MONDAY REMINDER: JAN. 26th

Students should, at this point, have about completed a booklet on 'Mendelian Genetics' to assist them on Thursday's test. Tomorrow (Tuesday, January 26th) they will receive a Study Guide that they will use along with their booklet and their notes to prepare for their test. A study session using these materials will take place on Wednesday, January 28th, between 4:15 and 6:00.

Mr. Hatfield will be in his room at lunch on Tuesday to help students with Labs.

Mr. Hatfield will be holding DETENTION in his room at lunch on Wednesday to motivate students who aren't completing their work (gulp).

Their test is on the following day (Thursday the 29th). Students who need additional time to complete the exam may also come at lunch or after school on that date up until 4:00. All work for the present unit is due by the end of the day on Wednesday.

The extra-credit ‘RA’ assignments should be printed out and handed in during class before this week is over.

POWER POINT WITH CHAPTER 11 NOTES, OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Here's the link that will take you to the Power Point containing the notes I've given in class on Mendel's experiments, probability and meiosis. The Lecture Guide (available here as a PDF file) is based upon these notes and it is due at the end of Monday's class, Jan. 26th. This will be graded and returned to you immediately so you can use it to help prepare for Thursday's test.

Also due on Monday: LAB 16 ("Toothpick Chromosomes"). You should have the data and questions answered on the handout and a sheet of paper attached to it that contains Punnett squares for each of the five crosses modeled in the lab.

Also, if you were not in class on Friday, Jan. 23rd, I collected a handout called "Practicing Punnett Squares". This assignment is not listed in the Syllabus, but was added because so many students needed more practice with this skill. Because we are 'slowing down' the pace of instruction to give you more rehearsal time, we will not do LAB 18 ("The Geography of the Chromosome") in this unit.

The three RA (Required Assignments), which are questions from the textbook in Chapters 11 and 14, are still be accepted for full credit. The answers should be typed up and submitted to the homework bin in class.

You will receive a Study Guide for your Unit Test on Monday. We will give you class time on both Monday and Wednesday to complete class work, including our Mendelian Genetics Booklet, which is due the day of the exam (Thursday). Completing the booklet is important, because it helps you prepare for the exam on Thursday.

Finally, there is a Study Session after school between 4:15 and 6:00 on Wednesday, January 28th. Students who attend this and participate authentically can earn extra-credit as well as get valuable feedback about what's likely to be on the test.

UPCOMING ASSIGNMENTS

Dear Parents and Students:

I hope you enjoyed your three-day weekend, as well as today's historic presidential inauguration.

Just a few notes as to upcoming assignments in Biology:

Lab 15 ("Genotypes, Phenotypes and Probability") is due, with all questions answered, at the beginning of tomorrow's class (Wednesday, Jan. 21st).

Lab 16 ("Toothpick Chromosomes") is due, with all questions answered, at the beginning of class on Friday, Jan. 23rd.

Students have also begun a 70-point Project called "Mendelian Genetics: A Study Booklet". We had students start assembling the booklet in class today. Ask your student to show you their booklet and the purple handout that describes how they will complete it. You can download it here.

Lecture Guide 10 and the Power Point containing all of our notes to this point will be added to the blog later this week!

Thanks for supporting your student!

Scott Hatfield

THIS SPRING SEMESTER: WHAT NOW?

So, if you passed the fall semester with an 'A' in the course, good for you! You seem to understand what is needed, which includes doing the RA homework assignments and being able to use 'Turnitin.com' outside of class. You are probably a halfway-decent test taker, but you've also got a work ethic.

On the other hand, if you passed with a grade less than 'A', you probably need to ask yourself where you can most likely improve your performance. The test? Well, most students find them pretty challenging. In-class work? Most students complete this. Work assigned outside of class (such as Lecture Guides, Lab Questions, Rubric Exercises and homework)? This last is the one most students struggle with. In other words, you can probably stand to improve your work ethic.

Suppose you didn't pass the fall semester? Well, that's too bad, but it's not a death sentence. You wouldn't be in a high school biology course if you didn't have the ability to improve your performance over time. For almost all of you, improvement depends on having a better work ethic and completing the work assigned outside of class.

You will probably begin the semester in Study Hall to help motivate you to get off to a good start. We will be exploring whether or not you have an active account with 'Turnitin.com' , which is in your course contract. We will also try to figure out whether or not you are completing most of the work in the course, and if not...why? As your instructor, I hope you will take the hint.