Investigations in Science 7 – January 4, 2019

Announcements:

 We will be doing dissections in the near future and we go through a large

quantity of hand soap. Any donations of liquid hand soap are appreciated. I
also appreciate the large refill bottles.
 Throughout the systems of the body unit, we will have frequent mini quizzes
as the main form of assessment outside of labs. Mini quizzes are meant to
be a quick check for understanding. They are not meant to be challenging if
the student had been completing their work and engaged in the class. They
are very low in points, take about 5 minutes of class time and are NOT
retakeable unlike the other assessments we have had this year. I encourage
the students to look over their work briefly each night so that they are
prepared for the mini quizzes. The format will be either selected response,
fill in the black, labeling, or a combination. There will not be any short
answer.

Coming Up:

 Muscular System
 Chicken Wing Dissection
 Nervous System

Dates:

 January 10 - Outdoor Ed Parent Meeting 6:00-7:00

 January 10 – 6th Grade Articulation Night 7:00-8:30
 January 21 - No School
 January 24 - Winter Social
 January 25 – Early Dismissal
 January 25 - End of Quarter 2
 January 28 - No School
 January 29 – Marking Period 3 Begins
 January 30 - Town Hall Meetings
What we did this week:
We began the short week looking at the skeletal and muscular system. We
looked at the different functions of the skeletal system as well as looked at
different parts of the bone. We took our first mini quiz of the year. A
description of mini quizzes can be found in the announcement section.
Then they used different resources to be able to explain the differences
between the 3 different types of muscles: skeletal, smooth, and cardiac. We have
the skeletal muscles which move our body. We also have smooth muscles that
preform our involuntary actions. Last, we have our cardiac muscle which makes up
our heart to keep blood flowing.
Today we will be doing a few stretches to brainstorm what muscles they
thought we were using to see what background knowledge we had. We also looked
at the difference between voluntary and involuntary muscles. Voluntary are ones
we can control (skeletal muscles) and involuntary are ones we can’t control (smooth
and cardiac muscles).

Have a great weekend!