Grand Prix Results ...

In Computer Programming, we finished our Grand Prix of Karel problem with an NCAA-style tournament between students.  We are moving on to three problems that use if-then, if-then-else and while do statements.  Congrats to Colin (5th period winner) and Zack (8th period winner)!

In Selected Topics in Science, we looked at several butterflies of late summer found in Allen County.  This is part of our "5 of everything" in which we look at real world (mostly local) samples of nature and scientific principles.  We also worked on cell science in preparation for our microscope lab next week.  The Great Plant Growing Contest continued.

Tomorrow in AP we will be looking at cell membranes and transport mechanisms into and out of cells. Mostly Chapter 7 in Campbell.  We have sample questions from Chapter 6 (cells) and Chapter 7.

Cellular Transport today in AP

In Computer Programming today and tomorrow we are working on the problems ... Roadblocks, Karel Climbs Cliffs and Minefield.  All three problems requires students to use decision statements and requires them to think (for a few, uncomfortable).

In AP Biology, we worked on several areas.  Most of the block was spent on Chapter 7, Cell Transport ... active and passive transport, endocytosis and ectocytosis.  We also finished our assigned questions on Chapter 6, Cells.  We had time to look at some pictures of the butterflies currently flying around Allen County ... examples of mimcry and complete metamorphosis.   Next Tuesday, we will be working on cell communication and start some review.

Cells ...

Today my AP Biology classes for 85 minutes each ...

We started the classes with a quick review of biochem with an emphasis on proteins, enzymes and catalyzed reactions.  We spent most of the class discussing cells, organelles and cell structure / function.  At the end of class we had a quiz and went over some sample cell questions.

Congrats to Colin for winning the Grand Prix problem ... we started a set of three programs using decision stations which will continue on Thursday.  Winners picts tomorrow.

Tomorrow in Selected Topics, we will continue the Great Plant Growing Contest.  Work on graphing data and have a review of cells.

On the farm today, I started sorting my plants for a late planting of coneflowers and milkweed.  Planting season will soon end.  Ironweed is in full bloom and wing-stem is starting to bloom.  This will be the last major nectar flow for bees.

Eight period day and "The Butler"

Mondays are our eight period days when students meet for 45 minutes with all the classes.  We still have several students getting lost.

In AP Biology today, we cleaned up our stomatal density lab of three species of milkweed and handed it in.  We also began our study of cells with a discussion of prokaryotic vs eukaryotic cells and cell size (surface area to volume ratios). Tomorrow we will continue our study of cells.

In Selected Topics, we started the Great Plant Growing Contest.  After a discussion about germination of seeds and plant growth, students planted their bean seeds.  This lab will continue for three weeks.  We meet again on Wednesday and will start a study of cells, photosynthesis and respiration.

Computer programming classes are having their Grand Prix tournament.  They will begin their advanced problems using if-then and while do statements later this week.  Programs will be shorter but require a lot more thought and problem-solving skills.

Sue Neal, our daughter Hannah and I went over to Bowling Green to see The Butler tonight and eat out  before she heads back to the University of Michigan.

Friday ... winners and swallowtails

Today was Selected Topics in Science Friday.  We finished our planarian lab up looking at the results on the overhead projector using my computer and a USB microscope.  We also discussed how planaria are environmentally sensitive to pollution and can be used as an indicator species to detect pollution in springs and streams.  I will return them to the stream tomorrow.

We also did some work with the food labels we had left over from our biochem poker game ... a discussion of serving size,  saturated fats and calories followed.  Finally, we looked and read about the Rabbs fringed -limbed treefrog (it was recently featured in National Geographic magazine).  Our discussion led to other species that have become extinct and why.  We did some research on the extinct passenger pigeon that once lived in North American by the billions but became extinct when the last one died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914 ... habitat destruction and over hunting.

http://www.zooatlanta.org/home/animals/amphibians/rabbs_fringe_limbed_treefrog

Biochem Poker winners below from Selected Topics ... congrats to all!  Winning hands included ATP (adenosine and three phosphates), four-unit protein (four amino acids) and more.

Still a lot of tiger swallowtails visiting our wildflower beds.  I have enjoyed them over the last month.

Regeneration Lab wraps up and Cells on Monday ...

Today in AP Biology we wrapped up our regeneration lab using planaria ... a quick glance of the write up by students showed lack of detail and little intellectual curiosity ... we will have to work on that.  We also continued to work on our milkweed stomatal density lab.  It is more difficult to produce your own samples rather than purchased slides.  After several attempts we were able to get some good classroom data.  This lab will be handed in on Monday.  Also on Monday, we begin our study of cells ... prokaryotic vs. eukaryotic and animal vs. plant cells.  Students have a vocabulary outline to look over and a few questions to prepare for class.  We will start our 13 required labs after Labor Day.

