ACT. 44, WHO'S WHO? in class 12.16 & 12.17.14

Use the links below to find the Micro-Life Cards & Dichotomous Key listed in the materials.  The second sheet of the links includes the Classification Cards that are part of step 8 of the Procedure.  Step 8 discusses 6 Classification Cards.  I have simplified your work by including only 3 cards.  Each Micro-Life Card organism belongs in one of the three groups - Virus, Bacteria, or Protist.

I suggest you group the cards into three groups, then based on the Dichotomous Key, decide on the names of the groups.  Finally,  "key out" the names of the organisms using the Key.

You should have 2 work products in your notebook at the end of this Activity:

1. a chart/ table of three columns, one for each group - Virus, Bacteria, Protist.  In each column there will be a list of the organisms that belong to the group.
2. A list of common features of each group, as discussed in Procedure step 9.

First set of Micro-Life Cards:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4MpOPBiXv5sMEVXckJaREZtRW1mUk1hYXBWTVZQb1ZzT01J/edit

Second set of Micro-Life Cards + classification "cards":
2nd set Micro-Life cards + classification cards

Dichotomous Key:
Dichotomous Key

ACT. 51, THE FULL COURSE (about antibiotics)

We are working on this ACT. in class Dec. 18 & 19.  When you read the materials list, you will notice that you need a number cube to complete the Activity.  We are using dice instead.  If you are making up this work due to an excused absence, please see me about the dice.

We are using cutout pieces of construction paper for the colored disks.  Again, they cannot leave the room while the classes are working with them.  See me about the colored disks.

Here are links to the "worksheet" materials needed for this Activity.  The Activity will be more fun if you have a partner working with you.

1.5.15: I have given a "kit" of materials to students who attended class today but were gone on 12.19.  I gave them to students who raised their hands when I announced there was a "kit" for those who were absent.

ASSIGNMENT, Analysis Q 1, 4, 6 & data table & graph (taped into notebook as a flap) DUE Jan 6.

3-square, ACT 51, The Full Course
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4MpOPBiXv5sUEEzY0Y0UnNjbTA/view?usp=sharing

Anticipation Guide for ACT 51, The Full Course
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4MpOPBiXv5sdEp6REVBSjZWV1E/view?usp=sharing

Population Data Table
Population Data Table

Bacteria Graph, again.  I hope this is a shareable link.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4MpOPBiXv5sNWExRzBSLVdXU28/view?usp=sharing

ACT. 42 +, assigned today, due Tue., Dec. 16

PINEGAR LIFE SCIENCE ASSIGNMENT, 12.15.14, DUE 12.16.14:

Worksheet: Inside a Cell

ACT. 42, Q 1,2,4

Human body system Q:  Using a human body system that is NOT the digestive system, make a drawing like the one at the bottom of pg. C-59.  You may use the Body Systems unit to help you with this question.
Inside a cell W.S.

ACTIVITY 48, Wash your hands please

We did this Activity in class on Mon., 12.8.  Due to the limits on materials, the lab cannot be made up.  The assignment is Analysis Q 1, 2, 4.  It is due Thu., 12.11.  For those who were absent with an excused absence, the assignment is Q 4.

ACT 39 CELLS ALIVE help

Activity was done in class Fri, 12.4.  Assignment is Analysis Q 2a, c, d.  It is due Fri., 12.12.  Links below to 2 videos that may help in your understanding of the Activity.  Also, try rereading the text introduction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbG6rpfy07Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTOrpHsbsZQ​

ACT. 40 Procedure photos, links to cell membrane info.

The teacher demonstration of this Activity, ACT 40, was done in lab on Tue., 12.9.  Assignment is Analysis Q 1-4, due today, Thur., 12.11.
Here is a link to the photos of the Procedure for Activity 40, A Cell Model:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yTCs0RL18l8i7lWRxchX4-dxORlq2XIp7h-YFE_RbFw/edit?usp=sharing

Here is a link that will help you understand the PURPOSE of the cell membrane.  There are a lot of ads on the page.  Some of the ads are sandwiched in between the paragraphs of the description.  Keep reading to the bottom of the page:

http://www.kidsbiology.com/biology_basics/cells_tissues_organs/cell_membrane7.php

