Students were handed back the 4 Section Reviews from last week. Each assignment was worth 25 points for a total quiz mark of 100. A graded class assignment involving 10 questions answered completely was averaged with their homework for a test mark on Chapter 4. Any student that realized they were outstanding in homework assignments or the class assignment has until Tues. to make up the missing assignments for partial credit.
We have started Chapt. 5- Seed Plants with an assignment to read Sect. 1, pages 140-149. An oak tree with its roots, trunk/stem, leaves, and seeds(acorns) was modeled to them on the board to illustrate the 10 key terms of Sect. 1. They also could use the corn plant on page 178 as an example with a little more detail included.
Tues. will be an MCAS day with the classes that meet with me working independently on their biography rough drafts or moving ahead with Section 2 (pages 150-155).
Wed. will be a formal Section 2 presentation and once again due to MCAS on Thurs. there will be no assigned homework.
Thurs. will be an MCAS day with a reading assignment of Sect. 3 (pages 156-161) and the key terms for that Section found on page 171.
They have to hand in their rough drafts of their science book reports on Friday, May14th.
Some students will have 4 white lined pages with notes while others may actually have turned those notes into organized paragraphs. I would like to be able to take the students to the computer lab next week and have them working from their own notes / rough draft to a finished product. They have been asked to bring either their science book choice or another reading book to occupy themselves when finished working on MCAS.

Sorry about the delay but I've had a real rush on my computer by students needing to type poems for their Anthology Project! On another literary topic students are going to the library today to pick a biography to read about a scientist or someone who has contributed to society such as Bill Gates, Jacques Cousteau or an activist for the environment. Most students will use our library but some want to visit the town library. I would like to see everyone with a book by Friday. A rubric was handed out today.
They're very easy books to read for the most part. The Honors Class will have slim pickings since I meet with them at the end of the day, however they might enjoy something more challenging in the town library.
A rough draft will be due Friday, May14. This will involve setting up their report in the same format as requested on their handout.
The final draft will be due Tues., June 1st.
In addition each student will be asked to share some information about the life of their scientist with the rest of the class. This activity will be very informal without any reading from reports.

We've been working on Kingdom Fungi(Pages 95-104) .
They will have a "Quest"(multiple choice, fill in the blank, and a few true and false) on Friday.
It will be counted as a test mark, but shorter and and only covering Sect. 3 , Chapter 3.

Now that marks are in, the long overdue Chapter 2 tests are getting graded- my apologies. We had an in-class project covering Sect. 1 that students were able to use books, boardwork, handouts, and notes which will be a pass/fail. There was ample time to complete it and some worked in a socially collective fashion although the sub told them to work independently. Those that did not finish or make the effort to finish by the end of the week will be given an Inc/Fail as they have had ample to finish.
Section 2 reading and key terms was assigned along with the questions from Section 1 were assigned as homework for Tuesday, May . I will be talking about eutrophication (page 92) which will then be tied into a writing assignment based on the Science and Society assignment-p. 94. (Thursday's homework assignment is to reread and talk with parents.) They will be asked to comment on how this could apply to Hiawatha, Silver Lake or Box Pond. on Friday in class.
There will be no homework over the vacation but to celebrate the arrival of good weather!
Enjoy!

Science tests taken Tues. will not be handed back until Mon. which will be entered on the 4th quarter term.
We have completed Section 1 of Chapter 3. Students should have read pages 80-89 and have completed the key terms for that section.
We've been running a bacteria lab with the assistance of Jake Bouchard's sister Sara and are eagerly waiting on the results of our swabbing and plating

Test Tuesday- 4/6/10
Chapter 2 (Pages 48-74)
3 Worksheets Completed
3 Section Reviews Completed
Page 76, 1-10- Answered in Complete Sentences Unless They're True