In Iowa we have a subscription to AP images, which proves very useful in finding authentic photos with descriptions and proper source information. Students enjoyed finding a picture of their choice.

From the post above: “Please feel free to download and distribute the Primary Source Thinking Triangle Activity (but please keep the citation and format, including logos, intact).”

You can read our poems below:

Jaci and Meghan – Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.

Becca and Paul – Ku Klux Klan and Rosa Parks

Christina and Grace – Lucy Terry and Duluth Lynchings

Jason – Civil War

Krayton – Augusta M. Hunt

Vanessa – Kenneth James Weishuhn

Shiann and Paris – Japan and US at Pearl Harbor

Justin and Chandler

Andrew

Tyler

I just finished reading a set of essays, and I was pleased at the quality of my students’ work. For the most part and with occasional reminders, the students are learning how to use commas in all these ways.

1. Direct address. Come here, boys, and get lunch. Tyler, do you have time to do it?
2. Set off year in a date. March 29, 2012, was a very good day.
3. Set off state or country. My trip to Barcelona, Spain, was a success.
   
   

   Letter to the Director of the Secret Service by Senator Charles Grassley, April 2012

4. Series of three or more. I enjoy eating pizza, carrots, potatoes, and peas.
5. After a dependent clause in a complex sentence. As soon as we finish the game, we will eat.
6. After other introductory words and phrases at the beginning of a sentence. Having eaten all the cookies, Matilda got sick. At the beginning of the trial, the judge called a meeting. Well, I don’t like that.
7. Before one of the FANBOYS conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) in a compound sentence. I will be here for the game, but I will be a few minutes late.
8. Between the tag and the quotation. Becca said, “Booggity, booggity, booggity.”

Don’t use a comma:

1. No comma between the two verbs in a compound predicate. She gave the girls pizza and washed the dishes after they ate.
2. No comma in any list of two things. I like going to the playground on Saturday and the mall on Friday.

Additional resources about book spine poetry:

Wanted: Book Spine Poems

2012 Gallery

2011 Gallery

2010 Gallery

Lauren
Madi
Dustin
Cooper
Atze
Lucas
Kaylee
Joey
Brian
Cesar
Paige
Thomas
Deven
Jason
Anna
Jade
Jared
Anna Pearl

We had a science simulation today about the peppered moth. It was a good way to study genetics, use Punnett squares, and learn about natural selection due to environmental changes.

Here is a very short clip showing the peppered moth in its natural protective lichen surroundings.

Here is a clip of the darker form of the peppered moth.

First, students were given a moth showing a light or dark phenotype. The genotype for the wing color allele was written on the back.

Genetic info (genotype) on back. Physical info (phenotype) on front in picture of moth.

They matched two moths together and used Punnett squares to show the possible offspring if those two genotypes reproduced.

Each generation of offspring would be placed on a light-colored background. A small proportion of moths had dark wings, the recessive gene. This dominance of the lighter wings stayed, as long as the lichen protected these moths from predators.

However, when the Industrial Revolution began polluting cities in Britain, the light-colored lichen died. The soot on the buildings and the lack of lichen cover began to give the dark moths an advantage, and they were then more protected from their predators.

Students swooped in (as birds) and picked off some of the moths. On the darker background, the lighter moths were easier to see. By the next generation, more of the moths were dark. Eventually, the dark wings became dominant in the polluted cities of Industrial Britain and in our simulation.

If you have Flash, you can do an online simulation about the peppered moth.

Today, the gathering of samples is much more accurate than it was a hundred years ago, but  the conclusions seem to agree that the change in color is an example of natural selection. Now that air pollution is less prevalent, there has again been a rise in lighter-colored peppered moths in urban areas in Britain.

Peppered Moths PDF used above.

Do you have any more information about the peppered moth that we should know?

Click on the numbers to view a variety of blog posts on these topics from Genius Hour.

Baking Challenge 1 2 3 4 5 6
Remote Control Cars 1 2
Erector Set 1 2
Minecraft 1 2 3
Photo Album
Tee-shirt Decorating
Basketball Shots 1 2
Chocolate Survey 1 2 3
Music Video 1 2 3
Photo editing
Aliens
Buttons 1 2
Miley Cyrus 1 2
Art History
Scratch

Working on science research

Right now Mrs. Krebs is taking an online course about Global Climate Change through PBS. Seventh graders are helping her with a short mini unit. First, we did a bit of online research about the chemistry involved in greenhouse gases.

Carbon, for instance, never goes away. It combines with different elements and keeps going through a continuous cycle. When it is taken out of the earth as fossil fuel and then burned, much of the carbon joins with oxygen to become carbon dioxide. It is absorbed into the atmosphere. Even though it is a small fraction of a percent of the gas in our atmosphere, CO2 is a powerful greenhouse gas because it absorbs heat very well. It is also on the rise, up 30% since the Industrial Revolution began.

Here are some great resources students have been studying:

• Carbon Cycle Game
• Nitrogen Cycle
• Methane Gas
• NASA’s Climate Kids
• EPA’s Student Guide to Global Climate Change

As we learned about global climate change, we also made a wish list. We brainstormed some of the things we wish we could change:

• We wish that the polar bears and other creatures wouldn’t have to lose their homes from melting ice.
• We also wish that people would stop killing themselves and the environment and that instead we use clean energies and not have oil rigs, especially in the water. It will kill more and more animals and marine life.
• We wish we could make the earth warmer and try to save some animals whose habitats are being destroyed.
• We wish we could get more windmills and use solar panels to run things.
• We wish we would be more careful on how much trash we throw away.
• We wish we would recycle more and save trees.
• We wish that all cars would run on solar power.
• We wish we wouldn’t use so much gas.
• We wish that all of the ice would stop melting  because the animals are dying from no homes or food to eat.
• We wish people would use more renewable energy.
• We wish people would use solar panels and wind mills.
• We wish everyone would take better care of the earth.
• We wish that they would make a lot more windmills in this world to help our planet.
• We also wish that we wouldn’t waste as many products as we usually do.
• We wish that people would stop littering to save our earth.
• We wish people would stop using gas-powered cars because they put too much carbon into the air. They should use electric cars, solar powered, and water powered cars.
• We wish we could have more solar powered cars so we don’t waste energy and pollute the air.
• We wish we could keep garbage out of the ocean, so the animals have a nice home in the water so they can swim all around.
• We wish that people would stop littering and start recycling, so all of the garbage we throw out won’t pile up and make it a waste pile.
• We wish the ice would stop melting so the animals could get their home back.
• We wish people would stop polluting the air with their cars.
• We wish people would stop littering and use recycling bins.
• We wish people wouldn’t cut down trees and taking away animals homes.
• We both wish our grand kids could have snow not frosty the dirt man.
• We wish that there would be some snow during the winter and super hot in the summer for good harvest and some rain.
• We wish that the world wouldn’t end because of the trash and that the world will be a better place for other people.
• We wish that people recycle and there would be electric cars and that we would protect the ozone layer.
• We wish that people would recycle and use electricity wisely.
• We wish the ice would stop melting, so the animals that live in the artic have somewhere to live.
• We wish people wouldn’t use as many plastic bags and water bottles, and that they would reuse the ones they do.
• We wish that people would do more for the environment which means recycle, pick up trash, stop pollution, use less electricity. If we can do just this little it will help change the world and make it a better place to live and grow.

By mrsdkrebs | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

Later in the spring we will be working on a larger unit on Ecology and Global Climate Change. We will revisit those wishes, using our genius to make the world a safe and healthy environment for future generations.

Some of the recycling projects already going on at our school.