions which they recorded in their notebooks. We then referenced a discussion in our text entitled Think Like a Scientist.
There was no homework and books were used for reference only .

Welcome back parents and students!
Today we talked a little about Life Science and a lot about classroom procedure.
We'll be exploring some of the tools of science such as the microscope, metric system, and general classroom equipment. Understanding the scientific method and how it can be applied to a logical thinking process and using inferences and evidence to substantiate answers will be used in problem solving.No books will be issued but notes and handouts should be organized and saved for assessment purposes.

Due Friday, Ch 1- Sections 1 and 2 Reviews #1-4 and read Sections 1 and 2 as well for the C4 Summit tomorrow. Bring a bag lunch with name on it!

Tests from Chapter 5 were passed back today.
Students were in the library selecting a scientist's biography to read for an oral report outlined on four notecards due June 13th. These books should not be difficult nor take a long time to read.
Other than reading, there is no homework.
All textbooks will be collected tomorrow.
We will explore selected topics from an environmental text issued tomorrow.
Please remember a bag lunch and appropriate wear for our field day Thurs.

Homework tonight.
Page 172, Questions 1-10. Answer in complete sentences (False should be rewritten correctly, True statements do not need to be rewritten).
Review packets will be completed in class today and should be used as a study guide.
Test on Chapt. 5 (Seed Plants) Friday.
All text books will be collected. We have an Environmental Science book which will be distributed Mon.

Once again MCAS went very smoothly with students trying hard to do their best. Thank you for preparing them.
We are all now focused on reviewing for the Chapter 5 Test scheduled for Friday. Students have a homework assignment reading pages 168-171, Section5 adding the two final vocab words, and answering the Section Review on page 170 and filling in a Concept Map found on page 171 or 172 depending on what edition book they have. A review packet has been distributed for work in class.
The C4 outing has been postponed to Thursday, May 26th with a raindate on June 1st. We still could use volunteers if a CORI is on file.

After reading Section 2 starting on page 150, students need to answer questions 1-4 on page 155.
In addition they need to add the 5 key terms with their definitions from Sect. 2 to their vocab. section of their notebooks.

Any Standard students will be retaking a quiz tomorrow on the same assignment as what was covered on their pre-quiz in class on Friday.
All material for their Moss of Course poster should be brought into class where it will be assembled. All projects are due on Fri.
Homework is to read Sect. 2 of Chapter 5, pages 150-155(Gymnosperms).

Homework is to re-read Section 1, Chapter 5 and complete the Section 1 Review- page 149, 1-4.
Answer in complete sentences.

Tests from Chapter 4 were passed back today.
We started Section 1, Chapter 5.
Homework for tonight is to read pages 140-149. They have 10 key terms on page 171 that should be defined in their vocab section. I also asked them to think of simple illustrations or stick figures to draw next to their definitions. I modeled a very primitive stick figure of a plant to show the transport directions of phloem and xylem(vocab words).

Students will have completed all Section Reviews of Chapter 4 today. They should have finished reading Chapter 4 as well and updated their key terms to 21 definitions in their notebook. These can be found on page 135.
Homework for tonight will be to answer the questions on 1-10 on page 136 in complete sentences.
We will be working on review packets in class for our Chapter 4 Test on Friday. On Thurs. they can complete their packets for homework and bring them in to use on their Tests Friday. They may also all their Section Reviews and key terms on their Test Friday.
They need to make sure to bring this material with them to class.

We went outside with prisms today with the sun cooperating to show us the visible light spectrum.
In addition we worked on a class assignment of answering the 4 section review questions on page 124, Sect 2, Chapter 4 . If they did not finish these in class, then they need to do that over the weekend.

We've started Chapt. 4 and the 4th quarter!
Students have been responsible for their Section 1 Vocab(14 terms), a drawing on plant adaptations , and homework on page 117, 1-4.
There is no homework tonight or Fri.

Chapt 3 Tests were passed back.
Standard students wishing a "redo" must bring test back signed by parent and be prepared to stay after Wed. for a make-up test.
We have started Section 1 of Chapter 4 by adding 14(key terms) vocabulary terms with their definitions to their vocab section of their notebooks. By taking these terms from context of pages 110-117, students should have read the first section, however a formal assignment will be assigned in class Tues.

Chapt. Test 3 Thursday- All classes.
Block 3-Page 106.

Having MCAS Mon. and Tues. will make all assignments due Wed.
Today all classes except Blocks 1 and 3 were assigned page 106, questions 1-10.
Study guides were being worked on in class and will be continued tomorrow.
A sheet depicting fungi vocabulary was also passed out to all Blocks but 1 and 3.
Review will be Wed. and Test on Chapt 3 will be Thurs.

With MCAS and Fri.'s 1/2 day, I have been trying to work through Chapt 3. Unfortunately next week will also be chunked up with some classes meeting more than others.
Homework P. 104, Questions 1-4.
This finishes Chapt. 3.
We will be reviewing for a test on Thurs.

Once again we've been having some technical problems opening up The Science Niche. We have completed Section 1 & 2 of Chapt 3. Students should have the Section Reviews on pages 89 & 92 completed as well as the key terms on page 105 for those sections.