In Computer programming, students were working to finish the Grand Prix problem.  We also did a sample problem using WHILE DO and a version using IF-THEN.  We will do one more sample problem before starting these more difficult problems in earnest next week.

My Flex group (my homeroom juniors) worked on Kentucky college options ... we had a "win some honey" contest.

I picked about a bushel of pears tonight,  picked some cantaloupes and bush-hogged until dark.

Stomatal densities and PD today ...

Tomorrow in AP Biology, we will finish our lab on stomatal density of three milkweed species (part of our Patriot Pollinator Project - 2014).  Last Tuesday, students made stomatal peels using fingernail polish and counted the number of stomata in three fields of vision at 400X.  This is part of one of our 13 required labs for this year.

Stomata are openings in leaves that allow water to leave the plant by evaporation (transpiration) and are controlled by two guard cells.  These openings also allow plants to take in carbon dioxide to make glucose (photosynthesis).  Picture of stomata below (not mine):

      worldofbiology09.wikispaces.com

We also will wrap up our regeneration lab tomorrow.  Other items on the agenda will be a review activity on biochemistry.  It will be off to cells next week, Chapter 6 in our Campbell book.  Will include some pictures from our activity tomorrow.

In Selected Topics we finished our review of important molecules of the human body and played a few hands of Biochem Poker for review.  It was an exciting competition and we learned that no one from our classroom will ever be a professional poker player and probably not get a PhD in biochemistry!  We had a great time and learned how monomers are combined to make polymers!

In Computer programming today we did a sample problem called Go Stop Turnaround Go Stop.  In this sample problem, students had to use a WHILE DO statement to control Karel the Robot.  Then we rewrote a programming solution using IF-THEN.  We are still finishing up our Grand Prix of Karel problem before going on to decision statement problems.

Faculty PD after school today.

Monday - All classes met today ...

On Mondays, all eight periods meet for at least 45 minutes each.

In AP Biology today, we continued to review biochemistry.  We drew some of the most important biological molecules on white boards and learned how to connect them to make larger molecules.  Tomorrow, we are doing a lab using microscopes to calculate the number of stomata in the leaves of three types of milkweed leaves.  Also, tomorrow we are going over the 13 required investigations (labs) we will do this year and introduce some of the equipment we will be using.

In Selected Topics, we continued working on molecules of biological importance which will eventually lead to a study of food labels.

The Computer Programming classes are wrapping up their fifth Karel program ... Grand Prix of Karel.  We should be able to finish this rather long program by the end of the week and start on programs using if-then, if-then-else and while-do statements.

I stayed after school to set up my gradebook.

At home this evening, I repotted some milkweed plants for our lab tomorrow.  This lab will be part of our Patriot Pollinator Project - 2014.

Butterflies abundant and all eight classes tomorrow! Monday!

Selected Topics worked on biochemistry and graphing data on Friday.  We went over carbohydrates in their everyday lives and will work on lipids and proteins tomorrow during our short class time.

AP tomorrow will review some details in biochemistry.  We will concentrate on DNA structure and common proteins.  We will also prep up the rest of the week which includes a lab quantifing stomata on milkweed leaves using microscopes.  Planarian lab will wrap up Friday.

We are checking the first four programs in Karel programming.  We will be working this week on the Grand Prix problem and going over example on how to use if-then and if-then-else statements.

Below are some picts from this weekend.  Obviously, swallowtail love in Holland!

There are still a lot of skippers flying around.  Below, a zabulon skipper.

I saw my 4th and 5th Monarchs this weekend ... a male below resting on one of our white butterfly plants.  I watch this one fly and glide around for about 15 minutes.  They are powerful fliers and strong gliders with their wings angled upward.  Many of the Tiger Swallowtail' wings are showing some wear and tear.  The Monarchs are perfect and seem to be stronger.  Something to check into!

Testing my USB microscope ...

Some insects from our porch (all already dead) I used to test our my USB microscope today.  The emperor was caught in a spiderweb.  

Biochem Poker and What's Blooming ...

Today at school was an odd class day ... AP Biology and 5th period Computer programming.

In computer programming we are checking our first problems.  In AP Bio ... we went over proteins and their structures as well as, nucleic acids.  We had time for a few hands of Biochem poker.  A good time was had by all!

Tomorrow is Selected Topics.  We will be working on nutrition guides and biochemical groups as the apply to your life.  Regeneration lab continues.

