Science 7 - Biome Study Sheet

Science 7 – Biome Study Sheet

Test – Friday, November 1^st  

Vocabulary

(You will need to match the term to the definition)

1.  ecosystem	-habitat where organisms interact
2.  biome	- similar ecosystems throughout the world grouped together
3.  predator	-an organism that hunts, kills and eats another organism
4 . prey	- an organism that is hunted for food
5.  species	-a term to describe each different organism
6.  population	-all the members of one species living in a specific area
7. community	-a group that is made up of two or more populations of different species
8.  producer	-an organism that can make its own food from non-living materials   Eg. Plants – photosynthesis
9. consumer	-an organism that must get its food from eating other organisms (There are 3 types of consumers)
10. omnivore	-a consumer that eats both plants and animals
11. herbivore	-a consumer that eats only plants
12. carnivore	-a consumer that eats other animals
13.  detritivore/decomposer	-an organism that gets its food energy by breaking down dead organisms (detritivores actually eat it, decomposers secrete enzymes) Eg. fungi (decomposer) earthworm (detritivore)
14.  stewardship	-how the gifts that God has given to us are used and cared for eg. the environment
15.  biosphere	-the parts of Earth where life can be found

Video Notes

(You will fill in the blanks – same as the ones Mrs. R highlighted in class)

Biome Project Presentations

Short Answer Questions

Rainforests	Coniferous Forests	Oceans	Rainforests
How much of the earth’s surface could be considered rainforest?  (6%)	What does the word, “coniferous” mean? (cone-bearing)	How much of the earth’s surface is ocean? (70%)	How much of the rainforest is being lost each second?  (1 and ½ acres)
What are the 2 types of rainforests? (Temperate and Tropical)	Name the coniferous tree that lives up to 2000 years and is commonly considered the tallest tree in the world. (sequoia )	What is something that endangers the welfare of the ocean? (over-fishing, pollution)	Approximately what percentage of the earth’s species of plants and animals are contained in tropical rainforests? (50%)

Paragraph Response 

(approximately 100 words)

Name some ways that we, as stewards of this Earth God has given us, have not properly cared for our planet.  Then suggest some ways we can better preserve, conserve and restore our planet.  You can discuss this issue on a global scale or very specifically to your own neighbourhood. 

Homework Sheet Oct. 21st to Oct. 25th

Grade 7 Homework    

October 21^st to October 25^th

Announcements:  Congratulations to Danae and the grade 7 council for running such a successful event!  The All Nighter was super fun and some people actually made it through the whole night without falling asleep.  I bet they had a good long sleep the next day.  I know I did.  :) Special thanks to Chaplain Josiah Bitgood for letting us use all the church equipment including the popcorn machine and for being such a great chaperone. 
Credit Auction next Friday, Nov.1st There are some great items such as a Tim Horton’s card, movie tickets, and jewelry. 
With the cooperation of the Ben Lee Landscaping crew, we are going to celebrate LEAF DAY on Thursday .  We will jump in a HUGE pile of leaves that the crew is going to leave for us and then we will eat maple leaf cookies, a cake shaped like a leaf (thank you Bella Siebring) and enjoy some poetry and writing assignments based on leaves.  Please wear appropriate clothing for the weather.  Gloves are a great idea if you want to throw leaves at your friends.
For Friday’s P.E. class and the rest of the afternoon, we will be Geocaching outside so again, please wear appropriate clothing for the weather. 
 Photo Retake Day – Tuesday, October 29^th

Weekly Challenge: Let’s try a challenge where we abstain from something.  This requires just as much discipline and motivation as our other challenges – maybe more. Starting Monday, October 21st  and lasting until Monday 8:30 a.m., October 28th, abstain from all non-school related games that involve electricity.  If it’s electronic, don’t play it.  If this doesn’t affect you in the least – add this to it:  No non-school related computer activities – eg. skype, facebook.

Bible Memory Quiz – Friday, October 25th  Ephesians 2: 8-10” For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

English 7 – Underground to Canada - Chapters 5-8 Questions due at the end of Wednesday.  Students may continue on and begin reading and answering questions for Chapters 9, 10, 11.

Great Blog that Resembles My Philosophy of Education

I have often used the Fable, "Animal School" (see blog post below) with my students to explain that it's okay if they are not "the best"  at every subject.  The unit that we are studying in Bible right now is "Who I Am in Christ" (little secret - it's actually the theme for every unit, every subject, every day of the year).  The awareness that we are each "fearfully and wonderfully made", uniquely, with an important destiny ordained by God, is central to our identity as Christians.  I am passionate about helping students understand this! We all have strengths and weaknesses; giftings and handicaps; likes and dislikes.  This is good! God can use each one of us  in a powerful way no matter who we are if we are first and foremost submitted to Him!  As we seek Him, He will show us who He has made us to be and what our purpose is.

