Biology Knights

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: ABIOTIC CYCLES

2012-01-26T10:39:00.000-08:00

Here is the Power Point for 'Abiotic Cycles'.

ABIOTIC CYCLES

MULHOLLAND'S DREAM

2012-01-26T10:20:00.000-08:00

Environmental Science students are studying the impacts of water delivery systems on the environment and human civilization. They have received a worksheet that contains questions based upon a video, shown on class, called "Mulholland's Dream", which is based, in part, on a famous book by late environmentalist Marc Reisner, called "Cadillac Desert".

For students who were not in class when the video was shown, or who wish to see the entire (unedited) program again, I have provided the following links:

In addition to completing the worksheet, Environmental Science students must research and answer the following questions:

1. What is the estimated current population of Los Angeles County? Make sure you tell me the source of your estimate!

2. Water has many uses, but let’s just focus on drinking water. Find a source that estimates the amount of water in liters needed by a single human being, each day. Tell me the source, and provide the estimate.

3. Using your research from questions 1 and 2, estimate the total amount of drinking water in liters required annually by the population of Los Angeles County. SHOW YOUR WORK!

4. Based on your answer to question 3, do you think that Los Angeles County will have to find new sources of water in the future? Give a reason to support your claim.

5. Los Angeles relies on aqueducts and canals to obtain most of its water. What are the sources of water here in Fresno County?

POWER POINT: PROBABILITY!

2012-01-25T11:01:00.000-08:00

Here is the (brief) Power Point discussing, and giving examples of some basic principles of probability. This is, of course, math....but an essential tool, also, for doing science.

PLEASE NOTE: BOTH MY BIOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE CLASSES SHOULD HAVE THESE NOTES!!

BIOLOGY: THE SPRING SEMESTER BEGINS

2012-01-16T18:44:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to all of my students from last semester, and an additional greeting to those of you who are joining my classes for the first time!

It is my custom in Biology to provide a syllabus for each unit. Students should receive a copy of the syllabus in class which is three-hole punched to keep in their binders, and a bitmap image will be posted of the syllabus at about the same time. Here's what you can expect in this unit:

BIOLOGY FINALS WEEK: PROJECT, STUDY SESSION, EXAM SCHEDULES, NOTES

2011-12-14T12:14:00.000-08:00

Parents and Students:

Monday (Dec. 12th) began the final week of instruction for the Fall Semester. This is a post to give everybody one last 'heads-up' about Finals week in Biology!

First of all, 'A Twist of Fate', an important 100-point project, is due on Friday (12/16), and no late work of any kind will be accepted after Monday (12/19)

This assignment is based on a reading describing the scientific detective story that led to the discovery of DNA's structure. The reading is adapted from an article by Michael Lemonick that appeared in the Feb. 17, 2003 issue of Time. That article can be read in its entirety on-line here.

Students are expected to define terms underlined in the article, and to answer four discussion questions according to the usual guidelines: complete sentences that refer to the original question and provide supporting evidence for the student's opinion.

Secondly, students will receive a Study Guide for their 200-point Semester Final on Friday (12/16)

Students should be reviewing it and using it to identify any weaknesses, as well as working to submit any other outstanding work in the course by the end of instruction (Monday, 12/19).

Next, there will be a Study Session after-school on MONDAY (12/19).

This Study Session will take place in my classroom (N-63). It will begin at 3:15 and end at 5:30 that evening. Students who attend will not only receive valuable feedback as to what to expect on the test, but will also receive up to 40 points of extra-credit.

And, finally...Finals! Our scheduled Finals are on (12/20) Tuesday for 4th period, (12/21) Wednesday afternoon for 5th and 6th period.

There is no significant makeup period, as the above schedule shows. Students need to attend their final exam period if they want significant time for their Final. Those who fail to attend without having their parent or guardian reach a prior understanding with Mr. Hatfield will be given an 'incomplete' in the course.

Finally, the Power Point with notes on DNA and Protein Synthesis is available on-line here:

The Power Point notes are available for download here.

A PDF of the Lecture Guide based on the Power Point notes is available here.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: FINAL NOTES

2011-12-13T13:04:00.000-08:00

You can access the Final Power Point by clicking on the image below:

BIOLOGY: FINAL SYLLABUS, FALL 2011

2011-12-06T10:38:00.000-08:00

Parents, Students:

Please note the critical dates for the Project ("A Twist of Fate"), the 40-point extra credit Study Session on Monday, Dec. 19th, and the sizeable point total of the Semester Final that students will take on either Tuesday or Wednesday of that same week.

BIOLOGY: POWER POINTS FROM NOVEMBER

2011-12-03T09:49:00.000-08:00

In November, our Biology classes covered material on how cells obtain, store and release energy. During that time, there were several groups of notes of various sizes for students to access.

First, this Power Point (previously given) contains an outline of photosynthesis, relating it to the 'Great Circle' of chemical reactions that all living things participate it (autotrophs and heterotrophs!), reactions which recycle the raw materials that life requires. Much of this material is covered in the first two sections of Chapter 8 in the Dragonfly Book.

The Power Point for Photosynthesis, Part I, is available here.

Photosynthesis, Part II provides much more detail about the light reactions, photosystems, the proton pumps that use the enzyme ATP synthase, the electron transport chains that help power those pumps. There is less detail about the 'dark reactions' of the Calvin cycle and other material which is not explicitly part of the state standards. This is covered in Section 8.3 of the Dragonfly Book.

The fourth and final Power Point in this unit contains information about cellular respiration, including glycolysis (which takes place in the cytoplasm) and the Krebs Cycle (which takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria). The electrons produced in the Krebs Cycle move through the inner membrane, or cristae, of the mitochondria. The motion of these negatively-charged particles attracts protons (H+), and eventually a high concentration of protons within the membrane is available to drive 'proton pumps' that power an enzyme, ATP synthase, leading to the production of more ATP:

You can download the Power Point for Cellular Respiration here.

HOUSEKEEPING:

SATURDAY SCHOOL was held on Dec. 3rd, in Room N-63, between 8:45 and 11:30. Students who attended received a packet of illustrations to color and label based on materials from chapters 7-9 (cell membrane, transport, animal and plant cells, photosynthesis) as well as a diagram on DNA.

Students also received (in advance) the Final Project for the fall semester, a handout called "A Twist of Fate" based on an article that appeared in TIME magazine to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the discovery of DNA's structure. The original article can be viewed on-line here; the text has been modified to emphasize vocabulary development and will challenge students to analyze a test case of science as actually practiced by real men and women.

NEW SYLLABUS: CELLULAR PROCESSES, PART 1

2011-11-28T11:20:00.000-08:00

The image below details assignments from November and till the end of this week.

Please note that it also has information about Saturday School, Dec. 3rd, between 8:30 and 11:45, in our room, N-63 on the Bullard campus. Students who attend will earn opportunities to raise their course grade.

There will be no Unit Test in November. We will finish this Unit, and launch immediately into "Cellular Processes, Part 2".

Please also note that there will be a Study Session for the Biology Semester Final, held on Monday afternoon, Dec. 19th. Students should plan ahead in order to attend, as space will be limited.

BIOLOGY POWER POINT #11: PHOTOSYNTHESIS, PART 1

2011-11-18T10:37:00.000-08:00

This Power Point contains an outline of photosynthesis, relating it to the 'Great Circle' of chemical reactions that all living things participate it (autotrophs and heterotrophs!), reactions which recycle the raw materials that life requires. Much of this material is covered in the first two sections of Chapter 8 in the Dragonfly Book.

The Power Point for Photosynthesis, Part I, is available here.

A PDF file of the Lecture Guide based on that Power Point can be downloaded here.

The Lecture Guide based on these notes is due MONDAY, November 28th!

BIOLOGY ALERT!

2011-11-07T12:54:00.001-08:00

Failure levels in my three Biology sections are unusually high for this point of the year.

With that in mind, I have given students a 100-point project ("A Travel Brochure to the Cell"), in which they make a brochure, graded on a Rubric.

Students also have a major test on Wednesday, with a Study Session after school today, as per the syllabus previously given.

