It’s a Wonderful Life!

What’s Happening in Biology

for the week of

Dec 7 – Dec 11,  2009

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 WOW!! What a great week. We had a blast at the Arboretum. It would have been perfect if it had been 10 degrees warmer or if the sun would have shined a little. The students did great and braved the cold weather. Thank you for supporting the Meow Mix team by letting your students attend this wonderful opportunity.  (Pictures will soon be posted on the meow mix team page – I will send an e-mail) I am trying to attach file but you might not get it due to size.

 We started Unit 6 this week on ecology and have been flying through this unit.  We will have a test on this unit on Dec 8.  Students received their study guides on Tuesday.  I will be out Dec 8 – 11 because I will be attending a conference in Orlando where I will be doing a presentation with Dr. Wright and Mr. Finch on how to incorporate technology into the curriculum.  With this in mind, I gave the students they study guide so could start preparing for the unit test on Tuesday. Guiding question are option for this unit. Students who complete the guiding question will receive 5 bonus points on their test.  We will review the study guide on Monday.  Monday will also be Ms. Wallis’s last day.  So on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be the first time the students have had a substitute in Biology.

 4^th block students received progress reports today.  2^nd block and 5^th block will received Progress reports on Monday. I apologize but I had trouble staying connected to the server today. Not sure what was going on.

We are down to the short rows and the students are ready for a much needed break.  Stay on them so they can finish strong this year. The final is 20% of their grade and can drop a student’s a letter grade if they are not prepared.  I will spend 3 days reviewing before the final.

Biology Portfolio is due December 10, however I will not be here thus they can be turned in on the 14.  The 10 is a great day to shoot for so they have time to study for all finals. They have had lots of class time and I have been coming in early and staying after school for those who need assistance.  They can stay Monday after school or come in at 7:30 on Monday and I will be happy to help them.

 Sorry for the long e-mail.

 The week Ahead!

M = Review for Ecology Test

T = Ecology Test/ Some review question for the final exam will be on the board

W = Students will watch Finding Nemo and answer question that relate to ecology (predator/prey and symbiotic relationships)

H = Students will draw and entire biome that address cycles and flow.

F = Students will watch the Lion King and answer question about the cycle of life.

 Have a great weekend and stay warm!

Mrs. Balkcom

 Mrs. Balkcom

9th Grade Biology

334.887.1960

website http://balkcom.edublogs.org/

What’s Happening in Biology

for the week of

Nov  23- Nov 24, 2009

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 This week in Biology we started working on creating our Photosynthesis Glog. A Glog is basically an electronic poster. The students have done a great job with their posters.  The final glog is due Tuesday. On Monday we will review the study guide that was sent home today as well as work on completing our glogs and biology portfolios.  I have attached a study guide in case it is needed. Also students guiding questions for Unit 5 are due Tuesday.  Please check to make sure your child is completing these questions. Every time a student does not turn in a set of guiding questions it takes 2 points off of their grade. So if your child has a 91 and they do not turn in a set of guiding questions then their grade would drop to a 89 or is they are missing some and decide to complete them they could add 2 points and have a 93.

The week Ahead!

M = Review for Energy Test

T = Energy Test

  Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Balkcom

What’s Happening in Biology

for the week of

Nov  16- Nov 20, 2009

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 I apologize for getting this out late. I guess with the holiday right in the middle of the week it threw my routine off. Anyway, we started Unit 5 (Energy) on Thursday last week. We will learn about photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Students will learn about the Krebs cycle, light and dark reactions. This is often a very difficult unit for many students. Please make sure your student is answering their guiding questions. Questions 1 – 14 are due this Friday. Students that answer these question before the test often score higher on the test. We will have our energy test on Nov 24,2009.

Progress reports will go home this week.

The Week Ahead

M = Photosynthesis

T = Light Reactions

W = Dark Reaction

H =Cellular respiration

F = Compare and contrast cellular respiration and photosynthesis. Assign study guide

Thanksgiving week

M= Review for Test

T = Energy Test.

 Have a great week!

Mrs. Balkcom

What’s Happening in Biology

for the week of

Nov 9- Nov 13, 2009

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 Progress Reports went home today!!  You will notice that there are 2 columns at the beginning that show the number of points that were earned last nine weeks. This information was inserted so that the grades will be calculated for the whole semester. If you did not see a progress report e-mail me and I will e-mail you their grade.

 If your child has a zero that zero should be and can be made up. Projects can be updated and corrected for additional points.  There is no reason your child should have a failing grade in Biology.

Study guides were sent home today for our test on Tuesday. The test on Tuesday will be on Heredity. I have attached the study guide for your review.  We will work every problem in class on Monday.

On Thursday, we will start our unit on Energy, Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration. If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s grade please contact me.

 The week ahead!

M = Review for Heredity Test

T = Heredity Test

W = NO SCHOOL – Veterans Day

H = Intro to Energy Unit

F = Enzymes and factors that speed up chemical reactions.

 Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Balkcom

What’s Happening in Biology

for the week of

Nov 2- Nov 6, 2009

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 This week in Biology we learned about heredity, different modes of inheritance, and how to work Punnett squares.  We were unable to visit WMR Elementary school on Tuesday due to the rain.  We have rescheduled the trip for this Tuesday Nov 3. I had intended to send home progress reports but we have a new grade book system and it is not combining the 1^st nine weeks grades with the 2^nd nine weeks grades.  I think I have found a solution and I am going to try to send them home Monday or Tuesday. 

