Photo Booth Contest

Hi All!

here are the results of the photo booth contest to create the weirdest middle school image. i think it was a toss up between Kiana and Justin. What do you think?

All the best and Happy 2010!

Mr. F :-)

Here are some images from an interesting experiment run by a student group in which they surrounded their egg in marshmallow fluff to see what would occur. I completely dismissed this as an experiment that wouldn't work but alas...they produced one of the more dramatic results! The egg lost many grams of weight and shriveled up.

mr.f :-)

Mitosis Song #2

The stages of mitosis.

The stages of mitosis.

The Mitosis Chorus!

Don't forget your supplies!

EGG-speriment '09!

Diffusion...what's next.

Tell me what you think will happen next in this picture?

The separator is a "semi-permiable membrance", just like a cell membrane.

Mr. F :-)

Welcome Silver Team Science Students!!

Here are some links that will help you with your class and homework.

Cell diagrams and info:


a) Great cell diagrams- http://http://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=21&detID=56

b) Other great diagrams- http://waynesword.palomar.edu/lmexer1a.htm

Great research info...for use with the blue text.

c) http://www.biology4kids.com


d) advanced cell link- click here

e) a virtual cell click here

Cell as a factory HW

Go to this link to help you with your cell as a factory homework.

Click Here!

Mr. F :-)

Amazing Cell link...

Explore this link over the holiday break and post a reaction for extra credit!

Click Here

It might take a while to load...but it is worth it. Click on the organelles you discover!

Here is another great location to lear even MORE great detail about cells and how they work...

Click Here

Happy Thanksgiving!

Another great cell site...

http://www.biology4kids.com

This is thanks to Mr. Coppola!

More cell links...

a) advanced cell link- click here

b) a virtual cell click here

Great cell links...

1) Cells Alive- http://www.cellsalive.com

2) Great cell doagrams- http://http://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=21&detID=56

3) Other great diagrams- http://waynesword.palomar.edu/lmexer1a.htm

4) Organelles Quiz- http://www.biology4kids.com/extras/quiz_cellorgan/index.html

5) Cell Organelles Table http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/science/sciber00/7th/cells/sciber/orgtable.htm


more to come....
Mr. F :-)

Let's get Hyper (cells).

Hi All!

We are just starting work on our hyperstudio cells!

They will be clickable images that can teach a user about the parts of the cell.

We will be in the lab until the T'giving break preparing these mazing products.

More to come.

Mr. F :-)

The protozoans are here!

Get ready to see some cool single celled organisms tomorrow!

Click here to learn more about protozoans before the lesson tomorrow.

See you tomorrow!

Mr. F :-)

Microscopists at work!

What are these microscopic images

Guess for extra credit!!


Picture 1:

Picture 2:

Mr. Forde

CELL SIZE simulation!

Click Here to see the cell size simulation we used in class.

It is AMAZING!

Mr. F :-)

Don't click this microscope!! :-)

Ecology Final on Friday.

Study for the final by reviewing your ecology notes and getting some good sleep!

I'll be staying after school on Monday for anyone interested in a review session.



You're gonna do great!

Mr. Forde :-)

Yesterday at the Audubon!

CRASH video on-line

Here is a link to the actual video we watched in class!


Click here to see it!

Mr. Forde :-)

Back to the Adudbon and The Chias are growing!

Hi All,

I am excited that we are returning to the Adudubon in Greenwich this week with the remaining Black team students. The B and C group kids will attend! See hte images from last weeks trip in the earlier post.

Last week we saw the first growth of hair (grass plants) on our chia heads! We will start collecting data by measuring a pre-determined blade of grass. We will then compae the growth of the different pants to one another to see if we can draw any conclusions about the effect of differing abiotic factors. Here are some images!


Here is some growth on our control plants.


We must carefully measure the growth in metric units.


The data is transferred to our interactive science notebooks.

I can't wait to see how they all do!!

Mr. F :-)

Horseshoe crab HW link!!

Click below to link to more Horseshoe Crab information from Soundwaters!

http://www.soundwaters.org/horseshoecrab/index.shtml



You'll love that site!

Mr. Forde :-)

Audubon Trip #1!

The last chias are made!

The Chia Heads are coming!

What's happening in this experiment?

Explain what you think is happening and may happen in the future?


What's up with this bubble in the test tube above the aquatic plant?

Mr. F :-)

Chia Heads!

Hi All!

Please bring in pantyhose and knee highs that you can spare and plastic containers (like the ones I showed in class). Here is a sneak preview of what a chia head might end up looking like once it is growing.



