Hey there, hi there, ho there!

Greetings from the Science (and Math, Religion, and Vocabulary) Classroom

You are seeing fewer (as in: zero) blogs from me because of the ChromeBook Pilot program successfully launched in January at our school. With the availability of individual student computers, online instructions for science class have migrated to Google Classroom. The students use Google Drive and its suite of tools to create original documents, slide presentations, and spreadsheets. All of these can be shared with their classmates and teachers (and parents, if parents have Google Drive installed) directly. Student groups can research and edit the same document at the same time on different computers in the classroom and from their homes.


Google Classroom permits the teacher to post assignments and announcements to the Class Page, so all class members see them as soon as they log in. The Class Page is accessible from any computer at any time, so no more "I didn't know we had to do that" or "my homework buddy didn't tell me/get me the handout/bring my homework downstairs when I was absent." Students can view assignments and obtain shared documents themselves, as well as turning in work online to the teacher. They can't "forget to bring their homework" if the homework is accessible from any computer in the building. The paper and ink saved are a positive step toward cost reduction and resource conservation for all of us. Plus, the increased clarity of communication will benefit both students and parents.

Google Classrooms have been established for all my classes: 7 sciences, 8 sciences, 6 math, and 7 homeroom, religion, and vocabulary. I will keep assignments up-to-date as possible, but keep in mind that due dates sometimes change and spur-of-the-moment assignments crop up, depending on how the class is progressing. Also, not all documents/handouts are available in digital form (yet), and students are still responsible for obtaining and completing all assignments at all times.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we implement our TEC - Technology Enhanced Classroom. This is a PILOT, so not all classes, teachers, and assignments will be available online. Please ask your student for their Google Login ID and password. Yes, they do know them. You probably remember receiving an email with this information from Mrs. Oleski earlier in the school year. You can go to their Classrooms and check for assignments or digital instructions. You are free to see the progress of their work for yourself on their Google Drives. The best way you can help your child is to support their teachers' instructions when they are supposed to use Google, not Word. If they do Word documents at home, they need to upload the files to Drive in order to share them with me and turn them in on Classroom.

We are all learning together! So far, the 7th graders have benefitted the most as they explore water conditions in third world countries and prepare presentations of their own original ideas that just might save the world. The skills needed to research, write, and share digital documents will be invaluable in high school. They are also beginning to develop critical thinking and collaborative skills that will serve them for a lifetime. Ask your seventh grader to show you around Google Drive. They might be proud of their skills and enjoy showing off a bit.

See you on Google Classroom!

7th grade LRC visit to work on "Shine On" PPT

Hello 7th Graders on October 21st,

If you really and truly have finished your PowerPoint for Shine On, you will be asked to present in class tomorrow, so it had better be good! Be sure you have incorporated what we learned yesterday from the website
http://plantsinmotion.bio.indiana.edu/plantmotion/earlygrowth/germination/germ.html

Also check out http://plantsinmotion.bio.indiana.edu/plantmotion/earlygrowth/photomorph/photomorph.html
to view the videos side by side.

Now practice your own presentation (in your head!) and be sure it includes the science you learned from these websites.

Can't wait to see your presentation about your plants and WHY they grew (or didn't) the way they did under different light conditions. Yay!

Dr. Harnois


7th Graders who have completed their Shine On PPT - or who don't have materials with them to work on their PPT - go to the links below to study the chapter material.

Photosynthesis and respiration BrainPop:
http://glencoe.mheducation.com/sites/0078802849/student_view0/brain_pop_movies.html#

On the same link, you may choose the Mitosis BrainPop.

Or you may wish to rewatch the Amoeba Sisters videos about Mitosis and Cancer. We haven't yet watched the DNA replication video, but that can be found on the same page:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwcwSZIfKlM

http://glencoe.mheducation.com/sites/0078802849/student_view0/brain_pop_movies.html

Please use headphones, so you don't disturb others who are on different activities.

Thank you!

Links for 7th Grade Cell Review

Hey Minions!

In LRC today, work your way through these links, learning every step along the way. There will be an optional cell organelle and function test to provide a boost to the chapter test grades. Learn all you can and have fun with these interactive sites. If control+click doesn't work, copy the link and paste into the address bar.

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/health/anatomy/cell/index.htm

http://www.biomanbio.com/GamesandLabs/Cellgames/CellExplorerAnimalCell.html

http://www.quia.com/rr/86966.html

http://sciencereviewgames.com/srg/games/hs.php?id=92

Here is one to refresh your memory about osmosis and diffusion:
http://www.phschool.com/science/biology_place/labbench/lab1/intro.html

Remember: this is valuable learning time. Ask questions if you are uncertain about any of the organelles and their functions!

