Class 7 - Bringing It All to Life!
So far we've studied the physical and chemical facts about the ocean: it's a solution of salts in water (what does that mean?), made of moving atoms of various kinds. We've also looked at some atoms (C, H, O) involved in important processes - burning, photosynthesis, and respiration. Now it's time to look at some living things.
Materials
- Minimal (a few animals, a bit of algae) brine shrimp aquaria, one for examination by each group (pick up @ SSSM)
- Cameras for groups to share (at least 4 available for now)
- Own camera for TV projection (charge up batteries); slide show on CF card
- Windows 98 PC for collection of students' pictures
- Styrofoam atoms
- Brine shrimp eggs
- (Perhaps) microscopes, 1 per group
Activities
- Each student looks through own work in portfolio, picks something to photograph
- Break class into 4 groups (one per available camera), and assign rotating roles:
- photographer - pictures of aquarium, selected works from own portfolio
- writer - takes notes of all procedures and activities, on group's data sheet, and SIGNS own part of work
- artist - make sketches of various materials, activities, observations
- molecule assembler - redo photosynthesis/respiration, photograph each stage
- researcher - look through group's notes from previous classes
- microscopist - look at various samples (alga, salt, brine shrimp eggs, brine shrimp)
- Group will assemble today's productions into a report on the ideas so far
- Project an aquarium on TV, then distribute to groups; have them examine, describe in writing and drawings
- Discuss brine shrimp aquaria as closed systems, but for inflow of Sun energy - model of entire Earth biosphere
- TV "slide show" of brine shrimp life cycle - also discussion of making a slide show