The Bone Collectors

Biology students have been studying ecology, particularly how energy flows through an ecosystem.   Students used ecological pyramids to look at the different interactions between organisms.



The highlight of learning about food webs was the dissection of owl pellets, or as Mrs. Novak likes to say, "barf balls".  The students worked hard on separating fur from the bones of small rodents that a barn owl had preyed upon.

Here is an example of bones one group found in an owl pellet.  Finding skulls was the best!





After collecting the bones in the owl pellet, students could identify the type of rodent the owl most likely ate, use additional background information to produce a model of a food web, and calculate the pyramid of biomass and numbers.

Genius Hour with #tealsteachers

In LC 9A, we strive to give students a wide range range of learning activities every day.  As one method of achieving this goal, I save 1 out of every 5 class periods for Genius Hour. A movement inspired by Google's 20% time and Daniel Pink's best-selling book Drive, Genius Hour gives students the chance to explore their passions and allows them choice in what and how they learn. To prepare for Genius Hour, students first read about the brain and curiosity in “Curiosity: It Helps Us Learn, But Why?” on nprEd.  

Taylor W is reading Into the Wild to learn
about Christopher McCandless

And then, students began exploring. They asked questions, searched for answers, collaborated, and problem-solved!

Madison P is researching J.K. Rowling

3 Genius Hour periods later, students have now put together brief Google Slides presentations to share their 1st quarter learning with their classmates. Jenna M decided to learn about Madam C.J. Walker, the first female self-made millionaire, while Ethan S read up on Jimi Hendrix. Finding their curiosity piqued by other interests, Forest Z challenged himself with chess, and Jonathan M dove into black holes. 

Carlo B reflects on his resources

No matter the topic, students learned about searching Google, vetting online sources, connecting with experts, setting goals, managing their time, using Google Slides, reflecting on their learning, and more!

Zain K reflects on his learning

As we look forward to 2nd quarter, students will again have the opportunity to follow their passions. 

Ask your student to show you his or her Genius Hour presentation.... and don't be surprised if you learn something new! 

Showing Our Stories

As Hour Seven Writ Lit students transition from the personal narrative to the short story unit, we took time out to display our narrative cups.  In the commons area, we found spots to display our visual symbols of self.  

The thoughtful and quiet energy that we put into the design of these cups met with high energy talk as we chose our display spots.  We reflected upon how the visual symbols on the cups are like the written symbols that authors create to show their own stories and to create imagery that depicts unique characters, settings and plots.  Our talk turned to the "creepy" factor that Edgar Allen Poe weaves into his famous, "Tell Tale Heart" and the mysterious and sad feeling that Anita Desai gives to her protagonist in, "Games at Twilight".  We are making connections between how writers employ language in non-fiction and fiction genres.  Along the way, our quiet focus and engaging conversation helps us develop our own diction.  

Making a Statement Using Editorial Cartoons

In our World History class, we spend a part of each Monday / Tuesday discussing current events from around the World.  We have talked about the Syrian conflict, the migrant crisis in Europe, the Republican and Democratic Presidential nomination races, the undocumented immigrants controversy, and many more topics.  During these discussions, the students have indicated that Twitter is their primary means for obtaining news.  This led to a discussion of the role that social media has played in spreading news quickly and the major impact it had on the Arab Spring.

However, I have urged my students to take their news awareness to the next level by using a variety of sources.  For instance, those with a smart phone were asked to download at least one local news app, two national news apps, and one news source from outside the U.S.  We talked about the value in having a multitude of news sources to corroborate information and to get multiple perspectives.

Riyya D.'s Cartoon

Last week, the students were asked to work in groups to read a variety of articles and choose the best one to create an editorial cartoon for a New York Times contest.  By working in groups, the students were able to come up with some very witty ways to make a statement concerning a political and or current event.  Each student was then asked to finish the idea their group came up with and to make it their own.

Anisha N.'s Cartoon

Shaizab M.'s Cartoon

Setting up a great year in World History...

Sophia W.'s Prezi Creation

Each year, World History begins by letting students investigate their identities through the lens of Geography and Culture.  Through discussions with family members and some personal reflection, they begin to develop a sense of not only where they came from but also who they are, what they value, and where they see themselves going.