Dr. H 

Matter Matters for 8th Graders in LRC

The Crab Nebula (famous Matter)

On Tuesday, September 16th, we will focus on matter, its properties, and changes in matter with a Web quest. You have received the packet in class, but I have loaded the links here to facilitate site access for you. Complete each activity in your packet, entering your answers, notes, and results as indicated on the handout pages. Have fun!

Task #1

http://www.quia.com/custom/2202gate.html

Task #2

http://vtaide.com/png/matter.htm

Task #3

http://www.chem4kids.com/files/matter_states.html

Task #4

http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/science/matter.html

Task #5

http://www.chem.purdue.edu/gchelp/atoms/states.html

Task #6

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/states_of_matter/index.html

Task #7

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/hotplate/index.html

Task #8

http://nobel.scas.bcit.ca/chem0010/unit2/2.3_changes.htm

Task #9

http://www.quia.com/quiz/303980.html

If needed, you can access this blog from home and finish the packet later.

8th Grade Circulatory System Review

Have fun with the links below. They will help you review the circulatory system, heart anatomy, blood components, function, and of course, blood types.


Remember, you are here to reinforce what you know, but have fun while doing so!


Put your headphones or earbuds in place before you begin. Many of these links have sound effects or narration.

For ABO drama, go to
http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/landsteiner/landsteiner.html

For a launching page to several great activities and informational sites, go to
https://sites.google.com/a/jeffcoschools.us/mr-volk-s-science-website/science-content/circulatory-and-respiratory-systems/the-circulatory-system

• The first link there: ABC Science, Virtual Heart Surgery is great. Try your hand at open-heart virtual surgery. 
• The animation of a blood cell moving through the body is a quick review of the loops in the circulatory system, and is just cool. (Pulmonary and Systemic, remember?)
• Circulatory System Review Games is a bit over your heads (try them if you like!), but visit the Basketball and Soccer Review Games. I still can't make a basket, but I haven't missed a goal!
• The Science Rap video below the links is pretty good, too. See what you think.

If you just want to watch John have another heart attack go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8VI5ccaKuE

and the cheesy artery goop can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEc-Rsv9pMc

Other videos we have seen in class can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHMmtqKgs50

and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQp3XM3zugI

I almost forgot; here is the link to the textbook quiz site. Every time you refresh the page, it will give you new questions about the Circulatory System.

http://www.glencoe.com/qe/science.php?qi=214  (Just select and paste it into the address bar in a new tab.)

OK? Enjoy and Learn!

Virtual Frog Dissection Lab

Hello 8th graders,

Because we are human and humane, we will be doing a virtual frog dissection today. If you would like to read about the plight of frogs in the world and some discussion of why it is best to go with virtual dissection, try here: http://pcrm.org/research/edtraining/dissectionalt
There are many more, but this is concise and factual.

YOU WILL NEED YOUR HEADPHONES.
To begin today's lab, you will visit the following link and work your way through the exercise, one video and page at a time. Some of the information is probably known to you. When you get to the virtual exercise, do it! http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/virtual_labs/BL_16/BL_16.html

If you want to feel like you've really poked around inside a dead frog, try this link:
http://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/frog_alternative.html
It uses a real frog for the demonstrations.

There will be a frog quiz tomorrow, so be sure to take notes on structures and procedures.

Have fun!

First Step Toward Science Fair!

Hello Seventh Grade Science Class,

We discussed today's task yesterday in class: by Monday you will have three possible science fair project ideas, with one online reference for each. The online reference should provide information you will want to study to learn more about your topic.

If you already have ideas, Great! Get right to researching and see what you can find.

If you want to get some ideas, go to any of these websites and start browsing:

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas.shtml

http://www.education.com/science-fair/eighth-grade/

http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/projects.html

Use the online research skills you developed this year for the Water Crisis project to help you navigate the websites.

Remember, you can type up a document right now and save it to your school account or a flash drive (preferably both...so you don't leave your document at home on Monday). We can print them out upstairs on Monday. Have fun! See you on Monday.

Dr. H.

Water Water Water Water!

To 8th graders in Computer Lab: Welcome back, Minions.

We can't change the world, but we can certainly imagine doing so. Someday you will have the opportunity to make an impact on the world's problems, so you want to practice the skills that will create solutions.

