Last Blog Post of the Semester....perhaps the most important

How best to study for Finals?

Last week I gave you all a review packet to help you prepare for final exams.  When talking to my own freshman son, he was asking for tips on how to study for final exams.  This week I want you to read one of the articles below.

https://www.princetonreview.com/college-advice/how-to-study-for-finals

https://broadviewuniversity.edu/student-life/studying-and-diminishing-returns/

https://www.thoughtco.com/self-discipline-when-you-study-4103387

https://www.oxfordlearning.com/tips-for-easier-studying/


When you are done reading, I want you to respond to this post with one thing that you think you might use to help you study for finals.  Why do you think it will help?  If you have other ideas that you think would help others, please share.  This will not be a long response.

I do want to reinforce that cramming the night before is not a good idea.  Getting a good night sleep and being prepared are your best tools.  Good luck with the rest of the semester and start making a game plan for studying now.

Let it snow

As we are in the middle of a blizzard warning, I couldn't help but find a cool SEM image of a snowflake for you to see for this week's blog post.  I love the way that sometimes snow lands on my windowsill and I can imagine it looks just like this.

On Tuesday before break, we talked about different types of microscopes including both the SEM and TEM.  While I was with my sisters yesterday, my middle sister was constantly telling the cousins to stop so she could take a picture.  It reminded me of you guys and that I am going to have you find your favorite electron microscope images.  All you have to do is post the website of your picture, explain what you picked and why.  Also I need you to distinguish if your image is from a SEM (3-D image of surface) or TEM (2-D image of inside an object).

Happy Birthday Teddy Roosevelt

"For the Benefit and the Enjoyment of the People"

This past Saturday would have been Theodore Roosevelt's 160th birthday.  Because I am a national park junkie and I have a passion for conservation, Theodore Roosevelt is definitely my favorite president.  My husband is an APUSH teacher and he agrees with me that TR is pretty awesome.  Using his power as president to protect wildlife and public lands, he created the United States Forest Service and established 150 national forests.  Additionally, he established 4 national game preserves, 5 national parks, 18 national monuments and 51 federal bird reserves.  While he was president, he protected almost 230 million acres of public land.

https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/historyculture/theodore-roosevelt-and-conservation.htm

https://www.doi.gov/blog/conservation-legacy-theodore-roosevelt

https://www.biography.com/people/theodore-roosevelt-9463424

Clearly, we are far past the ecology unit and conservation really has nothing to do with enzymes and digestion.  However, I couldn't resist the chance to wish my favorite president Happy Birthday.  This week for your assignment, you have some options:

1.  Who is your favorite president and why?     Provide facts, figures and end your blog post with the website where you found your information

2.  What is your favorite national park and why?   Some of you have been to many of our national parks.  Which is your favorite?  What makes it different?  How long has it been a national park?  Please include the website at the end of the blog post that links to this national park.

3.  Legacy, National Monuments and Politics    In 2017, President Trump significantly reduced the amount of land set aside for two national monuments in Utah, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.  What do you think?  Is President Trump ruining the legacy set aside by other presidents?  How do Presidents set aside land for National Monuments?  How does this relate to legacy?  What is legacy?  Again, be sure to support your post with facts, figures and a website at the end of your post.

Pick one of the three above and write a scholarly paragraph.  Also please comment on at least one of your peers posts'.

Scary Movies are ...

I can hardly believe that it is already October 20th and I am buying Halloween candy at the grocery store.  In the car today, my husband was listening to a pod cast about the Halloween movie series.  Halloween, Friday the 13th, Saw, The Exorcist, Psycho and all the other favorites of this genre of media were a huge topic of conversation at our house this weekend.

Personally, I do not enjoy horror movies and I tend to avoid them at all costs.  However, I know that I am definitely in the minority and most teenagers love these movies.  So I thought it would be fun to understand how your body and brain reacts to horror movies.

https://psychology-spot.com/horror-movies-affect-brain/

http://time.com/4995896/scary-movies-burn-calories/

https://online.csp.edu/blog/psychology/psychology-of-fear

https://www.ahealthiermichigan.org/2017/10/07/what-happens-to-your-body-when-you-watch-a-scary-movie/

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolinekee/horror-movies-heart-rate-body-health

This week I want you to look through these articles and write a scholarly paragraph with your response.  What camp do you belong to?  Do you love horror movies or avoid them?  Have your middle three sentences be about at least three different ways that your body and brain react to horror movies.  Then in your conclusion statement I would like you to give a recommendation about your favorite scary movies.

