I am sorry that I have been a little M.I.A. since break. The major thing that happened right after break was finals. We made it through finals and then started one of my favorite units of the year. This unit, called Biotechnology, discusses with the students some of the current scientific advances using DNA. We discussed everything from restriction enzymes & DNA fingerprinting to stem cells, cloning, genetically modified foods and designer babies. The unit wrapped up as we watched the movie Gattaca from the year 1997. This movie is a commentary on a future society where the majority of people have been genetically chosen by their parents. As crazy as that sounds, we currently have the technology to test and choose the best zygotes to be implanted. What would happen if this became common practice? Well, that is what the movie explores. I love watching this movie with the students because we get a chance to talk about discrimination, following dreams and the importance of hard work and determination. Ask your student about the movie. Overall a majority were giving it rave reviews and had great questions about why characters would do certain things. And if you are looking for an older movie to check out, I highly recommend it. Every year I watch the movie with students and each year I find myself drawn into the plot and character's emotions.
Now where does that leave us....
Recap of 2/13-2/17
Monday 2/13: Today we had to finish the movie Gattaca as described above. Even though we only had about fifteen minutes left, it ends with a few twists that are unexpected and thought provoking. We then spent some time discussing the movie and clarifying any questions that the students had. Then we read an article from February of 2009 which discussed the clinics that are currently helping parents have designer babies. Here is a link to the article if you want to know how that is happening: Wall Street Journal Article Entitled: A Baby, Please. Blonde, Freckled, Hold the Colic.
The homework for the evening was to write one last letter to their pen pal in class by answering seven prompts about how they felt about the movie and the article.
Tuesday 2/14: Happy Valentine's Day! The students exchanged letters today and responded to their partner. I enjoyed watching them share their ideas and opinions with one another in a written form. After that we started to discuss out next unit - Genetics. I started by explaining meiosis - the process by which sex cells are made. Today we simply took notes. At home, the students started to read about meiosis and answer some questions.
Wednesday 2/15: In order to fully grasp the idea of meiosis, the students completed an activity that compared mitosis to meiosis and then for homework completed the rest of the reading guide. I think it is important for the students to understand how mitosis and meiosis are similar and how they are different because the students have a pretty good grasp on mitosis. I believe that by comparing the two processes, the students gain a more complete understanding of meiosis.
Thursday 2/16: We reviewed the process of meiosis by acting it out using some paper strips on the classroom floor. I promise that is a little more exciting than it sounds and provided a good visual for the students of what was happening by reinforcing what happened in the activity. Then we started to talk about karyotypes. These are pictures of a person's chromosomes. This picture can show how many chromosomes there are, any abnormalities and whether or not the person is a male or female. Then we talked about the karyotyping activity that the students would be working on tomorrow.
Friday 2/17: I was not in class today because I was with the speech student who qualified for state (and got 5th! :) at the tournament). Hopefully the students were able to start the karyotyping activity where they are using one of fourteen sets of chromosomes to create a karyotype. We will then take a look at these karyotypes to determine if there are any abnormalities. The homework for the night was to complete section 11-1 in the reading guide.
Monday 2/20: NO School :) Happy President's Day!
Tuesday 2/21: Today we will hopefully finish the karyotypes that the students started on Friday. Depending on the time we may start to discuss the different types of genetic disorders that are present. We will also go over about 5 genetic vocabulary words. The homework tonight will be to finish the karyotyping activity.
Wednesday 2/22: We will start with about five - ten more genetic terms and then finish any of the genetic disorders that we have not already discussed. We are spending so much time with the vocabulary in this unit because it is crucial that the students know what the words mean before they can fully understand the genetic problems that we will be starting on Friday.
Thursday 2/23: Today we will finish all of the information about the vocabulary in preparation for a quiz tomorrow. Then we depending on how much time we have left we will either create drawings of the words or make flashcards to help ingrain these words into our minds. By transforming the definitions into something else hopefully the information will be stored more adequately for the students.