We will be making changes to the chia heads abiotic factors (air, water, sunlight, temperature) to determine their effect on the plant growth. This should be interesting and teach us a bit more about producers and photosynthesis.

Mr. F :-)

Baby Terrapin at SoundWaters!

Here is the new baby terrapin hatched at Soundwaters! Isn't it cuuuute! :-) Let's do all we can to ensure that these amazing creatures are protected and have every chance to remain a part of our LI Sound ecosystem!

Click Here to check in on SoundWaters blog and see how the baby diamondback terrapin is doing over the next few weeks.

Mr. Forde :-)

Photosynthesis Link

Hi All,

Here is the link to the photosynthesis activity I showed you in class.

The Photosynthesis Link

This might help you review the things that plants need and what they produce when they photosynthesize!




More to come... Mr. F :-)

BEach Clean Up Success!

HI All!

With 28 Scofield students in attendance, our school represented the largest group at the beach clean up once again! Great job gang!

Here is a picture of the Black team students who attended in action!



While I was there I was able to see one of the newest additions to the SoundWaters family, a very young diamondback terrapin hatchling! It was hatched at Soundwaters. There are two other eggs that may hatch soon!



Have a great weekend!

Mr. Forde :-)

Finished Eco-Jars!

The planning is over and the eco-jars were completed! They were soaking up the afternoon sun (the source of energy for most ecosyetems) and were all looking good! We will journal about their status over the next few weeks and discuss changes that occur and try and figure out whether the producer, consumers, decomposers and abiotic factors (the four main components of an ecosystem) are in balance. We will discover if our in puts lead to the right processes which lead to the appropriate outputs! :-)

I had fun creating these but I will admit it was a tad chaotic at times and a bit dirtier at the end of the day than usual! The classes did a great job!! :-)

What did you think about the activity? Share your story of the creation! :-)

Mr. F :-)

Planning our eco-jars

Food Web links!

Hi All!

Here are the food web game links from class.

Mr. F :-)

1) Game 1

2) Game 2

3) Game 3

Let me know how you did and what you think!

Mr. F :-)

Eco- Jars!

Hi All!

This week we will plan and create eco-jars. These sealed ecosystems will allow us to think about the abiotic and abiotic factors that we would need to include to ensure success in a sealed jar that will NOT be opened once it is sealed!

Here is one might look like in the planning stages.



Please bring in large mouth jars that could support an ecosystem.

See you tomorrow!

Mr. Forde :-)

Living or not and population study.

Hi All!

Here are a few shots from a couple of activities we accomplished this week.

The first images are from our 1/2 day wednesday activity known as Living, Non-living, Once Living. The teams did a great job deciding which words belong on each list. It wasn't as easy as it sounds.







Another interesting activity happened today. We learned the terms biotic and abiotic and the we tried our hand at a population study. We headed outside and looked for different tree populations on part of our campus. Here are some had working students trying to identify their trees.





Let me know what you thought of these activities!

Mr. F :-)

Sewer Lice!

What did you think of this activity?

Did it make you think?

Mr. Forde :-)

Original Mealworm experiments!

HI All!

Last week went by so quickly!

We discussed and learned more about testable and researchable questions. We reviewed our last experiment and designed a new one of our own. On friday we tested them out and collected our own original data. Great job Black Team! After 5 periods of original experiments I was pretty beat! :-)

Here are some images of the kids at work. I am sorry that I could not get you all!



Next week we will talk about LIFE. What is it? How do you know something is alive? The we will start covering some ecology basics.


Mr. F :-)

Tell me about your experiment for tomorrow!

Hi Black team!

Let me know what you are doing tomorrow!!

Post your ideas here for all to see!




See you tomorrow!

Mr. Forde :-)

Mealworm Experiment - 9/8/09

Here we are conducting our recent (today) mealworm experiment where we tried to determine whether or not mealworms prefer water, salt water, sugar water or a vinegar solution. Ask you local black team scientist about their findings and why they think things turned out the way they did!

Week one- Black Team Science!

Hi All,

We had a great start to science class this year! I have really enjoyed getting to meet the students.

We started off by getting to know one another and setting up our binders and interactive science lab notebooks. The students also learned how to use this blog and the format for producing current event reports for science class. We then discussed whether or not we possessed the characteristics of a scientist. I believe that most students were convinced that they actually do have the traits of a scientist!



We next focused on descriptive writing and finding details in class and then observed meal worms and generated an "I notice/I wonder chart".

