| | | Contact Mr. Coder: 696-5974 | Bottle Biology Update 10/7/09:
The classroom portion of the project is now cancelled and students will need to run the project for about the next 3 weeks at home. See below for more details. |
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Current and Upcoming Events
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We have begun the Bottle Biology project I mentioned at Open House. Using 2 liter bottles and creativity, students will be building mini-ecosystems to serve two purposes:
1) continue our work with how the scientific process works
2) begin to explore ecological concepts in hands on way.
There is a fair bit of groundwork to be done before students should even think about getting any plants, animals, or any materials. Right now we will be most in need of more 2L bottles. Students may work solo if they prefer, or in groups of up to four people. Each group will need a minimum of (2) bottles. Often times in the experimentation of setup, bottles get messed up and extras may be required. It is a great exercise in creative problem solving. More details will be coming soon.
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The above phase has taken place, but students were having difficulty APPLYING their research to what their habitat then should be like. As a result, there were a number of escapees and some habitats that need significant work. For the remainder of the project, approximately 3 weeks, I ask that these projects be carried out AT HOME. There will be check points where status reports are going to be due, then we will look towards how to compile all the data and observations to draw valid conclusions.
As we are discussing ecology concepts, students should have an increasing vocabulary with which to describe phenomena in nature as well as in all likelihood in their bottles. Many students have found out this quarter that the days of being able to look at notes a few minutes before the test and do OK are now over. Please ask periodically to see your child's notebook, quiz them on ecology or science as inquiry.
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Thank you to parents who have recently provided some tissue and hand sanitizers. In this already rough cold/flu season it will really help. We will probably be out again by Thanksgiving or the end of second quarter, so more is always welcome.
We are always in need of paper towels around here for when we have messy but educational fun.
Thanks for your support. Please drop me a line if you have questions or concerns.
David Coder
7th Grade Science Teacher
Turquoise Team
696-5974 |
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