We started by collecting the tests, grading the lapbooks and then going over the test. Then we spent the rest of the class talking about pollination. We read page 49 together and talked about the importance of pollination. Then we did an activity where students made a flower, put a baking cup inside the flower, put Cheetos inside the baking cup to simulate stamen and anthers and a cotton ball to simulate a carpel and stigma. Students then used their fingers to act like bugs and went around pollinating flowers! Please know students were not allowed to eat the germ-ridden Cheetos :)
Homework: Read pages 50-54 and do the corresponding lapbook pages
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Today we reviewed our reading on carnivorous plants and talked about the unique qualities about each carnivorous plant. We then reviewed the parts of a seed with our actions (if you haven't already, ask your student(s) to show you the actions for each part of the seed!). We then played "Will the Winners Lose" while going over the questions on the test.
Homework: Lesson 2 and 3 test (in link below). Remember, this is to be completed WITHOUT notes, books or lapbooks :) Also, I will be checking lapbooks first thing on Wednesday so make sure they are completed for lesson 2 and 3. I still am missing about half the class's germination chart for their ziplock seed activity. If you haven't turned it in, make sure to do so in order to get the points for that activity. Lesson 2 and 3 Test! Today we focused more on the parts of a flower and what those parts do. We made a flower using salt dough and talked about each part as we formed it. I also had students turn in their seed growth chart (if your student didn't bring it to class today, please have them turn it in the next time they come to class) and we reviewed the parts of a seed with actions.
Homework: Read pages 43-47 and do the corresponding lapbook pages. We will have our next test for homework on Monday (due Wednesday). The test will be over seeds and flowers. Have your student start reviewing :) Today we spend the whole class dissecting a lily and labeling each part of the flower! We followed along with the directions and readings in the book (I believe pages 38-40) if you want to take a closer look at what we did. Student used magnifying glasses to get a closer look at all the parts too!
Homework: Color and label the flower diagram page found in the lapbook materials for lesson 3 and do the parts of the flower vocabulary too. Read pages 41-42 Bring scissors to class on Wednesday!!! We started off class by reinforcing what we learned on Monday about the parts of a seed and germination. Students showed off how their seeds were growing by sharing the growth chart they are keeping. We then took class notes on monocots and dicots. We focused on what their names mean along with how to identify them. Students did the activity on page 32 where they looked at plants and identified them as a monocot or dicot based on what they could see. We then took it one step further and found pictures of plants in the magazines that were donated to class. Students made a chart and cut out and pasted the pictures under the appropriate column. We didn't have a lot of time to do the seed packet activity in class but students were able to take it home to complete if they wanted to.
Homework: Please talk to your student again about how they can identify if a plant is a monocot or dicot and practice by looking at pictures or exploring outside! Also, please read pages 35-37 and 41-42 and do the corresponding lapbook pages. And don't forget to draw what your seeds look like every day! Today we focused on the different parts of a mature seed. We made up actions to remember them too--see if your student remembers them! We colored and labeled a seed diagram and discussed what each part of the seed does. Then we were able to dissect seeds and see the parts under magnifying glasses! Students really seemed to enjoy finding the plumules and radicles in the different seeds.
(We also went over the lapbook and I passed back their lesson 1 tests) Homework: Read pages 31-32 and do the lapbook pages. Also, practice memorizing the different parts of a seed and keep updating your seed growth chart! I'm so glad that all of the students have at least one seed that's germinating! We started class by collecting and going over the test/answering questions. We then moved on to discussing seeds and reading a section of the book entitled, "Seeds." We talked about why seeds are important to botany and what three things a seed needs in order to grow (ask your student if they remember!). Then we started a project in which students will be growing their own bean seeds in a ziplock bag and started our chart on the seeds' growth. Make sure to keep the ziplock bag in a warm area and tape it so that it is hanging. You may need to open the bag and let the seeds get fresh air every 3-5 days. You will not need to add more water :) Check the seeds daily to see how they change and draw the seed(s) on your growth chart!
