Sunset -Sunrise & Moon Phases

Circulatory System

Today’s Key Questions:

1. What are the terms used to describe organization levels in your body?
2. How does the body provide nutrients and oxygen to cells in your body?
3. What are major components of the circulatory system?
4. How do the major components of the circulatory system work together?

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

• Describe organization in your body (cells, tissues, organs, organ systems and organisms)
• Identify major components of the circulatory system.
• Describe primary function of the circulatory system.

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Language Goals: Use specific words to describe the form and function of the circulatory system.

September Process Words

• Investigate
• Produce
• Demonstrate (7th)
• Emphasize (7th)

Circulatory System Rap - link with lyrics

Resources:

• National Geographic - The Heart
• NOVA - Map of the Human Heart

Tasks:

1. Complete this resource sheet.
2. Update your human half in the classroom.

Key activity (on the resource sheet): Describe the path of a liter of blood as it leaves the heart until it returns to the heart the second time. When you do this, please use specific terms.

Cell Theory

Today’s Key Question: How does the cell theory relate to life on Earth?

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

• Describe the components of the cell theory.
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Language Goals:

• Revise blog posts to elaborate on my ideas and descriptions.

September Process Words

• Investigate
• Produce
• Demonstrate (7th)
• Emphasize (7th)

Opening Choices:

• It has been two weeks! What is happening with the avocado seed? In your notebook, please make a sketch and describe what has happened over the past two weeks.
• Is it your turn to contribute to the class data?
• Have I seen onion cells yet? If not, please use a microscope to find some.

What is Jacob's project up to?

• How can we obtain quantitative data from this experiment?
• How can we be more specific when discussing data?

7th grade grouping & counts

6th grade grouping & counts

Parts of a cell - What parts of this song are review to you? What parts include information that you are not sure about?

Cell Theory - What are key parts of the cell theory?

Review of my last blog post.

Next Class: Assessment on Cells & Cell Theory

Garden & ERB Testing

The 7th graders spent some time today working to get the garden ready. Over the summer, the building adjacent to the garden got a nice, new roof but unfortunately our garden space was trampled. Students covered areas with mats to help control weeds. We will let the mats lie a bit before preparing the beds. Thanks to everyone for their hard work.

The 6th graders worked on the ERB testing. They are almost finished!

For next class, please bring your Human Biology book. If you have not yet checked your progress report, please do so.

Go outside and look at the night sky!

Today’s Key Questions:

1. How did the completion of my cell model help me understand a cell?
2. What will an onion cell look like after the onion has been cut open for a few days?

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

• complete an assessment about cell components
• reflect on what I have learned and still need to work on
• find and draw an onion cell

Language Goals:

• write a blog post that describes what I observed.

September Process Words

• Investigate
• Produce
• Demonstrate (7th)
• Emphasize (7th)

Onion skin cells Add 2 drops of iodine to the center of a glass slide. Be careful! Iodine can stain your clothes. Take a small piece of onion. Use tweezers to peel off the skin from the underside (the rough, white side) of the onion. Throw the rest of the onion piece away. Carefully lay the onion skin flat in the center of the slide on top of the iodine. Add 2 drops of iodine to the top of the onion skin. Stand a thin glass cover slip on its edge near the onion skin, next to the drop of iodine. Slowly lower the other side of the cover slip until it covers the onion skin completely. If there are air bubbles, gently tap on the glass to “chase” them out.

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2 drops iodine onion skin 2 drops iodine glass slide

Make at least one (1) drawing of the onion cells using the best magnification you can achieve.

Plant vs Animal Cell Blog Post - Your writing will support the drawings that you have produced.

A few weeks ago, you investigated the cells in your mouth and drew a cell from your cheek. Today, you found an onion cell. Please include both drawings on this post and then write to compare the cells. In your writing, you should describe what you saw in each occasion, describe items that are similar and those that are different.

Cell Projects!

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

• describe the function of several cell organelles
• reflect on my project

Language Goals:

• Use sentences to describe how other students modeled cell organelles.
• Write paragraphs that describe your project, challenges and learning in this project.

September Process Words

• Investigate
• Produce
• Demonstrate (7th)
• Emphasize (7th)

Class Opening:

1. Weather Data
2. Set-up projects

Evaluate other projects - How are the models of other students similar and/or different from your own? How can models help you learn the function of cell organelles?

Cell Component Project

Today’s Key Questions:

1. What is inside a cell?

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

• describe parts of the cell theory
• recognize the names of components inside cells
• explain the requirements of the Cell Component Project

September Process Words

• Investigate
• Produce
• Demonstrate (7th)
• Emphasize (7th)

Class Opening:

1. Blog Posting (from last class): This posting is more of a creative writing piece. Imagine yourself shrunk down to a size that will fit inside a cell. You are in a cheek cell. Describe what you see! What happens? Share while data is put on the wall.
2. Video - We will watch the video and then I would like you to immediately begin writing your thoughts about this animation.

Harvard Inner Life Series


Presentation on cell theory & organelles.



While going through the presentation, please focus on key parts of the cell theory and key functions of certain organelles. This table can be used to help organize ideas:

Name	Plant/Animal or both	Job	My Model
Cell Wall
Cell Membrane
Nucleus
Endoplasmic Reticulum
Ribosomes
Mitochondria
Golgi Bodies / Apparatus
Lysosome
Vacuoles
Chloroplast

Cell Component Project


Extra Resources:

• Inside a Cell
• The Virtual Cell

Text Book: Cells & Heredity, Ch 1.2

Cheek Cells

Today’s Key Questions:

1. What’s in my mouth? (What is the smallest level of organization in the body? Can we find it with a microscope?)

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

• make a drawing or a human cheek cell
• identify the nucleus, cell membrane and cytoplasm of a cell
• Elaborate the descriptions in your writing.

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. Post your blog - Human Hair
3. Comment on other blogs

Making a slide of cheek cells

1. Add one drop of methylene blue to the middle of a clean slide. Be careful! Methylene blue will stain your clothes and skin.
2. Use the flat side of a toothpick to gently scratch the inside of your cheek. DO NOT GOUGE YOUR CHEEK  - you don’t need chunks of skin and definitely don’t want to draw blood.
3. Gently touch the toothpick to the drop of dye on the slide. Some of your cheek cells should drift off into the dye.
4. Throw the toothpick away.
5. Stand a thin glass cover slip on its edge near the drop of dye.
6. Slowly lower the other side of the cover slip until it covers the dye completely. Make sure there are no air bubbles.

Make a drawing when on the highest objective:

*	Date: Magnification: Labels: Cell Cell Membrane Cytoplasm

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Blog Posting: This posting is more of a creative writing piece. Imagine yourself shrunk down to a size that will fit inside a cell. You are in a cheek cell. Describe what you see! What happens?

(On your posting, please include the drawing from today’s microscope activity.)

Support Reading: Cells & Heredity pages 18 - 24, Key questions 2, 3, 4 and 5