Last week the weather broke and we had near record high temperatures for February. I decided to do an impromptu outdoor Cell Sidewalk Chalk Activity. The students really enjoyed having the opportunity to get outside and so did I. They created some beautiful cell drawings (I am slightly bias) and labeled the functions using a color coded key. You can get a copy of the handout I created here. Enjoy!
Use these prefixes and suffixes to help your students with vocabulary. One of the biggest struggles for students in Biology and Science is vocabulary.
To help your students learn the foundations of the “big words” used in Biology, introduce them to these 90 prefixes and suffixes.
I give the students 10 words each week. Depending on the class, I either assign them to learn on their own with a weekly quiz or we go over a few terms each day after the bell ringer and then quiz weekly.
After we get through all 90 words, I give them a quiz with 10 words chosen randomly from the first 45 words and another quiz the following week with 10 randomly chosen the remaining 45 words.
This week my students have been working on the Mealworm Inquiry Lab. In this lab, students apply everything they have learned about experimental design by creating their own experiment using mealworms (Superworms actually).
Superworms can be purchased at the local pet store and are great for this activity. The Superworms do not jump on the kids and they move slow enough to easily control.
They also have an interesting life cycle that the students learn about in their research. In this inquiry lab, students make observations, conduct research, develop a question, identify variables, create a hypothesis, create procedures, create choice chambers for their experiment, collect data, analyse data and draw a conclusion based on their results.
Here are some example of their set up:
Note: About 40% of the students in this class have an IEP. The experiments were not perfectly controlled but this lab offers so much opportunity to address their weakness through questioning.
I have the students create a lab report when they are finished using my lab report rubric and guide
If you like this activity, you will love our Full Biology Curriculum. Check it out here.
This week my students practiced writing a hypothesis. To practice writing a hypothesis have your students complete this engaging activity that gives the them a chance to practice their hypothesis writing. This activity requires a 2 liter bottle, water and tape (masking or painting). Prepare the bottle by drilling three holes vertically in a straight line about and inch apart. The holes should be slightly smaller than a pencil eraser. I have used scissors and twisted them until the a hole was made but a drill is much easier if you have it. Once the holes are drilled place some tape over the holes and fill it with water.
Your bottle is now ready for the class. Prior to getting started with the hypothesis practice have the students create a chart that looks like the one below making sure they save room to write inside the chart. If students are using an interactive notebook have them place this chart on the right side.
On the left side of the their interactive notebook students will record their initial observations and their sketch. When students are done with the entire activity it will look like this.
To begin this activity, walk around the room to each student so they can closely observe the bottle and record their observations. This is where you can emphasize details in their observation records. After walking around ask the class for a volunteer who isn’t afraid of water. Bring the student to the front of the class and sit them in a desk and give them a paper towel to put on top of their head (optional). The purpose for involving a student is for dramatic effect and student engagement and it works very well! In addition.I also ask students after we are done if it influenced what they thought might happen and then use that as an opportunity to discuss bias. They shouldn’t actually get more than a drop or two of water on them if all goes well. While holding the bottle over the volunteers head ask the class to record their hypothesis about what will happen when the tape is pulled past the first hole. Ask students to write the hypothesis. Have the students share their hypothesis with the class. Next, pull the tape past the first hole while holding it over your volunteers head. If everything is done correctly, no water will come out of the first hole. Students record their observations and record why they think it happened the way it did or any questions they may have. Move on and repeat this for the next two holes. Have the students make a hypothesis before each a new hole is exposed. Water will come out of the next two holes so I strategically have a trash can to catch the water and avoid getting it on the volunteer. Though this activity is simple, students love it.
I overheard one of my IEP students talking to the Co-teacher and he said: “This is actually pretty fun!”
When the tape is pulled past the first hole you should observe that little to no water comes out of the bottle depending on how full it is. The more full it is the less water will come out.
Why? When you fill the bottle and close the cap, the top of the bottle becomes closed off from the atmosphere. When you remove the tape past the first hole, some water may flow out and decrease the pressure of the air that remains in the bottle. Once the pressure is decreased enough (usually only a few small drops of water) the water is held in because the pressure difference from the air inside of the bottle is less that outside of the bottle.
When the tape is pulled past the second hole, the water will flow out of the second hole. If you observe closely you will notice air is flowing into the first hole allowing the pressure inside of the bottle to increase and water to flow out of the second hole.
When the tape is pulled past all three holes, the air still flows into the first hole (top) allowing water to flow out of both the second and third hole. The water in the third hole will stream farther than the second hole due to the increase pressure from the additional water.
Try it out. Comment below on how it goes!
Many students struggle when learning about the independent and dependent variable. When teaching them the independent and dependent variable I try to simplify the two terms to be as simple as possible but still allow students to apply the definitions to an actual scientific experiment or scenario.
The independent variable can be defined as the variable that is manipulated. It is what the experimenter is adding to the experimental group. To simplify the independent variable for students I use the single word (changed) for the definition.
The dependent variable can be defined as the responding variable. The depend variable can be simplified for students by mentioning that the dependent variable is the variable that is measured or counted.
To help my students get plenty of practice with this concept I have created a simple independent and dependent variable worksheet that gives them some practice applying the independent and dependent variable to actual experiments.
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