Friday 2/24: The day will with a vocabulary quiz. On this quiz, I have really high expectations since this information is so important for the understanding of the rest of the unit. Therefore unless the students get an A on the quiz, they will have to retake the quiz in test make up to get credit. They can retake the quiz as many times as necessary but they will only have a week to complete this. After the quiz, we will start talking about Punnett Squares and genetic crosses. Depending on time we may take a prequiz that will not count as a grade but will help me determine where the students are in their knowledge of Punnett Squares. This year I am going to try something new to help tailor these Punnett Squares to each of the students' needs. More on this next week.
Thanks for tuning in once more. I promise to keep the updates better updated and as always please let me know if you have any questions or would like different types of information in these updates!
[email protected]
Now where does that leave us....
Recap of 2/13-2/17
Monday 2/13: Today we had to finish the movie Gattaca as described above. Even though we only had about fifteen minutes left, it ends with a few twists that are unexpected and thought provoking. We then spent some time discussing the movie and clarifying any questions that the students had. Then we read an article from February of 2009 which discussed the clinics that are currently helping parents have designer babies. Here is a link to the article if you want to know how that is happening: Wall Street Journal Article Entitled: A Baby, Please. Blonde, Freckled, Hold the Colic.
The homework for the evening was to write one last letter to their pen pal in class by answering seven prompts about how they felt about the movie and the article.
Tuesday 2/14: Happy Valentine's Day! The students exchanged letters today and responded to their partner. I enjoyed watching them share their ideas and opinions with one another in a written form. After that we started to discuss out next unit - Genetics. I started by explaining meiosis - the process by which sex cells are made. Today we simply took notes. At home, the students started to read about meiosis and answer some questions.
Wednesday 2/15: In order to fully grasp the idea of meiosis, the students completed an activity that compared mitosis to meiosis and then for homework completed the rest of the reading guide. I think it is important for the students to understand how mitosis and meiosis are similar and how they are different because the students have a pretty good grasp on mitosis. I believe that by comparing the two processes, the students gain a more complete understanding of meiosis.
Thursday 2/16: We reviewed the process of meiosis by acting it out using some paper strips on the classroom floor. I promise that is a little more exciting than it sounds and provided a good visual for the students of what was happening by reinforcing what happened in the activity. Then we started to talk about karyotypes. These are pictures of a person's chromosomes. This picture can show how many chromosomes there are, any abnormalities and whether or not the person is a male or female. Then we talked about the karyotyping activity that the students would be working on tomorrow.
Friday 2/17: I was not in class today because I was with the speech student who qualified for state (and got 5th! :) at the tournament). Hopefully the students were able to start the karyotyping activity where they are using one of fourteen sets of chromosomes to create a karyotype. We will then take a look at these karyotypes to determine if there are any abnormalities. The homework for the night was to complete section 11-1 in the reading guide.
Monday 2/20: NO School :) Happy President's Day!
Tuesday 2/21: Today we will hopefully finish the karyotypes that the students started on Friday. Depending on the time we may start to discuss the different types of genetic disorders that are present. We will also go over about 5 genetic vocabulary words. The homework tonight will be to finish the karyotyping activity.
Wednesday 2/22: We will start with about five - ten more genetic terms and then finish any of the genetic disorders that we have not already discussed. We are spending so much time with the vocabulary in this unit because it is crucial that the students know what the words mean before they can fully understand the genetic problems that we will be starting on Friday.
Thursday 2/23: Today we will finish all of the information about the vocabulary in preparation for a quiz tomorrow. Then we depending on how much time we have left we will either create drawings of the words or make flashcards to help ingrain these words into our minds. By transforming the definitions into something else hopefully the information will be stored more adequately for the students.
Friday 2/24: The day will with a vocabulary quiz. On this quiz, I have really high expectations since this information is so important for the understanding of the rest of the unit. Therefore unless the students get an A on the quiz, they will have to retake the quiz in test make up to get credit. They can retake the quiz as many times as necessary but they will only have a week to complete this. After the quiz, we will start talking about Punnett Squares and genetic crosses. Depending on time we may take a prequiz that will not count as a grade but will help me determine where the students are in their knowledge of Punnett Squares. This year I am going to try something new to help tailor these Punnett Squares to each of the students' needs. More on this next week.
Thanks for tuning in once more. I promise to keep the updates better updated and as always please let me know if you have any questions or would like different types of information in these updates!
[email protected]