Vocabulary List and upcoming quiz.

Today in class we started to wrap up the unit about biomes and ecosystems, so we addressed the vocabulary from the unit.  The vocabulary sheets should be completed, and will be checked on Tuesday 2/26.We still have a couple of short topics (dormancy and tropism) to address next week.

There will be a QUIZ NEXT FRIDAY 3/1 over the vocabulary from the section. Most students seem to have a good grasp on most of these words from when we covered them in class, but should still study them a little each night.


Here is the vocabulary list for Friday's quiz.

decomposer                                producer
consumer                                   food web
food chain                                 energy pyramid
terrestrial                                   aquatic
limiting factor                            biotic
abiotic                                        biome
predator                                     prey
species                                       ecology
ecosystem                                  community
population                                 dormancy
tropism

Tonight's homework:

Tonight, students in my first and third period need to complete the in-class assignment "What's it like where you live?"  if students need a copy of the materials, it can be found on my webpage on the Document Manager page. It is titled: "Deciduous_forest_study.doc". If you do not have a printer at home, have the student do the reading on the computer and answer the questions on a blank sheet of paper.

BBC Planet Earth

This week, we have studied a general overview of diferent biomes on Earth. Today we took some time to watch Planet Earth from BBC.  We will only have a chance too watch the episode "Pole to Pole" in class. However, there are several other amazing episodes we just do not have time to watch in class. I have been told it is available on netflix and other digital media access services. The kids really enjoyed watching it today! 

Have a great weekend!

Homeork

Students need to finish the "Ecology: Organisms in their Environments" crossword from class.

Food Chains and Food Webs

Food Chains and Webs

Here is a brief tutorial for what we have been studying the past two days.  It includes a game for students to make food chains that we did in class.
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/foodchain/producersconsumers.htm

Also, I am passing back the vocab quizzes students took last Friday. Students either did quite well or very poorly.  Students can write out each question they missed with the correct answer 3 times to gain back half the points for that question.  These need to be turned in by Friday.

Yesterday and today!

We have started a new unit about ecosystems. We have started by doing a reading activity that was taught in the ELA classes called chunking.  Students pause after each paragraph (or as it is called in the activity "chunk")and pause to write in a chart what the chunk is about and key details about the chunk.

If students have not completed this, the information can be found on the book website http://my.hrw.com user name: rbulldog1 password: r8x8v
The reading is pp. 538-541

Tonight's homework is that students must complete the synthesis portion of their notes.  They should tell how each chunk is related to the previous chunk in the reading.  We linked the first 3 paragraphs in class.

Flower Garden Assessment

In January we did a hands on assessment where the students were given some materials and tasked with creating a flower on a sticky note. Their flower had to include specific details of the flower, which were labeled. This may have been the funnest quiz students have had to take.

Flower Garden 2012-13 - picture slideshow