I mowed some this evening and had time to take a short walk.  In the field beside where I was mowing in Holland, there is a large patch of maypops (passionflowers) blooming and the goldenrod is starting to bloom ... that will make the honeybees happy.

Modeling Lab, Grand Prix and an Intermediate morph ...

Today at school was the even number classes (4) in block time periods.

Selected Topics worked on a chemistry modeling lab.  Students drew structural formulas of several important biological molecules then modeled them using marshmallows and toothpicks.  We modeled ethanol, water, glucose and pyruvic acid ... just to name a few.  We related their importance in biology and human bodies.

In computer programming, most of the students are finished with the Pick the Corn problem and are working on the Grand Prix of Karel.  Most students now feel comfortable defining new instructions in their programs.  We will check programs on Friday.

Tomorrow in AP Biology, we will finish biochemistry ... proteins and nucleic acids.  Also, we should have time for an exciting game of Biochem Poker.

We still have dozens of Eastern Tiger Swallowtails visiting out flower beds.  Below is a rare female showing intermediate coloring between the yellow morph and the black morph.  The black morph is a mimic of the Pipevine Swallowtail which is poisonous ... Batesian mimicry.

Carbohydrates, Lipids and Pick the Corn

Today the odd number classes met in a block format.

We handed out textbooks in both AP Biology classes (Biology by Campbell / Reece, 8th and 6th editions).  Rumor has it that we will not be buying textbooks again.  So I keep the old ones and some are ten years old now.  There are other rumors saying that we are going to buy iPads for everyone with textbooks downloaded on them (which still costs $$).  I still like a great textbook but, I am probably out of the mainstream.  In one Selected Topics class I polled to see how many students have internet at home and it was less than 50%.  So, we are some distance from using internet resources outside of school to fill the textbook gap.

Also in AP Bio, we started our study of biochemistry.  We got through carbohydrates and lipids.  On Thursday we will finish with proteins and nucleic acids.  Lots of examples and some drawings.

In Computer programming today (fifth period class), most students finished up the Pick the Corn program.  We are working on the Grand Prix problem which is the last problem before we start programs with if-then and if-then-else.

Tomorrow in Selected Topics, we continue our regeneration lab and will work on a lab called Molecules of Importance with some molecule modeling.

Imperial Moth and Monday

Today at school we had our 8 period day (each for about 45 minutes except for fifth period which was an hour).  No flex/homeroom on Mondays.

AP Biology got ready to start on our biochemistry study tomorrow.  We changed the planarian water and put our dark/light classroom data on the board.

Selected Topics worked on their regeneration lab by cutting their planaria into two parts.  On Wednesday we have a lab called Molecules of Importance.

In Computer Science several students started our fourth problem called Pick the Corn.  Students continue to define their own instructions using the five primitive commands.  We will check and grade problems after Pick the Corn.

Tonight, there was an Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis, about a 4" wingspan) on our porch.  Their larva use maple, oak and sassafras trees for a food source.  As adults, they only live a few days to mate and lay eggs.  They have reduced mouth parts as adults and do not eat, living on reserves from their larva form.  This one was at the end of her adult life but still beautiful with an owl-like face.

Hackberry Emperor, Spicebush Swallowtails and first full week of school ...

I saw the second Monarch butterfly (a female) on Saturday while a former exchange student Vivien (Germany)  was here looking at our flower beds.  She was a student at AC-S HS two years ago and is back visiting her host family and friends.  She at lunch with Sue Neal and I on Saturday.  Vivien had great stories about visiting Cuba last year and the schools in Germany.  I saw a third Monarch this afternoon passing through our yard.  I think it is early for the migration back ???

There are still plenty of swallowtails visiting our wildflowers.  Some are showing some wear but there seems to be a new wave of Spicebush swallowtails (female below, males are more greenish instead of blue).  They are difficult to get a picture of since they flutter their wings constantly when visiting flowers.  This one paused on one of our late blooming butterfly weed (a milkweed) plants planted this year.

This Hackberry Emperor butterfly landed on my wrist to take in some salt (from sweat).  It stayed there long enough for me to walk from the garden to my truck to get my camera and take a couple of pictures.  They are a bold butterfly, frequently landing on humans.  I have had few land on me this summer looking a salty treat.

This week, we are starting our first full week of school.  Tomorrow we will meet all eight classes for about a half an hour each (except for fifth period ... lunch) which will be an hour.

In AP Biology we will be starting our study of biochemistry and continue our regeneration lab.

Selected Topics will be starting a biology unit while continuing their planarian lab.

Computer Programming will be working on our first four Karel programs.

Friday, Rain and good start ...