Students who are failing the course by more than ten percent, or who are failing but have failed to attempt the Project designed to help them raise their grade, will be assigned SATURDAY SCHOOL.

The first such Saturday School is THIS Saturday, Nov. 12th, between 8:00 and 11:45 in Room N-63.

BIOLOGY POWER POINT #10: THE CELL CYCLE

2011-11-07T12:53:00.001-08:00

The Power Point summarizing the Cell Cycle, based on the first two sections of Chapter 10, is available here:

BIOLOGY: ALERT!

2011-11-07T12:25:00.000-08:00

BIOLOGY POWER POINT #9: THE FLUID MOSAIC MODEL OF THE CELL MEMBRANE

2011-11-03T08:35:00.000-07:00

For students who still need to complete the previous Unit notes, please look at the previous post on 'Cells and Their Organelles" as well as this one. CLICK ON THE IMAGE IF YOU NEED THESE NOTES!

POWER POINT: THE FLUID MOSAIC MODEL OF THE CELL MEMBRANE

BIOLOGY SYLLABUS, UNIT 3

2011-10-28T06:15:00.000-07:00

This is the list of assessments in our present Unit, Unit 3. This Unit ends on Tuesday, Nov. 8th, with another Unit Test.

STUDENTS AND PARENTS: PLEASE NOTE!

All students have a major project (their Cell "Travel Brochure") due on Monday, October 31st. It is worth 100 points, and intended to help them raise their grades.

STUDENTS WHO ARE FAILING THE COURSE BY MORE THAN TEN PERCENT MAY BE ASSIGNED SATURDAY SCHOOL ON NOV. 12th

BIOLOGY POWER POINT #8: CELLS AND THEIR ORGANELLES

2011-10-24T11:55:00.001-07:00

Here's the link you need to download this Power Point, to use to complete your notes or the Lecture Guide based upon it.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE POWER POINT #6: "DARWIN'S DANGEROUS IDEA"

2011-10-20T10:38:00.001-07:00

Here's the Lecture Notes.

Here's a PDF file of the Lecture Guide based upon the notes.

The title, incidentally, is taken from the Daniel Dennett book which also inspired a two-hour episode of the NOVA 'Evolution' series.

BIOLOGY POWER POINT #7: "CARBON THE BASIS OF LIFE"

2011-10-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

SPACE

This Power Point is available to download here.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: "EXTINCTION!"

2011-10-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

EXTINCTION Tuesday and Wednesday's classes featured excerpts from 'Extinction!', which is Episode 3 from NOVA's 'Evolution' series (2001). The video begins with paleontologist Peter Ward hunting for Permian fossils in South Africa's Karoo Desert, and relates ecological pyramids (which are like a 'house of cards') to mass extinctions, which are believed to be rare but important events in the history of life. It then follows the work of American Museum of Natural History researcher Michael Novacek in building the fossil record of small, shrew-like mammals from the Mesozoic, representative of the lineage that will survive the next mass extinction (the K/T event), which will claim the dinosaurs.

It concludes with an examination of the role of human activity in accelerating the rate of extinction, with important attention to conservationists like Alan Rabinowitz.

Students have been given a worksheet based upon this video as homework, which is due on Monday. I encourage students to watch the video in its entirety for themselves if there are points that they don't get in class. We simply do not have enough class time to review this, but I know many students will want to see the whole story again, either by going to Google Video or watching it here:

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE POWER POINT #5: "DEEP TIME"

2011-10-10T05:47:00.000-07:00

The Power Point Lecture Notes on 'Deep Time' are available

The Power Point Lecture Notes on 'Deep Time' are available here.

A PDF of the Lecture Guide based upon those notes can be downloaded here.

The Power Point Lecture Notes on 'Deep Time' are available here.

BIOLOGY POWER POINT #6: THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE

2011-10-07T15:33:00.001-07:00

Here is the Power Point on 'The Chemistry of Life.' Students will receive a Lecture Guide based on this Power Point in Monday's class.

BIOLOGY POWER POINT #5: ACIDS AND BASES

2011-10-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

HEY!

Here is the link to the Power Point on acids, bases and the pH scale.

BIOLOGY SYLLABUS, UNIT 2

2011-09-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

This is the list of assessments in our present Unit, Unit 2. This Unit ends on Thursday, Oct. 13th, with another Unit Test.

STUDENTS AND PARENTS: PLEASE NOTE!

On the day of the exam, students should have their Cornell Notebooks with all their current notes completed.

"Completed", in this case, means that they have the following:

1) The page heading on every page, with the student's name, the course (Biology), and the date notes were taken;

2) 3-4 original Questions or Comments written in an extended margin, on every page;

3) Original summaries at the end of each section of notes. For this unit, there will be four sections of notes: Atoms and Molecules, Properties of Water, Carbon: The Basis of Life and The Chemistry of Life

Further, on the day of the exam, students should plan on using additional time, either during LUNCH or AFTER SCHOOL, or BOTH. Afternoon classes (5th and 6th) would be especially advised to begin their test early, during LUNCH

Finally, prior to the exam, there will be an AFTER-SCHOOL STUDY SESSION in Room N-63, based upon a Study Guide given the previous week. This will go from 3:15 - 5:30, on Oct. 13th. Students earn extra credit by participation, and are eligible for grade change if they attend and take advantage of the above strategies in terms of completing their Notes and using additional time, as needed, on Exam Day.

VIDEO: "THE LIVES OF THE STARS"

2011-09-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

COSMOS

The following episode of Carl Sagan's Cosmos, 'The Lives of the Stars', forms the basis of a student homework assignment. Click on the icon below to play the video within the blog:

You can also go to Hulu directly here.

SYLLABUS, UNIT 1

2011-09-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

This is a list of all assignments in the course other than in-class quizzes given between August 22nd and Sept. 18th. We are now in Unit 2, on Atoms and Molecules. The next unit syllabus will appear in a post later this week on the Course Guidelines page. This post also appears on the blog main page, but in the future, syllabus posts will only appear on the Course Guidelines page.

In the meantime, click on the image below for a higher-resolution view:

BIOLOGY POWER POINT #3: ATOMS AND MOLECULES

2011-09-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

. UPDATE: We are now in Unit #2. A new syllabus should be available both as a handout and on-line by the end of this week.

In the meantime, students, in case you haven't completed this item, for all my classes, here are the notes on 'Atoms and Molecules.'

****UPDATE****

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE POWER POINT #4: DIVERSITY AND CLASSIFICATION

2011-09-27T08:57:00.001-07:00

This is a post just for my Environmental Science students.

These notes were given to students on September 22nd-26th. The Power Point on "Diversity and Classification" can be uploaded here. The Lecture Guide based on the Power Point can be found as a PDF file here.

HOW TO "COPE" WITH YOUR NEXT TEST!

2011-09-19T10:15:00.001-07:00

Today is the day that mid-quarter progress reports will be generated off of ATLAS, and it is also the day that students will have their first tests returned to them. Results of that test were mixed, and often not what they could have been, due to poor student CHOICES.

Students who earn a percentage score higher than that earned on the first test can not only expect to earn a higher grade, but they are eligible for grade change on their previous test.

To achieve that, students need to consider the following, using the anagram 'COPE'.

C....(ontent)

Students need to know what's on the test. To make sure that students know what content will be covered on the exam, they need to obtain a copy of the Study Guide, which becomes available the weekend before the test. The sooner they get this, the better!

O....(rganization)

Students need to plan their time. For the next test, there will be a Study Session after school on the day before the exam (date to be announced later this week). They earn points by attending, and get valuable feedback about what is likely to be covered. In addition to attending the Study Session, students need to consider using time on lunch or after-school on the day of their exam as needed to complete their test. Plan ahead, students!

P...(reparation)

Students need to provide evidence that they have prepared for the test. One way to do this is to attend the Study Session before the next test (date to be announced later this week). Another, powerful way is to make sure that they bring their COMPLETED Cornell Notes to class on the day of the exam. Cornell Notes, if completed, have questions and comments in the margins and summaries of the major sections. Students who have these items completed will be allowed to use them throughout the exam. Bring evidence that you have prepared for the test, students, and you will be rewarded!