Nobel Prize Week

As high school science students, I am sure you are closely following the Nobel Prize Announcements.  I am totally kidding of course, but I do think the Nobel Prize announcements are super interesting.  This year the prize for medicine went to two scientists for their discovery of a  cancer treatment using the immune system.  Next, the three scientists that split the award for the prize in chemistry were working with enzymes and peptides.  Perhaps what I find most interesting is that we will study all of these topics this year in biology.

This week I want you to go on the official website of the Nobel Prize and pick one former or current Nobel Prize winner to write about.  Ideally, I would love for there to be no repeats.  Use the website to pick a winner and then give a brief synopsis of that person's life and contribution to society.  You can pick any of the Nobel Prize winners as there are numerous categories.  In a scholarly paragraph, (at the very least five sentences long with proper spelling, capitalization and punctuation) present a biography and a reason why they won the award.  Because of our shortened week this week, you will actually have until October 19th to submit your blog post.

https://www.nobelprize.org/

Extinction Risk

 Last week was our last week for the ecology unit, but I feel like we still need to address endangered species.  I might be slightly obsessed with Yellowstone, and last week I was so crushed to find out that the Yellowstone Grizzly was put back on the endangered species list.  I saw a grizzly at Yellowstone, so this really hits home with me.  What if future generations can only see grizzly bears in the zoo?  Current estimates declare that there are over 40,000 species of endangered plants and animals.  The endangered species include one in four mammals, one in eight birds and a third of all amphibians.  Plant and insect endangered species are hard to estimate because many are going extinct before they have even been discovered.  There are numerous campaigns to raise awareness and funds to protect these species.

This week I want you to pick your favorite endangered species.  Please try not to pick repeats, so look at what other students have already picked before you pick yours.

   1.  First, change your Google + profile picture to a picture of the endangered species
   2.  Title your blog post with a song title or lyrics that are fitting for your species.
               What would be their walk-up song if they were a baseball player?
   3.  In your blog post, explain why you picked this endangered species
   4.  Make a list with the Status, Population, Scientific Name (should be in italics), and habitat

Below is my example with the Bengal Tiger:  (so the tiger is picked so you need to pick another species)

"The Eye of the Tiger"
Despite my love for the sea turtle, I had to pick the Bengal Tiger for my endangered species.  Not only is the Bengal Tiger our school mascot, but it is also one of the most beautiful large cat species.  A group of tigers is known as an "ambush" or a "streak."  Perhaps we should change the name of the Central Crazies to the Central Ambush?

It's the eye of the tiger
It's the thrill of the fight
Rising up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night

 As the official MLB baseball season draws to a close today, I think "The Eye of the Tiger" is the absolute perfect walk up song for my favorite school mascot.  Especially the line about the last known survivor is fitting knowing how this majestic species is disappearing in the wild.

Status:  Endangered
Poplulation:  More than 2500 (mostly in zoos)
Scientific Name: Panthera tigris tigris
Habitat:  Dry and wet deciduous forests, grasslands, temperate forests and mangrove swamps.

Below are two links that will help you find Endangered Species

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/directory?direction=desc&sort=extinction_status

https://www.fws.gov/endangered/
 

Biodiversity and the Great Barrier Reef

This week we will wrap up our unit on Ecology with a look at biodiversity.  Some ecosystems are rich in all three types of biodiversity:  ecosystem, species and genetic.  Other ecosystems are more fragile and disruptions can be catastrophic.

Watch the video clip below:

In a scholarly paragraph with at least five sentences, you will summarize this 8 minute video.  What is biodiversity?  How is biodiversity threatened in the Great Barrier Reef?  What suggestions do you have to help reduce Global Warming and stop the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef?  Be sure to use at least three of the following vocabulary words in your summary:  global warming, biodiversity, dynamic, tolerance, acclimation, and zooxathellae (type of phytoplankton).  In addition to your summary, you will also comment on one other person's response.