In the elementary and middle school years, I believe that as teachers we are offering a smorgasbord of opportunities for learning.  Students should dive into each subject without rejecting it until they have really savoured each morsel the teacher has offered. They should give each opportunity for learning their absolute best effort!  They might never know if, with a bit of work, they may end up being extremely good at something they never expected to. There are many people who have achieved great accomplishments just by being persistent - by not giving up and instead, overcoming each obstacle as it is presented to them.

As an educator, I believe that it is important that students are encouraged to master all the basic skills in every subject.  I want the student gifted in art to be able to articulate his/her passion in a well written essay that serves as a scholarship application to the art school of his/her choice.  I want the student who excels in computer technology to understand the importance of lifelong fitness and the benefits of a a healthy lifestyle so that he/she is in top physical shape to do his/her job well and enjoy his/her family. I want the student who desires to be self-employed as a tradesman to also have the ability to complete his/her education successfully by knowing the basics of Math, English, Social and Science. Especially until the age of 16, I believe it is important to push students to be as well rounded as possible.  Once they are 16, they can start to "specialize" in their areas of greatest passion because they have had opportunity to try every dish on the smorgasbord and see what they thought fit with their palate.

As I teach, I pray daily for each student.  I pray that each one would come to know who he/she is in Christ and that he/she would be successful at the "right" things. Mark 8:36-37 says, "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?... " It brings my heart joy, and I believe God's as well, to see each student that passes through HCS eventually living a life that brings honour to Him - whether that be as a Homemaker, Doctor, Artist, CEO; Employer or Employee, the most important learning outcome is that of  knowing who we are in Christ and how this knowledge affects our whole life. If a student becomes successful in the world's eyes, but has "forfeited his soul", what is the benefit for eternity?  Nothing.  It is only what is achieved for the glory of God that lasts for eternity.  I feel very blessed and privileged to be able to teach at Heritage Christian School and help motivate students to live a life that is lived to the glory of Jesus Christ no matter what their occupation ends up being.


If you are interested in reading the blog that precipitated this blog, here it is: Blog that Resembles My Philosophy of Education

To Do List for Grade 7's on Wednesday, Oct. 16th

To Do List for Computer Time 

Choose the order you wish to complete these items.  You will be given all the time indicated by "Subject Work" on our schedule.  There will be Journal Sharing time from 2:15 - 2:45 so please make sure you have completed your journaling by that time.
***** If you are going to listen to music during this time, please obey the class contract - only Christian artists and don't spend too much time searching for music.
*****If you are on another game other than the ones listed below, you will have your computer taken away.

• Read chapters 5-8 in Underground to Canada
• Answer the questions on chapters 5-8.  File is found on the fileserver.  When finished, please print it out and put it in the blue box. 
• Borrow one of the dice on Mrs. R's desk and review multiplication for 2 minutes each. (Use a timer please)    *****OPTION:  While one person is doing the activity, another person can keep track of how many questions are answered in 2 minutes. Place records on the white board.  Mrs. R can do 35.  
• Do the grade 4 Fractions Review Q.4 on ixl.com in preparation for our Fraction Unit.  Do it to Mastery please unless you get permission from me to do less.  It took me 8 minutes and 12 seconds to complete it.  
• Journal for 10 minutes minimum.  Use a timer.  (Remember we will be sharing in groups at 2:15)
• Practice keyboarding for 15 minutes.  Use Mavis Beacon or  http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/keyboarding_games.html   or http://freetypinggame.net/ I tried the freetypinggame,net site and completed the 1 minute timed test - Classic Tales #27 and got 63 words per minute.  You can see my name on the scoreboard.  :)  
• Study your Spelling and Vocabulary by playing this game or creating your own.   http://kidsspell.com/spelling-games/spelleriums.php  Once I got the hang of it, I had a blast!  Boys, you get to blow things up.  You'll love it! 
• Free Read for 15 minutes. 
• If your name is on the board, please complete the work that is missing or talk to Mrs. Robideau about the situation.  

Homework Oct. 15th to 18th

I hope you all had a very good Thanksgiving Holiday.  I found the Teacher’s Conference in Surrey to be very profitable and I also enjoyed the long weekend with my family.  My students and their families are some of the many blessings I am thankful for. 

