7/8 Grade Science with Mr. Edwards

Density homework

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:03:00 +0000

Use the following presentation to fill in your density notes handout

Cheers

Notes on Mass

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:04:00 +0000

Use the following presentation to fill out the handout for Mass.

Welcome back

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:43:00 +0000

Welcome back homebases Russell and Gates. Tonight's homework: Use the handout to fill in the 5 slides (last 3 pages of handout) from the presentation below.

Nervous system notes

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:58:00 +0000

Use the following slide presentation to fill in immune system worksheet.

Immune system notes

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:38:00 +0000

Use the notes below to fill in the worksheet given to you in class.

Human body system notes

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:32:00 +0000

The following are some items that were shared in class that students may need access to outside of class.

Cheers!

Digestive system notes homework

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:30:00 +0000

Use the following notes to fill in the blanks for the worksheet provided to you in class.

Project templates

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:01:00 +0000

In case any student needs access to the 3 Punnett square templates used for the Genetic Monster project, they have been shared with students on their Google docs. Students have notes and examples to use in case they get stuck.

Cheers!

Sign up for current event

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:41:00 +0000

Students, please fill out the form below regarding your recently assigned current event article.

Current events sign up form

Tomorrow's quiz reminder

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:13:00 +0000

Don't forget about tomorrow's quiz:

Introduction to cells notes handout (says "cells" on first page)
Microscope organisms:

Paramecium
Euglena
Amoeba
Elodea cells

Estimating size within the field of view (as done in class)

As always, you may write whatever you want on a half sheet of notes (one side only) to use during the quiz. IF YOU WRITE IT, YOU LEARN IT!

Cheers!

Humbled

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:07:00 +0000

I pride myself on being relatively tech savvy.

Student: "Mr. Edwards, I can't see any grades on X2."
Mr. Edwards: "That's impossible"
Mr. Edwards after realizing that he had all the assignments marked by default as private (hidden): "Whoops!"

Just a reminder to check X2. Progress reports are coming out in a couple of weeks.

Thanks Student

Cheers!

Cell Parts Notes/homework

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:47:00 +0000

For tonight's homework, fill in the blanks within the handout given to you using the notes below.

Cheers!

science update

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:45:00 +0000

Hello

We have been doing some cool things with microscopes. We have been looking at Paramecium, Euglenas, and cells from a plant called Elodea. We had a difficult time observing Amoeba, but the power of Youtube gave us an awesome video to watch of an Amoeba eating a Paramecium.

Ask your students all about the microscopic cells and organisms we talked about including the cute little dust mites and the very cool, but deadly Ebola virus (Check out this link we used for discussion). See if they remember what "8 pounds" represents. Science is really cool!

On a more serious note, I just added the grades for the first science quiz to X2. I always give students the opportunity to actively study by creating a half sheet of notes to use during the quiz. For most students, there is a correlation for class averages between students who take advantage of using the note sheets and those that did not. This correlation should come with no surprise since it typically is an indication of most student's preparation and review of the material. I would recommend opening dialogue with your child as to whether they are using all the tools I am providing to help them succeed. Let me know if I explain or clarify what I am doing to help your child succeed.

Cheers!

Levels of organization notes

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:56:00 +0000

Cheers!

Serious science

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:20:00 +0000

In an effort to broaden the scientific scope of my student's and other listener's horizons, and because a student gave me 2 coconut halves for such purpose, I wanted to share a very scientific video clip. Perhaps you can engage in Thanksgiving conversation about the science concepts of: sound acoustics, velocity, weather, and biology behind the following video. Enjoy.

Good bye for now

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:49:00 +0000

Hello Russell and Gates homebase students, families, and related things. As I am tying up loose ends from term 1 (more like knotting loose ends). I must bid farewell to my students from term 1 until we reunite in term 3 for physics. If you do not want to continue receiving my mumbo jumbo posts, click "unsubscribe" from the bottom of the email and rejoin the masses later. Thank you for listening.

Mr. Edwards

Back to reality / last rubric project

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:48:00 +0000

Although it is difficult for middle schoolers to take the meaning of the word REALITY seriously after a one week "fall vacation," it is nonetheless time to buckle down and start our next project and finish the term strong.

We have been working a lot with genetics and punnett squares (remember those?) and learning new complex vocabulary (ask your child to WOW you with their new language). The time is now upon us to create our "Genetic Monsters" which is their last rubric project. Tonight's homework is to start writing their introduction by getting through at least the first 3 terms outlined on the grading sheet. No student should be spending time drawing and doing the artistic part until all of the written content is completed.

Cheers!

Important deadlines

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:23:00 +0000

The following are important deadline for students:

This Monday (10/24), the human body systems project is due. Students were given extra time outside of class to tackle some of the tedious tasks of coloring and cutting and pasting that may have still needed to be done.

Tuesday (10/25) is the deadline for revisions on the Plant cell simile rubric. If a student would like to stay that afternoon to work on revisions, that is fine if parents let me know. Students need to remember that if they miss the revision deadline, they can still revise for their portfolios or quality night, but they will miss the opportunity for their grade to increase.

Cheers!

The things that make me laugh

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:30:00 +0000

As I prepare for our upcoming genetics unit, I came across this webpage that made me laugh.

http://kcbx.net/~tellswor/mmgentic.htm

Cheers!

Projects graded

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:14:00 +0000

The "Like a plant cell" projects have been graded and passed back today. I revisited the school's revision policy again with students:

One week to make revisions in order for them to have a positive influence on their grade
After one week, projects can still be revised, but only for portfolio purposes (no change in grade)
All revisions must be clearly identified on the revision cover sheet.
If revisions are not identified on cover sheet, the revisions will not be reviewed.

Please stress to your child the importance of this process and that teachers are also putting time into reviewing their work.

Cheers!

Every living thing has to exist somewhere

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:58:00 +0000

Meet your little friends:

Discover Magazine (November 2010): 98 Percentage of people worldwide who host Demodex folliculorum or Demodex brevis, the only two arthropod species that permanently colonize the human body. These microscopic, eight-legged mites live in the follicles of our eyelashes, eyebrows, and nose hairs, where they feed on dead skin cells and oil.

http://cdn.geckoandfly.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/demodex_folliculorum_2.jpg

Automatic emails

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 12:09:00 +0000

Hello,

The automatic email from yesterday may have misdirected (via the download option in the email) my video link, visible on my website. The video's link is:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/23/scitech/main20110689.shtml

Faster than a speeding...

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 19:26:00 +0000

Quick! What's the fastest thing in the universe? Light, right? MAYBE. See below.

Rubric Project: Like a plant cell

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:15:00 +0000

We have been heavily involved in learning about cells in science class the past couple of weeks. In order to try to grasp the parts and functions of cells we will be doing a project that relates a plant cell to a familiar theme.

Why a plant cell? They have a couple more parts to them that animal cells.

Students will need a poster board or foam board (no trifolds please; too big) or materials for a 3D model (I told students that if they were interested in the 3D model that it had to be done in 2 days of class time unless they get permission otherwise).

Links:
Project description and grading sheet
Project timeline with tasks

Cheers!

Tomorrow's quiz (Friday 9/23)

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Edwards) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:42:00 +0000

Below is a brief summary of what you should focus on for tomorrow's quiz. As always, you may create a half sheet of notes (one side only) to use during the quiz.

Microscope parts
Focal plane & field of view definitions
total magnification
Elodea and cheek cell labs

cell parts that you have seen
mystery liquid

Cell Theory
Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic

focus on differences
Examples of each (hint: all cells except bacteria are...)

If you need to review the last few items, check out my cell notes presentation below.

Cheers!