E...(ffort)

Students need to finish what they start. There is nothing more important than giving our best effort, all of the time. On an exam day, a good effort means that students attempt everything, even if that means they need to come back at lunch or after school. Show a work ethic, students, and you will not only do better on the test....you will do better in every aspect of your life.

PARENTS, ENCOURAGE YOUR STUDENT TO USE THESE STRATEGIES TO EXCEL!

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: POWER POINT #3

2011-09-19T10:00:00.001-07:00

This is a post just for my 1st and 2nd period Environmental Science students.

Click on the image above or this link to download the (brief) Power Point, which introduces some basic concepts in ecology and populations, and presents the cycle of activities above, in which the scientific community interacts with the public and governmental agencies.

POWER POINT NOTES: THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

2011-08-31T10:47:00.000-07:00

Students! Here is the Power Point for the notes on 'The Nature of Science'. You will receive a Lecture Guide based on these Notes sometime this week! If you don't have Power Point on your computer, don't worry . . . you can download a free program, Power Point Viewer, to see the notes!

KEEP IN MIND...this year, in Mr. Hatfield's Classes, we will try to reduce the amount of class time spent taking notes. There are dozens of standards to cover, hundreds of vocabulary terms and other items to master. We need to decrease the amount of time spent in lecture so students can have more time to do activities. Remember: we want to engage as many different parts of the brain as possible, and to do that, we need to have more time to do things other than notes.

At the same time, your Cornell Notes must be complete (all the notes, original questions and comments in the margins, your name/date/course on every page, and summaries of major sections of notes). Therefore, it is the student's responsibility to download and complete any notes that they were not able to finish in class!!

THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

VIDEO: "COSMIC VOYAGE"

2011-08-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

Biology students will be viewing a 36-minute IMAX video in class and completing a worksheet based on part of the video. The film, 'Cosmic Voyage', was made in 1996 for the Smithsonian Institute and was clearly inspired by a classic science education film called 'Powers of Ten', originally produced in 1977 by the husband-and-wife team of Rae and Charles Eames.

'Cosmic Voyage' approaches the idea of using the metric system, which is based on powers of ten, to explore the question: "What is really large, and really small?" The film first zooms out from an acrobat's ring in St. Mark's Square in Venice, the place where Galileo first trained his telescope on the heavens.

Through 23 powers of ten, we leave first the Earth, then our solar system, then the Milky Way Galaxy behind, until we reach the limit of modern astronomy, where we can see images from about 13 billion years past.

Reversing course, the video then zooms in on drop of water in the Dutch town of Delft, where Antonie Van Leuuwenhoek first trained his early microscope to discover the hidden world of microbes.

As we zoom in on a paramecium, we penetrate its cell nucleus, then zoom in on a molecule of DNA.

Within that molecule is a carbon atom, and the world within that atom is mostly empty space! Within the atom, the atomic nucleus contains virtually all of an atom's mass, made of particles called protons and neutrons. These, in turn, are formed from even smaller particles called quarks.

The film continues with a discussion of the search for a fundamental theory in physics through the use of particle accelerators like Fermilab, along with an overview of the likely "recent" events that led to our sun, our solar system, the Earth and life itself.

Here, presented on YouTube, is the first segment (Chapter 1) of the film who wish to review the material or share it with others. As the narrator (Morgan Freeman) intones, 'we are all travelers on a voyage of discovery!' Chapter 2, and Chapter 3 can be assessed at YouTube directly or by clicking on the hyperlinks

POWER POINT NOTES: INTRODUCTION TO MR. HATFIELD'S COURSE

2011-08-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

Click on the image above to take you to a Power Point that contains information about Rules, Policies, Procedures, and other classroom policies in Mr. Hatfield's classes. This will also contain Mr. Hatfield's outline of the features of Cornell Notes, a major part of this course.

If you do not have Microsoft Office, don't worry, you can still view the Power Point Notes...for free! Simply download Power Point Viewer, a free program of modest size (about 60 MB).

It is vital that you have access to a program that can view Power Points. Lecture in Mr. Hatfield's course will proceed at a brisk pace, and most students will only write down "skeleton notes"....an incomplete outline of the full presentation. Students will need to download the Power Points to complete the full lecture, and they will need to complete the note-taking before they embark upon completing the extended question margins and the summaries of major sections which are key parts of the Cornell Note-taking strategy.

THE STRUGGLE BEGINS

2011-08-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

Welcome!

If this is your first time on this blog, then know this:

My name is Scott Hatfield, and my goal is to change the world.

Seriously. Before this blog post is over, you will see some of the evidence that I can provide that shows how I and my students changed the world last year, and you will be challenged to do the same thing.

I'm a high school biology teacher, and this blog is intended to support my curriculum at Bullard High School, in Fresno, California. As such, the main focus of this blog is providing resources for students taking Biology, which in the state of California is a mandated standards-based course.

What does that mean? Several things....

1) Students who expect to earn a conventional high school diploma in the state of California must plan on earning a passing grade in this course, because it is the one standards-based science course that virtually every public high school student will take.

2) As a consequence, virtually every high school student in the state of California will be expected to take a standardized test in Biology at least once during their four years of high school. (Students who take a life science elective or AP Biology may end up taking the test more than once)

3) To do well on the state tests, Biology students must cover all of the required standards that are tested, and this poses a significant challenge. The standards in Biology put a heavy emphasis on breadth of coverage: there are 50 mandatory standards, and 20 optional ones. Whether a course covers a minimum of 50 or a maximum of 70, it must achieve this coverage in less than 150 days of instruction, due to the location of the testing window. Here, for example, is the Fresno Unified traditional calendar for the 2011-2012 academic year:

The school year will run from Monday, August 22nd, and conclude on June 15th. At one point, that defined 180 days of instruction...but that's no longer the case in California. Two dates, shown circled in blue on the image above, have been turned into furlough days, cutting two days of instruction prior to the state tests. Why the bean counters couldn't save school districts dollars by sacrificing days after the state tests is a question above my pay grade, but regardless of why this is happening, the fact is that school districts like FUSD now have 178, rather than 180 days of instruction.

Unfortunately, it's not 178 days prior to the state tests. Note the areas circled in red on the image above. That is the beginning of the state testing window, and these 10 days are when virtually everyone will test, rather than later, due to conflicts with (believe it or not) another round of testing, this time for AP courses. So, when you actually run the numbers, there are 139 days of real instruction prior to the STAR tests. With a total of 70 standards, that's less than two days per standard if you actually tried to cover them all. Even achieving the minimum of 50 standards gives you less than three days per standard, and that's not budgeting any time for review prior to the STAR tests.

4) The academic performance of a California public high school is based, in part, on the scores that students earn on the state's Biology test. That flows downhill from Washington, to Sacramento, to the local district administration, to the classroom teacher. As a high school instructor, I am an agent of government, and the expectation is that I will meet certain benchmarks of performance in order for my school site to receive certain scores where API and AYP are concerned.

Now this may seem like a discouraging way to begin the year, but there is no point in sugar-coating things. The stakes are high: high for students, high for teachers, high for school districts. The challenges are real.

Now the good news. Bullard High School is a good school, and we are working hard to improve our performance. Early returns from the state suggest that we will have the highest API scores in school history. Speaking just for myself, I know that I worked very hard last year, and I saw a dramatic improvement in the number of students scoring in the top two performance levels, even among low-ranking students, in the bottom 15 percent of their class. So, real gains are possible. The students who raised their performance and achieved on the state tests took advantage of the resources made available not just in class, but at home, using the strategies that I taught in the course...including this blog!

So, as you go through the year, bookmark this blog and visit it often!

You will find many resources that will enrich what you learn in class, and which will often be essential to keeping up with coursework in the event you are out of class for any reason. Last year, I had over 13,000 hits on my blog, most of them from my students. That's powerful evidence that using the blog was an important part of student achievement in my course. This was an increase from about 9,600 hits from the 2009-2010 academic year, and I expect this trend to continue. This year, the blog will expand from a single page to groups of linked pages, to provide even more continuous and detailed support of our class.

So, yes, this will be a challenging course, and as your instructor I am challenging myself to do more to help students succeed. As my student, I hope you will accept this challenge....and help me change the world.

