Week 4 Day 1 (8/30)

Today, each group finished their slideshow presentations on environmental issues affecting different water sources in Georgia.  

• The class took notes over each presentation, and we will use the key points from each as content for a quiz given on  Wednesday Sept. 8th.  
• All slides will be posted to Google Classroom.  Please study the slides and your notes!
  

Week 3 Day 2 (8/25)

 

• 
  We had a notebook check today.
• We had a quick review of our Chesapeake Bay material.  (Google Meet Video from class is posted on Google Classroom for anyone who was absent.)
• The class was divided into groups.  Each group was given a different Georgia lake, river, or coastal water system.  Each group will be working IN CLASS to create a slideshow presentation explaining environmental issues/problems within their body of water.  The presentations will be 5-7 slides (not including a slide of sources used, which should be at the end of the presentation.)  A detailed explanation is posted on Google Classroom.

Homework

• None
  

Week 3 Day 1 (Mon 8/23)

 In Class

• Today, we took a short quiz over the Chesapeake Bay Quizlet terms and lesson on eutrophication of the bay.  If you were absent, I will give you the quiz in class when you get back to school.
• I checked to make sure everyone completed their Chesapeake Bay Graphing Activity that was assigned for homework.  We discussed each question.  You can watch the Google Meet video here.  (Be patient, as it was my first time using Meet!)
• If you've been absent, please be sure to go to Google Classroom and click on "Classwork".  You'll find a topic called "Make-Up Work".  If you can see any of the make-up work assignments, it means that you were absent and need to complete them.  Add each one to your notebook AND submit it to that assignment on Classroom.

• We discussed one question that many people missed on the Chesapeake Bay Video homework assignment.  The question was, "Why do you think they use a 1 square meter quadrat when they collect data? "  Because it was a frequently missed question, I took the class outside to do a quick mock quadrant data collection exercise. 
• Our demonstration was simple and ONLY to help visualize the way this method is used to estimate the population of a species in a larger area.
• If you'd like to watch an actual example of scientific data collection using the quadrant sampling technique, here is a video. 

Homework

• Be sure to have your notebook in class on Wednesday!
  • Syllabus
  • Notes
  • Chesapeake Bay Handouts/Woksheets
  • Quiz section (It's empty because I am waiting for everyone to complete it before handing it back)

 

Week 2 Day 2

• Today, we compared the food web from BEFORE large-scale fishing in the bay to a present-day food web from the Chesapeake Bay.
  • We completed the Chesapeake Bay Worksheet Part 2 in pairs, and then discussed the answers together as a class.
• After our discussion, we began a GRAPHING activity based on the data on Oyster Catch vs Nutrient Levels in the bay.  
• At home, finish the graphing exercise and questions.  Bring them to class on Monday.  If you were absent today, go to Google Classroom and find the "make up work" assignment for today.  Upload your makeup work there.  This is YOUR responsibility!
  
• Blank Graph Template
• Oyster Catch vs. Nutrient Levels Sheets

Homework

• Complete the following for homework.  Bring these pages to class on Monday.
  • Blank Graph Template
  • Oyster Catch vs. Nutrient Levels Sheets
  • If you need help getting started, I made a short video for you - https://youtu.be/vFO2cihogco 
• Study the Quizlet of terms from our Chesapeake Bay lesson.  Be ready for a short quiz over these terms on Monday.
• Watch the following video while completing this short quiz.  You may pause the video as needed to complete the assignment.  This is due by Sunday night.
• Add the following to your calendar (THESE ARE ALL LISTED ON FACTS, AS WELL.)
• Quiz over Chesapeake Bay Quizlet & activity - 8/23
• 1st Notebook Check - 8/25

Here is the image of the food web BEFORE large scale fishing of the bay:

Here is the image of the food web AFTER large scale fishing in the bay:

Week 2 Day 1

What we did today:

• Today, we began class by taking a short quiz over week 1 material (All material was found in the Quizlet for Chap 1)
• We began our study of the Chesapeake Bay 
  • Discussed the following:
  •  eutrophication -excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen 
  • detritus - organic matter produced by the decomposition of organisms\
  • microbes - microscopic organisms that eat detritus
  • We talked about issues with algae blooming in the Chesapeake Bay (Click here to view the slides - IntroductionChesapeakeBay)
  • We learned about dead zones.
    
    • Follow a step by step process of how dead zones are made. The steps to follow are below:
      1. In normal ecosystem low nutrient levels (limiting factors) keep algae in check
      2. Adding nutrients causes algal blooms
      3. Algae die and become detritus (decaying matter)
      4. Detritus is decomposed by microbes, microbe populations boom
      5. Microbes use the oxygen in the water
      6. Low dissolved oxygen in the water kills fish and other organisms
      7. Dead zones appear in the Bay where nothing can live
  • We worked in pairs to analyze a food web from the Chesapeake Bay 300 years ago, before large-scale fishing of the bay.
    • We used this food web image to complete the Chesapeake Bay Worksheet Part 1 & we discussed answers.  We will finish this study on Wednesday (maybe.... it depends on how much discussion we have on Wednesday.  It may take until the following week!)

Homework:

• Study the Quizlet over our Chesapeake Bay lesson.
• Watch these videos before tomorrow's class:
  • https://youtu.be/mLbDbmmV6Qc
  • https://youtu.be/6LAT1gLMPu4
  • https://youtu.be/KtxUp2s_HIU

Week 1 Day 2

 Week 1 / Day 2

What we did today:

• We did an in-class
  activity on the effect of environmental issues such as deforestation, over-farming, erosion, etc on ancient civilizations.  We discussed evidence of how ancient civilizations such as the Mayans, Anasazi, Nasca, Easter Island, and more created environmental problems due to deforestation, over-farming, etc.  
• We finished our discussion over Chapter 1 slides

Homework:

• Continue studying chapter 1 slides and notes from the week. I decided that we WILL have a short quiz over this material on Monday. If you study the notes, slides, and Quizlet, you will do FINE!
• Continue studying the Quizlet material
• Be sure to sign and upload your syllabus to Google Classroom by 8/18!

Week 1 Day 1

 What we did today-

• Introduction & Syllabus
• What is Environmental Science?
• Chap 1 Slides
  1. We discussed slides 1-10 today, and we will finish up these slides on Wednesday.

Please be sure you have a binder with paper and a pencil each day.  We will have notebook checks on occasion.  My job is to help you learn to be better organized!

Homework-

• Look over chapter 1 slides and review notes taken in class.
• Study the Quizlet over the entire set of chapter 1 slides.
• Review syllabus and have parents sign the last page. 
• Turn the last page in by 8/18 for an assignment grade (upload to Google Classroom)!