Quizlet Extra Credit

Just a reminder...I'm offering extra credit on the next quiz for the people who score the highest scores on the Quizlet flashcard set I made. What a great way to spend your day off :)

High Scores thus far are by L. Bradford & L. Kane & I. Swanson.

Quiz over this material will be Wednesday or Thursday (we'll discuss this tomorrow).

Enjoy your day off.

http://quizlet.com/3669302/dna-replication-protein-synthesis-flash-cards/

DNA Extra Credit

If you choose to do so, you may make a DNA model for extra credit. If your model meets all of the requirements listed in the rubric, then I'll eliminate your lowest quiz or lab score (not including the midterm exam, plant formal lab, or the Code Blue project. The final due date for the model is Jan. 14, 2011

DNA model rubric

Plant Formal Lab 1st Submission & Schedule for the week of 12-6-10

Hello everyone. Just a reminder that the plant formal lab's first submission is due this Wed, Feb 8, 2010 by 11:59pm. I would prefer a paper copy of your lab report this go round. If you upload yours to our learn.spartachools.org site, please send me an email so I know to look for it there.

It appears that my old website is down again, so here are the links that were available from it:
Basic format template
formal science requirements PowerPoint
grading rubric
background information required for introduction

Schedule for the week of December 6, 2010:
Mon. Dec. 6 - Intro DNA structure & DNA replication
Tue. Dec. 7 - Meiosis & comparing meiosis to mitosis & begin GATTACA
Wed. Dec. 8 - Intro protein synthesis & RNA & transcription
Thu. Dec. 9 - Review & translation (more protein synthesis)
Fri. Dec. 10 - DNA mutations & finish GATTACA

Have a good week

Quiz Friday December 3, 2010

Just a reminder that there will be a quiz on Friday over the cell cycle, cell cycle regulation, & cancer. Your review sheets (for a copy, click here) will be due on Friday as well. Following the quiz, you will have time to work on your plant formal labs (first submission due date is 12-8-10). Study :)

Creating a Chart in Excel 2007

Check out this tutorial that walks you through creating tables & charts in Excel 2007 & Google Docs.  If you have an older version of excel, click here for a tutorial on making a chart

Excel 2007 (installed on our computers here at SHS) - After creating the table and graph, you can copy & paste it into your lab writeup.


How to make a chart in Google Docs

Plant Formal Labs

Hey everybody. Now that we are done collecting data on our plant studies, its time to start working on how to setup our formal lab reports. Each of your groups is now expected to write a formal lab report that would be typical of an introductory biology student in college. You have until December 8, 2010 to submit the first copy of your report and I will then give you until January 7, 2011 to submit your final copy. You may make unlimited corrections to your report during the month until you reach a perfect score. Whatever your score is on Jan. 7, 2011 is what your final score will become.

Check out the following link for resources that might be helpful for this report: http://staffpage.spartaschools.org/staff/matt.landry/landrynotes.htmLook at links 2-5. Also, for the written writeup explanation given in class, click here

You will be submitting one report per group and it is up to you and your partner to determine how to break up the report. I do have some examples that you may look at in class only. If you have any questions, please send them my way. Thanks.

I need your help

Hey everybody. For a class I am currently taking, I had to setup a quiz on copyrighting and have a group of people take the quiz. If you could find the time to take this short quiz, I would certainly appreciate it. Thanks.

Grades are finally in

Code Blue grades are finished and in Powerschool. To see your individual grading rubric, login at http://learn.spartaschools.org/ and it is in your individual folder. Remember: put @sparta.lan at the end of your username when logging in from home.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

Code Blue Grades - sorry

Hey everyone. Just wanted to let you know that I need two more days to complete the code blue grades. My internet was down from 12:00pm until 5:00pm today so I haven't been able to grade any projects today. I apologize for this and will have them done by Friday at the very latest.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and look out for that pesky tryptophan (this will make more sense in our next unit when we talk about amino acids and proteins)

Assignment 11-23-10

Here's the tasks for today:

1. Visit http://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/ and login to the online textbook. You will then work through sections 9.1-9.4 (do section 9.4 before section 9.3). Complete the handout given to you in class. If you were absent, here's the document

2. Download the following document on cell division. Next, follow the directions, complete the tasks on your document, save it, and then upload it to your sharepoint folder at http://learn.spartaschools.org/

3. If you get done, please check out the following site and complete the tasks:
http://nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/2001/cellcycle.html

Good luck and have a Happy Thanksgiving

MIdterm Tomorrow - 11-18-10

Midterm exam is tomorrow. I've put together a vocabulary term list for the exam - click here to get the vocabulary list

I've also attached the answer key to the exam review so students can check their work.

Finally, students have access to our textbook from home. Visit http://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/
Username = last name (or if your last name is less than six letters, add letters from your first name until you have six letters)
Password=sparta123

Study! Study! Study! 

Study Buddies

Each student now has a study buddy that he or she may fill one side of with limitless information that may be used on the exam. Study buddies were handed out today in class and each student is given only one. If a study buddy is lost, it cannot be replaced. Additionally, no photocopies of study buddies will be allowed. You may, however, type up the information and then use the study buddy as your printer paper.

If you have any questions please send them my way. We will be going over the most important pieces of the review sheet tomorrow in class.

Week of November 15, 2010

Here's the plan for this week:
Monday - Osmosis Jones
Tuesday - Osmosis Jones / exam review worktime
Wednesday - Begin cell division / structured exam review
Thursday - Midterm Exam
Friday - Midterm results / more cell division

I'll start uploading more assignments to the blog starting next posting.

Midterm exam

It's official: Midterm exam will be Thursday, November 18. Please be advised that this exam is worth 7.5% of your overall grade, so STUDY! We will take time on Tuesday and Wednesday (half the block) to review and prepare. Click here to access midterm review sheet.

Schedule for the week of November 8, 2010

Due Dates for Code Blue:

• Multimedia piece due by 11:59 pm 11-10-10 to learn.spartaschool.org
• Poster due at class time on 11-12-10

Midterm Exam is 11-17-10 or 11-18-10

Here's the schedule for the week:
Monday & Tuesday - Code Blue Worktime
Wednesday - Discuss project / endocrine system / homeostasis
Thursday - Midterm Exam review / poster worktime
Friday - wrap up body systems unit / midterm exam review time.

Learn.spartaschools.org

Hey everybody. I'd like to add one more thing to the saving your files. Please add a folder in your classes dropbox. Your folder should be titled with your name and this is where you should save your files. To make a folder, click New and then click New Folder. Now you can save your files in here. Feel free to use this dropbox for other school projects if you wish. Have a good weekend.

Videos explaining code blue project

If the below videos do NOT work, then go to learn.spartaschools.org and login. The videos are stored in the biology dropbox in a folder called code blue videos. For instructions on how to login to learn.spartaschools.org, please click here (stop at step 6)

Overview Video - Code Blue Part One Video


Groups & System Assignment Info - Code Blue Part Two Video


Multimedia Presentation Piece - Code Blue Part Three Video


Poster, Plagarism, & Grading - Code Blue Part Four Video

Welcome to my class blog

Finally, its ready to go. Check back often for links to assingments, daily and weekly agendas, links, videos, etc. that relate to our biology class.