ACT 32, Q 1 & 2 & Q 5, needed materials

LINK TO THE WRITING FRAME FOR Q 5:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4MpOPBiXv5sN2ZnMzdyZEhINlk/view?usp=sharing

LINK TO THE INTERVIEW CARDS, ACT 32, Q 1 & 2:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4MpOPBiXv5saEFzRmhGcUVmams/view?usp=sharing

ACTIVITY 33, From One to Another, link to video

ACTIVITY 33, From One to Another, Analysis Qs 1-5 was assigned Nov. 19 and due Nov 20.  Here is a link to the video about the Bubonic plague.  Bubonic Plague is an example of a disease passed by a vector.  The concepts of a vector and quarantine are at the center of this Activity.

http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/odys08.sci.life.bubonic/bubonic-plague/​​​

OUTDOOR SCHOOL, LAST LETTER HOME TOMORROW

On Thursday, Oct. 16, I will send home a last reminder letter of Outdoor School information. It will include information on special diets, times that buses are leaving Hosford and arriving back home, information on packing medications, and on a small handful of soil from a special place.  Please look for this information.  Here is a link to a copy of this letter:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4MpOPBiXv5sRG04TUJ0Q3ZYNkU/view?usp=sharingODS final letter, Oct. 16

NOV. 2-4 OUTDOOR SCHOOL FORMS OVERDUE! (Periods 1, 2, 5)

I drove the Outdoor School forms to the Outdoor School office today after work.  In the introduction letter I sent home last week, I asked to have the forms back by Oct. 9.  If your child attends science period 1, 2, or 5, the forms are now at the Outdoor School office.  If your forms have not been turned into me, please get them to the Outdoor School office yourself.  The office is off of Airport Way.  The address is: 

MESD Outdoor School

11611 NE Ainsworth Circle

Portland, OR 97220

503-257-1600

FAX 503-257-1592

The forms are due in the Outdoor School Office by Oct. 17.  If your child has lost the forms, s/he can ask me for another packet.  The forms are also available online at: http://www.mesd.k12.or.us/os/OutdoorSchool/ForParents.html​

Forms for periods 6 & 7, attending Nov. 12-14, are due to me AT THE VERY LATEST by Oct. 22.

Thank you for your understanding.

FIND THE TEXTBOOK ONLINE

Several students have approached me lately asking how to find the textbook online.  Here I give the basic directions.  For the username and password, you will need to ask your child.  I had students write their username and password on the inside front cover of their lab notebooks.  At the text publisher's request, I am not publishing them online.

Log onto www.lab-aids.com

In the upper right hand corner of the screen, click on STUDENT.

On the next screen, enter the username and password.

On the next screen, click on the photo of the textbook, Life Science.

On the next screen, click on the Unit we are studying.  At this time, we are concluding our study of Unit A.

This will bring you to the pages of the text.

MIDTERM PROGRESS REPORTS; MINING THE BINDER, LAB NOTEBOOK, BACKPACK

MIDTERM PROGRESS REPORTS are printed reports that are generated at the middle of the grading period/ quarter.  Tomorrow is midterm day; all scores at midterm are set by 11:59 pm, when the central computer generates the reports.  They are then sent to families.  If you are tracking your child's grades via ParentVUE, the report will probably be old news by the time it arrives in the mail.  The reports are designed to show parents their children's  progress toward the final quarter grade.

AS YOU HELP YOUR 6th GRADE CHILD ORGANIZE her/ himself for school success, consider "mining" the binder, the science notebook, and the backpack.  Frequently students tell me they don't have a certain worksheet or paper that I ask them to look for among their supplies.  I am often able to quickly locate a lost item if a student will let me have access to the binder and notebook.  This is a time in their lives when students are growing a multitude of neural pathways, so some disorganization is to be expected.  Often a trusted adult, such as parents, can quickly help a disorganized 6th grader square things away.  

I suggest you follow this blog for posts about assignments.  ParentVUE is another resource for finding out what assignments are due when.  Almost all science assignments are written in/ kept in the science notebook.  Help your child organize the notebook on occasion, and keep the Table of Contents up to date.  A once a week sweep through the backpack is also a good idea, as papers sometimes fall down this "black hole."

