Housekeeping: This month we will focus on two things: Your G4 debate and the mesocosm lab. On the days we are not working on the mesocosm or G4, you guys will be writing practice paper 2s to prepare for your final exam. Your final exam will cover chapters 1-4 (Fish & Tuleen, yours will cover 1-4, 7-8 & 10). I will have study guides available at the end of this month.
G4 project: The G4 project is a required element for the IB, but you will also get participation points. You have six class periods to work on your G4 and one class period to submit your reflections. Reflections will be done in class on April 30, 2017. You will work in groups of four. One of you will be the Lead Debater, one will be the Cross-Examiner, one will be the Closer, and the other one will be the Rebutter. Here is some useful info for you to learn your roles.
You will have two class periods this week for prep (April 12-13) and one period (April 19) next week for prep. Mrs. Andrea will assist you this week in learning about climate change and gathering appropriate resources for debate. YOU MAY NOT RELY SOLELY ON THE INTERNET! Any and all other research/prep work will be done on your own outside of class. I will ask you to submit a complete reference list before the day of the debate.
By "prep" I mean active research. You need to bring your laptops to class on April 12 and 19 and work on your research. I expect for you to use actual physical note cards to keep your data organized. A failure to bring your laptop and note cards results in a participation grade of zero for every day you are not on task.
April 20 & 26 are set aside for practice. Next week, I will give you a list of potential questions/prompts. Remember, you will not know what side you are on, nor which question/prompt you will be responding to, so you must make sure you are prepared for both sides and all of the prompts. The actual physical debate will take place on April 27, 2017.
Mesocosm Lab: Your last lab for this year is the mesocosm lab. You will partner with one other person and create your own mesocosm and observe it over the course of three weeks to one month. You will record your observations in a journal.
A mesocosm is an experimental tool that brings a small part of the natural environment under controlled conditions; it is used as a model of a larger ecosystem. Mesocosms provide a more accurate way to observe ecosystems than laboratory experimentation. In the lab, the process that occur in a natural environment are difficult to recreate as the experimenter cannot account for all the factors of a natural environment. Mesocosms are used instead, bringing the process of an ecosystem into a small environment, of which certain aspects - such as air, temperature, heat and light distribution - can be controlled by the experimenter.
The advantage of this control over the amount of exposure to different factors in mesocosms, is that the observed effects within the mesocosm can be observed and then applied to larger ecosystems, as an example of what might happen if conditions in the larger ecosystem change. (Source)
You will assemble your mesocosm in class on Tuesday, April 11. You'll need some kind of clear glass or plastic jar with a lid, aquarium rocks, soil, plant life, water (if you're constructing an aquarium) and things of that nature. If you choose to include animals in your mesocosm, you'd better read what the IB has to say about ethics in research. You can be as diverse as you like with your mesocosm.
You and your partner can create whatever kind of mesocosm you'd like, but it cannot be the exact same mesocosm as another group. You will need to do some investigation over the kinds of mesocosms you can create. You will create them in class and find somewhere on campus where the mesocosm can safely get enough sunlight (my classroom is NOT that place). You should photo-document your mesocosm to note any particular changes. Include these photos in your journal. You need to record the temperature and atmospheric conditions every time you check it. In other words, you need to be able to explain the changes in your mesocosm over time and what affects them. The more data you collect, the better.
You will have to check on your mesocosms outside of class. In class, I will ask for updates and sign off on your journals. You will not have to write this lab up; your journal will be your lab grade and you and your partner will submit ONE journal.
Mesocosm Journals are due May 4, 2017.
Below are some videos to help you get started. I encourage you to go to YouTube and find more.
G4 project: The G4 project is a required element for the IB, but you will also get participation points. You have six class periods to work on your G4 and one class period to submit your reflections. Reflections will be done in class on April 30, 2017. You will work in groups of four. One of you will be the Lead Debater, one will be the Cross-Examiner, one will be the Closer, and the other one will be the Rebutter. Here is some useful info for you to learn your roles.
You will have two class periods this week for prep (April 12-13) and one period (April 19) next week for prep. Mrs. Andrea will assist you this week in learning about climate change and gathering appropriate resources for debate. YOU MAY NOT RELY SOLELY ON THE INTERNET! Any and all other research/prep work will be done on your own outside of class. I will ask you to submit a complete reference list before the day of the debate.
By "prep" I mean active research. You need to bring your laptops to class on April 12 and 19 and work on your research. I expect for you to use actual physical note cards to keep your data organized. A failure to bring your laptop and note cards results in a participation grade of zero for every day you are not on task.
April 20 & 26 are set aside for practice. Next week, I will give you a list of potential questions/prompts. Remember, you will not know what side you are on, nor which question/prompt you will be responding to, so you must make sure you are prepared for both sides and all of the prompts. The actual physical debate will take place on April 27, 2017.
Mesocosm Lab: Your last lab for this year is the mesocosm lab. You will partner with one other person and create your own mesocosm and observe it over the course of three weeks to one month. You will record your observations in a journal.
A mesocosm is an experimental tool that brings a small part of the natural environment under controlled conditions; it is used as a model of a larger ecosystem. Mesocosms provide a more accurate way to observe ecosystems than laboratory experimentation. In the lab, the process that occur in a natural environment are difficult to recreate as the experimenter cannot account for all the factors of a natural environment. Mesocosms are used instead, bringing the process of an ecosystem into a small environment, of which certain aspects - such as air, temperature, heat and light distribution - can be controlled by the experimenter.
The advantage of this control over the amount of exposure to different factors in mesocosms, is that the observed effects within the mesocosm can be observed and then applied to larger ecosystems, as an example of what might happen if conditions in the larger ecosystem change. (Source)
You will assemble your mesocosm in class on Tuesday, April 11. You'll need some kind of clear glass or plastic jar with a lid, aquarium rocks, soil, plant life, water (if you're constructing an aquarium) and things of that nature. If you choose to include animals in your mesocosm, you'd better read what the IB has to say about ethics in research. You can be as diverse as you like with your mesocosm.
You and your partner can create whatever kind of mesocosm you'd like, but it cannot be the exact same mesocosm as another group. You will need to do some investigation over the kinds of mesocosms you can create. You will create them in class and find somewhere on campus where the mesocosm can safely get enough sunlight (my classroom is NOT that place). You should photo-document your mesocosm to note any particular changes. Include these photos in your journal. You need to record the temperature and atmospheric conditions every time you check it. In other words, you need to be able to explain the changes in your mesocosm over time and what affects them. The more data you collect, the better.
You will have to check on your mesocosms outside of class. In class, I will ask for updates and sign off on your journals. You will not have to write this lab up; your journal will be your lab grade and you and your partner will submit ONE journal.
Mesocosm Journals are due May 4, 2017.
Below are some videos to help you get started. I encourage you to go to YouTube and find more.
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