7th-8th Grade Science: Week of March 1-5

Hello,
Well we are about done with our Genetics Disorders Presentations and will begin the next unit: History of the Earth and Lifeforms. I'll discuss more in detail in class about this unit. The homework for the beginning of the week is as follows:

Wednesday, March 3: Pretend that the entire history of the Earth was compacted into 24 hours. You will make a 24 inch strip of paper to represent the 24 hours. Where would you place the following?

1. Single-celled organisms, called stromatolites begin to produce oxygen.
2. First marine plants
3. Jellyfish appear.
4. Trilobites and creatures of the Burgess shale.
5. Plant life appears and the first land creatures.
6. Reign of the Dinosaurs.
7. First Humans appear.

Have a great week,

-Mr. Pfiester

9th Grade Biology: Week of March 1-5

Hello,
We will continue to observe the growth of our Wisconsin Fast Plants this week. As I mentioned previously, this unit is a hybrid of plants and genetics, since we will be doing genetics work with our plants. This week we will focus on genetics with Ch. 11: Introduction to Genetics. The homework for the week and DUE dates are as follows:

Wednesday, March 3: Ch. 11-1 (The Work of Gregor Mendel) Assessment Questions, 1-6 (pg. 266).

Friday, March 5: Feeling guilty about your purebreed dog? Position Paper. (I'll distribute the directions for this paper on Tuesday).

Thursday and Friday will be dedicated to working on the Mystery Class Activity.

Have a great week,
-Mr. Pfiester

9th Grade Biology: Week of Feb. 22-26

Hello,
We will start our next unit tomorrow; a sort of hybrid unit studying both plants and genetics. We will be germinating some seeds tomorrow and study their growth over the course of the week (and then plant them in soil). A lecture on Tuesday will prepare you for the homework due the following day. The only homework scheduled for the beginning of the week is DUE as follows:

Wednesday, Feb. 24: Ch. 22 (Plant Diversity), Section 1 (Introduction to Plants), questions 1-5 (pg. 555).

Have a great week,
Mr. Pfiester

7th-8th Grade Science: Week of Feb. 22-26

Hello,
Our schedule for the week is as follows:
Monday, Feb. 22: 3-paragraph papers are due at the BEGINNING of class. Students will spend the majority of the period preparing for their presentations. Although most of you are not doing a Powerpoint presentation, I will discuss what a good one looks like.

Tuesday, Feb. 23-Wednesday, Feb. 24: Students will present the major ideas from their papers in the form of a 3-5 minute presentation, either using a poster or Powerpoint.

Thursday, Feb. 24: Introduction to new unit: History of the Earth and Life Forms.

Friday, Feb. 25: Lecture on the History of the Earth

Have a great week,
-Mr. Pfiester

7th-8th Grade Science: Week of Feb. 16-19- Revision

Hello,
I want to make a few revisions to our culminating activity for our genetics unit.

1. I am eliminating the rough draft requirement completely. The paper is still due on Monday, Feb. 22.
2. There is no specified length to the paper. Students need to answer all the questions I specified in today's handout as related to the three paragraphs.

I'll explain these revisions tomorrow in class. Have a great week,

-Mr. Pfiester

9th Grade Biology: Week of Feb. 16-19

Hello,
We will be wrapping up our Human Body unit this week. In the first homework of the week, each student will select a human body question from the poster board on Monday. We generated these questions back in early January at the beginning of this unit. The answer to the question is due on Friday. The week's plan is as follows:
Tuesday, Feb. 16: Finish the 37-3 (The Respiratory System) Powerpoint notes.
Wednesday, Feb. 17: Chapter 37 Practice test and Review of major concepts. Section 37-3 Assessment Questions due, 1-5 (pg. 963).
Thursday, Feb. 18: Ch. 37 Test
Friday, Feb. 19: Introduction to Wisconsin Fast Plants, through which we will study both genetics and plants.

Have a great week,
-Mr. Pfiester

7th-8th Grade Science: Week of Feb. 16-19

Hello,
I hope you enjoyed your long weekend. We are wrapping up our Cell Division and Genetics Unit with a final culminating activity. Each student will select a genetic disorder, conduct research on the disorder (Wednesday-Friday), submit a 2-page paper (next Monday), and finally (next Monday-Tuesday) make a short Powerpoint presentation to the class based on knowledge gained from the research/paper. The grade for this activity is based equally between the rough draft, final draft, and presentation. I will provide all the needed information tomorrow, Monday, in class. I will also be distributing the Science Fair Certificates tomorrow for your great work over the last weeks. The only homework and the DUE date is as follows:

Friday, Feb. 19: 2-page Rough draft of paper

Have a great week,
-Mr. Pfiester

9th Grade Biology: Week of Feb. 8-12

Hello,
Well this is a very short week. We will finish up the Ch. 37 with section 3: The Respiratory System. The lecture on Monday will prepare students for the homework due on Tuesday as follows:

Tuesday, Feb. 9: Complete Section 37-3 Assessment Questions, 1-5 (pg. 963).

Have a great week,

-Mr. Pfiester

7th-8th Grade Science: Week of Feb. 8-12

Hello,
Well, we are are nearing the end of the road of our Science Fair/Invent Idaho work. Tomorrow night is our fair. Congratulations on your hard work! Tomorrow I will assign each project a unique number and review the criteria that the judges will use evaluate the projects. As we have class only Monday and Tuesday there is no homework assigned this week. Have a great week,

Mr. Pfiester