Mendel Mystery and The Cause of Wind

Grade 10 students are really getting creative! We just finished learning about the rules of genetics...and now students are creating an organism and detailing 8 traits in a pedigree chart. Once they are done creating their "Mendel Mystery" they will give it to another students in the class. This student will have to solve the mystery of what the P generation's (parents) genotype and phenotype are using what we have learned about Punnett squares and genetics. Over spring break, students will begin to create a "write-up" that shows all the "behind the scenes" information for their pedigree diagrams. This will be their method of proving that they understand the rules of genetics!

Grade 8 students created comic strips this week to show the information that they researched about the causes of wind. Students worked to find out how uneven heating of the Earth causes wind (with about 5 steps in between). Students could discuss their questions with me during class and they collected their research in a Google Doc that they shared with me. Their comic strips look really great! Good Job, 8th graders!

Grade 7 students wrote business letters to a make-believe "naysayer" to explain why Alfred Wegener was correct with his Continental Drift Hypothesis...even though he couldn't explain why. Students will take a written test over the Earth's interior, the Theory of Plate Tectonics, and the surface features of boundaries. Students played "Sink or Swim" to review the main ideas of the unit. There will also be an alternative assessment available for students who struggle with written tests. They will prove that they have met the objectives through a scheduled interview with Mrs. Smith. Good Luck, 7th graders!

Grade 9 students are finishing their learning about 2 dimensional motion with a challenge problem that they will analyze and animate using Pencil. Here is the scenario:

You are a witness to a crime! Two criminals, Shifty and Lefty, have stolen some jewels. Lefty has the jewels when the police start to chase him, and he runs to the top of a 60.0 m tall building in his attempt to escape. Meanwhile, Shifty runs to the convenient hot-air balloon 20.0 m from the base of the building. He unties it, gets in, and it begins to rise at a constant speed. Lefty tosses the bag of jewels horizontally with a speed of 7.3 m/s just as the balloon begins its ascent. What must the velocity of the balloon be for Shifty to easily catch the bag?

Students quickly used their problem-solving skills to figure out the data...and are now working on animating it. I can't wait to see what great things they come up with!