See the movie below.

Next week we will conduct and experiment that I have designed with the meal worms and write a lab report. We will then learn about the differences between testable (investigable) questions and researchable questions. The students will then generate a testable question related to the meal worms and decide on an investigation that they would like to conduct in teams.

I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend but can't wait to see what we will create next week!

Enjoy the 3 day weekend!

Mr Forde :-)

Mealworm Observation- Kids in action.

Alien Song

Back to School! 2009 - 2010

Hi to all incoming black team 7th graders!
(and all of you lurking 8 th graders)

Welcome to the blog. You'll be seeing a lot of this web page during the school year. I use it continuously to enhance and support my class. It is also an easy way to access me outside of class time and a great way to learn more on your own about the world of science.

Please note the links on the right. You'll find links to the black team page, homework hotline, and my cornell notes. (These will change over time.) I also post review game links and extension links.

Also, note at the bottom of this post where it is labeled "comment". Click there to leave a response to this message. Select "anonymous" and then you won't have to join blogger. Sign your name though, so I know who you are!

Our first unit will be ecology, which we will cover until early november, then we will learn about cells, genetics the human body and lastly food preservation/microbes.

Drop me a line to say hi ....and let's get this show on the road!

Mr. Forde

This is me!

Summer and Science?? 101 things

OK...if you're like me, you are already bored by Summer. Where are my students? I need minds to mold?!

Here are 101 Science things to do during the Summer! Write to me if you do any of them!

Also, here is another link to explore ... Summer Science Fun

Have a great break!

Mr. F :-)

Food Preservation Explained

Here is the video we used in class.

Click Here

Click on the right to see more about how nasa preserves food for astronauts and leave me a comment!

Extra credit??

Mr. Forde :-)

PSA video 1

Disease Research Links!

Here are the links from the research being conducted in class!

I. Cholera:

CDC: Cholera

Click Here


The Global Task Force on Cholera Control


Click Here

World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/surveillance/en/cholera.pdf cholera report


II. Swine Influenza:

influenza report - Click Here
Key Facts about Influenza - Click Here

CDC – Swine Flu facts - Click

NIH Swine Flu tutorial- Click here

Medlne Plus - Click Here


III. Yellow Fever:

yellow fever report

CDC Yellow Fever - Click Here

WHO Yellow Fever - Click Here



V. SARS

CDC – SARS - Click Here

WHO – SARS - Click

Medline Plus –
Click Here


VI. Pneumonia

Medicine NET - Click Here

MAYO clinic -
Click Here
KIDS HEALTH.org -
Click Here


VII. Tuberculosis

Medicine Net - Click here

Medline Plus - Click Here

WHO - Click Here

Immune System Movie

Here is the movie we played in class to review the immune system!

KidsHealth.org

Enjoy!

Mr. Forde :-)

How big is a bacteria or virus?

Check out this interactive page and see how very very small a virus is as compared to a bacteria or blood cell!



Click Here

Human Body Jeopardy!

Click here to view the questions!

Mr. F :-)

Blood flow through the heart!

Go to this web site and watch the animations of the blood flowing through the heart.

Click Here for another great Kids Health movie about the circulatory system. Here is an article that goes along with it.

Mr. Forde :-)

Perform Virtual Knee Surgery!

HI All!

Want try your hands at performing knee surgery?

Go for it by clicking here!



Mr. Forde :-)

Science Test --> Next Thursday 5/7!

Hi All!

We will be taking our next science assessment on 5/7 after we come back from watching the school play. PLEASE start studying NOW! Any notes or handouts relating to the body systems .....all the way up to the digestive system, will be on the test!

Good luck!

Mr. Forde :-)

Bronx Zoo website

Check it out!

The Bronx Zoo Web site

Bronx Zoo Trip this Wed!

Hi Black Team!

I am REALLY looking forward to the Bronx Zoo trip this wednesday!

DID YOU KNOW...

1) The Bronx zoo is the biggest metropolitan zoo in the United States
2) The Bronx Zoo has over 4,000 animals located on over 265 acres
3) That you may see the Reptile House, Congo Gorilla Forest or Jungle World during our trip?

This is going to be AWESOME!

Click on the map below for a view of the layout of the zoo!



I am writing this post from my lap top in Orlando's airport. I can;t wait to get back to work completing our human body unit and moving into our Food Preservation/Disease Unit.

See you soon!

Mr. Forde :-)

ps... I learned how to ride a Segway while I was in FLA> Check it out!