We met with the even-numbered classes in our A/B block schedules yesterday.  For me, that was two Selected Topics in Science classes (all juniors) and an introduction to computer programming class to end the day.  All the science teachers eat together on Wednesdays and Fridays so it was good to hear everyone's take on the new A/B schedule.  Generally all positive so far.

In Selected Topics after some introductions and discussions about classroom procedure,  we had a few classroom discussion questions ... best teacher you have every had in class and why (heavily represented with elementary teachers), something you did last summer, plans after school and a few science questions thrown in between.  It was a good time to get to know each other.  We started a regeneration lab in this class also with an ecological emphasis instead of a molecular focus (AP Biology).  This lab will continue for about 10 days.  Next week, we will start our first biology unit with biochemistry and molecules of importance to everyday life.

In computer programming I did some demonstrations on how to use the KAREL programming interface.  Students began with the first three Karel problems ...

Around the Block
Pick up the Package
Take Out the Trash

All are simple to program and helps students get off to a good start with the programming interface and saving files procedures.

They should wrap these up by Wednesday and we will build on what we know with a problem called "Pick the Corn" which uses the iterate command.

Lots to do this weekend as we prepare for the first full week of school 2013-2014.

Raining again this AM ... a wet summer ... no complaints after the drought last year but my honeybees are spending to much time in the hive!

rr

Planarian Lab, Karel and more ...

Today was the first full block day (blocks are 85 minutes long) of the year.  Both my AP Biology classes met and one computer programming class.  We had flex time at the end of the day (30 minutes).

In AP Biology, we finished some introductory odds and ends.  We also started our Regeneration Lab using planaria (small freshwater flatworm).  We prepped the lab with some information about planaria and why they make a good model organism.  We conducted a behavior lab (taxis vs. kinesis) and then cut the planaria into two pieces.  The tail section will replace its head and brain in about 10 days.  We also had a discussion about the genes involved in regeneration, signal transduction and how both relate to humans.

In Computer Programming, we worked on the first three assigned problems.  It took a while to get use to the Karel interface and saving their work.

In Flex time at the end of the day we continued collecting forms handed out yesterday.

Selected Topics in Science and my other Computer Programming class meets tomorrow.

First Day of School 2013-2014 ...

After a day of teacher inservice on Tuesday and Parent/Teacher Conferences last night, we got school started today.

We met in our homerooms for over two hours, lots of forms to fill out tonight.  Principal Davis went over the student handbook ... rules and regulations.  Teachers assigned lockers and several of the freshmen spent most of the day lost and asking for directions.

We are on an A/B schedule this year.  Classes are year long and all eight classes meet on Mondays.  Today was a Monday schedule and we met all our classes today.  Classes in periods 1-4 only met for a few minutes.  Fifth period was lunch so we had our regular class time.  This was Introduction to Computer Science and we were able to get out some information on Karel programming, Karel commands and how to use the programming interface.  Once students get their computer access we will be off to the races.  This should happen for most students tomorrow.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_(programming_language)

Periods 6-8 were each about half an hour long so my eighth period computer programming class got started.

Tomorrow,  classes in periods 1, 3, 5, 7 meet for about 85 minutes each.  For me, this will be my 2 AP Bio classes and fifth period Computer Programming class.  In AP Bio we will finish up introductions and start a regeneration lab using planaria.  I will try and get some pictures.  Introduction to Computer Programming will start on their first three programming problems.

I went to a spring near Holland to pick up planaria after school and found dozens hiding under rocks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planarian

http://www.life.illinois.edu/newmark/

Honey Harvest Completed ... School starts on Wednesday!

This week we began and finished our honey harvest.  It takes a day to set up everything in the honey house (aka our garage) ... a good cleaning, lots of newspaper and then our assembly line of equipment.
It took two days working in the afternoons to harvest our honey after taking off supers in the mornings ... I only took honey off 8 hives and we extracted a little over 30 gallons of honey (a little less than half of what we got last year ... too much rain!).  We left up the equipment so our teaching colleague, Catherine and her husband could bring out her supers for extraction (pict below with Sue Neal helping with the decapping).  Today was cleanup day.

Still a lot of swallowtails ... some are beginning to show some wear with parts of the wings missing.  Below a spicebush male and below, that a Eastern Tiger male.  The bee balm is about finished blooming but we still have lots of coneflowers.  Ironweed and goldenrod are starting to bloom in our fields.

School for students starts on Wednesday and teachers report on Tuesday.  I am ready to get back in that routine.  This year we have an A/B block schedule.  All classes will last for the entire year but, not meet everyday.  I am looking forward to having AP Biology the entire year.  Teaching it in a Spring semester has been difficult since students miss so many classes in the Spring.