11.28.11: Today we had to take a few of the district assessments - three of them in fact. Our district has a set of 7-11 questions for many of the units that every student in the district needs to answer. We will use the data from these to compare teaching ideas based on results. Then we started into our new unit. This unit is all about getting energy for the cell. Therefore the first thing that we discussed was what is the form energy needs to be in in order to be easily usable for the cell. Energy needs to be in the form of ATP which stands for Adenosine Triphosphate. ATP stores a lot of energy in its last phosphate bond. Therefore when the cell uses the energy the ATP turns into a different molecule called ADP. A lot of what we talked about the rest of the week was how to take the ADP and turn it back into the ATP.
11.30.11: Now that we had a basic understanding of photosynthesis it was important to talk about the details. We went over the two major steps of photosynthesis - the light dependent portion and the light independent portion (otherwise known as the Calvin Cycle). In the picture below you can see what enters into the light dependent portion of photosynthesis (Light and Water!) and then it makes NADPH, ATP and Oxygen. The NADPH moves to the Calving Cycle where it meets up with some Carbon Dioxide and goes through a bunch of formation changes. These changes create glucose which is sugar, or our primary source of energy. In class we talked through all of these steps. Then we started and the students completed a pictoral guide to photosynthesis and a graphic organizer of the steps for photosynthesis.
http://www.fhs.d211.org/events/fhs50/science_videos/odette.php
After we watched the link, we went over the picture diagram of photosynthesis and the chart. By covering the information in the form of notes, having the students transform the information and then going over the information two more times, it is my hope that the information sticks! We also added a little bit of fun to the notes by watching a few songs about photosynthesis. You can check out the musical beauty below:
12.2.11: Today's video was made by Ms Dworak, another chemistry teacher in the building. She completed a demo that creates a chemical reaction that looks like elephant toothpaste. Check it out here:
http://www.fhs.d211.org/events/fhs50/science_videos/video.php?video=dworak
Then we moved into cellular respiration. We talked about the details and the last two steps of the process which are known as the Kreb's cycle and the electron transport chain. The Kreb's cycle takes the glucose that was broken in half and rearranges the carbons in order to create and release carbon dioxide (that is where we get it to breath it out!) and some energy carrying molecules called NADH. Then the ETC (the electron transport chain) passes the energy along in such as way that ATP is made. Oxygen catches some of the leftover electrons and H+ ions and makes water. The homework over the weekend was to complete a picture diagram of cellular respiration and a graphic organizer of some of the big ideas.
12.6.11: The first thing we will do today is review and make sure that we answer any and all questions. Then as long as we have enough time, we will take a quest (quiz/test) on photosynthesis and cellular respiration. There will be no homework unless the quest gets pushed back.
12.7.11: Today we are going to complete a test reflection from the mitosis unit and this cell energy unit. With finals a little bit more than a month away the students need to really think about how well they are doing on the units and where they need to focus for the final. After we have completed the test reflection we start to brainstorm what we know about our next unit, DNA. There will be reading out the book for homework tonight!
12.8.11: To start out our DNA unit, we will first discuss the structure. We will take notes over the structure and then talk about how DNA replicates. The homework for the night will be to draw a DNA molecule.
12.9.11: We will practice DNA replication with the picture we drew the night before. We will finish up any notes that we did not get to about DNA replication and make sure that everyone is clear about what happens during replication. There may be some reading out of the book for homework tonight.
Important Dates to Keep in Mind:
As the semester starts to come to a close, here are some dates that may be helpful:
12.13.11: Quiz on DNA/RNA and DNA Replication
12.17.11: Winter break begins
1.3.12: School resumes after winter break
1.6.12: Quiz on Transcription and Translation
1.12.12: Test over DNA and Protein Synthesis
1.16.12: No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
1.18.12: Biology Final for Period 1
1.19.12: Biology Final for Period 4