Homework: Read pages 21-24 (We did read pages 21-22 in class and we will do the activity on page 24 in class) and pages 25-28 and do the corresponding lapbook pages. ALSO, make sure to have your student draw one (or all three) bean on their chart. If you were absent, please follow the directions on the link below to grow your own seeds in a ziplock bag. http://www.saps.org.uk/primary/teaching-resources/639-growing-seeds-in-a-plastic-bag If you need the link to lapbook pages, here it is again! If you need a new seed growth chart, click here! Also, if you have any magazines that you would allow us to use in class and cut picture out of, PLEASE bring them to class on Monday. Thanks! ***If you have any magazines you would be willing to donate to the class for an upcoming project, please have your student bring them to class on Wednesday. We will be cutting pictures out of them. Thank you!***
Today I graded the homework from last week as well as the lapbook section for Chapter 1. If your student still needs to complete the assignment or if they left it at home, please have them bring it with them on Wednesday to receive full credit. After Wednesday, Chapter 1 homework will be accepted for half credit. We reviewed for the test by playing Will the Winners Lose and then we looked at what we will be studying next...SEEDS! Homework: Complete the test located in the link below and bring it to class on Wednesday. Please remember that this is not an open note/book test. If your student needs help reading or writing, please feel free to help them :) Chapter 1 Test Today we classified some plants in the phyla that we learned from the readings assigned last week. We started by reviewing what the Greek terms meant and then I handed each student a picture of a plant and they were to color it in and then decide what phylum it belonged to based on its characteristics. Students had to analyze and recognize the different key features of the plant and then make a logical guess as to where it belonged. We then went one step further to really help the students remember the Greek terms by making a vocabulary chart where I wrote the Greek word, they drew a picture of it and then wrote what it means in English. This activity was started in class but is also assigned as homework to students who did not finish. We will start class on Monday by going over this sheet so please have your student finish it and review it at home.
Homework: Review what you have read in class so far. Look over the lapbook and review the many vocabulary words learned in this lesson. We will have a short test over the material read so far for Monday's homework (due Wednesday). Have students review their Greek terms too (this will be on the test!). There will be no reading assignment this week. Please make sure the lapbook is up to date as I will check it on Wednesday for points! We started class by talking about the vascular system and related ours to plants! We did a Venn Diagram on Vascular and Nonvascular plants to review what they did for homework. We then did our leaf rubbings. The students really enjoyed making different kinds of leaf rubbings and seeing the details for the veins in the leaves. I then showed students an example of a nonvascular plant and presented them with a sample of moss I collected from my house and had them examine the moss with magnifying glasses and record what they saw. It was really a fun day of comparing and contrasting vascular and nonvascular samples!
Homework: Keep working on the lapbooks! Due next Wednesday will be reading pages 11-15 and doing the corresponding lapbook pages. Enjoy your Monday off! ***If you have any magazines you would be willing to donate to the class for an upcoming project, please have your student bring them to class on Wednesday or the following Monday. We will be cutting pictures out of them. Thank you!*** Today we reviewed the topics that were covered in the homework and we focused a lot on Taxonomy. I gave a mini lecture on what Taxonomy is and gave an example using animals. Then the class did a similar practice with classifying food. We then made mnumonic devices to help us remember the order--Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.
Homework: Read pages 8-11 and do the corresponding lapbook pages. The direcions on where to place the items are in the beginning of the PDF I attached to the previous blog post, not on the actual page that you're working on. In class on Wednesday we will talk about the term "Vascular" with plants by doing some leaf rubbings. Please bring 1-3 leaves to class. They need to be fully intact and flat. If you cannot find them, don't worry. I'll bring a handful to class as well and we will be sharing so you won't be left out. Also, please bring a couple crayons to use for the leaf rubbings. You will need to have the paper on the crayons removed. Happy New Year! We had a wonderful start to our botany class. We began getting new seats and discussing what "botany" means. Then we we read the paragraphs in the book titled "Botany" and "Botanist." I talked to them about our plan for our botany lapbook and I feel it needs to be explained to the parents too. The botany lapbook is pretty different from the 2nd edition astronomy lapbook (they made some great changes when they created the astronomy one!...sadly those changes aren't made to the botany one). So, the one we are using simply makes more sense for me to provide you with the link to the PDF instead of printing out copies for everyone. I have composed the lapbook (4 folders) and handed them out to each student as well as a cover page they can attach to the back of the first folder. I ask that you download the PDF file that I will include below and for each lesson, do the appropriate pages and paste them on the correct folder in the lapbook. If you ever lose the PDF, please refer back to this blog post and download another copy.
