March 28 - 8th

We had a discussion about the phases of the moon and named them.

Students then began working on the notebook page on solar and lunar eclipses.

March 27 - both

Mr. Thomas presented on the negative effects of marijuana as part of Too Good For Drugs.

march 23 - 7th

We discussed student reading and notebook page on sex linked traits.

Students then watched this video.

Video WS is due tomorrow.

March 23 - 8th

reviewed why the Earth has seasons.

Earth WS was a completion grade.

Discussed the moon reflecting light from the sun and the fact that we are always looking at the same section of the moon.

Began working on what causes the phases of the moon.

March 22 - 7th

Looked at the Mutation WS for completion grade.

Discussed correct answers to the Protein Synthesis WS.

Read about Sex linked traits and worked on a notebook page.

March 22 - 8th

Discussed the cause of seasons for the Earth including notebook page.

Students completed the Earth WS for homework.'

March 21 - 7th grade

Went over questions from the mutation activity.

Played mutation telephone and discussed how changed throughout the game simulated different types of mutations.

March 21 -8th

Discussed Earth's magnetic field and its properties.

Students predicted the cause of Earth's seasons on a notecard.

Link for the vocab terms:

http://www.kidsgeo.com/geography-for-kids/0020-solstices-and-equinoxes.php


Here is the link for today's activity:

https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/seasons/en/

Put together the Earth's season notebook page.

March 20th - 7 and 8

Mr. Thomas talked about the dangers of tobacco.

March 17th - 7th

Students worked on the mutation activity. Questions should be completed by Tuesday.

March 17 - 8th

Link for today:

http://www.windows2universe.org/physical_science/magnetism/earth_magnet_dipole_interactive.html

March 16 - 7th

Students had questions from Social Studies class about my time on jury duty.

We then read about mutations.

March 16 - 8th

We had a discussion about the meaning of rotation and revolution (using a basketball).

We then went to the lego gym to act out and discuss rotation revolution.

Back in the room, students completed the notebook page about rotation and revolution.
Left side
Right side

We finished up with a video previewing Earth's magnetic field.

March 15th - 7th grade

Students began working on DNA coloring

Protein synthesis WS is due tomorrow.

March 15 - 8th grade

Students went over correct answers to the sea level rising WS that was due Tuesday.

Students began working on notebook pages detailing properties of the Earth.

Mar 14 - 7th grade

We had a class discussion to go over the answers to the translation questions from the model.

Students were then given their homework that is due on thursday.

March 14 - 8th grade

Students turned in their worksheet from last friday on Analyzing the rising sea level.

Students got their quizzes back from last week and we went over correct answers.

We then revisited the idea of beliefs vs knowledge. We listed knowledge that they had gained about climate as well as beliefs that people could have. We discussed how knowledge can be used to form your beliefs.

We finished by watching the first few minutes of "Cosmos".

March 13 - 7th and 8th

Students discussed the negative effects of alcohol and how to overcome many of the ways media shows alcohol in a positive light.

March 10 -7th

We had  discussion about the correct answers to the  transcription questions.

Students continued working on the translation part of their model.

March 10 - 8th

watch video

Read the following:

Lessons in Sea-Level Rise

Background

In the News

“Sea level rise” – we hear that phrase, but what does it mean, really? How does it affect us? Do I have to be concerned about it in my lifetime? These are all great questions!

Sea level rise is the increasing of the average global sea level. It doesn’t mean that seas are higher by the same amount everywhere. In fact, in some areas, such as the west coast of the US, sea level has actually dropped slightly … for now. But before we get into that, let’s understand the main contributors to sea level rise: 

1. Melting mountain glaciers - Glaciers are bodies of ice on land that are constantly moving, carving paths through mountains and rock. As glaciers melt, the runoff flows into the oceans, raising their levels.
2. Melting polar ice caps - Think of our north and south polar regions. At both locations, we have ice on land (“land ice”) and ice floating in the ocean (“sea ice”). Melting sea ice, much like ice cubes melting in a drink, does not affect the level of the oceans. Melting land ice, however, contributes to about one third of sea level rise.
3. Thermal expansion of water - Consider that our oceans absorb over 90 percent of the heat trapped by greenhouse gasses in Earth’s atmosphere. When water heats up, its molecules become more energetic, causing the water to expand and take up more room, so that accounts for about a third of sea level rise.

Let’s take a closer look at global sea levels. Sea level is not constant everywhere. This is because it can be affected by ocean currents and natural cycles, such as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, or PDO, a 20- to 30-year cyclical fluctuation in the Pacific Ocean’s surface temperature. Because of the PDO, right now the Eastern Pacific has higher sea levels than usual, while the Western Pacific has lower sea levels than usual. However, the global average of 3 millimeters of sea level rise per year is increasing and the rate that it’s increasing is speeding up. That means that sea level is rising, and it’s rising faster and faster. Take a look at this video for some great visuals and further explanation of how phenomena such as the Gulf Stream affect local sea level heights.

