My Hair

Image Source + other awesome microscopic images

Today we worked to increase our comfort level with the idea of magnification and use of a microscope. We examined hairs from our head! Each student was asked to make three drawings at different magnifications.

For Thursday: Create a blog post of your three drawings. Please make sure that each drawing is labeled with the magnification and description of the drawing. Answer the following question:

"What have I learned about magnification."

One of the key words for the month is elaborate. I would like you to elaborate as you answer this question.

Also, if your blog posting from last class was missing details, please update it.

Working with scale

Today’s Key Questions:

1. What does it look like to be 10 times bigger (or smaller)? 100 times? 1000 times?

By the end of class, I should be able to:

• describe my understanding of scale

August Process Words

• Compose
• Illustrate
• Contribute
• Elaborate

Class Opening:

1. If it is your day to contribute to the class data, please do so first.
2. Plant / Human Drawing

Tasks:

1. Please complete the second half of your drawing with a plant.
2. On both sides (you & the plant), go back and draw/label external features.

Working with Scale

A few animations:

• Cell Size and Scale
• How Big is a …?
• The Scale of the Universe

HW: create a blog posting that describes today's activities and how you would explain the concept of scale to a classmate

Is a flame alive?

Today’s Key Questions:

1. How can my textbook be a better resource?
2. How can I apply my knowledge of living organisms to decide if something is living or not?

By the end of class, I should be able to:

• defend whether or not something is a living organism
• identify external structures of plants and animals
• use my textbook as a resource

August Process Words

• Compose
• Illustrate
• Contribute
• Elaborate

Class Opening:

1. If it is your day to contribute to the class data, please do so first.
2. Please comment on the blogs of your classmates.

Textbook - how can your textbook be used as a reference?

• What is the purpose of the table of contents?
• What resources are located in the back of the book?
• When I’m reading a chapter, how can I make the exercise an active one?

Is a flame alive?

Is the flame alive?

Use the common characteristics of living organisms to defend your answer.


Resource: page 10 of Cells & Heredity
- turn in your halfsheet and then open to page 10
- Modify your answer as necessary
- What questions do you still have?

Living Organisms

Today’s Key Question: What are characteristics of living organisms?

By the end of class, I should be able to:

• describe characteristics of living organisms

Vocabulary: Biotic

Class Opening:

1. If it is your day to contribute to the class data, please do so first.
2. Please comment on the blogs of your classmates.

Assessment: Use and Parts of a Microscope

Task - We have been communicated with by beings from another planet. They want to know what life is like on Earth. With your group, please list characteristics of living organisms. (We will share.)


Support Reading: Cells & Heredity (p. 9-15) Bring this book to class on Tuesday

Microscope Drawings

Today’s Key Question: How can I show others what I’ve seen?

By the end of class, I should be able to:

• demonstrate proper use of a microscope
• successfully use a microscope to find living organisms
• Draw and describe observations made with a microscope

Class Opening:

1. If it is your day to contribute to the class data, please do so first.
2. Using water from the AST pond, prepare a wet mount and make a drawing for your blog.
4. 
   

The following information must be on your drawing:

1. today's date,
2. the magnification power,
3. where the sample came from,
4. and a caption describing what you saw.

1. 
2. 
   

Student Life Drawings: Use the paper provided to trace half of your body. Requirements:

• Before beginning, fold the paper in half lengthwise. ½ paper for ½ body
• A complete “half” must be present. This means your head, all of one arm and one hand, and all of a leg and foot.
• If there is extra space, please allow more space to be at the bottom.

A first look at the AST Pond

Today’s Key Question: How can microscopes help us learn more about life on Earth?

By the end of class, I should be able to:

• safely handle a microscope
• prepare and use a wet mount
• determine the level of magnification that I am using when looking into a microscope.

Class Opening:
Please place your bags at your seat. You now have 20 minutes to complete the design of your wall blog. If it is your scheduled day to find class data, please do this before working on your wall blog.

Microscope Basics

• Parts of a microscope

(image source)

• Safe handling & Care

Let’s go get water from the AST pond!

• Preparing a wet mount. I need a cover slip, a slide, a pipet and a sample of the pond water.

• With a partner, begin using a hand lens and a microscope to observe. Please pay attention to the level of magnification being used. Observe, draw, question.

Activity Sheet

Possible life forms

For Friday's class
1. Finish microscope lab questions
2. From today's drawings, chose your favorite and make it a "final draft" for posting on your blog. Please include the date, level of magnification, the awesome drawing and a caption that describes the drawing.

For Monday...

1.  Please get some rest after the first week to school.
2. Bring the Diversity of Living Things book.
3. Bring note taking guide.
4. Bring course materials

Observations & Inquiry

Take a look around. Even in our classroom, many forms of life exist: our neighbors, the ants that sneak in anytime someone sneaks in food, organisms too small to see, the monsters under your desks, and the list goes on. Open the door to the building and the amount of living organisms explode. Life is an amazing thing and this year I would like everyone to spend more time looking closely and observing the forms of life around us. In doing this, there are a few habits I would like to work on:

• identify and observe cycles throughout the year
• independently explore and question what you observe
• write, write, write
• sketch
• look closely

How will we work on these habits? Well, I think it is important enough that we will begin most classes with a “free exploration” time. We will discuss what this means but in general you will come to class and begin working on observations from your to-do list.


To-do list

• Contribute to class data collection on scheduled dates
• Plant Cell drawings
• Animal Cell drawings
• Tracking of an outdoor plant – at least once every two weeks (5 classes) a student must photograph / sketch the same plant and monitor its changes through qualitative and quantitative observations
• One other theme of your choice (discussed with Frank)

The Wall-blog
What in the world is this? You may have noticed the large space outside of the classroom that is gridded out. Well, this is the location of the Life Science Wall Blog. Since a lot of time in class will be given to you observing cool organisms and coming up with awesome questions, there needs to be a space for you to show off. The space chosen by you will be your space to keep updated. At a minimum, the wall blog must be updated every two weeks. Please make sure that you provide a place for people to place comments.

Can I do an electronic blog? Why, yes you can. Unfortunately, we will not have time in a computer lab so you will need to have equipment or do this outside of class. If you do choose an electronic blog, you will still need to provide an advertisement in your physical space that changes monthly.

Marshmallow Challenge (First Day of School)

Rules

1. The Entire Marshmallow Must be on Top: The entire marshmallow needs to be on the top of the structure. Cutting or eating part of the marshmallow disqualifies the team.  
2. Use as Much or as Little of the Kit: The team can use as many or as few of the 20 spaghetti sticks, as much or as little of the string or tape. The team cannot use the paper bag as part of their structure.
3. Break up the Spaghetti, String or Tape: Teams are free to break the spaghetti, cut up the tape and string to create new structures.
4. The Challenge Lasts 18 minutes: Teams cannot hold on to the structure when the time runs out. Those touching or supporting the structure at the end of the exercise will be disqualified.

Results

School Starts on Wednesday

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer break. I look forward to seeing you all Wednesday.

Hood Canal in Washington (a stop on my summer travels)