Science Class Update
The Saratoga science classes have been working on wrapping up our first unit on Ecology. Students spent the past couple of weeks examining food webs and how various biotic and abiotic factors impacted the ecosystem. Students analyzed graphs and took part in simulations to see how invasive species changed other organisms around them. We will wrap up this week with our final activity in the unit studying trade-offs of decisions made by people when considering removing invasive species.
Assessment Schedule
Now that we are wrapping up our unit, we will start the review process for our final assessments. The first activity will be aimed at giving students a chance to work through and study the vocabulary specific to this unit. They will be creating a game or study guide that will allow them to make sure they understand all the terms. We will continue with another review activity on general content and information students should know at this point. During our assessment process, students will complete three different assessments that will allow them to show a variety of their skills. First, they will complete a model assessment where they will construct a model using information from this unit. Second, they will graph a set of data given to them using our TAILS strategy, which they will be learning more about in the coming weeks. Finally, they will complete a multiple choice content assessment. Below you will find the projected dates for those assessments, but this might change slightly in the coming weeks:
Tuesday, October 20th: Model Assessment
Thursday, October 22nd: Graphing Assessment
Tuesday, October 27th: Multiple Choice Assessment
Final Unit Project
Students will begin constructing their final unit project in the coming weeks. They have spent the past several weeks completing graphic organizers aimed at helping them complete the research side of the project. Ecology unit project parts 3-5 contain most of the research a student will need to complete the final project. Now they will be taking that research and apply it to their presentations. We look forward to finding out more about what our students have learned about their invasive species.
Google Classroom
Thank you to everyone for continuing to check with your student on their “To Do” and “Done” lists on Google Classroom. As we wrap up the unit, students who want to have any late work checked off need to submit that prior to our assessments. We will begin the process of removing Ecology unit materials once the assessments are complete, so our Google Classrooms focus only on the upcoming unit. Please note that we shifted from a 3 out of 3 model to a 2 out of 2 model to align with the rest of the school. However, the thinking still remains the same that students who score a 1 out of 2 need to make revisions based on comments left on the assignment.
The Saratoga science classes have been working on wrapping up our first unit on Ecology. Students spent the past couple of weeks examining food webs and how various biotic and abiotic factors impacted the ecosystem. Students analyzed graphs and took part in simulations to see how invasive species changed other organisms around them. We will wrap up this week with our final activity in the unit studying trade-offs of decisions made by people when considering removing invasive species.
Assessment Schedule
Now that we are wrapping up our unit, we will start the review process for our final assessments. The first activity will be aimed at giving students a chance to work through and study the vocabulary specific to this unit. They will be creating a game or study guide that will allow them to make sure they understand all the terms. We will continue with another review activity on general content and information students should know at this point. During our assessment process, students will complete three different assessments that will allow them to show a variety of their skills. First, they will complete a model assessment where they will construct a model using information from this unit. Second, they will graph a set of data given to them using our TAILS strategy, which they will be learning more about in the coming weeks. Finally, they will complete a multiple choice content assessment. Below you will find the projected dates for those assessments, but this might change slightly in the coming weeks:
Tuesday, October 20th: Model Assessment
Thursday, October 22nd: Graphing Assessment
Tuesday, October 27th: Multiple Choice Assessment
Final Unit Project
Students will begin constructing their final unit project in the coming weeks. They have spent the past several weeks completing graphic organizers aimed at helping them complete the research side of the project. Ecology unit project parts 3-5 contain most of the research a student will need to complete the final project. Now they will be taking that research and apply it to their presentations. We look forward to finding out more about what our students have learned about their invasive species.
Google Classroom
Thank you to everyone for continuing to check with your student on their “To Do” and “Done” lists on Google Classroom. As we wrap up the unit, students who want to have any late work checked off need to submit that prior to our assessments. We will begin the process of removing Ecology unit materials once the assessments are complete, so our Google Classrooms focus only on the upcoming unit. Please note that we shifted from a 3 out of 3 model to a 2 out of 2 model to align with the rest of the school. However, the thinking still remains the same that students who score a 1 out of 2 need to make revisions based on comments left on the assignment.