GO KNIGHTS!!!!

(If you are not a California high school student, parent of a student, or instructor, you are welcome to visit my blog and download any resources that I provide here, free of charge. However, please note that all such materials are created by me and should not be used outside of an educational setting without permission or appropriate attribution.)

POWER POINT #9: BEYOND DARWIN

2011-07-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

POWER POINTS #7 and #8: MUTATION, BIOTECHNOLOGY

2011-07-18T10:52:00.001-07:00

Here's a link to our recent notes on 'Mutation!'

A PDF of the Lecture Guide based upon the Power Point is available here.

POWER POINT #6: MENDEL'S EXPERIMENTS

2011-07-13T01:03:00.001-07:00

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.

POWER POINT #5: DARWIN'S DANGEROUS IDEA

2011-07-13T00:59:00.001-07:00

Here's the Lecture Notes.

Here's a PDF file of the Lecture Guide based upon the notes.

The title, incidentally, is taken from the Daniel Dennett book which also inspired a two-hour episode of the NOVA 'Evolution' series. We will end up seeing much of this episode, broken up into chunks, over the next few days, so I thought I would provide a link to view the whole thing on-line, here.

SUMMER SCHOOL VIDEO: EXTINCTION!

2011-07-07T12:13:00.001-07:00

EXTINCTION Thursday's class featured excerpts from 'Extinction!', which is Episode 3 from NOVA's 'Evolution' series (2001). The video begins with paleontologist Peter Ward hunting for Permian fossils in South Africa's Karoo Desert, and relates ecological pyramids (which are like a 'house of cards') to mass extinctions, which are believed to be rare but important events in the history of life. It then follows the work of American Museum of Natural History researcher Michael Novacek in building the fossil record of small, shrew-like mammals from the Mesozoic, representative of the lineage that will survive the next mass extinction (the K/T event), which will claim the dinosaurs.

It concludes with an examination of the role of human activity in accelerating the rate of extinction, with important attention to conservationists like Alan Rabinowitz.

Students have been given a worksheet based upon this video as homework, which is due on Monday. I encourage students to watch the video in its entirety for themselves if there are points that they don't get in class. We simply do not have enough class time to review this, but I know many students will want to see the whole story again, either by going to Google Video or watching it here:

POWER POINT #4: DEEP TIME!

2011-07-07T11:29:00.000-07:00

The Power Point Lecture Notes on 'Deep Time' are available

The Power Point Lecture Notes on 'Deep Time' are available here.

A PDF of the Lecture Guide based upon those notes can be downloaded here.

The Power Point Lecture Notes on 'Deep Time' are available here.

POWER POINT #3: DIVERSITY AND CLASSIFICATION

2011-07-06T13:46:00.000-07:00

These notes were given to students on Wednesday, July 6th. The Power Point on "Diversity and Classification" can be uploaded here. The Lecture Guide based on the Power Point can be found as a PDF file here.

SECOND SESSION: POWER POINTS #1 and #2

2011-07-06T08:56:00.001-07:00

The Power Point for Populations and Ecosystems is available here.

This continues the material from Chapters 3-5 that was begun in 'Populations and Ecosystems".

You can download it here.

FINAL POWER POINTS, REMINDERS

2011-06-28T14:00:00.001-07:00

The first semester of Summer School Biology is almost complete. Your final will occur on Thursday, June 30th. You will receive a study guide for the final in Wednesday's class, as well as a final Lecture Guide based on "Discovering DNA!"

The most important goal all students should focus on, however, is making sure that their composition books contain all of the course notes, complete Cornell Note-taking style, as this constitutes 50 percent of your grade!

Toward that end....

The Power Point summarizing the Cell Cycle, based on Monday's lecture, is available here:

The notes from Tuesday and Wednesday's lectures, on which the final Lecture Guide is based, are given below:

These Power Point notes are available for download here.

POWER POINT #7: CELLULAR RESPIRATION

2011-06-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

The latest Power Point in this unit contains information about cellular respiration, including glycolysis (which takes place in the cytoplasm) and the Krebs Cycle (which takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria). The electrons produced in the Krebs Cycle move through the inner membrane, or cristae, of the mitochondria. The motion of these negatively-charged particles attracts protons (H+), and eventually a high concentration of protons within the membrane is available to drive 'proton pumps' that power an enzyme, ATP synthase, leading to the production of more ATP:

You can download the Power Point for Cellular Respiration here.

HOUSEKEEPING:

The Lecture Guide on "Cellular Respiration" is due on Monday, June 27th. In the last three days we will be covering a great deal of material: cell division, phases of mitosis/meiosis, DNA structure and function, and an outline of transcription and translation.

FIFTY PERCENT of your course grade is based on your Cornell Notes, which must be submitted after the break on Thursday, June 30th, no exceptions. There will also be a FINAL EXAM on that day. You will receive a study guide from your instructor on Wednesday. Obviously, the pressure is on. You have to maintain your focus in order to complete all this work by the end of class on Thursday!!

POWER POINT #6: PHOTOSYNTHESIS

2011-06-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

The Power Point for Photosynthesis, Part I, is available here.

A PDF file of the Lecture Guide based on that Power Point can be downloaded here.

The Lecture Guide based on these notes is due at the beginning of Thursday's class! We are now halfway through the first semester of summer school!!

POWER POINT #5: MEMBRANE TRANSPORT

2011-06-21T22:26:00.001-07:00

You can get the Power Point for 'The Fluid Mosaic Model of the Cell Membrane" here. There are drawings in Chapter 7 of your text, particularly the one on pg. 182, that would be good for students to have completed in their notes. Mr. Hatfield, as always, recommends that students use colored pencils to complete their drawings in their Cornell Notes.

POWER POINT #4: CELLS AND THEIR ORGANELLES

2011-06-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

Here's the link you need to download this Power Point, to use to complete your notes or the Lecture Guide based upon it.

POWER POINT #3: THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE

2011-06-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

Here is the Power Point on 'The Chemistry of Life.' Students received a Lecture Guide based on these notes, given on Thursday, June 16th. This Lecture Guide and the worksheet on the video "The Lives of the Stars" are due on Monday, June 20th. Students should also use that Guide to compare the notes in their composition books with the Power Point notes, to make certain that they have all the content mandated by the state standards.

POWER POINT #2: ATOMS AND MOLECULES

2011-06-15T13:37:00.000-07:00

So, students, in case you haven't completed this item, for all my classes, here are the notes on 'Atoms and Molecules.'

VIDEO: THE LIVES OF THE STARS

2011-06-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

COSMOS

The following episode of Carl Sagan's Cosmos, 'The Lives of the Stars', forms the basis of a student homework assignment. Click on the icon below to play the video within the blog:

POWER POINT #1: THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

2011-06-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

Students! Here is the Power Point for the notes on 'The Nature of Science'. Your Lecture Guide, given out in class today (Tuesday, June 14th), is due at the beginning of Wednesday's class.

It is YOUR responsibility to complete your Cornell Notes, which are 50 percent of your grade in this course. Due to the large amounts of material that must be covered in a Summer School course, we must move at an accelerated pace. Therefore, when you complete the Lecture Guide, compare the Guide with your Notes. If there are any missing items in either the Lecture Guide or the Note, use the Power Point shown above to fill in the gaps.

If you don't have Power Point on your computer, don't worry . . . you can download a free program, Power Point Viewer, to see the notes!

It is your responsibility to gain access to this material. Students who are unable to upload the Power Points should contact the instructor immediately via email:

epigene13@hotmail.com

I can either email Power Points to students, or students may bring in a flash drive and I will copy it onto their drives....but it is the student's responsibility to gain access to the material.

POWER POINT: BEYOND DARWIN!

2011-06-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

Here's a novel thought: instead of being taught as mindless, slavish dogma, evolutionary biologists have been busy in the last 150 years. They've been testing, retesting, modifying and in some cases rejecting aspects of Darwin's theory. This Power Point explains some of the major innovations, which (by the way) are all in the textbook:

Students who need to download the Power Point to complete their notes, and the Lecture Guide based on it, can do so here.

We've just finished these notes, and many of these ideas are important in some of the potential essay topics that students should already be working on, so those students especially will want to get up to speed. Students will receive a Lecture Guide based upon these notes TODAY!

