The theme of the day was lab safety.  We started class with a YouTube clip of Jimmy Fallon and Kevin Delaney releasing energy in candy, making elephant toothpaste, and using smoke to visual air bursts coming from an air cannon:

The video naturally led into a talk of lab safety, and students received a Safety Contract to read through.  They learned the location of key safety equipment in the classroom and will need to bring the contract back (signed by the student and a parent/guardian) on Tuesday.  Next, students completed a questionnaire to better introduce themselves and to provide me with data for the WABS Teacher Externship program I am participating in this year.  Students turned in the completed questionnaire, along with the signed syllabus.  They also received a folder, wrote their name on it, and placed it in the file cabinet.  The folder will help students stay organized throughout the school year and provides students with ready-made organizational strategy for keeping track of classwork.  Finally, students had the last few minutes of class to browse through our brand-new chemistry textbook.

We are planning to start our first chemistry lesson on Tuesday, so students need to be sure they have the Safety Contract signed and returned then.  Have a wonderful 3-day weekend!

We kicked off the new unit with a primer on heredity (courtesy of Crash Course – see below) and a historical tour of Gregor Mendel’s contribution to the field of genetics.  Slides for the day can be downloaded here.  I am thrilled that much of the discussion around Punnett Squares, as well as some of the vocabulary, are review for many of my students.  All students are encouraged to continue practicing unit vocabulary via the Quizlet link.

Today is the final big work day for student groups working on their Mitosis Projects.  The goal for today was to briefly assess the current state of the project, identify goals to work towards in bringing the project to a successful completion, and finally for group members to assign homework to complete any remaining project components outside of class.  Students recorded their group discussion on a worksheet.  Slides presented at the beginning of class can be viewed here.

Tomorrow we will wrap up the projects, putting finishing touches on the content and practicing presentations.  Students will also complete an assessment of the project.

Here are the slides for today.  Exam revisions due this Friday.

We concluded Conclusion week with a quiz on…Conclusion writing!  Students took a quiz with a toned-down scenario (compared to the scenario they were given earlier this week!) about how a plant responds to light (photosynthesis).  The quiz will be graded based on the 5 elements discussed yesterday.

Today marks the final day of first quarter.  Students took a 15-question clicker quiz designed as a self-assessment to help them identify areas of growth over the next quarter.  The questions were also written to remind students about class expectations, acceptable classroom behavior, appropriate use of technology, and resources for students who need additional help outside of class.

Hard to believe the school year is over!  It was an honor to be part of Odyssey High School these last 5 months.  With the school closing, I want to wish the students and staff all the best as they embark on new adventures.  This summer I will be teaching an Environmental Science credit retrieval class through the Puget Sound Skills Center at Seahurst Park.  When the new school year begins again this fall, I will be teaching biology and chemistry and Highline High School and am very excited about rejoining the fantastic science department that supported me during my student teaching last fall.  I will continue to document my adventure in teaching here and will have to give some thought to how best to organize the blog.  Stay tuned for updates, and constructive feedback is always welcome and appreciated!

As of January 2014, I am very excited to assume teaching responsibilities for Ms. H‘s high school biology students.  Our first unit will be Genetics, and we will learn about nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), cell division, and heredity.  I strongly encourage my students to sign up for Khan Academy and view the Heredity and Genetics videos.  Then challenge yourself with TED-Ed Lesson in the genetics category!