Interesting News about an Aztec Pyramid

Reuter's is reporting that archaeologists have discovered ruins of an ancient Aztec pyramid that may prove that the civilization is at least 100 years older than anyone has previously thought.

Read the whole article here

Capture / Recapture Modelling -- Math Class

Wildlife biologists use a method called capture / recapture to estimate populations of animals in the wild. For example, if a biologist wants to know how many deer are in a particular forest, or how many trout occupy a certain pond, it is impossible to capture and count all of them. Capture / recapture is a method which involves capturing a certain number of animals, tagging (or marking) them in some fashion, releasing them back into the larger population -- and then taking repeated periodic samples from the population to count how many of the tagged animals are recaptured in the sample groups. Mathematical proportions can then be used to calculate the estimated number of animals in the larger population.

That's exactly what we did in class -- we introduced a "tagged" sample of multi-colored goldfish crackers into a "pond" of the more common goldfish crackers. Then we recaptured samples from the ponds and counted how many tagged fish there were in each sample. We used those samples to calculate estimated numbers of fish in our ponds... It worked pretty well (except in a few cases where some of our samplers ATE the fish!!!). EEEEEKKKKK!

December Assignment -- Archive

December 3, 2007Math 64 -- 11-3 worksheetDecember 4, 2007No homework -- be sure that you and your group are ready for your science "lesson" beginning on Thursday.December 5, 2007Math 64 -- p. 442, problems 3-10December 6, 2007Math 63 -- 11-3 worksheetDecember 6, 2007Math 64 -- p. 446, problems 6-10December 10, 2007P. 446, problems 3, 4, 6-10December 11,2007Study for Science Test -- FridayStudy for Social Studies Test -- ThursdayMath 64 -- finish your write-up on the Battleship activityDecember 12,2007Study for Science Test -- FridayStudy for Social Studies Test -- ThursdayMath 64 -- finish your write-up on the Battleship activityDecember 13, 2007Study for the science testDecember 14, 2007Math 64 -- practice test. Be ready to revies on Monday. Test will be Tuesday.Math 63 -- write up the Battleship game activity. Remember to write a short paragraph about how playing Battleship helps you understand or learn about the relationship between probability and area.

Studying Ancient Greece

Sixth graders have begun studying the culture of Ancient Greece. In the classroom, they are moving from "station to station" creating maps of the important locations, making "trading cards" based on Greek gods and goddesses, doing some textbook research to learn about Greek culture, government, art, philosophy, etc., and even making traditional Greek Komboloi (prayer beads).

Giving to Others

We have three different projects going on right now that students can participate in as we think of ways to share our gifts during this season of preparation for the birth of the Christ Child in our midst.

The Nativity Student Council continues to collect canned goods to help those in need through the holidays. Each of the 6th grade classrooms would, ideally, contribute a minimum of 100 items toward the schoolwide goal for this project. I'm not sure how many cans have been collected by Room 205, but I know that my homeroom has a total or 18 cans so far -- we have a ways to go!

The 6th Grade Girl Scouts are working to collect toys for the kids at Children's Hospital. The items that they gather will be donated to help brighten the lives of children undergoing treatment for cancer. Students received a detailed list of needed/wanted items, and the collection will end next Tuesday, December 18th. Whatever you can add to this effort can be placed in the decorated boxes in the 6th grade classrooms.

Lastly, the 8th graders are sponsoring a drive to help Lighthouse Youth Services (a comprehensive youth and family services organization, providing programs including emergency shelter, residential treatment, foster care, etc.). Eighth graders are collecting toiletries, towels, t-shirts, socks, watches, etc. Their goal is one donation per Nativity student. Donations can be dropped off in the Nativity Cafe' anytime before December 20.

Won't you think about what you can give?

African Stories

As students have studied ancient African culture and history, one of the aspects that they learned about was the tradition of the Griot, or storyteller. Small groups of students worked together to dramatize some traditional African tales for their classmates. We found that stories often teach a lesson...

Probability and Area

As we continue to study probability, we've moved into looking at how probability relates to area... how can we make predictions about where an object might fall, land, hit, etc., based on the area of the target? Students began this particular exploration by dropping barley onto a target grid... We will transfer what we are discovering about all of this to questions of how likely it is that we might be in the section where those prize T-shirts land at Great American Ball Park, or what are the probabilities of scoring on your opponent when playing a game like "Battleship."

Worms!

We are studying worms, echinoderms, insects, mollusks, arthropods, sponges and echinoderms in science. Students are working in teams to prepare and present lessons on various topics as we work through this matierial. Here we are -- learning about WORMS!

November Assignments -- Archive

November 30, 2007Math 63 -- Survey Activity WorksheetNovember 29, 2007Math 64 -- Survey Activity WorksheetSouth America Map test is tomorrow.Social Studies -- Ancient America/Ancient Africa research papers are due tomorrow.November 28, 2007Math 63--p. 435, problems 3-17 (odd)November 27, 2007Science -- complete the guided notes for Chapter 10, sections 1 & 2Social Studies -- complete the guided notes for Chapter 7: West AfricaNovember 26, 2007Math 64 -- p. 435, problems 3-17 (odd).If you have not brought in permission slips for Symphony Hall and Playhouse in the Park (A Christmas Carol), please do that.Don't forget that the South America Test is Friday.Ancient America/Ancient Africa Research projects are due on Friday.November 16, 2007Math 63-- Finish "A Ratty Problem" if you did not get it done in class.Health -- discuss your immunization history with a parent. Be prepared to discuss it in class on Monday.November 15, 2007Social Studies -- Read pages 164-168, answer questions 2 and 3Health -- Read pages 182-185, answer questions 1, 2, and 4November 14, 2007Social Studies -- Read pages 158-163, answer questions 2 and 5**Social Studies Test -- Chapter 6 will be Monday, November 19. Study guide will be ready for you on Friday.Science -- Follow up worksheet on the Burnett Woods Field Trip**Health -- those of you who are interested in the extra credit for the MRSA project in health class, should be watching for articles in the news on this topic.November 13, 2007Permission slips for Music Hall are due on Friday.Written assignment about appropriate behavior for field trips (including on the bus) is due tomorrow.November 12, 2007Our field trip to Trailside is tomorrow. Dress to spend the day outdoors.Replacement assignment for the Island Nations test is due on November 26.The research project for Mesoamerica and/or Ancient Africa is due November 30.November 9, 2007No homework. Have a great weekend.November 8, 2007Math 63-- Cat and Mouse Game questions: 1) Is the game fair? 2) Why or why not? Explain. 3) How could we change this?Social Studies (61 only) -- P. 157, questions 2 & 3***Social Studies Research Project -- Due Nov. 30: Ancient Americas/Ancient Africa Report (see my Webquest Page for details). Students have hard copy assignment and grading rubric.November 7, 2007Math 63-- p. 430, problems 4-20Math 64 -- Cat and Mouse Game questions: 1) Is the game fair? 2) Why or why not? Explain. 3) How could we change this?Social Studies (62 only) -- P. 157, questions 2 & 3November 6, 2007Math 63-- Write about real life situations which fall into the "probability" categories of impossible/even odds/certain (based on our wiffle ball toss activity).Math 64 -- p. 430, problems 4-20November 5, 2007Math 64 -- Write about real life situations which fall into the "probability" categories of impossible/even odds/certain (based on our wiffle ball toss activity).November 2, 2007Math 63-Attribute blocks reflection paper.November 1, 2007Math 64-Attribute blocks reflection paper.