Nov. 16- 20: Food Webs Cont. and Organism Relationships

We will be finishing our discussion of Food webs this week using "Finding Nemo" as a jumping off spot. Then they will do research to draw a complete food web for an organism seen in the movie. Next we'll be doing a photosynthesis lab (if the supplies we've ordered finally come in). And then we'll start talking about how organisms interact with each other in predator/prey relationships, parasite/host, etc.

Wednesday or Thursday will be our rise & stretch quiz on the transfer of energy through ecosystems (sun->plant->animal....etc.). Students should study page 6 in their notebook and recall the activity on page 7.

I forgot to thank parents for helping the kids bring lab supplies for our ice cream lab and for the plate tectonics activity we will be doing next quarter. So... THANKS!

Nov. 9-13: Food Webs and Ice Cream

This week has flown by! We finished off the rust lab that we started last week (students brought substances to test the affects on rusting rate). Then we started talking about food chains and food webs. We did an activity where students were a part of a tropical rain forest ecosystem and they were connected to each other with string based on what they eat and what eat's them. Then on Thursday we made ice cream to demonstrate phase changes (and to have a little break from the daily grind). If you want the recipe, let me know.

Nov. 2-6: Rust Lab & Path of Energy

We're on to something new!!! Well, actually we're going to finish off talking about chemical reactions by doing the rusting lab on Wednesday. You'll need to bring your materials for the rusting lab by Wednesday. We're also finishing your substance pamphlets. Then we'll move on to looking at the path of energy as it goes from the sun, to plants, to animals (including you!). I'm excited to start talking about how living things interact with each other and about how we get our energy.