Hurricane Florence

Last week, we talked about succession in class and how hurricanes cause secondary succession.  This weekend while I was still contemplating how to save the poor sea turtles, I came across this article from Science Magazine.

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/09/hurricane-florence-coming-scientists-are-scrambling-prepare

I like that the article tracks how Hurricane Florence will impact the research communities in North and South Carolina.  Think schools like University of North Carolina, University of South Carolina, and Duke University.  (It would be super cool if some of you ended up there in four years.)

This week, I want you to read one of the following sections in the article:

• What do whales do in a hurricane?
• Saving "precious samples"
• It just isn't worth it
• A surge of gauges
• Watching the storm in real time

You will write a scholarly paragraph about what you read.  Remember that a descent paragraph should have at least five sentences, proper punctuation, correct spelling and grammar.  I am not an English teacher, but I do know what a scientific paragraph should look like.  In addition to posting a response, I would like you to comment on at least one of your peers.  This is a public blog meaning anything that you post will be visible to the world, so put your best self out there.  I am going to share this link with your parents so they can see your work.

If you plant it....they will come.

Do you remember the first week of school I had a jar on my desk with a Monarch Butterfly caterpillar in it?  Looked something like the image below.

Monarch butterflies are actually on the verge of being an endangered species.  Many different families in my neighborhood have actually planted milkweed in their gardens to help the Monarch butterflies.

This week will be your very first blog assignment.  As a science teacher, I believe that there is a lot of science out in the world that most students miss.  I will share with you articles, video clips and more.  This week I am going to have you read an editorial from the New York Times. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/03/opinion/to-save-monarch-butterfly-plant-milkweed-now.html

You will write a scholarly paragraph about what you read.  Summarize the article in at least three sentences.  Somewhere in your summary, you must make a connection to ecology.  Try and use at least three new vocabulary words in your summary.  Finally, conclude your response with your own opinion.  What do you think?  How can we save the butterflies?  Have you ever tried to help the plight of the Monarch butterflies?  Do you have milkweed in your garden?

Remember that a descent paragraph should have at least five sentences, proper punctuation, correct spelling and grammar.  I am not an English teacher, but I do know what a scientific paragraph should look like.  In addition to posting a response, I would like you to comment on at least one of your peers.  This is a public blog meaning anything that you post will be visible to the world, so put your best self out there.  I am going to share this link with your parents so they can see your work.

Urban Jungle = Punctuated Equilibrium

This week in National Geographic, there is a cool book review of Darwin Comes to Town by evolutionary biologist, Menno Schilthuizen.  Please let me know right away if you can't see this article, because it totally relates to what we are talking about in class. 

In the interview with the author, Schilthuizen talks about how cities are driving evolutionary change.  For your final blog post of the year, you will read the interview.  After you read the interview, you will write a scholarly paragraph about punctuated equilibrium.  In your paragraph you will explain how extreme urban environments are speeding up evolution.  You need to give at least two examples from the interview.  If you look up other reviews of this book, there are a ton of examples out there.  Please explain how cities are causing these organisms to evolve more quickly than the millions of years Darwin suggested with his theory of Natural Selection. 

National Geographic Book Talk:
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/05/urban-living-drives-evolution-in-surprising-way/?beta=true

Financial Times:
https://www.ft.com/content/64422438-0833-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5

HIREC:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3352552/


After you have written your response, please comment on at least one other person's post.

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day 2018!

Your assignment this week is to go outside and pick up some trash.  Your assignment this week is to use less plastic (straws, water bottles, disposable trash bags).  Your assignment this week is to use a little less energy and a little less water.

Interesting Facts:
1.  History of Earth Day:
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/earth-day

2.  Earth Day Network
https://www.earthday.org/

3.  Pictures from NASA showing Climate Change
http://www.newsweek.com/climate-change-global-warming-glacier-melting-earth-day-2018-893695

Epigenetics

As we are wrapping up our unit on Genetics, there is one topic that I didn't teach you about....Epigenetics.

Watch the video above.  Don't worry, it is only 5 minutes.  Still curious?  You can also watch the following video for more background information.

