No homework

Today, we began class by going over the first Science Quiz of the year, Overall, results were good. However, not everyone passed. We still have some work to do on truly preparing for quizzes and tests. Remember, there is absolutely NO reason that a failing quiz grade or test grade should remain that way. Everyone has 1 week from the day it was returned to retake them. Parents, you should be aware of that. I need your backup to get these kids where they need to be as far as personal responsibility goes. Ask them to see their quiz. Encourage them to do something about it if their grade isn't where you think it should be.
Because there are no 3:15 buses this week, students who need to retake Quiz 1 will have until 3:15 on Thursday Sept. 24 to do so.
After we went over the quiz, everyone was reintroduced to a green blob I discovered laying in my yard a few weeks ago. They saw it last week, also. It resembled green silicone at that time. We discussed why it might be important for me to know whether or not this "blob" is alive.
The blob looked quite different, today. It hasn't had access to any water since last Friday. The blob is much smaller and looks more like a green crust. Everyone took a look to see it's dessicated form. I'll give it some water, tonight, and we'll examine it again tomorrow to see what difference a few hours access to water makes in its appearance.
We learned about the basic characteristics of life, after that. We discussed how some of the students' ideas, last week, were very close to the actual characteristics scientists recognize, and look for, today. Some of the ideas needed a little refinement, but I hope the students realize that they know more, intuitively, about "life" than they thought.