Our Little Libby!

EXTRA CREDIT!!!

Click here to watch the recent segment about the hunting of endangered species in Texas.

For extra credit, post a comment to this post expressing your response and opinion on the story. The quality of your response will determine how much extra credit you get! This opportunity will be limited to the first 4 people in your class to respond.

2nd Semester! Wooohooo!

Welcome Back!

As 2nd semester gets underway, I encourage you to take a moment to reflect on first semester. If you would like to earn a homework pass, come visit me in the next week and be prepare to answer these questions!

1. Do you feel like the grade you got this semester was the grade you earned? Why?

2. What were you most proud of from 1st semester?

3. What disappointed you most about your performance from 1st semester?

4. What goals have you set for yourself for 3rd quarter/2nd semester?

5. What will you do to achieve those goals?

6. What can I (Mrs. Stein) do to help you?

I look forward to speaking with each of you about how to make this a successful semester!

The first scribe for second semester will be SEAN!

EXTRA CREDIT!

Alright guys... 2 extra credit opportunities!

Click on this link and answer the following questions.

1. What color is the RNA backbone in this activity?

2. What 3 amino acids make up the polypeptide chain at the end of the protein synthesis activity?

First 4 people to email me the answers will get extra credit!

Opportunity #2... click on this link, enter in your FULL name... and complete the 'quiz'. You will get extra credit based on your score. This opportunity will expire on Sunday at midnight!

The next scribe will be Sonja

Bacteria!!!

Today we discussed BACTERIA!!! Here are the notes from class...

Bacteria Notes 10/26

View more presentations from Deb.

We also did our DISEASE OF THE DAY! Cholera is a bacterial disease that causes terrible diarrhea. The bacteria attacks the intestine prevent it from absorbing water. The result in the individual will die of dehydration within a matter of days. The disease is spread by contaminated water and is more common in parts of the world with poor sanitation. Fortunately, we have antibiotics that can treat cholera if they are administered early enough!

After our discussion of bacteria, we began a video on bacteria. It is important to remember that not all bacteria are pathogenic. Many bacteria perform countless useful tasks for us. Bacteria are used for food production, they aid in our digestion, and they play an important role in the ecosystem.

Remember... bacteria are EVERYWHERE! There are more bacteria in your body than there are cells in your body! They are tiny and they reproduce very quickly.

OUR NEXT SCRIBE WILL BE KRISTINA R

Cell Cycle Extra Credit!

Hey Guys... this is a REALLY fun game about the cell cycle... I hope you enjoy it! Click on this link to play it. WHO is the "Cell Division Supervisor" who is controlling everything in the game? First 3 people to EMAIL me the answer will get EXTRA CREDIT! Enjoy!

MUDDIEST POINT COMMENTS!

Hey gang... i too am having some issues posting comments, so here are some responses to muddiest points.

For density dependent and independant factors... Think about a crowded classroom (very dense) vs. a less crowded classroom (not very dense).

If there was a flu spreading, which classroom would you rather be in? The less dense one!!! Because disease is density dependent.

BUT if there were a tornado that hit the school... which classroom would you rather be in? DOESN'T matter! Because a natural disaster is DENSITY INDEPENDANT!

Think about the word "limit". If someone limited your spending on clothes, then they would stop you from going shopping. A limit on growth stops the population from growing.

KEEP CHECKING BACK TO THIS POST! I WILL ADD TO IT THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND!

MOODLE IS DOWN!!!!

See the chart below for guidance on your homework. Do not print mine! Make your own! You may need to click on the image to make it bigger!

EXTRA CREDIT!

Hey Everybody! Looking for some extra credit and an opportunity to help the environment in Glenview??? Check out these volunteer opportunities in Glenview. To get extra credit, you must do the following:

1. Attend a Restoration Work Day

2. Take pictures at the site.

3. Write a summary of what you did and your reflections on doing it. Post this along with a photo or two (do not include your face) to the blog.

You may take advantage of this once a quarter!

Saturday, September 10th: Restoration Work Day at Kent Fuller Air Station Prairie

Sponsored by the North Branch Restoration Project. Seasonal activities include brush cutting, weed removal and seed collection. Please meet at the Tyner Interpretive Center; 9:00-12:00.

http://www.northbranchrestoration.org/calendar.html#

http://glenviewparks.org/index.php/facilities-parks/kent-fuller-air-station-prairietyner-center/restoration-work-days

Sunday, September 11th: Restoration Day at Harms Woods

Sponsored by the North Branch Restoration Project. Activities include brush cutting, weed removal and seed collection. Please meet at the Forest Preserve Glenview Woods parking lot on the west side of Harms Rd. just south of Glenview Road; 9:00-12:00 or 1:00-4:00.

http://www.northbranchrestoration.org/calendar.html#

Saturday, September 17th: Techny Basin River Cleanup Day

Help to beautify the West Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River with trash pick-up, brush cutting and weed removal. Work gloves, tools and bags will be provided by the Village of Glenview's Natural Resource Commission. Please meet in the Kohl's parking lot off of Willow Rd.; 9:00-12:00. Contact Henrietta Saunders or Robyn Flakne for more information.

Saturday, September 24th is NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY!

Come out to The Grove from 9:00 to 12:00 and do your part by collecting native seeds or removing invasive brush. Please meet at the Interpretive Center.