Can our lifestyle and choices affect which genes are actually expressed?  What do you think?  In a scholarly paragraph, explain epigenetics.  What is epigenetics?  What is a gene that can be influenced by epigenetics?  Just because cancer is totally prevalent in your family, does that mean that you will definitely get cancer?  Is there anything that you can do to favor your healthy genes?  Has epigenetics been in the news?  What are some other studies saying about epigenetics?

You must write your paragraph and response by Friday, April 20th.  If you can include a link to another article about epigenetics at the end of your paragraph, then I will give you extra credit.

Identical Twins

Identical twin studies are always interesting, but this study tops them all.  Mark and Scott Kelly are identical twins who work for NASA.  Scott Kelly spent a year in outer space to become the ultimate test of how the human body reacts to the environment.   Because Mark and Scott have identical DNA, scientists were able to determine exactly what happens to both the human body and DNA after spending a year in outer space.  The findings will be used to help plan future long-term missions to Mars. 

https://www.nasa.gov/twins-study

There are a lot of links for you to explore.  Please write a scholarly paragraph about what you learned.  Does this make you want to volunteer to be the astronaut that spends a significant amount of time on Mars?  If Scott's telomeres were longer, do you think that going into outer space reverses the aging process?  Do you think that Mark Kelly wishes he was the twin that went into outer space?

How about some Good News?

Some weeks we just need a little good news.  With losing an hour of sleep and still a good 10 days before spring break, I found some articles that made me smile.

An iceberg actually flipped over and looks like jewelry.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/photographer-captures-stunning-underside-flipped-iceberg-180953951/

Did scientists finally find Amelia Earhart?

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/08/health/amelia-earhart-bones-island-intl/index.html

A supercolony of penguins was discovered....finding penguins is always good news.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/science/adelie-penguins-supercolony-antarctica.html

Recent breakthroughs in cancer research targets a gene that is a "wily beast."

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/03/09/589613244/the-30-year-quest-to-tame-the-wily-cancer-gene

Just like last week, you can pick which article that you would like to read.  When you are finished reading, you will write a scholarly paragraph about what you learned.  Do you think this is good news?  What was your overall reaction to the article?  Why do you think this is interesting?  Remember to use proper spelling, grammar and punctuation.  Also, please be sure to comment on at least one of your peers posts.

Straight from the Headlines

Biology is seriously the coolest subject ever.  Almost everyday, there are headlines that relate to biology from baby giraffes to landslides to ground-breaking research.  This week there were so many articles that I had a difficult time choosing.  Therefore, there is no unifying theme this week.  Rather these are just some interesting articles that were all in the headlines this week.

Plenty of choices this week.  Pick one of the following three options and write a scholarly paragraph.  Remember to pay attention to how this relates to biology.  Also be sure to comment on at least one of your peers posts.

1.  Barbra Streisand revealed in an interview last week that two of her three dogs had been cloned from her late beloved dog, Samantha.

http://variety.com/2018/film/news/barbra-streisand-clone-dogs-samantha-1202711047/

http://time.com/money/5178509/barbra-streisand-dog-coton-du-tulear-clone-cloning/

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/28/science/barbra-streisand-clone-dogs.html

There are plenty of articles about both the interview and the science behind cloning dogs.  You only have to read one.  Then write a scholarly paragraph.  Include a little science in your paragraph, but also I really want to hear your opinion on cloning your dogs.  Would you pay $50,000 to clone your dog?  Why or why not?

2.  NHL and Concussions...a problem for more than just football:

Watch the above video clip about hockey and concussions.  This week week, former Chicago Blackhawk, Daniel Carcillo contacted all 31 NHL teams and numerous players in an effort to increase concussion awareness.  

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/hockey/blackhawks/ct-blackhawks-carcillo-20180302-story.html

You can watch the video above from HBO Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel about concussions and the NHL or read the article from the Chicago Tribune.  What do you think?  Write a scholarly paragraph summarizing what you learned.  Also include your own personal opinion about concussions and sports.  Will both the NHL and the NFL eventually disappear due to the risk of concussions?

