Panyhose request?

If you were at open house you heard my plea for help.

I am looking for pantyhose to help conduct plant experiments in my class.

See this link to see how the experiment may work.

Please help by starting to send them (the pantyhose) in. Place them in a baggie with the student name on a small piece of paper!

Thanks!

Mr. Forde :-)

Week of 10/1

It was a big week in science class!

We had new academic groups and a new schedule! Hopefully we are all settling in and finding our way though it! If there is one thing that is constant...it is change!

We started on Monday with a simulation in energy flow through the ecosystem. Kids lined up outside and were predators. The prey were poker chips. Mayhem ensued and different conditions were applied to the simulation. We also introduced an invasive species with greater ability to eat. (They used two hands.) To see their impact on the population. This allowed us to review the terms population density, birth rate, death rate, emigration and immigration. We then returned to the classroom and discussed the homework which related to the predator prey relationship of the wolf and Moose!

Wednesday we had a half day schedule but were able to finish distributing science textbooks, return their Inspired food webs (See their ISN), and conduct a lily pad simulation that demonstrated the power of logarithmic growth in a population. This allowed us to discuss terms like carrying capacity and limiting factors.

Thursday was the Jeopardy review for the test. Click here to see the slides! This allowed us to review key ideas and see what types of questions would be on the test, in a fun format.

Friday was test day! It was not a very tough test for them (they'll get tougher) but I am happy to see that most kids took it very seriously and were well prepared. They will be returned on Tuesday.



Here is an image of a hard working class performing well under great pressure!

A spider video

One of my students saw this spider making a web and did what any 21st century learner would do. He video-taped it a put it on youtube!

Check it out.



Mr. Forde :-)

Week of 9/24

Hi All!

This past week we worked in the media center on our "Inspired" Scofield Food Webs! Using Inspiration we placed producers, and primary, secondary and tertiary consumers in a complex web! The organisms we used were identified by scofield students during the 6th grade bio-litz last June. They look great and re-inforced some key concepts in our ecology unit.

Here are some hard working students in the media center!



Test Alert!! Later this week (thurs/fri) we will have our first formal ecology test. Students can start to prepare by reviewing the cornell notes in their ISN.

Also, it was really great to see such a large turn-out at open school night. What a great message that sends to your kids about the importance of school. Here is a link for my advisory parents to my PPT presentation from the evening. Even though it was brief, I hope you were reassured by what you heard. I am looking forward to a great school year!

Talk at you next week.

Mr. Forde :-)

Week of 9/17

It was another interesting week in science class. We finished up with the last groups for the mealworm experiments on Monday. All lab reports were due on Friday.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we learned about ecosystem organization and did a brief population study of the plants on one section of the Scofield campus. This gave us a chance to experience what a population census feels like and to see how biologists can estimate the population of some organisms that can be too numerous to count. (like clover plants)

On Thursday and Friday we turned our attention to food webs and energy flow in ecosystems. We then created a food web in the classroom by using yarn and critter cards. We covered the concepts of producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers and tertiary consumers.

Next week we head to the tech lab to produce food webs utilizing data collected in last years bio-blitz! I hope they enjoy utilizing Inspiration software.

I look forward to seeing you all on Thursday night! :-)

Mr. Forde

ps- For a free trial version of Inspiration software go here!

Beach Clean-up Success!

Hi All,

While it wasn't a record turn-out, we did accomplish our goal of leaving our local environment cleaner and safer for L.I. Sound organisms. I would like to thank Ciara and Deepali for helping me out on our section of beach at Cove Island Park!

Here are a few pictures from the event!
Thanks for yor help!!
Mr. Forde :-)

Great Critter Links

As we start our discussion of organisms, populations, communities and ecosystems you may want to start learning more about producers and consumers! Here are some helpful links.

Yahoo Kids Animals- A great place to see what different critters eat. (Think food web!)

Zoo Books Animal Profiles- A good place to see what different organisms eat.

EcoKids Web Page and their Eco-Field Guide for more animal info.

Try the Food Chain Game

More to come! :-)
Mr. Forde

Week of 9/10

Although it was a short week we did accomplish a few things together in science class!

We completed our measurement madness activity and started our discussion of life science by learning more about organisms and the characteristics of living things.

We culminated the week by doing a mealworm experiment to determine whether or not mealworms are attracted to certain substances. The data was collected and now the students will required to produce their first lab report.

I hope everyone has a great break and I look forward to seeing you on Monday (or Saturday if you are attending the Beach Clean-up)

All the best!



Mr. Forde :-)

International Beach Clean-up

International Beach Clean-up!

Stamford
Cove Island Park
Sept. 15, 2007, 11 a.m.

Contact: Erik Anderson,
(203) 406-3311, Erik@SoundWaters.org

Let's help our local environment!

Mr. Forde :-)

Week of 9/4 Update

It has been a busy week in Mr. Forde's Class!

After a brief introduction to Mr. Forde on Friday the Black team students started learning more about themselves in science on Tuesday and Wednesday. This "Who am I?" day explored three questions: 1) Are you squeamish? (What grosses you out?) 2) Are you a scientist? (Do you have the same traits as a scientist and 3) Are you golden? (Do you possess the golden ratio?). The MOST golden student was awarded the coveted golden necklace which they wore as a sign that their golden ratio was closed to the value known as Phi (1.618).

On Wednesday and Thursday the students took on Mr. Forde's Measurement Madness challenge and set-up their interactive science notebooks. The six measurement stations were designed to have the students review some basic measurement skills. It also allowed them to get their hands on some of science equipment that they will be using next week when they design their first experiment of the year.

I hope they have been enjoying the start of the school year. I certainly have enjoyed having them in my science class.

All the best!

Mr. Forde :-)