You can get the Power Point by clicking here!

ALSO....There is a Study Session on Saturday for the FINAL, in Room N-63, between 1:00 - 4:00 PM. Students can earn extra credit in the course and receive helpful hints on how to proceed. Attendance is voluntary.

POWER POINT: 'DARWIN'S DANGEROUS IDEA'

2011-05-10T09:59:00.001-07:00

Here's the Lecture Notes.

Here's a PDF file of the Lecture Guide based upon the notes.

The title, incidentally, is taken from the Daniel Dennett book which also inspired a two-hour episode of the NOVA 'Evolution' series. We will end up seeing much of this episode, broken up into chunks, over the next few weeks, so I thought I would provide a link to view the whole thing on-line, here.

ALERT!

2011-05-04T15:59:00.000-07:00

Parents and Students:

The final project of the year in Biology is an Essay. Students have been given a handout with guidelines for writing the paper, and chosen one of four possible topics. This is a guided Essay that requires students to write multiple drafts in order to earn an above-average grade, so it is critical that they produce their first drafts as soon as possible.

And, since the final Project is weighted more heavily than their actual Final, it will be critical to the student's final grade. Students who fail to attempt the Essay Project run the very real risk of failing the course.

Please encourage your student to provide a first draft this week so that they can receive timely feedback, and increase their chances of earning an above-grade on this critical assignment.

ALSO: AP Testing in the library has restricted the access that some students have to computing time at school. I am making recent Power Points and Internet access available on mini-laptops in my classroom at lunch every day this week and the next.

RECENT POWER POINT NOTES!

2011-04-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

The Power Point Lecture Notes on 'Deep Time' are available

The Power Point Lecture Notes on 'Deep Time' are available here.

The Power Point Lecture Notes on 'Deep Time' are available here.

Here's the Lecture Notes.

Here's a PDF file of the Lecture Guide based upon the notes.

The title, incidentally, is taken from the Daniel Dennett book which also inspired a two-hour episode of the NOVA 'Evolution' series. We will end up seeing the whole thing in class on Wednesday. Here's a link to view the whole thing on-line, here.

CST INCENTIVE

2011-04-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

!!
Parents:

I am offering my students a grade change incentive based upon scoring above Basic on the CST's in Biology.

This means that a student can in principle change a lower grade, including a failing grade, into a passing grade. In order to help students achieve this incentive, I will be giving a Review Packet this week and in addition I am offering a CST Review this Saturday (April 9th), between 8:30 and 11:30 in Room N-63 on the Bullard Campus.

Obviously, I can't take all students, so this has to be on a first-come, first-served basis. Students must sign up and I have to be able to confirm with the parent or guardian that they are choosing to attend. Please encourage your student to consider taking advantage of this unusual opportunity, which has the ability to positively impact both semester grades for Biology.

Sincerely,

Scott Hatfield
Biology Instructor
Bullard High School

EXTINCTION!

2011-03-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

EXTINCTION Thursday's class will feature excerpts from 'Extinction!', which is Episode 3 from NOVA's 'Evolution' series (2001). The video begins with paleontologist Peter Ward hunting for Permian fossils in South Africa's Karoo Desert, and relates ecological pyramids (which are like a 'house of cards') to mass extinctions, which are believed to be rare but important events in the history of life. It then follows the work of American Museum of Natural History researcher Michael Novacek in building the fossil record of small, shrew-like mammals from the Mesozoic, representative of the lineage that will survive the next mass extinction (the K/T event), which will claim the dinosaurs. It concludes with an examination of the role of human activity in accelerating the rate of extinction, with important attention to conservationists like Alan Rabinowitz. I encourage students to watch the video in its entirety for themselves if there are points that they don't get in class. We simply do not have enough class time to review this, but I know many students will want to see the whole story again, either by going to Google Video or watching it here:

POWER POINT: DIVERSITY AND CLASSIFICATION

2011-03-30T12:25:00.000-07:00

These notes were given to students on March 25th and 28th. The Power Point on "Diversity and Classification" can be uploaded here. The Lecture Guide based on the Power Point can be found as a PDF file here.

POWER POINT: BIOTECHNOLOGY

2011-03-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

The Power Point with the Notes on Biotechnology is available here. All students will need to download the entire Power Point in order to finish the Lecture Guide, so make sure you do it!

Students who have lost their original Lecture Guide and need to get another copy can download the Guide as a PDF file here.

There has been a change in the syllabus: there will be no comprehensive Unit Tests in Units 7 or 8. The next such assessment will occur after Spring Break. In the meantime, students will do labs and projects while reviewing for CST's (April 11-14).

POWER POINT: HUMAN HEREDITY

2011-03-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

The Power Point Notes for Human Heredity are available here.

STUDENTS: Please remember that you have a major 100-point project DUE on Wednesday, March 23rd. This is a GROUP project. Next Wednesday is the ONLY in-class work day you will be given for the poster project, so you and your group need to meet beforehand.

SECRETS OF THE DEAD: MYSTERY OF THE BLACK DEATH

2011-03-11T15:02:00.000-08:00

As we enter our next unit on human genetics, consider this fascinating (and still somewhat unsettled) account of research on how genetic variation in human populations was shaped by the scourge of bubonic plague. I've shown the video in class as a way of introducing topics about population genetics and human health, and below please find links to where the entire thing can be viewed in chunks, courtesy of YouTube.

POWER POINT: PROBABILITY, GENETICS, MEIOSIS

2011-03-08T16:06:00.001-08:00

The lecture notes for the present unit on Genetics is available at this link. Students have a test in two days and should use their text and their notes to help complete their booklet (see previous post). Good luck!

MENDELIAN GENETICS BOOKLET

2011-03-08T15:41:00.000-08:00

Parents and Students:
An important project ('Mendelian Genetics Booklet') is due on Thursday, March 10th, the day of the next Unit Test. Students should have a blue handout describing the project.

If, for some reason, students lose this handout, it is available as a PDF file here.

Our class has already spent part of three periods assembling and labeling the basic parts of the booklet. Now it's up to the student to complete this assessment! It's very important that they give this their best effort: not only is it worth 70 points, but it will be used on exam day as a 'test aide' similar to the way we use our Cornell Notes. Students who fail to complete the booklet not only lose the points, but they will be at a disadvantage on their Unit Test.

LIFE'S GREATEST MIRACLE

2011-03-08T12:47:00.001-08:00

Students watched the opening two segments of the NOVA program 'Life's Greatest Miracle' in class last week. This is helpful for understanding the special form of cell division called meiosis, and how the 'crossing-over' of chromosomes helps generate genetic variation.
You can watch it online here!

POWER POINT: THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

2011-02-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

Here is the link for the latest Power Point, which covers the nervous system and its interactions with other body systems.

Students need to compare their Cornell Notes with the Lecture Guide that has been given in class to ensure that they have all the material, and they need to do that ASAP. Our next unit (Genetics) begins in just a few days!
t

THIS WEEK IN BIOLOGY (Jan. 31-Feb.4)

2011-02-03T22:02:00.000-08:00

Hello, this is another update from Scott Hatfield, your student's Biology instructor at Bullard.

I wanted to advise parents and guardians of two key facts:

First, I am behind on grading as my spouse had surgery on Monday, Jan. 31st. You can expect that many assignments that may be showing as 'zero' on ATLAS have simply not yet been entered. Please review your student's work daily and write me if you need more information. I will catch up!

Secondly....and this is not good at all....be advised that our first test of the year has been graded and entered into ATLAS.

Frankly, the results were actually among the worst I have ever had in a Biology class. That's really bad news....and reflects the fact that many students have "checked out" after Christmas vacation. While it is normal for students to have a hard time getting back in the swing of things after winter break, as their instructor I saw that many students simply failed to prepare. The failure rate was very high. This was a problem even for many students who routinely earned A's and B's in the first semester.

So, please check your student's work on ATLAS. Discuss the importance of work ethic. Remind them that Mr. Hatfield will assign students who don't improve to Saturday School.

POWER POINT: MUTATIONS, PARTS 1 and 2

2011-01-25T08:52:00.001-08:00

Here's a link to our recent notes on 'Mutation!'