ACTIVITY 4, ACTIVITY 7, OUTDOOR SCHOOL

ACTIVITY 4, TESTING MEDICINES SCIENTIFICALLY

is a reading activity that students studied with my substitute, Mr. Leo, on Mon., Sept. 29.  Students were assigned work that was begun in class and was to be finished at home.  Due to the confusion some students feel when they are with a substitute, I extended the due date to Oct. 1 for their work.  Many students complained that the textbook website was down on the evening of Sept. 30, so the new due date was today, Oct. 2.  I have been scoring the assignment, Analysis Questions 4 & 8, as students work on Activity 7 in their table teams.

ACTIVITY 7, STUDYING PEOPLE QUALITATIVELY & QUANTITATIVELY

is a reading activity that students began on Oct. 1 and are continuing into the beginning of Oct. 3.  Students take turns reading sections of text in their table teams, using a strategy called, "Stopping to Think."  At each Stopping to Think paragraph, students discuss the reading in their teams and individually write a response in their notebooks.  There are 5 Stopping to Thinks.  The assigned and scored work is Analysis Q 2.

OUTDOOR SCHOOL MATERIALS WILL GO HOME TOMORROW  and are due back to me by Thurs., Oct 9. 

OUTDOOR SCHOOL, MS. PINEGAR'S CLASSES

MY CLASSES WILL GO TO OUTDOOR SCHOOL AS FOLLOWS:

P1 to Howard, Nov. 2-4 with me

P2 to Howard, Nov. 2-4 with Mrs. Baber

P5 to Arrah Wanna Nov. 2-4 with Ms. Morse

P6 to Arrah Wanna Nov. 12-14 with Ms. Morse

P7 to Howard Nov 12-14 with me

Outdoor School forms will go home this week and will be due back next week.  Students will write the information about deadlines in their planners.

GRADES: WHAT'S A 3? WHAT DOES "PROFICIENT" MEAN?

There are three building blocks to my grading system:

• proficiency- based grading, a 1-4 scale that replaces A - F
• formative assessment
• standards-based grading/ assessment

I began a form of proficiency-based grading ten years ago after studying it through workshops run by the Assessment Training Institute (ATI) , a Portland-based outfit that has a national reputation and is now owned by Pearson, a textbook firm.  I was attracted to this grading philosophy because the A - F system seemed arbitrary to me.  I want students to know exactly what they are expected to learn and how to get there.

The ATI philosophy is best summed up by this quote from one of the trainers:

Assessment for learning is a gift we give our students. It is a mirror we hold up to show them how far they have come. It is a promise that we will use assessment, not to punish or reward, but to guide them on their learning journey."

- Jan Chappuis

A second important part of my learning from ATI is "formative assessment."  This means that my students, just like most of us adults, get a second chance at their work.  Proficiency-based grading tells students how well they are doing towards being "100% complete and 100% correct"; a 3/ proficient on the scoring scale.  Formative assessment gives students a second (and sometimes a third) chance to redo their work to try again to earn a 3.  When I grade, I often make comments on papers and hand them back.  If a student wants to raise the score, s/he can redo the paper and hand it back again.  When redoing the work, students write an "R" on the paper near the score.  This indicates to me that I should score the work again.  If the work is in the student's science notebook, the student should use a bookmark to mark the location of the "R" in her/ his notebook.  The work should be left on a designated lab table at the end of the class period.

The third piece of my grading system is standards-based grading.  Each assignment is tied to one of the PPS science standards for Life Science.  I translate the standard into a Learning Target, which is a goal for students in student-friendly language.  As students do their work, they will know what they are expected to be able to demonstrate in their scored work. 

RECENT ASSIGNMENTS: ACTIVITY 2, The Pellagra Story & ACT. 3, A CLINICAL TRIAL

ASSIGNED FRI, SEPT 19: from Activity 2, The Pellagra Story, Analysis Q 2a & 2b found on page A-9 of the text.  I led the class through this activity. I collected the work this past week.  It was to be written on a sheet titled "Writing Frame - Recognizing Evidence"  It is being scored with the Recognizing Evidence Scoring Guide.  Each student has a copy of this scoring guide.  It should be in students' binders, in the science section, held in place by the rings.  Some students' work has been scored and handed back.  I have encouraged those who earned 2/ developing or 3/ proficient to edit their work and return it to me for a "regrade" to try for proficient.  This is in keeping with my use of formative assessment.

