In science, we started going through the new chapter, on Eukaryotes (found under the Science tab in the Biology: Cells section.) There are 25 terms associated with this chapter. Personal definitions are do next Tuesday...this means there are 5 nights to work on this. If you do just 5 a night, you'll be done on time. If you wait until Monday night? You probably won't do very well.
Okay, so today so far we have gone through Article 1 of the Constitution. We used a Powerpoint, which is already posted in the Constitution section under the Social Studies tab. all students are responsible for using the provided study guide foldables to review the information. There will be a test on Friday of this week, and it will be the last grade in Social Studies for the quarter. Everyone will also be given a short time to study in class tomorrow.
In science, we started going through the new chapter, on Eukaryotes (found under the Science tab in the Biology: Cells section.) There are 25 terms associated with this chapter. Personal definitions are do next Tuesday...this means there are 5 nights to work on this. If you do just 5 a night, you'll be done on time. If you wait until Monday night? You probably won't do very well.
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If you are looking at this post, it is because you received a phone call, or because you are smart enough to check in on a regular basis. While I apologize for using technology in this way... In all likelihood, you are reading this because someone failed to study adequately for the most recent science test. Since the end of the quarter is rapidly approaching, some of you may well be feeling desperate. To help, I am reposting (Yes! Reposting! All of these files have been available for months in order to help the less prepared study! How did you not know this before? YOU WEREN'T LOOKING!) all the study guide for the most recent test. If you are completely familiar with the information contained within these files, and are careful while taking the test, then you cannot fail to pass it! Share, and enjoy!
So, today's school day has come and gone. We spent our classes mainly on writing our essays for the Puritans Summative CARs assignment. All of these have now been graded and entered, and overall, I have to say I'm fairly pleased with the results. The average for all the classes together was a 71%, but this is deceptively low because there were a few incomplete essays that were entered as zeros, which dragged the average down. The median score was a 74%. In fact, 35 essays got A's, 32 got B's, 8 were C's, 3 were D's and 5 were F's. Happily, this indicates that in general, the practice has paid off, and now most of us seem competent at using this format to answer questions. We will introduce the new CARs rubric later this week. It shall be a little more difficult, and a little more detailed.
In science, sadly, many many many students still have not retaken the science test, which is rather a shame. As it stands now, the average study time that people took for when we took the Prokaryotes and Diffusion Test before Winter Break was...about 15 minutes. It is not surprising, therefore, that a whopping 43 students failed it the first time through. (This has dragged the test average down to a 56%.) Among those who studied for over 1.5 hours, the average is actually an above average of a 79%. if you want to pass, you must take the time to study! Remember, there are copies of study materials under the science tab (biology: cells section.) We have until Friday to retake this! Hail! I hope you are all well, even those who missed our class today. We have had several months of practice using the CARs format to answer questions. It is now time to put how well we have learned to the test before we introduce the new and improved CARs rubric. So, we worked on a double-header in social studies today. Our task was simple. Everyone was given a copy of The Puritans text. A fresh copy of this text will be handed out tomorrow, and 3 questions will be assigned: one from the first section's questions, one from the second section's questions, and the final corroboration question at the end of the text. These questions will be randomly chosen, and must be answered using the CARs format. They will be graded summatively and entered before the end of Quarter 2. We read through the texts aloud as a class. Since these are primary source documents written almost 400 years ago, there were many words and phrases that needed explanation. We then had some time to start outlining our answers in preparation for tomorrow. Please remember, we will NOT have access to our notes when writing our responses. It will be purely based on memory and afresh copy of the text. Since this is a summative assessment, this will be extremely valuable. Please come prepared! I'll attach a copy of the text and a copy of the rubric below this post.
Overall, I have to say I really enjoyed today. In science, we read through the Archaean Age text...no, there are no assignments due for this reading, but it was (and will be) important to establish the way in which life was responsible for changes in our planet, and then how that changed planet in turn affected how life developed. I will append that text at the end of this post. On the other hand in social studies, we talked about the story of Pocahontas, and then used some primary and secondary documents to talk about what we really think happened between her and John Smith, and why. Overall, there was no new homework. The Colombian Invasion CARs were collected today, and the personal definitions for the Lathe of Life text is due Monday. Please remember, there are only 5 days left in the quarter. If you are going to retake the test, you need to study first! If you are going to make up a missing research paper, it is due by Tuesday of next week. Get to work!
Okay, dinner is done, and the laundry is in, and my grading is finished so: blog time!
Today, we finished going through the basics of the LAthe of Life text...focus mainly on the conditions int he Archaean and Hadean Eons, and on what conditions lead to evolution. The related definitions for the terms at the end of the packet are due Monday. In social studies, we read through the remainder of the Colombian Invasion text. Those CARs are due tomorrow. Leave questions in the comments section! Howdy, there! It was a luxurious break for us all, I'm sure, but now we are once again in the saddle!
A few items to note: 1. Because of the days off due to inclement weather, there are only 7 days left in the quarter. Because of this, rather than the full ten school days to retake the Prokaryotes and Diffusion Test, we only have until next Friday (the 17th.) DO NOT JUST RETAKE IT. The major problem (as always) last time was many of you simply hoped for the best...this rarely works as well as actually preparing by studying. If you haven't studied, please take the time, and bring a note to stay after school once you are READY. 2. Only 4 school days remain to turn in the Research Paper for the Potatoes Lab. There aren't a lot of formative grades in for Science, which makes it pretty valuable...get it to me with a signature by next Tuesday for 80% credit. In science today, we started our evolution and Eukaryotes unit (the evolution page and the handout are up under the science tab.) The personal terms and definitions are due on Monday. Get it done. In social studies, we started reading about colonization. The associated CARs questions for the Colombian Invasion are due Friday. This handout is up in the Colonization section under the Social Studies tab. Sorry this post is late in getting online...dinner took forever, but was super worth it, so...see you tomorrow? Aaand only a few days left until we are back at it! Huzzah!
I am happy to say I have spent time with family (out of state) playing games with my nephew and niece, and hanging out with my sister. But, now I am back. There have been a few comments posted, but I'll log in and answer those momentarily. I am halfway through grading the research papers, and I have to admit, the majority are good, if imperfect. When we get back, we'll be taking a look at the history of life on our planet, and of the universe, before we get into the evolution of more complicated forms of life like Eukaryotes. In social studies, I'm looking forward to us learning about the colonization of North America and the Constitution. See you all soon! |
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Mr. StevensonScience Teacher. Fanatic lover of Board games. Historian. Huge Nerd. Scholastic Bowl Coach. |