Endangered Species Presentation

Today and Friday in Life Science Class, students presented their projects on their specific endangered species. They had to create a brochure, essay, Power Point, poster, and other presentations. They were required to answer eight questions and reflect on why the species is endangered. As students presented, the class took notes about the information presented.

Carrying Capacity

Today students presented their posters on biomes. They talked about the climate, vegetation, animals, location, and health issues of their specific habitat. Next we read about the carrying capacity of zebra mussels. Students looked at graphs and determined what the species carrying capacity. Next students hypothesized if the human population would reach its carrying capacity.

Homework: Endangered Species Project Due on Wednesday

Biome Activity

Today students first took the unit E quiz 2 which reviews photosynthesis as well as producers, consumers, and decomposers. Next students examined the plant lab that we started yesterday. They noticed that plants need to have light in order to go through photosynthesis. Then groups were assigned a biome or habitat to research as a group. They had to find the answers to six different questions and present it to the class.

Homework: Zoo Trip Friday and Endangered Species Project due next Wednesday!

Photosynthesis Lab

Today students participated in the photosynthesis lab. We investigated if light has an effect on the process of photosynthesis. We used elodea plant and BTB solution to see if the solution changes color. Yellow= carbon dioxide present......Blue= Oxygen present

Students covered one vial with tin foil and the other without tin foil. We will find the results tomorrow.

Homework: Endangered Species Project due next Wednesday

Food Webs

Today students worked on a Colorado food web. Groups had to create a food web and label each part of the food web as either producer, consumer, or decomposer. Then students labeled the energy transfer by using arrows in the correct direction showing the flow of energy in an ecosystem. Finally students reflected on how decomposers effect our ecosystem. Homework: Work on endangered species project.

Owl Pellets

Today and tomorrow in life science, students are dissecting owl pellets. As students dissect the owl pellets, they will be recording the number of bones and types of bones that they found. They will then develop a food web that the owl belongs to. Then, they will write a conclusion on the diet of the owl that includes specific evidence from their dissection.

Eating for Energy

On Monday and Tuesday of this week students are reading about how energy is transferred in an ecosystem. They will learn about the difference between producers and consumers. They will also learn about photosynthesis and how it effects an ecosystem. While students read about these relationships they carried out 4 different writing strategies. (Cornell Notes, Summarizing, Questioning, and Personal Response) Students will have two days to complete this task and their score will be determined on how much they grew from pre-test to post-test. Homework: Work on Endangered Species Project

Activity 76: Birds, People, and Bats

Today students discussed different classes of vertebrates. We first talked about the characteristics of each class: Mammals, Birds, Bony Fish, Reptiles, and Amphibians. Next students read about 8 different mystery species. They had to predict which class each species belongs to. Finally we discussed the mystery species and concluded which class it actually is in.

Endangered Species Project

Today students started researching their endangered species. This project is an individual product in which students have to find the answers to eight different questions. Then students will take their research and create a project that will be presented in class. This project will take the place of Ecology Test. The due date for this project is April 27th.