They were able to choose what method they wanted to use in order to share this information with the class.  Some students chose Prezis, others Power Point, while many stuck to the tried and true poster!

Kyle H.'s Closing Slide

I've always found this project to be important in setting up a great year in World History due to its ability to highlight the diversity of beliefs and life-ways found in our classroom.  As we begin exploring various events both throughout History and in the World today, it is important for the students to be aware that a great variety of beliefs and opinions exist in our room and that each needs to be respected and acknowledged in this academic setting.  

Experimental Design in Biology

As a final assignment in our first unit in biology, students designed their own experiment to determine how hand washing affects the growth of bacteria.  

The students worked within their lab groups to choose a variable such as time of hand washing, type of soap, antibacterial versus regular soap, or method of drying hands. 

After conducting the procedure, they pressed a fingerprint into agar in a petri dish and over several days allowed the bacteria to incubate.  In some cases the students were surprised by the results and the amount of bacteria colonies that grew over four days.   They finished the assignment by writing a lab report that included a reflection on the errors encountered and how their experimental design could be improved in the future.

Exploring Narratives with Mrs. Teal's Writ Lit I

Students have been digging into personal narratives as expressions of personal and cultural identity. These, like the World History projects, allow students to see the diverse stories of the people in our world and in our classroom.

Last week began with students engaging in a visible thinking routine, in which they annotated Amy Tan's narrative "Fish Cheeks." Students searched for Tan's techniques for sharing her story, including tone, imagery, conflict, and more.


By putting their discoveries together, the students found a rich collection of annotations for this brief text. Students then practiced writing about Tan's techniques and the themes in her piece. As we moved into this week, students read several more narratives (all voiced by members of our community of readers!) to consider the many ways in which published authors tell their stories so that students can work towards writing their own personal narratives later this month!   

We've also been using Twitter to connect to resources around the world. @AmyTan favorited our tweet about studying her narrative! Let's hope for more connections with her and other authors as the year continues...

Telling and SHOWING Our Stories in Mrs. G's Writ Lit I

As we embark on our journey, seventh hour Writ Lit has been reading and critiquing personal narratives.  While some of these narratives are by professional writers (Gary Soto, "The Jacket" or Amy Tan, "Fish Cheeks"), others are by teens.  Many of us enjoyed sharing our reaction to "How to Upgrade Your Nickname," a personal narrative by Ben Hur, published in the teen digital periodical, Merlyn's Pen *.

Reading and critiquing personal narratives allows us to broaden our strategies for annotating non-fiction texts as well as discovering the link between annotating personal creative narratives and fiction short stories.

As we concluded our reading of prose personal narratives, we watched some digital personal narratives to get inspired.  Together, we discussed the possibility of embedding photos or music into our narratives

As well, we spent part of a recent class creating visual representations of elements of us.  While we designed and brought our images to life, we refrained from chatting.  Amazingly, it was as if the quiet inspired the art.  This art, along with short written "mini narratives," will be displayed in the commons area. 

* Upon completion of our own personal narratives, we may submit our writings to Merlyn's Pen for possible publication!  www.merlynspen.org.

2015-16 Algebra 1 and Geometry Off to Fantastic Starts in LC9A at BHHS!!

Congratulations to the Algebra 1 students!
Algebra 1 students have successfully completed our first unit that included solving various multi-step equations and applying those in problem solving situations  We have enjoyed collaborating in our new open spaces and have discovered that when we can explain the math to someone else... we really  know it!! .And... we loved justifying our solving process as a poster project.  We are beginning to explore linear functions which relate very well to many real world situations!  Looking forward to continued success!

Geometry Too!
Geometry students have had great success in discovering the language of geometry. Students have recognized and used the new terminology and notations used in geometry.  We have been surprised by all the algebra that is used in geometry on an almost daily basis... even factoring, which we had to review a little, but it came back fast!

Geometry also participated in the interdisciplinary culture project by exploring symmetry in their culture.  Mr. Drogosch also truly enjoyed learning more about different cultures as he read the projects!