Cells & Homeostasis: Lab-Grown Clothing

We started class with a YouTube clip of Jimmy Fallon and Kevin Delaney releasing energy in candy, making elephant toothpaste, and using smoke to visual air bursts coming from an air cannon:

Next, students completed a questionnaire to better introduce themselves and to provide me with data for the WABS Teacher Externship program I am participating in this year.  Students turned in the completed questionnaire, along with the signed syllabus.  They also received a folder, wrote their name on it, and placed it in the file cabinet.  The folder will help students stay organized throughout the school year and provides students with ready-made organizational strategy for keeping track of classwork.  We finished the day with a “popcorn-style” class reading, where each student read a paragraph of an article and then got to pick the next reader.  We read an article about lab-grown clothing, where scientist Suzanne Lee is using bacteria to create fabric.

Find out more by watching Suzanne Lee’s TED Talk:

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Matter, Atomic Structure, and Bonding: Lab Safety

The theme of the day was lab safety.  We started class with a YouTube clip of Jimmy Fallon and Kevin Delaney releasing energy in candy, making elephant toothpaste, and using smoke to visual air bursts coming from an air cannon:

The video naturally led into a talk of lab safety, and students received a Safety Contract to read through.  They learned the location of key safety equipment in the classroom and will need to bring the contract back (signed by the student and a parent/guardian) on Tuesday.  Next, students completed a questionnaire to better introduce themselves and to provide me with data for the WABS Teacher Externship program I am participating in this year.  Students turned in the completed questionnaire, along with the signed syllabus.  They also received a folder, wrote their name on it, and placed it in the file cabinet.  The folder will help students stay organized throughout the school year and provides students with ready-made organizational strategy for keeping track of classwork.  Finally, students had the last few minutes of class to browse through our brand-new chemistry textbook.

We are planning to start our first chemistry lesson on Tuesday, so students need to be sure they have the Safety Contract signed and returned then.  Have a wonderful 3-day weekend!