A PDF of the Lecture Guide based upon the Power Point is available here.

FINAL UPDATE, FALL 2010 SEMESTER

2010-12-09T09:39:00.000-08:00

Parents and Students:

Monday (Dec. 14th) begins the final week of instruction for the Fall Semester. This is a post to give everybody one last 'heads-up' about Finals week in Biology!

First of all, 'A Twist of Fate', an important 100-point project, is due on Friday (12/10), and no late work of any kind will be accepted after Tuesday (12/14)

This assignment is based on a reading describing the scientific detective story that led to the discovery of DNA's structure. The reading is adapted from an article by Michael Lemonick that appeared in the Feb. 17, 2003 issue of Time. That article can be read in its entirety on-line here.

Students are expected to define terms underlined in the article, and to answer four discussion questions according to the usual guidelines: complete sentences that refer to the original question and provide supporting evidence for the student's opinion.

Secondly, students will receive a Study Guide for their 200-point Semester Final on Friday (12/10)

Students should be reviewing it and using it to identify any weaknesses, as well as working to submit any other outstanding work in the course by the end of instruction (Tuesday, 12/14).

Next, there will be a Study Session after-school on Tuesday (12/14).

This Study Session will take place in my classroom (N-63). It will begin at 3:15 and end at 5:30 that evening. Students who attend will not only receive valuable feedback as to what to expect on the test, but will also receive 20 points of extra-credit.

And, finally...Finals! Our scheduled Finals are on (12/15) Wednesday for 1st and 2nd period, (12/16) Thursday afternoon for 4th period and (12/17) Friday for 5th and 6th period.

There is no makeup period scheduled. Students need to attend their final exam period. Those who fail to attend without having their parent or guardian reach a prior understanding with Mr. Hatfield will be given an 'incomplete' in the course.

Finally, the Power Point with notes on DNA and Protein Synthesis is available on-line here:

The Power Point notes are available for download here.

A PDF of the Lecture Guide based on the Power Point notes is available here.

POWER POINT: THE CELL CYCLE

2010-12-03T16:23:00.000-08:00

The Power Point summarizing the Cell Cycle, based on the first two sections of Chapter 10, is available here:

UNIT 4: CELLULAR ENERGETICS (NOTES, ANNOUNCEMENTS)

2010-11-15T10:12:00.000-08:00

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

The material for our current unit (Unit 4: Cellular Energetics) is detailed and builds heavily on both the material from Ch. 2 (The Chemistry of Life) and Ch. 7 (Cellular Structure and Function).

As such, there are several groups of notes of various sizes for students to access.

First, this Power Point contains an outline of photosynthesis, relating it to the 'Great Circle' of chemical reactions that all living things participate it (autotrophs and heterotrophs!), reactions which recycle the raw materials that life requires. Much of this material is covered in the first two sections of Chapter 8 in the Dragonfly Book.

The Power Point for Photosynthesis, Part I, is available here.

You can download Photosynthesis, Part II here.

A third Power Point is somewhat brief, but has many helpful animations that help describe and explain the structure and function of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the main energy-carrying molecule used by living things.
.The fourth and final Power Point in this unit contains information about cellular respiration, including glycolysis (which takes place in the cytoplasm) and the Krebs Cycle (which takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria). The electrons produced in the Krebs Cycle move through the inner membrane, or cristae, of the mitochondria. The motion of these negatively-charged particles attracts protons (H+), and eventually a high concentration of protons within the membrane is available to drive 'proton pumps' that power an enzyme, ATP synthase, leading to the production of more ATP:

You can download the Power Point for Cellular Respiration here.

HOUSEKEEPING:

I have been forced to modify my syllabus due to the impact of some technology problems in last Wednesday's class and the imposition of a furlough day. Be advised of the following changes:

All of the Unit 4 assignments are due when students return to school after Thanksgiving Break, on Monday, Nov. 29th. This will also be the date for the AFTER-SCHOOL STUDY SESSION (3:15-5:30) for the Unit 4 Test.

The Unit 4 test has been moved back one week, to Tuesday, Nov. 30th. No work from Unit 4 will be accepted after this date. Students who miss their scheduled exam will receive a makeup test.

ATLAS: STILL SHRUGGING?

2010-11-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

ATLAS ACCESS!

DEAR PARENTS AND STUDENTS: This is Mr. Hatfield, your student's Biology teacher at Bullard.

I am VERY concerned that many parents and students are still unable to access grades and attendance on-line.

I am therefore providing this blog post with information on district resources now available, but I have also sent the same information out via email. If you did not receive an email with this information, please contact me immediately by sending an email to: epigene13@hotmail.com

Parent ATLAS access is available NOW at http://bhsknights.com.

There is a link on the left side, as shown below:

Unfortunately, many students have either yet to learn how to access ATLAS themselves or have failed to share that information with the home. We have to correct that, immediately!

CELL BROCHURE PROJECT

2010-10-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

Many students have not yet completed their 100-point Cell Brochure project.

This is a grave concern. Students who do not complete this are likely to be assigned STUDY HALL and...perhaps....Saturday School. There simply is no excuse for not completing this assignment, which is intended to help students raise their grade.

A link to a PDF file describing the project is available here.

POWER POINT: THE FLUID MOSAIC MODEL OF THE CELL MEMBRANE

2010-10-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

POWER POINT: CELLS AND THEIR ORGANELLES

2010-10-18T12:32:00.000-07:00

Here's the link you need to download this Power Point, to use to complete your notes or the Lecture Guide based upon it.

POWER POINT: CARBON, THE BASIS OF LIFE

2010-10-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

SPACE

This Power Point is available to download here.

POWER POINT: THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE

2010-09-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

Here is the Power Point on 'The Chemistry of Life.' Students received a Study Guide for their Test on Tuesday, Sept. 28th ). They should use that Guide to compare the notes in their composition books with the Power Point notes.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: UNIT TEST 2

2010-09-26T19:37:00.001-07:00

IMPORTANT UPDATE: UNIT TEST 2

DEAR PARENTS AND STUDENTS:

This is Mr. Hatfield, your Biology teacher at Bullard. Students, you have an important Unit Test on Tuesday, Sept. 28th. Parents, I know you want to encourage your students, and you need timely updates to make your encouragement effective. So....here's another update!

A Study Guide was given out in class to students on Friday (Sept. 24th) to help them prepare for this test.

In addition, students are eligible to attend a Study Session on Monday afternoon, Sept. 27th, which will use the Study Guide to review the material with the instructor.

Because I have five sections of Biology, participation in the Study Session must be on a first-come, first-served basis and capped at 54 students. The Study Session will begin at 3:15 and last until at least 5:00. Students who attend will receive valuable feedback about the test, but probably the most valuable feedback on how to prepare has already been posted on the course blog, here:

http://biologyknights.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-cope-with-your-next-test.html

Also, I remain concerned that some students and parents are still not able to access on-line grades and attendance via the district's new software. Some information regarding this was previously given on the course blog, here:

http://biologyknights.blogspot.com/2010/09/staying-informed-accessing-atlas.html

Please encourage your student to use the 'COPE' strategies posted on the blog to prepare for their test, particularly the completion of their Cornell Notes.

PLEASE BE AWARE THE STUDENTS WHOSE GRADES ARE BELOW-AVERAGE FOLLOWING THE SECOND TEST MAY BE ASSIGNED STUDY HALL AT LUNCH, AFTER SCHOOL OR ON SATURDAY, AS PER THE COURSE CONTRACT.

Bullard High School

HOW TO "COPE" WITH YOUR NEXT TEST!

2010-09-23T10:31:00.000-07:00

There will be a Unit Test on Tuesday, Sept. 28th.

Students who earn a percentage score higher than that earned on the first test can not only expect to earn a higher grade, but they are eligible for grade change on their previous test.

To achieve that, students need to consider the following, using the anagram 'COPE'.

C....(ontent)

Students need to know what's on the test. To make sure that students know what content will be covered on the exam, they need to obtain a copy of the Study Guide, which becomes available on Friday the 24th. The sooner they get this, the better!

