week 17

Monday
IB Biology - Today we spent some time reflecting on the idea of whether plants are intelligent.  Interesting discussion, but not with a lot of conclusions. There is not single way to examine this idea since the definition of intelligence can be tough.  
Next we spent the rest of the time setting ourselves up for finals by reflecting on the big ideas of biology thus far.  You made a list that isn't comprehensive, but should be a good start.  Please make sure to take this list and create a ranking of them(it doesn't have to be linear), or at least show how they are connected.  You will need this tomorrow.

Biology - Today we began to prepare for the finals next week.  We started to day with some of the big questions we've worked with all year long. Here's the list:

1. What elements are life made of?    
2. What molecules are life made of?    
3. Much of life is made of polymers.  What is a polymer?    
4. Where were the elements of life originally formed prior to forming our solar system?    
5. Earth is a closed system.  What does that mean?    
6. Where on Earth is a major place where plants can obtain CO2 to breathe?    
7. What are the roles that water plays in living organisms?    
8. What are some of the roles that water has in plant cells?
9. How do enzymes help us?    Examples
10. There are three major kind of digestive enzymes, they are called…    
11. How do we extract the molecules we need from the food we eat?    
12. How do the molecules we need get into our cells?    
13. How does our body know when to get the foods we need and when to stop?    
14. How we know we are full?    
15. How does the body communicate other than hormones?    
16. What is an example of cell specialization?    
17. How do cells make up different organisms?    
18. What goes on in the cell when it can't get enough oxygen?    
19. What goes on in a cell?    
20. How does water flow in or out of a cell?    
21. What does a cell use ATP for?    
22. Homeostasis is?

Tonight you will also need to update your table of contents, and get parent input.

Honors Biology - Today you did the same routine as regular biology so follow their instructions, but know that as we move through these questions throughout this week you will also need to start attaching medical conditions to these concepts.  I'll give you more on that later!  Update your table of contents and get parent input completed.

Tuesday
IB Biology - Today was a tough day for many on campus so we switched gears.  When the finals come next week you will have two parts.  The first will be about 40 multiple choice questions.  The second part will be a written piece that will revolve around the mesocosms you created.  The following is a list of what you should be able to answer about the conditions in your mesocosm and should be written with DETAILS.  I will be very critical of you demonstrating deep understanding so please make sure you prepare starting now.
1) Cell structure, including plant structure - Xylem and phloem
2) Membranes
3) Plant Translocation/Transpiration
4) Cell respiration of plant, animal and microbes
5) Photosynthesis to describe gas exchange
6) Metabolism
7) Transcription and translation to explain growth
8) Water - osmosis and diffusion.
9) Enzymes
Covering these 9 topics is a start and, if done well, will get you a 4.  To get the maximum rubric score of 5 you should then be able to extrapolate from the learning from the mesocosm and be able to describe how these concepts connect with our environment and/or health/medical condition.   Make connections.  Minimum of 3 strong points.

Biology - Today we got down the basic questions that came out of our big idea questions (which you can find posted to yesterday).  After making sure what they meant, I then asked you to go through your notebook and answer your essential questions that are written at the top of each of your sets of notes.  What you didn't complete in class, you need to finish at home.

Honors Biology - Today we did much of what regular biology needed to do, but tomorrow you will have the extra special version which will incorporate vital signs.  What this means is that I really need you to get all of your concepts down. Answer every essential question, write questions for anything you're unclear about, etc.  

Wednesday
IB Biology - Today we continued to work through the outlining of what we need to do for the written part of the final.  Please look at the posts from Monday and Tuesday.  Please also don't forget that we need to connect three health conditions to these concepts.  Tomorrow we have a guest speaker, Dr. Baughn.  

Biology - Today we spent half of our time going over the 22 big questions we started yesterday, but then shifted towards the multiple choice questions.  Tomorrow we will have a short day, but we'll really try to get these two prep things done so that on Friday we can play a kahoot on the final.  Monday...  food.  ...mmmm.   OH, don't forget that your parent input was due yesterday!

Honors Biology - Today I tried to go over the last of the 22 questions, and to cover some basics about vital signs and conditions related to the concepts you have studied so that tomorrow we can focus on the multiple choice questions.  The health related concepts could be connected to cell membranes, enzyme deficiencies, endocrine system, digestive system, blood and circulatory system, water, and macromolecules.    Do you know what some of the most common diseases/conditions related to these are?  Do you know the symptoms?  How do we know?

1. Heart disease.
2. Cancer
3. Arthritis
4. Diabetes.
5. Influenza and pneumonia.

Thursday
IB Biology - Today we were privileged enough to have Dr. Baughn, pathologist and sleep researcher, speak to us.   Tomorrow we'll be going over the multiple choice questions we will be having and then Monday we'll clean up anything you are still sketchy on.   Keep working hard on your written piece so you can ask questions on Monday.

Biology - Today we spent our time working on the content from the multiple choice questions for the final.  At this point you should have the 22 questions organized, the essential questions answered, and now the related content for the multiple choice questions.  Continue to study.  Oh, tomorrow will be the last day to turn in your parent input.

Honors Biology - So at this point you should have the 22 questions on content answered, you should have physical conditions related to dysfunction in the human body.  You should also now have the ways that we detect these conditions, and how to remediate the condition (exercise, diet, etc.) as well.  On the written final you will need to identify the condition and then explain the reasons this occurs.  This is how we will tie our content to real life.   

Friday
IB Biology - Let's keep this short and sweet today!  Today we went over the content that will be found in the multiple choice section of your final exam and also looked at a whole lot of graphs.  You should now have a rough idea of what your written final will look like, you now know what is coming in the multiple choice, and now you just need to come prepared with your last minute questions to ask me on Monday!  Oh, I want to remind you again to be sure and identify some health conditions associated with the concepts we're studying so you can discuss them in relation to our written final.

Biology - Today we assigned the food topic you need for Monday.  Next we played Kahoot to review for the test.  All you need to do for Monday is to make sure you have made a food item that matches the topic you were given and then to write a sentence or two that directly connects your concept with the food item.  Beyond this you can also spend some more time with  the materials so that you can ask me any last minute questions on Monday.

Honors Biology - Today we split our time into getting food/biology topics, and playing a review game of Kahoot.  For Monday you should have a really good idea of the content, how it connects to physical conditions, and how to make lifestyle changes to help with those conditions.   ...and bring your food with a small write up of why this food connects with your concept.