The last group section of our Water Crisis Unit sets a challenging goal: come up with and research the viability of some course of action that will IMPROVE water conditions in your assigned country. No solution is too crazy - until you research the practical aspects of it and determine that it's crazy. Brainstorm some ideas, then each of you research costs, actual construction/implementation difficulties that your country may have, social and geographic implications of your solution, and how you would actually go about doing it (Step 1, step 2, etc.).

Your group will present your country's water improvement solution AND SUPPORTING FACTS and discuss them with the rest of the class on Earth Day, April 22.

The future is in our hands.

Water Unit - Second Computer Day

Welcome back to our water unit, 7th and 8th!

This week in the classroom we relied on information you found online to discuss water issues facing the United States, and some of the factors involved. Now you are going to take a look at water issues in some very different places around the world. We will again share information you are gathering today, and eventually, we will discuss how our problems compare.

Learning objectives for the next few sections include: continuing discovery of facts relating to water shortages; researching water crisis conditions for a country assigned by Dr. Harnois, and recording findings on a worksheet you will be provided. You will then report your findings to the class, who will compile information on five different countries experiencing water crises.

For today, just start at http://water.org/#search.

Click on The Crisis, then look on your left hand side for the menu of water facts. Work your way through this list today, again taking notes on interesting things you learn or find out. Write down anything you might want to share. You will start to recognize some of the facts. Consider economic and children's issues. Start comparing your own water life to those of people around the world. For example: we assume that everyone in the USA has access to clean water from the tap, and everyone has toilets. Is it that way elsewhere? How many people DON'T have access like we do? How does it affect their lives? Is anyone doing anything about it? What is being done, and by whom? Click on Featured Projects to find out more about possible solutions being tried. You will begin to learn about other countries and how they are struggling to provide water for their people.

Mostly, experience and think about the different posts, images, and facts that you find today.

Next week, you will be assigned a specific country to research, so the more you learn now, the better your understanding will be of your assigned country, and the better your eventual presentation will be.

Feel free to go to the previous post and continue perusing water topics on those links, as well.

Links for 7th graders who want to complete their LRC Sleep Unit

For 7th grade students who need to complete note-taking for the LRC Sleep Unit:

Links for the Sleep Articles

http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/take_care/tips_sleep.html

http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/take_care/how_much_sleep.html?tracking=T_RelatedArticle

http://kidshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/studysmart/focused.html#cat20597

http://kidshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/school/test_terror.html?tracking=T_RelatedArticle#cat20597

http://www.nsta.org/highschool/connections/201312SleepingStudyingQuiz.pdf

The last one is the link for the quiz. Print it, complete it, and present it for credit along with your complete notes. This should pull your grade up, if you do a good job. If you never took the quiz, DO IT!

Good luck!

Guide and Links for Water Conservation Unit

Our most excellent IT geek, Ms. Lynch, has exterminated all bugs and we are ready for action. Thanks, from all of us!

This week both 7^th and 8^th grade will begin a Water Conservation Unit in Science.

We will spend one day a week (Fridays) on this unit in science class, and you will access this blog in LRC to direct your online learning about global water issues. We will complete some activities in class, you will do research and writing in LRC, and you may want to spend some time at home on material for your water portfolio. By the end of the unit, you will help to design and create educational materials about this topic.

Students in LRC right now – let's get started! Take some notes on whatever you find interesting, and try to answer some of the questions below while you learn some basics about water use.

Plug in your headphones and watch the TED Ed video about "Water Scarcity” at

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/fresh-water-scarcity-an-introduction-to-the-problem-christiana-z-peppard

There is a quiz after the video that might be fun to take (you don't have to) and useful links at the end of the quiz if you want to look around some more.

Go to USGS.gov site http://maps.waterdata.usgs.gov/mapper/index.html to find your own water source. Enter your location. Click on the triangles (what do the triangles represent?) for some information; click on the Map tab and click Principal Aquifer. Where does your water come from? Look up “our” aquifer and see what you can learn about it.

Look into drought conditions in the USA at http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/pngs/current/current_usdm.png

Where do drought conditions exist in the USA? Can you figure out how long the drought has lasted?

What impact can you imagine on the rest of the country, from the areas that are still too dry? 

How is Illinois doing? Go to http://www.sws.uiuc.edu/ and see what the outlook for water is for us going forward. Under Programs and Services, click on Illinois Water Supply Planning. What factors will influence our water supply in the future?

Go to http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ and take the water conservation quiz. You should be able to skip “registering” one time to take the quiz, but not twice. Ask your parents if you can register (or if they can) for NationalGeographic.com. It's a great website with tons of interesting information about everything.