OR join the North Branch Restoration Project at Harms Flatwoods from 9:00-12:00 for brush cutting, weed removal and general cleanup. See these websites for more information:

http://glenviewparks.org/index.php/facilities-parks/the-grove/get-involved

http://www.northbranchrestoration.org/calendar.html#

http://www.publiclandsday.org/npld-sites/search?state=Illinois

Saturday, October 8th: Restoration Work Day at The Grove National Historic Landmark

The Grove's restoration team needs your help to remove non-native, invasive plants and make way for native wildflowers, grasses and trees. Bring work gloves if you have them. Please meet at the Grove Interpretive Center, 1421 Milwaukee Ave.; 9:00-12:00.

http://glenviewparks.org/index.php/facilities-parks/the-grove/get-involved

Sunday, October 23rd: Restoration Work Day at Kent Fuller Air Station Prairie

Sponsored by the North Branch Restoration Project. Seasonal activities include brush cutting, weed removal and seed collection. Please meet at the Tyner Interpretive Center; 9:00-12:00.

http://www.northbranchrestoration.org/calendar.html#

http://glenviewparks.org/index.php/facilities-parks/kent-fuller-air-station-prairietyner-center/restoration-work-days

Saturday, November 5th: Restoration Work Day at Kent Fuller Air Station Prairie

Sponsored by the North Branch Restoration Project. Seasonal activities include brush cutting, weed removal and seed collection. Please meet at the Tyner Interpretive Center; 9:00-12:00.

http://www.northbranchrestoration.org/calendar.html#

http://glenviewparks.org/index.php/facilities-parks/kent-fuller-air-station-prairietyner-center/restoration-work-days

Saturday, November 12th: Restoration Work Day at Kent Fuller Air Station Prairie

Help Air Station Prairie's restoration team remove invasive plants to make way for native prairie grasses and forbs. Bring work gloves if you have them. Please meet at the Tyner Interpretive Center, 2400 Compass Rd.; 9:00-12:00.

http://glenviewparks.org/index.php/facilities-parks/kent-fuller-air-station-prairietyner-center/restoration-work-days

Also on Saturday, November 12th at the Prairie: AMERICA RECYCLES DAY

Celebrate National America Recycles Day at Kent Fuller Air Station Prairie's "green" Interpretive Center! Get the answers to all your recycling questions and take part in fun family activities and craft projects. This event is FREE at the Tyner Interpretive Center, 2400 Compass Rd.; 10:00 am-2:00 pm.

http://glenviewparks.org/index.php/facilities-parks/kent-fuller-air-station-prairietyner-center

Saturday, November 19th: Restoration Work Day at The Grove National Historic Landmark

The Grove's restoration team needs your help to remove non-native, invasive plants and make way for native wildflowers, grasses and trees. Bring work gloves if you have them. Please meet at the Grove Interpretive Center, 1421 Milwaukee Ave.; 9:00-12:00.

http://glenviewparks.org/index.php/facilities-parks/the-grove/get-involved

Sunday, November 20th: Restoration Day at Harms Flatwoods

Sponsored by the North Branch Restoration Project. Seasonal activities include brush cutting, weed removal and seed collection. Please meet at Forest Preserve parking lot on the west side of Harms Road, directly west of Old Orchard Road where it ends on Harms Road; 9:00-12:00.

http://www.northbranchrestoration.org/calendar.html#

Welcome to our Blog!!!

Welcome fellow biologists!  Congratulations!  You found our blog!!! My vision for blogging in the classroom is evoloving, and I look forward to having YOU play a role in determing what it will become.  This blog is YOURS.  Each of you will be responsible for contributing to the blog throughout the year.  Although you will have times in which you are required to contribute to the blog, you may post something to the blog at any time.  I will use the blog as a means to share things with the class to help extend the content beyond the 50 minutes we share in the classroom.  I will also use the blog to convey extra credit opportunities to the class.  Remember, you will receive a GRADE for your contributions to the blog, so make it good!!!

How do you get become an author on our blog you may ask???  You should have received an invitation to be part of our blog in you GBS email account.  Please login to your GBS email (ID#@glenbrook225.org).  Follow the instructions and prompts from the email I sent you.  If you did not receive an email from me, please let me know by emailing me from your GBS account. 

At the top of out blog, you will notice the following tabs:  Digital Ethics, Tagging 101, and What Makes a Good Post?  Please click on each of these labels and read through them. 

If you are successful at becoming an author... try to make your first post!!!  Include the following:

• A title
• Something Interesting!!! Could be about you.... could be a link to a webpage, could be a funny science cartoon... something that is interesting to YOU and WHY is it interesting.
• What are you most excited for this school year?
• What are you least excited for this school year?

Be sure to tag your post properly.  Look at the Tagging 101 tab above for help.  You can see my first post below as an example!

Good luck and thanks for exploring this tool with me!

Water Bears!!!

Hey guys... its Mrs. Stein here... this summer I spent a few days at a teacher workshop in New York where I met some interesting people and learned a lot of new stuff!!!  One of the teachers at the workshop told about these organisms called Water Bears.  Has anyone ever heard of them???  So, apparently they are quite abundant in moss, so we should be able to find them anywhere... they are microscopic and they can survive being frozen for years!  They go into a dormant state to survive extreme temperatures.  This is something that is seen in simpler organisms, but in an actual animal, it is rare... and pretty cool!  And what else is cool about these critters... they don't really fit in with other groupings of invertbrates. 


They are not insects... not worms... they just don't fit.  Cool eh?  I am hoping to find some moss and see if in fact we really do have these little guys running around in Glenview too!  Want more info on Water Bears? 

Check out this interesting article on them.

Or watch this video. 





Aren't they soooo cute???  And weird too!!! 
What's interesting to you??? Please share!  Feel free to comment on my post too!

What am I MOST excited about?
I really love watching the transformations in freshman... I look forward to seeing the learning and growth that will happen in each of you this year... (OK...i know, a little cheesy)

What am I LEAST excited about?
Waking up early, traffic, and grading papers!