Microscopes

Yesterday and on Monday my grade 8 students are learning to use microscopes, make wet-mounts, and get a closer look at the invisible!  It was a lot of fun and I cant wait to see some real cells up close!!!   Click HERE to see a Youtube video on how to use a microscope.

See EDQUEST for an English version of our notes and see what we are learning!! 
http://www.edquest.ca/component/content/article/178/

Next week is about plant and animal cells.  Look at this Edquest site http://www.edquest.ca/component/content/article/179/

Owl Pellet

Today the grade 7s did an owl pellet dissection to teach them about the food chain and an early peek at some bone anatomy.  See this Youtube video for more information.  Keep posted for more pictures of the finished results.  
THE OWL PELLETS ARE ALL STERILE SO PLEASE DON'T WORRY!!!  It isn't as gross as it sounds.  VERY COOL actually!!

The owl pellets before

The owl pellets being dissected

Now to glue them in place

Some of the bones sorted out

Finch Beaks

Today the grade 7s got to play a game to illustrate biological diversity, competition for resources, and the advantages of adaptations.  They were each given a "beak" (fork, knife, or spoon) and a mommy or daddy bird with a nest (cup) then food was scattered around (candy and straws) and they had to see how fast they could gather it up.  The spoons had an advantage but the forks were especially good at picking up straws.  The knives did better the second time when they started to work together.  AWESOME!  See curriculum fit in English http://www.edquest.ca/component/content/article/29/

Compost

Today we started our compost lab in grade 7 (don't worry grade 8s next week is FULL of lab time!).  We are trying to see what substances are decomposable or not.  The lab will last two weeks and a report will be due after.  The kids all brought some great things to test!

Maybe we need a compost here at school?  Worms??  Has anyone ever done this?

Care Lab

Today we did the CARE PACKAGE lab with the students to learn about being GREEN and using more energy efficient products at home and school.  So much fun!  Thank you to Inside Education for this great resource!  I will email pictures home!  Have a talk as a family about a few of the things that you would like to try and do at home and save the earth and some money!

"This kit is filled with over 20 items that will help you and your students explore simple yet effective ways to conserve energy and water and reduce waste. Kits are limited to one per school.

Due to the popularity of this resources we have distributed all the CARE kits available for the 2011-2012 school year! All of the items in the CARE kit are listed in the teachers guide as well as great ideas for promoting stewardship in your school - check it out!" - Inside Education

3 R's!

For Topic 3 of the Ecology unit in Science 7 we are learning about our ecological footprint and the three R's.  I have challenged the students to pack a waste/garbage-free lunch tomorrow.  I would like to see them use a lunch bag or box, containers, recyclable drink containers, organic matter to compost, and food that isn't individually wrapped. 

It is very hard to do sometimes so I am asking them to try their best for tomorrow to be 100% garbage free and then apply at least two methods in their daily lunches for the rest of the year.  (See blog post below for more ideas)

They will all get a sticker for a garbage free lunch tomorrow and then I will try and keep track as often as possible and give a prize at the end of the month to the student with the most eco-friendly and healthy lunch.

Take the eco-footprint quiz as a family and see where you can reduce your footprint.

Enjoy Jack Johnson's song about the three R's.  It is from the Curious George soundtrack and is the only kids music I can handle.  Love it!

Green lunches

I would love to see the amount of plastic thrown out at lunch reduced but I know it is impossible to do that every day.  Some tips are to use re-usable containers, re-use ziplock bags, have a paper bag lunch and recycle it, bring compostable materials home for the compost, keep on recycling beverage containers, and try to avoid pre-packaged foods.  It is sometimes a pain to do all of these things so just pick a few that work for you.  
Another great idea are these bento box lunch kits.  They are a system of containers or bins that help you have a green lunch!

I have a Goodbyn for my daughter's lunch and love it!  Maybe I need to get one for myself!