You may be asking yourself, how do we know sea levels are rising? Well, a couple of ways. First, for the past 23 years we have been using data from several NASA satellites to constantly measure sea surface height around the globe. Data from these ocean altimeters is integrated to refine and calibrate measurements. Additionally, we have tide gauges on Earth to ground-truth (locally validate) our satellite measurements. As for historical data, we use sediment cores -- drillings into Earth that yield the oldest layers on the bottom and the youngest layers on top -- to examine where oceans once reached thousands of years ago.

Why it's important

Locally, folks are making observations – and already seeing the impacts of sea level rise on their communities. Places such as Miami are now experiencing regular flooding in downtown city streets at high tide. The South Pacific island nation of Kiribati saw a 2.6 millimeter rise in sea level between 1992 and 2010. That may not seem like much, but when you consider that the land only sits about 2 meters above sea level, that’s a big deal; some villages have already had to relocate to escape the rising tides. Residents of China's Yellow River delta are swamped by sea level rise of more than 25 centimeters (9 inches) a year. Even NASA is concerned about some of its facilities that are located in low-lying areas. 

Besides wiping out dry land, encroaching salt water can pollute our fresh water supplies and damage fresh-water dependent ecosystems. It’s not just fresh water rivers and lakes that are at risk – our aquifers, or natural underground water storage, are at risk of filling with salt water as the ocean encroaches on the land above them.

Clearly, sea level rise is something that is already affecting people and will continue to do so. All three contributors to sea level rise can be attributed to the warming of the Earth system. Warming temperatures cause mountain glaciers and polar ice caps to melt, thereby increasing the volume of water in the oceans. At the same time, our oceans are getting warmer and expanding in volume as a result of this heat (thermal expansion). Since 1880, global sea level has risen 20 centimeters (8 inches); by 2100, it is projected to rise another 30 to 122 centimeters (1 to 4 feet). Watch this video for some illustrations of these facts:

Also check out the Climate Time Machine for Sea Level to see what impact a 1 meter to 6 meter rise in sea level will have on the coastal US and other areas of the world. 

If we can control our contributions to the rise in greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere, we can perhaps level out the warming of the Earth system and eventually stabilize our sea levels. In the meantime, we need to be prepared for the impact encroaching seas will have on our coastal communities and water supplies.

Video 2

video 3

Use the graph found here to answer the worksheet.

Graph for questions 8 - 10

March 9th - 7th grade

Students worked on the translation part of their model.

Transcription questions should be done before class tomorrow.

March 9 - 8th

We discussed the worksheet/activity from Wednesday.

Students then took a quiz over climate. When completed, students put pages 72 and 73 into their notebook.

Students are to read a one page article before class tomorrow.

March 8 - 7th grade

Students worked in groups to model the process of transcription. Answers to the questions on this need to be done by the time class starts tomorrow.

March 8 - 8th grade

Students worked on the tree ring activity. The link to the site for the precipitation data is available on yesterday's blog post.

March 7 - 7th grade

We had a class discussion over the notes handout (monday or friday) going over transcription and translation. 6th hour started working on their model.

March 7 - 8th grade

link to the first part of the assignment. Click on "learn more" in the green box on the right.

link for the data for the WS.

March 6 - 7th and 8th

Too Good for Drugs discussion on surrounding yourself with positive peer groups.

March 3 - 7th

Students got their inheritance quiz back and we discussed correct answers.

We watched the Amoeba Sisters video on transcription/translation.

2 classes got the reading that is due Tuesday.

March 3 - 8th

We had a discussion about the Main Ideas in the reading from yesterday.

Students put page 70 and 71 into their notebooks.

March 2 - 7th

Students finished their models of DNA.

We discussed answers to the questions on the directions page.

Students put their model and questions onto page 68.

We then began talking about transcription.

Reading for today: link

Activity for today: link
This activity sometimes says it needs a password. If this happens: go to the search bar, type "transcription of dna to rna", when the filters come up choose "plix". It will be your first choice.

March 2 - 8th

Students took a quiz on the graphs they completed the previous night for homework.

When the quiz was done, students highlighted a reading to look for the main idea.

March 1 - 7th

Students finished reading and answering questions on the structure of DNA.

Students began building a molecule of DNA.

March 1st - 8th

Students worked on a graph of concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere throughout history and a second graph of temperature anomalies seen throughout history.

Tomorrow, students will have a 20 point quiz on the graphs. They can use their graphs and worksheet to answer a 9 question quiz. Without the graph done, this quiz will be very difficult.