Day 2

Mr. Girardi and I cleaned up yesterday's topic, which was the proper way to summarize the science news articles.  We showed how and where to correctly define their two challenging vocab words.  I showed students how to access this blog, and stressed that if they are ever absent to check out this blog to see what work they would have missed while out.  Students sharpened their observation skills by identifying the differences between two similar-looking photographs at http://www.spotthedifference.com/.  The intent here was to emphasize how important paying attention to even the smallest details is when dealing with scientific discoveries and investigations.  Students then differentiated between a theory and a law by looking up both definitions at http://www.dictionary.com/.  Students were then asked to write about the difference between them at a discussion forum on my moodle site, under today's date.

No homework was assigned, though their first news article is due on Tuesday, September 6th, and their first quiz, on Metric Conversions, will be on Friday, September 9th.

Day 1

Today was the first day of school, and Mr. Girardi was in for me as I recover from radiation treatment relating to thyroid cancer.  I was able to phone in and connect with the class during periods 2 & 3 while Mr. Girardi facilitated.  He taught periods 5, 6 & 7, the afternoon classes, on his own.  Students were shown how to access my Moodle site from the main high school webpage.  We discussed the importance of the weekly science news article assignment to their grades.  I showed them where to locate these articles at a website called http://www.sciencedaily.com/.  I also showed them the proper way to write their summaries, along with the locations of the summary templates both online and in the classroom.  Each student read a practice article on the dangers of high fructose corn syrup in soda.  We were able to complete the What, where and why sections of the article, but we'll have to wait until tomorrow to complete the vocab section.

No homework was assigned (though their internet and emergency plan forms are both due on Wednesday, September 7th), and the Metric conversion quiz will be Friday, September 9th.