ASSIGNED FRI, SEPT 26: from Activity 3, Testing Medicines: A Clinical Trial, Analysis Q 4 found on page A-14 of the text.  Students are to write their answers on a page of their notebooks.  Due Mon., Sept. 29. (Note:  A few students have turned in their notebooks for the weekend for scoring The Pellagra Story work.  Those students, together with students who didn't bring their notebooks to class, will write their work on notebook/ filler paper, which will later be taped/ glued into their notebooks.) 

The Learning Targets for this work:

I can analyze clinical trial data.  Based on the data, I can decide:

• if the medicine works
• if the medicine is safe

Mr. Leo will be my substitute that day and will stamp this work with a rubber stamp, showing it has been turned in on time.  On time work is expected as part of the effort comment on the report card.  

I will score the work upon my return using the Understanding Scientific Concepts Scoring Guide.  This scoring guide is one of several that were given to students on Fri., Sept. 26, in a packet that was stapled and hole punched.  I led students through directions to put the scoring guides in the rings of their binders in the science section of their binders.  We reviewed the scoring guide requirements of a 3/ proficient for this work.  

This is the first assignment in which students were expected to work independently.  I led the class through a discussion of pooled/ all class data that is evidence to support the concepts found in the question.  Students copied this data onto the back of a hole-punched sheet that is titled, "Analysis of Clinical Trial."  I hope all families have a great weekend.  I am enjoying the rain!

Outdoor School Info & Activity 2, The Pellagra Story

The schedule of my Outdoor School (ODS) classes & which sites they are attending & when is as follows:

P1 to Howard, Nov 2-4 w/ Ms. Pinegar

P2 to Howard Nov 2-4 w/ Marla Baber

P5 to Arrah Wanna Nov 2-4 w/ Cynthia Morse

P6 to Arrah Wanna Nov 12 - 14 w/ Cynthia Morse

P7 to Howard Nov 12 - 14 w/ Ms. Pinegar

ACTIVITY 2 THE PELLAGRA STORY

We have been introduced to "The Pellagra Story", about the discovery of causes of an infectious disease.  Each class has watched part of the video that tells the story.

HOMEWORK FOR TONIGHT

If a student has not turned in the Safety in the Laboratory Agreement, s/he needs to find it, have it signed by parent/ guardian and turn it back into Ms. P.

Lab Safety & Saving Fred

All students should have brought home a one-page double-sided Safety Agreement for the Science Laboratory sheet.  Please sign & date it, have your child do the same, and send it back to me with your child ASAP.  I am assigning this an academic grade.

By now, all students should have written paragraph(s) in their lab notebooks on How to Save Fred.  This work is described on pg. A-6 of the textbook, in Procedure 3 at the top.

On Monday we will begin Activity 2 of the text.

WE SAVED FRED TODAY! & LAB SAFETY AGREEMENTS

Your child might be very excited about today's Science class because s/he probably saved Fred the gummy worm.  Information about this Activity, Activity 1 in the Isssues & Life Science textbook, begins on page A-4 of the text.   Almost all teams of two saved Fred today.  HOMEWORK is to write a first draft of procedures about how Fred was saved.  The work should be done on page 2 of the lab notebook.  Students should work for no more than 30 min. on this.  Students with IEPs that have writing goals should work for no more than 15 min.  504 students with challenges in writing or attention to work can follow this guideline, too.  This should be student work.  IEP writing goals students and 504 students may type their work or have a family member scribe for them while they narrate.  Typed work from IEP and 504 students may be sent to me as a word document or PDF attached to an email if printing is an issue at home.

A word on LAB SAFETY AGREEMENTS: Parents of period 2, 5, & 6 students, please sign them and get them in!  Period 1 and 5 students will bring theirs home for signatures tomorrow.  Thanks!

Welcome to 6th grade life science!

Please review the syllabus found as a link to my name in the staff directory.  We have spent a few days in "getting-to-know-you", figuring out some aspects of Hosford and how to open a locker, eat lunch here, and get from place to place in 3 minutes passing time.  In science, there has been an orientation to Outdoor School, which 6th graders will go to in November.  We've also studied lab safety, and all students should bring home a lab safety agreement by tomorrow for parents to sign. We will begin our first science investigation, figuring out how to "Save Fred", tomorrow.  It's so exciting to work with your children!