I'll be honest with you. I've been bad. I started this year saying that I'd use the blog on a regular basis to keep you all appraised of what we've been doing. I'm so disgusted with myself that I don't even want to look back to see when my last blog entry was. Well, mea culpa.
A lot has happened in the not-so-distant past. We had our first Unit Test to round out the first marking period. Results were mixed, of course. While no one scored a 100, we did have several students in the 90's. The highest grade for Team Awesome was a 98. Nice job! Despite taking place so close to the end of the marking period, students seeking to retake the test to improve their grade will be given the opportunity to do so after school on Nov. 16-18 (keep in mind that 3:15 buses will only run on Nov. 17 & 18). On Thursday Nov. 19th, I'll update student grades in SchoolTool so I'll have updated MP1 grades for the afternoon's Parent Conferences (12-3:15 and 4-6).
By the way, my classes have discussed, and agreed upon, a reward program for our tests. Any class in which everyone passes a Unit Test on the first attempt will earn a pizza party lunch in my room!
Okay. Enough with the update, on with current events.
On Monday, we began a new Unit about Cells. The students began with an introductory activity about how factories operate. How does this relate to cells, you ask? Well, in fact, each cell of an organism functions in a way similar to a factory. Factories are organized so that different areas are in charge of different parts of the manufacturing process. Even fast-food restaurants are organized that way! The students were presented with cut-outs of factory parts (Main office, Assembly line, Storage, etc.) and their functions within the factory were discussed. The students were then asked to use their tables as a factory floor and place their factory parts on that floor in a way that seemed the most efficient.
On Tuesday, we used a website (www.cellsalive.com) to explore different cell organelles (parts). As they read through the information about the various cell organelles, the students were asked to relate them to the factory parts they'd studied. Each group was given a work packet in which they were presented with the factory part and required to write in the cell organelle which is most similar in function and what it's actual function is within the cell.
On Thursday, we completed the CellsAlive activity.
Today, Friday, we began the process of designing a cell model to illustrate how the organelles of a typical cell are organized within the cell. Each group will collaborate to produce a detailed cell model. We went over the rubric by which their project will be judged and discussed different types of models the students could use to demonstrate their understanding. the students were given time to discuss, plan, and research their ideas. We also briefly discussed the written component of their project and how their individual cooperation in their team will be judged.
The designing and building of their models should take 2-3 days, based on my observations thus far. The written narrative describing the route raw materials would take through a cell should take 1-2 days.
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