O....(rganization)

Students need to plan their time. They need to consider setting aside Monday afternoon (the 27th) in order to attend the Study Session, and they need to consider using time on lunch or after-school on the day of their exam as needed to complete their test. Plan ahead, students!

P...(reparation)

Students need to provide evidence that they have prepared for the test. One way to do this is to attend the Study Session on Monday afternoon, the 27th. Another, powerful way is to make sure that they bring their COMPLETED Cornell Notes to class on the day of the exam. Cornell Notes, if completed, have questions and comments in the margins and summaries of the major sections. Students who have these items completed will be allowed to use them throughout the exam. Bring evidence that you have prepared for the test, students, and you will be rewarded!

E...(ffort)

Students need to finish what they start. There is nothing more important than giving our best effort, all of the time. On an exam day, a good effort means that students attempt everything, even if that means they need to come back at lunch or after school. Show a work ethic, students, and you will not only do better on the test....you will do better in every aspect of your life.

PARENTS, ENCOURAGE YOUR STUDENT TO USE THESE STRATEGIES TO EXCEL!

STAYING INFORMED: ACCESSING ATLAS

2010-09-22T10:13:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, many students have either yet to learn how to access ATLAS themselves or have failed to share that information with the home. We have to correct that, immediately!

I want to also remind students that they have access to MySites through the districts. These automatically provide students two useful resources, online storage and FUSD email. The following procedure allows students to contact their MySites:

BHS MySite Internet Storage

1. Log on to computer with your mysite username and password.

Username: STUDENTS\ ___ ___ ___ ___

Password: firstinitiallastinitialzeroidnumber ___ ___ 0 ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

2. Open Internet Explorer

3. Go to http://www.fresnounified.org

4. Click on Sign In – upper right corner

5. Username: STUDENTS\ ___ ___ ___ ___

6. Password: firstinitiallastinitialzeroidnumber ___ ___ 0 ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

7. Click on My Site in the upper right corner

8. To upload and store documents, click on Personal Documents folder on the left side

9. Click on Upload, click on browse for the file you saved

10. Click Open and OK and you now have the document saved in your “locker in the sky”

BHS Student Email

Students’ email is:

4characterusername@studentemail.fresnounified.org

____ ____ ____ ____ @studentemail.fresnounified.org

For Students to log in to email:

1. https://studentemail.fresnounified.org/owa

(Notice the “s” on the https)

2. username: STUDENTS\___ ___ ___ ___

3. password: firstinitiallastinitialzeroidnumber ___ ___ 0 ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

GET ACCCESS TO ATLAS!

POWER POINT: PROPERTIES OF WATER

2010-09-21T15:57:00.000-07:00

You can download it direct from Mediafire here.

If you need the Lecture Guide based the Power Point, you can get that here. But a word of caution: not everything on the Lecture Guide can be found in the Power Point. As with our (blue) handout "Properties of Fluids....Metrically Speaking", much of material is found in Section 2.2 of our text.

space

POWER POINT: ATOMS AND MOLECULES (TAKE TWO)

2010-09-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: The MediaFire site which hosts files for our blog was recently down for repairs on Sept. 6th, but is now working just fine.

So, students, in case you haven't completed this item, for all my classes, here are the notes on 'Atoms and Molecules.'

****UPDATE****

POWER POINT: ATOMS AND MOLECULES

2010-09-06T15:58:00.001-07:00

For all my classes, here are the notes on 'Atoms and Molecules.'

****UPDATE****

BIOLOGY STUDENTS AND PARENTS:

One of the problems with the Internet is that it sometimes does not work

As of 10:30 PM this evening, the Mediafire site that hosts our Biology class materials is down. Students who may be attempting to upload the Power Points to review and complete the Cornell Notes for Thursday's exam may not be able to do so.

I will, therefire, be sending out a bulk e-mail to everyone on my class mailing lists with the Power Points attached tomorrow morning from my school site computer. I regret the inconvenience, but students still have all of Wednesday to complete their notes.

If you do not have Power Point installed on your home computer, you can get a free copy of a tiny program that will allow you to view them called (oddly enough) "Power Point Viewer" from this location:

http://download.cnet.com/PowerPoint-Viewer-2007/3000-18483_4-10742145.html

BIOLOGY KNIGHT IN BEE!

2010-09-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

Students, I hope you are enjoying your three-day weekend as much as I am enjoying mine.

The Fresno Bee approached me a little over a month ago with the idea of doing an article about my Galapagos experiences.

That article ran in Saturday's Bee and can be viewed on-line here.

The article itself is a pastiche of quotes either collected by the reporter, Ron Orozco, or edited from observations that they asked me to submit. There were some formatting problems with the Bee article that were corrected on-line, but the paper has more still shots from video taken by yours truly. Overall, I was happy with the article.

My Galapagos trip has caused me to more tightly focus my blogging on ways that promote local science education, and I have another blog to support that effort, here.

* Just remember, we have our first test in this course on Thursday, Sept. 9th, with an After-School Study Session the previous afternoon between 3:30 and 5:00 in Room N-63.

VIDEO: "THE LIVES OF THE STARS"

2010-09-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

COSMOS

UNIT 1 SYLLABUS NOW AVAILABLE

2010-09-01T10:53:00.000-07:00

BULLARD BIOLOGY: MATERIALS AND SUPPORTS

Hello again, this is Scott Hatfield, your student's Biology instructor at Bullard High School!

My thanks to the many parents and students who attended Bullard's 'Back to School Knight" on Monday, August 30th. If I haven't yet had the chance to meet you, then I hope to have the opportunity in the near future.

I have sent parents / guardians an email with three means to access the course. If they have not received an email, please contact me at: epigene13@hotmail.com and let me know, so I can add you to the mailing list.

A copy of the present course syllabus was attached as a PDF file to that email, but you can also download it from the Internet here. Use the syllabus to track your student's progress!

Our first major test is on Thursday, September 9th. Prior to that time, we will have an extra-credit Study Session after school in Room N-63, between 3:30 and 5:00 on Wednesday, Sept. 8th.

Feel free to contact me if you have questions about any of these materials or supports!

Sincerely

Scott Hatfield
Biology Instructor
Bullard High School

COSMIC VOYAGE

2010-08-27T08:47:00.001-07:00

Biology students will be viewing a 36-minute IMAX video in class and completing a worksheet based on part of the video. The film, 'Cosmic Voyage', was made in 1996 for the Smithsonian Institute and was clearly inspired by a classic science education film called 'Powers of Ten', originally produced in 1977 by the husband-and-wife team of Rae and Charles Eames.

'Cosmic Voyage' approaches the idea of using the metric system, which is based on powers of ten, to explore the question: "What is really large, and really small?" The film first zooms out from an acrobat's ring in St. Mark's Square in Venice, the place where Galileo first trained his telescope on the heavens.

Through 23 powers of ten, we leave first the Earth, then our solar system, then the Milky Way Galaxy behind, until we reach the limit of modern astronomy, where we can see images from about 13 billion years past.

Reversing course, the video then zooms in on drop of water in the Dutch town of Delft, where Antonie Van Leuuwenhoek first trained his early microscope to discover the hidden world of microbes.

As we zoom in on a paramecium, we penetrate its cell nucleus, then zoom in on a molecule of DNA.

Within that molecule is a carbon atom, and the world within that atom is mostly empty space! Within the atom, the atomic nucleus contains virtually all of an atom's mass, made of particles called protons and neutrons. These, in turn, are formed from even smaller particles called quarks.

The film continues with a discussion of the search for a fundamental theory in physics through the use of particle accelerators like Fermilab, along with an overview of the likely "recent" events that led to our sun, our solar system, the Earth and life itself.

Here, presented on YouTube, is the first segment (Chapter 1) of the film who wish to review the material or share it with others. As the narrator (Morgan Freeman) intones, 'we are all travelers on a voyage of discovery!' Chapter 2, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 can be assessed at YouTube directly or by clicking on the hyperlinks

POWER POINT NOTES: THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

2010-08-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

POWER POINT NOTES: THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

2010-08-20T10:11:00.000-07:00

THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

POWER POINT: INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGY

2010-08-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

You can download the first set of notes covering Rules, Policies, Procedures and Steps at this link.