3.  Missing CDC employee... conspiracy or just unfortunate circumstances?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/02/28/the-cdc-researcher-who-mysteriously-vanished-had-recently-been-passed-over-for-a-promotion-police-say/?utm_term=.6caff57e889a

http://abcnews.go.com/US/missing-cdc-employee-fall-lives/story?id=53422388

While the  CDC claims that Timothy Cunningham did not work with infectious diseases, I can't help but wonder if we are really getting the full story here.  Cunningham has been missing since February 12th.   Read one of the articles above and write a scholarly paragraph about the story.  Also be sure to include your opinion of what happened.

Curling and Influenza... Graphs Galore

Last week one of my former students was saying how difficult the science portion of the ACT was because it is all data tables and graphs.  When I was getting ready to write this week's blog post, I wanted to include articles that contained graphs.  I think I found two that are not only interesting, but also totally relevant to this week. 

Option 1:  Curling

I am not sure if you watched the curling this past weekend, but the USA men's curling team was fantastic.  With a huge upset over the favorites from Canada, these guys might be my favorite United States Olympians. 

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/america-loves-curling-until-it-forgets-about-it-for-four-years/


You can read this article about interest in Olympic sports and write a scholarly paragraph about what you learned.  What do you think?  Did you like the graphs?  Do you think the fact that interest peeks every four years makes curling even more fun to watch during the Olympic game?  Is it like a favorite pair of jeans that get pushed to the back of the closet and when you find them again, you realize how much you loved them?  Please make sure that you have at least 5 sentences with proper punctuation and spelling.


Option 2:  Beauty and the Beast with Influenza

Last night I took my youngest son to his school's production of Beauty and the Beast Jr.  It was spectacular and super impressive considering several of the key roles had just gotten over the flu.  So the second article that you can read is about the flu season.  I love these graphs.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/america-should-have-stayed-home-this-flu-season/

After reading the article, write a scholarly paragraph about flu season.  Did you get the flu shot?  Why isn't the flu shot working?  Why is this year's flu virus especially deadly?


Please post your responses below and comment on at least one of your peers.

Winter Olympics 2018

Snow day and opening ceremonies on the same day...best day ever.  I love the Olympics.  I love the winter games.  I love the summer games.  I love the back stories about kids putting in 10,000 hours of practice in order to be the best.  I love the competition.  I love the pageantry.  I love 1200 drones making the Olympic rings.

Seriously, I am sure you get the picture, but the next 17 days will be amazing.  There are millions of things we could read about that relate to both science and the Olympics.  This week I will give you some options.

Option 1:  American Olympians home to beat the cold with new clothing designs
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/olympic-clothing-designers-try-to-beat-the-cold-with-technology/

Option 2:  Dopamine and Gold medals
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/olympic-gold-may-depend-on-the-brain-s-reward-chemical/

Option 3:  3 local Norge Ski Jumpers advance to the Olympics (I watched them this morning.)
http://www.nwherald.com/2018/02/08/norge-trio-advance-to-olympic-ski-jump-finals/alhc5u/

Your assignment is to pick an article.  Read it.  Then write a scholarly paragraph summarizing what you read.  Finally, finish your paragraph with your favorite part of the winter Olympics.  Also please comment on at least one of your peers.

Wonder Twin Powers Activate!

My son, Joey says that the Wonder Twins are "always on Cartoon Network."  Why not?  How cool would it be if twins really did have superpowers?

As we start the DNA unit, I think that identical twins are totally interesting.  What would it be like if someone had the exact same DNA as you?  I have read a few books about identical twins and I am still curious about it. This week you will read the following article about identical twins.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2012/01/identical-twins-science-dna-portraits/

This article is pretty long (I put a version of it on Google Classroom), so you can totally read the intro and then focus on one of the sections:
    Nature Vs. Nurture
    The Jim Twins
    Separated at Birth
    The Third Component
    Writing in Pencil and Pen

If you can't get the article to work....you can watch the following video instead:

or this one....

Your assignment is to write a scholarly response with at least 5 sentences.  The post will be put into the blog so that your classmates and the rest of the world can read what you had to say.  I am not an English teacher, but I do expect you to start your sentences with a capital letter and end them with punctuation.  Additionally, you might want to write your post in a Google Document first so you can spell check.  Then just copy and paste it into the comment section.  You can summarize the article, or just the part you thought was most interesting.  What did you think?  What did you learn?  The post is due by Friday.  In addition to your paragraph, you also need to respond to at least one of your peers.