  The Week Ahead!

 M = Genetic disorders

T = WMR School visit

W = Pedigrees

H = Pedigrees

F = Cloning

 Please email me if you have any questions.

 Have a great Halloween Weekend!

Mrs. Balkcom

What’s Happening in Biology

for the week of

Oct 26 – Oct 30, 2009

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We have now completed our unit on Cell Reproduction and will start our unit on Heredity on Monday. This unit will take about 2 weeks.  On Tuesday, we will visit Wrights Mill Road Elementary school where we will share our taxonomy projects with Mrs. Reynolds 2^nd grade class.  We will walk to WMR during our class time, share our projects and return by the end of the period. Students will not miss any other classes.  I look forward to this visit because the 9^th graders really enjoy visiting even though they can get very nervous right before it is time to share.

 Progress reports will go out next week as well. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about your child’s grade.

 The week ahead!

M = Intro to Heredity

T = Visit to WMR/watch Mitosis movies

W =Popsicle genetics

H = Movie GATACA (will be in Horizontal training)

F = Punnett Squares

 Have a great weekend and hope to see you at the FACES 5K at Richland Elementary School on Sunday at 1:30. For more information visit http://www.auburnschools.org/FACES/.

 Thanks,

Mrs. Balkcom

What’s Happening in Biology

for the week of

Oct 12 – Oct 16, 2009

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 Wow! This week has flown by.  Pep Rally was a blast and the Meow Mix Team won the spirit stick!! Congrats every one on a job well done! On Thursday and Friday we worked on our mitosis claymations. Students have these on their computers you should take a look if you have time.  The students have done an excellent job on creating their claymations. The final movie is due on Friday Oct 16. Next week we will look at asexual reproduction, meiosis, transcription, translation and mutations.

 Please be on the lookout for progress reports. They went home today!

 If your child has a zero that zero should be and can be made up. If your child would like to improve their project grades they can be updated to earn additional points. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

The week ahead

M = Asexual Reproduction

T = Importance of meiosis

W = Identify steps and products of meiosis

H = Transcription Translation

F = Mutations

Hope you have a great weekend!
Mrs. Balkcom

What’s Happening in Biology

for the week of

Oct 5 – Oct 9, 2009

Dear Parents and Guardians,

On Tuesday, we completed Unit 3 and have started on Unit 3B- cell reproduction. Students will be learning about the structure and function of DNA, the cell cycle, mitosis, meiosis, transcription and translation. This unit will take about 3 weeks.  It is often one of the hardest units due to the content. How cells replicate, divide and how gamates are formed is often hard for the students to visualize and relate to thus making it hard to understand.  I have given the students their guiding questions for this unit.  Please take time to quiz them on this material and check for understanding.

This unit’s project will be to develop a movie using clay to act out the steps of Mitosis. Students will take pictures to capture each step and turn those pictures into a movie.  It is very similar to how old cartoon were created scene by scene.  The majority of this project will be completed in class. All pictures will be taken in class and then turned into a movie.

 Progress reports will go home on Thursday or Friday. Pep rally is Thursday.

 The week ahead

M = Genes, chromosomes and karotyping

T = Mitosis – Online Root tip/Claymation storyboard

W = Mitosis Claymation (Picture taking )

H = Mitosis (Work on making movie)

F= Asexual reproduction

 If you have any question or concerns please let me know!

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Balkcom

What’s Happening in Biology

for the week of

Sept 28 – Oct 2, 2009

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 I just wanted to let you know how impressed I was with the cell movies that were presented in class today.  Your children did an outstanding job!! If you would like to see the work just go to : http://biologywithmrsb.pbworks.com/Cell-Movies. These are just a few examples.  There are many more excellent movies that students have not yet posted to the wiki page.  Thank you for all of your support and patience with helping your child with their projects. I would also like to thank everyone who sent food for our cell- a – bration day. The students had a great time today!

We have now completed Unit 3A and we will have our Unit Test on Tuesday.  We will review on Monday. Students have been given their study guides. They should have the majority of it completed over the weekend.  I will go over the answers on Monday however the study guide is long thus they should already most of the answers completed before class. On Wednesday we will start Unit 3B which is Cell Reproduction (Mitosis and Meiosis).

The Week Ahead!

M = Review for Unit test

T = Test on Unit 3A (Cell structure and function)

W = Explore why cells are small

H = Identify the structure and function of DNA

F = Explain how DNA replicates

 Progress Reports went home on Thursday.  If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me.  I have also attached a copy of the study guide in case they realize they left the one I gave them somewhere.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Balkcom

What’s Happening in Biology

for the week of

Sept 21 – Sept 25, 2009

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 We have started our unit on Cell Structure and Function.  This week we learned the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, the difference between animal and plant cells as well as the parts of each cell. We also started making our cell movies. Students will present their cell project on Friday September 25 in class. This will be our Cell – a- bration day. Students are asked to bring in food that reminds them of a cell organelle.  Students will be required to explain how their food represents a part of the cell. This food is to be shared with their classmates. Food is optional and is not in any way linked to a grade. This is just a time to celebrate our accomplishments this year.

 I have attached a copy of the Cell Movie Rubric for your review.

 The week ahead

M = Osmosis

T =  Diffusion

W = Osmosis vs Diffusion

H = Active Transport/ Assign Study Guide * Test on Tuesday Sept 29.

F =Cell Movies

 Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Balkcom