Weight of a Hurricane and other Stuff

Wednesday, September 29th. Today we started class reviewing a little bit of the Water Cycle, emphasizing how much water is stored in the oceans. We listened to this story from NPR about the weight of a hurricane: Weight of a Hurricane. We also watched the cartoon that explains how all that water can stay up in the sky. We read part of a science text about primary production: the rate at which producers like plants can produce sugars through photosynthesis. We highlighted parts of the text and added some definitions of terms. Here are the definitions in Google doc format: Ecosystem Ecology Notes. We will finish the reading and note taking tomorrow.

Photosynthesis

Tuesday, September 28, 2010. Today we modeled the chemical process of Photosynthesis; the foundation of almost all life on the planet. We used different colored Starburst candies for the atoms of Hydrogen, Carbon, and Oxygen and toothpicks to represent the chemical bonds holding the molecules together. Following the rules of bonds for Carbon, two bonds for Carbon, and one bond for Hydrogen, we built six Carbon dioxide molecules and six Water molecules. Then we reassembled them into a Glucose molecule along with six Oxygen molecules. No Homework this week.

Water Cycle

Monday, September 27th. Today we looked at the water cycle and the processes that are involved. We looked at Evaporation, Transpiration, Condensation, and Precipitation and the role of each in the cycle. We examined ground water, surface water, and what might influence the transfer of water from each part of the water cycle. We reviewed boiling point and freezing point of water in the Fahrenheit and Celsius systems.
Last Friday we played our new and improved Food Web Games, incorporating new cards and new rules to make the game more realistic and engaging. These changes included defining exactly what eats what, specific ratios between levels on the food web, adding species or removing others, and adding "Disaster Cards" like drought, floods, hurricanes and developments to change the food webs.

Eco Quiz #1

Thursday, September 23rd. Today we had our first quiz to review food webs and the flow of energy and matter through the web and the special role of decomposers. I stressed how quizzes have several functions: to review material, to assess everyone's understanding of the material so far, and from that see what we need to focus on a little more, and to give them practice taking a test. We went over the quiz afterwards and answered questions. We spent a little time reviewing the plants that we have been identifying in our local ecosystem and compared several methods for surveying and counting the numbers of species on campus. Here is a link to the Quiz: Eco Quiz #1 It is a PDF file on Googledocs.

Local Trees

Wednesday, September 22 (Equinox). Today we reviewed for the quiz on Thursday. There are three main topics to cover.
1. Be able to draw a food web with all five levels, label the levels and give examples of organisms for each level.
2. Explain how energy and matter each move differently through a food chain.
3. Describe the special role of decomposers in the food web.
We also spent some time outside collecting leaves of different trees in the area and learning how to identify them. We looked at Sycamore, Red Maple, Ginkgo, Red Cedar, and Loblolly Pine.

Homework and Updating the Game

Tuesday, September 21st. Today we revisited the Food Web Connections Game in small groups and brainstormed ways to make the game better. Some groups decided to have specific ratios for how many producers are required before you can add primary consumers and so on up the food chain. Other groups added more specific details about what each species eats and how that limits your options when building a food web. Several groups decided to add "Disaster Cards" to the game. These included fires, floods, droughts, toxic spills and land development each with a different impact on the food webs. We will play our modified games on Friday.
Monday we revisited our homework from the previous week. We went over expectations for what constitutes a "good" answer and how it is important to give detailed answers in full sentences. I gave the phrase, "When in doubt, write it out" to remind them to always add more details instead of less. Often they assume that I know that they know what they are talking about, but they need to be explicit so that everyone is clear on the details. Many of them got their homework back with comments to guide them in redoing their work. We will be having a quiz on Thursday that will cover the same topics that were addressed in the readings and homework. These include drawing a food web, describing how energy and matter move through a food web and the role of decomposers in the food web. No Homework.

Food Web Connections Game

Friday, September 17th. Today we played a card game that models a food web. The object was to create a diverse food web with 5 levels, from decomposers to tertiary consumers. During the game various threats to the stability of the food web had to be dealt with. Homework was collected, no new homework.

More Food Webs

Wednesday, September 15th. Today we modeled a food web using string to connect the different organisms and to illustrate the interdependence between the parts of the food web. We made an energy pyramid to show how the numbers of consumers decrease as we move up the food chain. Homework was collected.

Food Chains and Food Webs

Tuesday, September 14th. Today we constructed food chains that might exist in different ecosystems like a desert or a rainforest. We examined how energy and matter move through these food chains. As we added more organisms to the ecosystem we created food webs that illustrated the interconnectedness of the organisms and their various roles and niches within the ecosystem. We went over the different levels of producers, consumers and decomposers as well. Homework is due tomorrow.

Characteristics of Life

Monday, September 13th. We went over the 8 basic characteristics of all living things. These included that living things have cells, genetic material, use materials and energy, respond to their environment, maintain homeostasis, grow and develop, reproduce, and as a group change over time (evolution). Homework for Wednesday, September 15, Read "Web of Life" handout, pages 5-10 and answer questions 3, 4, 5 on page 10. The second part of the handout is Homework for Friday, September 17th. Read the rest of the handout, pages 10-14 and answer questions 3, 4, & 6 on page 13.
Friday we shared articles that students brought in about environmental issues in the news.

Notebooks

Thursday, September 9. Today each student got a science notebook. These composition books will be used as Field notebooks, Lab notebooks, and Project notebooks. They will generally stay in the classroom so that students don't have to carry them around and they will be available when we need them. The plan is to use them when we go outside to take notes when we are taking an inventory of local species or when we go on a field trip to monitor stream quality. We will use them to document lab activities, collect data, and write conclusions and reflections. We will also use them for documentation of ongoing projects. The students will only write on one side of the book, leaving the other side blank for me to write comments, observations, and evaluations of their work. We will also do some peer reviews this way.
Today we took our notebooks outside and started our inventory of some of the local plants. These included White Clover, Japanese Stiltgrass, Dogwood, Tulip Poplar, and Sweet Gum.

A New Year of EPS!

Wednesday, September 8.
The first two full days of school. It is good to be all together and getting started on classes. These past two days (and our short day last week) we have been talking about Ecology and the basic requirements for living things. Today we compared definitions of Ecology by asking different people to offer their ideas of what it means. We moved on to look at ecosystems and started looking at the forest ecosystem on the CFS campus. Homework for Friday, September 10th: Find an article in a newspaper or magazine that describes an environmental issue. The article needs to be summarized and brought in to be shared. What is the problem? What is the cause of the problem? What is the environmental setting? What is the impact of the problem?