Learn more about our local natural water resources at http://www.epa.gov/ Click on Learn the Issues Tab (far left) and then Water. Find your Watershed. What is a watershed?!

Go to http://school.discoveryeducation.com/ Click on Students, Homework Help, Science. Explore the information about water that you find there. Write down something new that you haven't seen on any other site so far.

Next week, we will begin to explore Water.org, and you will begin researching specific conditions in a developing country. Just look around today and take some notes on the questions above, so we can discuss them Friday in class. It will also give you the first page (or two) for your Water Portfolio!

Winter is Coming

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Time for updates...

6th grade Math has been reviewing and extending their understanding of Greatest Common Factors and Least Common Multiples, and is beginning to manipulate and compare fractions with Least Common Denominators. Our Wednesday after-school study session has only met once so far, but we practiced graphing and look forward to meeting at least twice this month. These students all worked hard to master data presentation graphs and plots in the past few weeks, which will be very useful when they complete their 8th grade Science Fair projects!

7th grade Science has been exploring heredity and the human genome this month. They recently modeled risk factors for heart disease (genetic and environmental) and found the impact of lifestyle choices to be considerable on the ultimate development of heart disease. Many were surprised that they developed heart disease despite clean living, but more were appropriately sickened by their poor "choices" in behaviors.

Seventh graders are currently thinking about ethical questions related to treatment of genetic disorders, gene therapy, and genetic engineering. Their thought-provoking discussion on where to draw the line was very impressive. These are complex ideas that they are just beginning to consider for the first time. Our chapter test on Modern Genetics is coming up Friday, December 6, so we will see what has percolated through. : )

8th grade is furiously (I hope!) finishing up their Science Fair projects and beginning the data presentation and conclusion portions of their papers. We will begin constructing the presentation boards this week during class and continue re-writing papers right up until the last minute, when they are perfect! Many students have obtained fun and informative results from their experiments. It will be a highly educational school Science Fair on January 15, 2014.

More immediately, 8th grade has been studying chemical reactions, balancing chemical equations, and learning about controlling reactions by different means. A popular "What's that White Powder?" lab gave them an opportunity to play with several household powders and liquids to test for reactivity and identity of different ingredients. They also made a mess of the class room, but science does get messy sometimes. :) They also proved that the specific zip-type bags we use in the classroom are not gas-impervious, allowing CO2 to escape when vinegar reacts with baking soda. It is either that, or Conservation of Matter is a hoax. We are going with the former.

Merry Christmas to All!

Happy Tuesday Students!

Greetings to all my Science students.

This week we will be finishing up our microscopy exploration and studying Cell Structure and Function in 7th grade. You should have finished reading Chapter 1, lessons 1.1 and 1.2. Read 1.3 this week, and 1.4 next weekend, if we are progressing according to plan. We will compare plant and animal cells as we study the basics during the next few days. Next week we will get to introductory biochemistry and then finally to osmosis!

8th will be learning Fundamentals of Matter, starting with measurements and states of Matter, continuing as soon as possible to atoms, elements, compounds, molecules, and the Periodic Table. Read Chapter One in the Chemical Building Blocks book, pages 12-36. This will cover some of the week's material. By next week we will have studied the Periodic Table in more detail.

Welcome back to school. Ready those brain cells for learning!

Hello again 7th and 8th grade science classes, 6th grade math class, and my homeroom students!

Mr. Metzler has been kind enough to set up a blog on which I may post assignments, Science Fair info, and other notable items for my students. Stay tuned (check back regularly) for useful information.

7th Grade: Ask Mom or Dad where you can set up and carry out your Egg-Speriment. The egg won't smell bad (unless you break it after a few days!) but the vinegar may be pungent for the first few days. Cover the jar to minimize odor, but still put it where your folks recommend. You don't want Fido to knock it over or little brother Herman to get into it.

To 8th graders working to understand testable questions, variables, controls, etc.: I am unable to post a link to the PowerPoint I showed in class, because it is on my computer, not on the web. I will get a Google Doc set up soon and we can possibly share documents there. BUT I have printed out the PowerPoint and can provide you with a copy if you feel it would be helpful. Please ask tomorrow in Science class, and I will print out more copies as needed.

Have a great night and start thinking about your project. Maybe you will follow the example of Watson and Crick, creating the overall shape of your science fair project in your sub-conscious! Visualize a top-notch, successful project, and you will create it.

Dr. H