Today we started on abacteria lab.  We’re swabbing certain places around the school and growing the bacteria found on those places in apetri dishes in an incubator.  It should be a lot of fun and very educational.  I can’t wait to see the results.

Today we took our summative assessment over bacteria.  As with all other quizzes, I reserve the right to ask questions from the previous quizzes as well.  The kids know this but don’t like it.  Believe me, it will help them on the CRTs.  Next week we get into a lab and some health issues with bacteria and viruses.  This quarter is really moving along.

Today the kids worked more on their comparing and contrasting art project about bacteria and viruses.  They are to answer these questions in the most creative way possible:

1. What are the differences and similarities between prokaryotes and eukaryotes?

2. What basic structures do bacteria and viruses share?

3. How do they use or obtain energy?

4. How does their energy consumption affect their surroundings?

5. How do bacteria and viruses reproduce?

6. What roles do viruses and bacteria play in nature? (harmful vs. helpful, etc…)

7. Name at least three of each.

Today we started on an art project where we will compare and contrast bacteria and viruses.  They are to use the chart we worked on in class as a reference for the relevant information about structure and shapes, classification, energy use, how helpful or harmful they are, and what specific examples they can come up with.  I DO NOT WANT a recreation of the chart on a bigger piece of paper.  I want some color, creativity and thought put into their poster.  I have given them a ll the materials they need, but if they want to go above and beyond and find pictures to cut out or print off, that’s fine.  I’m expecting excellent work, not sub par performances.

Today went through some questions about bacteria and then watched a video on how the Black Plague spread throughout Europe and infected millions of people as they hugged and kissed.  Happy Valentine’s Day!  They have a guided reading for homework.

Today we started on chapter 2.2 on bacteria.  The students are supposed to write 5 questions of each of the first three domains of Bloom’s Taxonomy.  They are to write 5 knowledge questions, 5 comprehension questions and 5 application questions and answer them.  Most did not get done in class so these questions are homework.  We also went over their grades and some students are missing work and need to pay attention to their study habits!

Today we had a pretty difficult quiz over viruses and the interactive on PBS/Nova on the Flu of 1918.

Today we had a guest speaker by the name of Dr. Jesse Thompson who is a PhD. in virology at the University.  We watched a presentation on the basic structure and function of HIV.  It was great talk and very informative as to how it works.  The kids had excellent questions for the doctor and he learned a lot as well.

Today we calculated how many viruses can fit on the head of a pin.  With a virus at 200 nanometers in size, we figured out how many would fit into a 1mm pin head.  SPOILER ALERT: it was  lot of viruses.  The picture above is what that looks like under a microscope!  After that we reviewed for the quiz by going over the guided reading.

Today we watched a video on the pandemic flu of 1918 on Nova/PBS and did a writing exercise about it through an interactive.  It is a very cool exercise that MOST of the kids took seriously.  It’s real science that has real consequences for our world.  Some students didn’t take it seriously.  I will be talking about pandemics and more serious outbreaks in the coming weeks and I expect my students to be able to speak and write intelligently on such matters.