Students will be taking a very easy quiz based on an exercise in class today. They have 15 terms and definitions that they need to know for a matching quiz on Wed.
We have finished Section2 of Chapt 2 and will be wrapping up the last Section 3 tomorrow, reviewing Thurs. and taking a test on Chapt 2 Fri.
This was a short chapter and many concepts were covered in our prior book as each of these books can be used as the first of the series of three that we use. In their notebooks they should have the Section Reviews completed on page 54 and 65, as well as the key terms on page 75 defined for Sections 1 and 2. Tomorrow's homework will be to read Section 3, complete the key terms(4) on page 75, and answer 3 questions of Section Review 3 on page 73. They will have questions 1-10 to complete on page 76 Thurs. night as well completing their review packets if they did not finish in class.
Once again, Test, Chapter 2 Friday.

Students spent their day polishing their lab reports into finished products. They are now hanging from the hall bulletin board. We did not spend time in class to go over:
Page 54- Questions answered in complete sentences (Tues's homework).
Tonight they were assigned to read Section 2 Bacteria. Those that finished early in the computer lab were given a packet to complete the first two pages but not the back side of the first sheet.
Some complete classes and some individual students did not have time to get a packet so tomorrow we will catch everyone up. If they can't find some answers in their book and didn't have time to use the computers in the lab today, I will go over in class with them tomorrow. They just need to bring their packets to class with them to class tomorrow.

Students were handed back lab reports and tests from Chapt. 1 today. Since MCAS is fast approaching much of our science classes will be devoted to writing responses using writing prompts learned in English classes. For example for homework they need to rewrite their lab reports for homework using:
Topic sentence
Relevant examples
Accurate explanation
Conclusion and
Keeping writing neat.

We will correct Mon.'s homework (if not finished in class) of answering the checkpoints in Sect.1 of Chapt. 2.

Our Rhizopus bread mold lab project has ended and students were working in class on lab write-ups as well as hopefully finishing them at home for hand in today. For those who could not finish I will help in class as well as be after school(Wed.) . Those that did complete will have their review packets to work on but will not be assigned homework. Anyone not completing their lab write-up by the end of school will be marked late.
Thurs. they they will complete #'s 1-10 in complete sentences on page 44 for homework and finish their review packets in class. Anyone not completing their review packet will have to do that for homework as well. All answers should be researched from the book.
Friday we will quickly check the review packets and take our Chapt 1 Test.

Students received quizzes from Friday.
Homework tonight is to read pages 40-42(Section4 of Chapt.1)
After reading , they should answer questions 1-4 on page 42 (Section Review) in complete sentences.
Test on Chapt. 1 Friday.

Students were checked for their "power sentences" from Section 3 that they had to finish at home if they did'nt complete the assignment in class.
Thursday's homework assignment is to know the 7 levels of classification for a quiz on Friday.

Homework due Wed.
Read Section 3- pages 29-37.
Create a drawing and an accompanying explanation of an example of a classification system from your room. Some examples could be a set of drawers, closet, desk, or collection.

Homework assignment for Thurs., Feb. 3, was to read Section 2, pages 25-27. On page 27 they were to answer the four Section Review questions. However, due to Galileo assessment scheduled for Fri., we will not be going over them until Mon. No homework is scheduled for the weekend.

I'm sorry about missing the last two days-snow day not withstanding, however my blog site was not cooperating.
We completed our final Chapt. 5 Test Tues. from our Cells and Genetics book and received it back on Wed. We also received our second book that day and had an assignment to read Sect. 1(Chapt.1) and answer questions 1-4 on page 23.
Today we're working on Section 1 and there will be no homework this weekend except to bring in a cover(brown paper bag) or jumbo book sock to cover their books.
Many students might need a new notebook as their old ones are getting filled up. If not, they should clean out their old notebooks of misc. papers and organize them so they can find current notes.

Students have finished their review packets and have been instructed to take home their books and packets to study for the test tomorrow on Chapter 5.

We are reviewing for our Chapter 5 Test scheduled for Friday.
Students were assigned P. 166, 1-10 to be answered in complete sentences.
Due to the "rush to the buses", they have an extra day to complete Tues.'s assignment.
Today we worked on their review packets. Standard classes with the exception of Block 3 should be 1/2 completed with the exception of their vocab. which they can complete from their notebooks. We will complete our review packets in class Thurs. Honors classes were assigned completion at home.
Thurs.'s assignment will be to use their notebooks to complete the vocab sections of their packets and then study their packets for the test Fri. This chapter has been interrupted by snow days and a long weekend. Students might want to skim over the chapter(pages 140-162) again.

No homework tonight.
We covered Section 3, Chapter 5, starting on page 159 in class.
Students may need to complete the reading on their own.

No homework tonight.
Enjoy the snow day!

Graded classwork combined with homework check(two marks) were passed back today.
Homework was to read pages 151-158 and using complete sentences answer questions 1-4 of the Section Review found page 158.

Students finished up Sect 1 by going over their Sect. Rev. that was started in class Wed. and finished as a class discussion today. The corrected answers should be in their note section.
Today we handled fossils and talked about The Geologic Time Scale as a lead in to Sect. 2.
Their homework was to complete the key terms and their definitions for Sect 2 found on page 165.

We've been doing a few activities in class- inspecting different sunflower seeds for variations and using tweezer vs tongs to pick up cereal and seeds to model adaptations.
Tonight students should review Section 1 and list and describe the four factors that affect natural selection in their note sections.

Happy New Year!


Chapt 4 tests were passed back Mon.
Students were assigned pages 140-146- Sect 1 of Chapt 5 to read.
At the same time they should be picking out the meanings of their vocab(key terms of section 1) found on page 165 and adding them to their vocab section of their notebooks.