MY SUMMER VACATION

2010-06-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

As some students may be aware, I am planning on taking coursework in the Galapagos Islands in July. This is part of a program in which I will earn units in both the Geology and Biology of the Galapagos. Beyond making what is in effect the biological equivalent of a pilgrimage, I am hoping that what I see and experience will make me a more effective instructor in Biology, particularly as regarding evolution and natural selection.

I don't intend to stop there, however. I want to be able to document my voyage of discovery and bring into the classroom---not just my own future classes, but to the Central Valley as a whole.

After all, evolution isn't something

that's confined to exotic locations!

Isolating mechanisms, changing environments, patterns of selection and diversification are going on throughout the world, including the Central Valley. I want to bring an awareness of what's happening right here to my students, so that they can see evolution at work in their parks, their orchards, their forests and even their urban settings.

What , for example, could possibly be more motivating to students that to learn that real-life examples of natural selection in action are be studied just a few miles away from where I teach, in Millerton Lake?

Photo: Katie Peichel, Pam Colosimo, and David Kingsley (HHMI and Stanford University)

Outstanding research by David Kingsley and his associates has documented how genetic changes in stickleback fish in different environments have led to recent speciation events in populations that became isolated when global sea levels fell during the last Ice Age. Placed in refugia that lacked the predators experienced by marine populations, the pressures to maintain the dorsal spines that give these fish their name was relaxed, and the energetic costs of maintaining these spines asserted themselves.

That's the sort of connection I want to help foster, but to make that connection especially vivid we need to relate our surroundings to the familiar example of the Galapagos, the "workshop of Nature" found in our textbooks. Doing that means creating specific content, hopefully vivid and memorable, that brings the Galapagos to the Valley---so that we can then discover the connection, in effect Finding OUR Galapagos.

FINAL ESSAY DUE SOON: INSTRUCTOR CONCERNED

2010-06-01T16:07:00.001-07:00

OK!

Dear Parent or Guardian:

Many students have yet to submit their Final Essay in Biology.

This is very serious, because the assignment is so heavily-weighted that failure to attempt it will almost certainly drop students at least one letter grade and may well lead to failing the course. Please make sure your student attempts this assignment.

Other students have submitted an earlier draft, but (as you might imagine) such drafts are usually not good enough to earn a passing grade the first time through. One of the objectives of this assignment, in fact, is to force students to rewrite. Please encourage your student to take advantage of the opportunity to rewrite, and thus improve their grade.

As you might guess, grading student essays is very time-consuming. As a result, I need to impose a cutoff for final draft submission:

Tuesday, June 8th, 4:00 PM

No drafts will be accepted after this date.

More information about this assignment is available on the class blog here:

http://biologyknights.blogspot.com/2010/05/down-home-stretch.html

POWER POINT: BEYOND DARWIN

2010-05-20T09:39:00.000-07:00

BEYOND DARWIN!

Here's a novel thought: instead of being taught as mindless, slavish dogma, evolutionary biologists have been busy in the last 150 years. They've been testing, retesting, modifying and in some cases rejecting aspects of Darwin's theory. This Power Point explains some of the major innovations, which (by the way) are all in the textbook:

Students who need to download the Power Point to complete their notes, and the Lecture Guide based on it, can do so here.

We've just finished these notes, and many of these ideas are important in some of the potential essay topics that students should already be working on, so those students especially will want to get up to speed. Students will receive a Lecture Guide based upon these notes TODAY!

BEYOND DARWIN

You can get the Power Point by clicking here!

DOWN THE HOME STRETCH

2010-05-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

Students received a Syllabus today for our final unit of the year:

UNIT 10: BEYOND DARWIN: EVOLUTION, OURSELVES

As the name suggests, we will be going beyond the basics of evolution and natural selection studied in Unit 9. The most important task for all students in this final unit will be the completion of drafts of an Essay based upon a topic chosen by students, with a matching scoring rubric.

This Essay has the following goals:

allowing students to pursue and investigate a topic in evolutionary theory, and (if they desire) exploring other points of view where that topic is concerned

rehearsing some of the skills required for college papers (appropriate use of sources, APA-style bibliography and citations)

giving students opportunity to write, and re-write, multiple drafts...the key to good writing, as with so many things, is skill rehearsal

providing a structured assignment that rewards a high level of achievement with a significant number of points at the end of the semester, in effect a vehicle for students who want a meaningful opportunity to raise their grade.

I encourage students and parents to discuss the benefits and challenges of this assignment. First drafts should've been already submitted in writing or attached to an email:

(epigene13@hotmail.com).

They should be submitted either as Word documents or as PDF files.

CST STUDY SESSION

2010-04-23T10:02:00.000-07:00

Parents and Guardians:

My biology students have an opportunity to attend an extra-credit Study Session on Tuesday, April 27th, between 3:15 and 5:30, in Room N-63.

This is on a first-come, first-served basis. Students who attend will work on packets to help them prepare for their Science CST given the following day (Wed. the 28th).

Please encourage your students to consider attending!

SHOW ME A WALKING FISH!

2010-04-07T09:14:00.000-07:00

SHOW ME A WALKING FISH

This is the Power Point to go with Rubric Exercise 2, "Show Me A Walking Fish!" Use it to write an essay that addresses the following questions:

1) In your opinion, do transitional forms really exist? Why or why not?

2) Are the examples in this article truly transitional forms? How do you know?

3) If transitional forms exist, would they “prove” that living things share common descent?

4) How would a believer in ‘special creation’ explain the similarities between a coelocanth, a lungfish and an axolotl?

SHOW ME A WALKING FISH

EXTINCTION! (THE VIDEO)

2010-04-06T12:10:00.000-07:00

EXTINCTION

Part of this video was shown in class and part during lunch for extra credit in the week before Spring Break. 'Extinction!' is Episode 3 from NOVA's 'Evolution' series (2001). If you missed it, here's a summary of the video:

"The video begins with paleontologist Peter Ward hunting for Permian fossils in South Africa's Karoo Desert, and relates ecological pyramids (which are like a 'house of cards') to mass extinctions, which are believed to be rare but important events in the history of life. It then follows the work of American Museum of Natural History researcher Michael Novacek in building the fossil record of small, shrew-like mammals from the Mesozoic, representative of the lineage that will survive the next mass extinction (the K/T event), which will claim the dinosaurs. It concludes with an examination of the role of human activity in accelerating the rate of extinction, with important attention to conservationists like Alan Rabinowitz."

I do not have enough class time to review this with students again, but students who need to review it can either go to Google Video, or watching it embedded here:

EXTINCTION

POWER POINTS: 'DEEP TIME' AND 'DARWIN'

2010-04-06T12:09:00.001-07:00

The Power Point Lecture Notes on 'Deep Time' are available

The Power Point Lecture Notes on 'Deep Time' are available here.

A PDF of the Lecture Guide based upon those notes can be downloaded here.

The Power Point Lecture Notes on 'Deep Time' are available here.

Here's the Lecture Notes.

Here's a PDF file of the Lecture Guide based upon the notes.

POWER POINT: DIVERSITY AND CLASSIFICATION

2010-03-23T12:31:00.000-07:00

These notes were given to students on March 19 and 22nd. The Power Point on "Diversity and Classification" can be uploaded here.

The Lecture Guide based on the Power Point can be found as a PDF file here.

POWER POINTS: CLIMATE AND ENERGY

2010-03-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

Ozone Shield

Oceans and Climate

Global Climate Change

Fossil Fuels

POWER POINTS: THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

2010-03-12T10:49:00.000-08:00

In order of appearance in lecture:

In order of appearance in lecture:

Human Body Systems

The Nervous System

The Neuron

The Nerve Impulse

The Sensese
arance in lecture:

POWER POINT: BIOTECHNOLOGY

2010-02-27T12:37:00.000-08:00

The Power Point with the Notes on Biotechnology is available here.

Students who have lost their original Lecture Guide and need to get another copy can download the Guide as a PDF file here.

Also, students have a major Poster Project due on Tuesday's class on human genetic disorders. On that same day after school there will be a Study Session for our next Unit Test, which is on Wednesday, March 3rd.