Homework: Read pages 1-5 and do the corresponding lapbook pages from the link below. apologia_botany_lapbook.pdf Today we wrapped up our semester on Astronomy! Class started later today because of the Christmas party but most students till had time to complete their solar system mobile or at least get close to completing it! I started class by handing the student back their lapbooks and they had a fun time looking through all of their folders again. Students then were to use those lapbooks to find an interesting fact about each planet to write on the back of their solar system mobile.
Homework: Have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!!! Final grades will be sent out by the end of Sunday 12/18 via email. Today we talked about the stars in our universe and read the section of our book that goes over stars and constellations. We talked about how constellations were used to tell stories as well as pass the time when there was nothing else to do or see at night except for a vast amount of stars. Students did a connect the dots with some constellations to see how people would join the stars together to create an image. Students then had their turn at making their own constellations and naming them! They got pretty creative :) We ended class by starting our final project that we will continue on Wednesday.
Homework: Please bring colors, scissors and glue sticks to class on Wednesday! Make sure that all lapbook folders are completed and turned into me so I can give you points for them! Missing pages? Click here for a link to all the pages from this year! Simply scroll through until you find the section you need :) Today we finished talking about Neptune by going over the lapbook folder information. I then collected the lapbook folder and put it in their individual stacks of folders to create their lapbook! Students have until Monday to turn in any missing folders so that they can have a complete book returned to them next Wednesday. We then reviewed the unit by playing "Will the Winners Lose." After that, students looked throught their book and we summarized what information is found in the lessons that we will not be getting to this semester. I encouraged them that if there was anything they were interested in to read at home. I ended class by reviewing how large our universe is and how small our solar system (what we've been studying all semester) is in the big picture.
Homework: Make sure that ALL lapbook folders have been turned in! They need to be turned in by Monday to have them included in their Lapbook. We started class by reviewing Uranus and discussing some of its interesting characteristics on of which was how Uranus' core is extreamly hot while it's outter atmosphere is -350 degrees and how this leads to Uranus being completely covered in thick clouds. We tested this theory by making our own cloud in a large, tall vase. We followed the textbook's experiment but then we made tried different variations to see if we could make thicker/more clouds. Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of this fun experiment but if you'd like to replicate it at home, the directions are in the book. We then talked about how Neptune has a very similar temperature and atmosphere and then took notes on Neptune.
Homework: Read the chapter on Neptune and then finish the lapbook folder with the pages that were given in class. We started off class by collecting lapbook folders and tests and then we went over the questions on the test as a class. Next, we started talking about the next planet in our solar system, Uranus. I projected some pictures of Uranus on the wall as we went over some interesting facts about the planet. Ask your student if they remember why Uranus looks blue! We then ended class by taking notes on the planet and passing out their new and LAST lapbook folder :)
Homework: Read the chapter on Uranus and complete the lapbook pages (it's a short chapter so it only takes up half of your lapbook folder, Neptune will take up the rest of it) Today we went over the lapbook folder for Saturn and then I showed the class a PowerPoint that I created that contained pictures the spacecraft Cassini took of Saturn. The students loved seeing the pictures of Saturn and seeing the details that Cassini was able to pick up. All of the pictures I used were taken from the NASA website, so if your student wants to see more check it out! Students then had time to review their Jupiter folder before we played our test review game, "Will the Winners Lose"
Homework: Take the take home test on Jupiter and Saturn. Make sure to bring your lapbook folders to class on Wednesday! JUPITER AND SATURN TEST Today we reviewed what we had previously learned about Saturn from the readings and class. We reviewed the lapbook and made a class Venn Diagram on Jupiter and Saturn. We then talked about rockets and how spacecrafts are sent to space. Lastly, stidents made paper rockets.
homework: finish reading the chapter on Saturn and do the lapbook pages We started class by reviewing the homework and going over the questions from the lapbook folder for Jupiter. We then talked about Saturn and took notes. We ended class by starting a word search on space terms.
Homework: Start reading the lesson on Saturn and do the corresponding lapbook pages. ( Pagse 136-140) |
I will be updating this site regularly with what we did in class as well as any assignments or projects. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
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