Announcements: Students will be bringing home their final 5 Minute Frenzy assessment sheet home with their scores on it.  Please sign it and have your child return it so I know you have seen it.  You can congratulate your child on making such an improvement upon their scores from the start of the year!  Wonderful progress!  The percentage on the paper was derived in this way: Under 5 minutes - 100% 5-6 minutes - 90% 6-7 minutes - 80% 7-8 minutes - 70% 8-9 minutes - 60% 9-10 minutes – 50% (Sheet must have less than 3 errors to be valid) We are beginning a fraction unit and students who do not know their multiplication facts quickly tend to find reducing fractions very slow and painful when it doesn’t have to be.  Please continue to work at home with flash cards, worksheets, games or any other methods to cement these facts in your child’s brain.  Our grade 7 student council representative, Danae Kelf, has been hard at work the last 2 weeks working with a committee of students to come up with an event for the grade 7 class.  They have come up with an idea to have an All Nighter at the Church.  They have done all the work to plan this themselves and have secured the chaperoning of myself and Chaplain Josiah Bitgood.  You will receive a separate letter from the council with information regarding this event.  This is an OPTIONAL event.  Please do not feel pressure to allow your child to attend if it interferes with any family plans.  One of my goals as their teacher is to guide them into more and more personal responsibility.  This class in particular seems to be especially good at event planning as evidenced by the Cardboard Carnival.

Homework  Guitar 7 – Quiz on Parts of the Guitar on Wednesday.  Very easy quiz – exactly the same as the handout given. Also, those in Guitar Class who are borrowing a School Guitar need to have their parents sign and return the Guitar Waiver Form which will be sent home on Wednesday.     Spelling and Vocabulary – Students need to be able to spell, define and use the word correctly in a sentence for the quiz.  Students are encouraged to create their own sentences but may memorize these sentences if they need to.  They do not need to memorize the part of speech.  The test will be on Friday.  We will review in class quite a bit, but I reminded students that for those who have difficulty with spelling, they will need to study more at home.  1.  genre (noun) – a category or type   A genre of fiction books is fantasy.   6.  deceive (verb) – to intentionally trick or lie   Satan tries to deceive us.                       2.  manipulate (verb)– to control somebody or something   Advertising can manipulate our shopping choices.      7.  ecosystem (noun)– a habitat where organisms interact  The ecosystem of an ocean is very different than that of a forest. 3.  redemption (noun)– the act of saving something and restoring it to a better condition Our redemption in Jesus is secure.       8. genesis(noun) – beginning, origin    Genesis is the first book of the Bible.   4.  eclectic (adj) - selecting from a variety of sources   His taste in music was rather eclectic as he enjoyed both rap and worship.  9. predator(noun) – an organism that hunts, kills and eats another organism  A cheetah is both predator and prey. 5.  believe (verb) – to accept something as true  Do you believe Jesus is the son of God? 10. accepted (verb/adj)  -received, welcoming, acknowledged     I am accepted in Christ.

Who I Am in Christ Affirmations

You will find the PDF here:  Who I Am in Christ

Science - Biome Group Project

Science 7:  Ecosystem Project

A biome is a large ecosystem where plants, animals, insects and people live in a certain type of climate. 

 

In a group of 3-5 people, choose from one of the following biomes and research it.  Then create a presentation (approx. 5-10 minutes) that tells the class about this biome in some creative way.  Your presentation may include any of the following:   Song, lecture, video, drama, dance, rap, poem, story, poster, powerpoint, game/quiz, etc. 

Here are the Major Biomes of the World:

Arctic Tundra	Deciduous Forest	Grasslands
Coniferous Forest	Desert	Mountains
Rainforests	Alpine	Savannah
Oceans	Freshwater	Wetlands

This is how you will be evaluated:

Class Presentation:    50%                                                   Evaluation of Peers:  50%

Content (Answers each of the 5 questions – 2 marks each.)	/10		How hard did this person work in class?	/10
Creativity	/10		How hard did he/she work outside of class?	/10
Speaking Skills and Aesthetics of Visuals	/10		Was this person cooperative and helpful?	/10
Professionalism, Organization and Preparedness	/10		Did this person do something especially good in this group?	Yes/No Explain
Use of Class time and Group Cooperation	/10		What would you give this person overall?	/10

Science 7: Research of a Biome

Group members:

1.  What is the name of the biome you have chosen?

________________________________________________________

2.  Where can it be found?

________________________________________________________

3.  What is the climate there?

_________________________________________________________

4.  What is an example of a food web or chain in this biome?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5.  How has this biome changed over the years and is it in any danger now or predicted for the future?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6.  Watch together a video or clips of videos that show you this biome or find a book with pictures in the library.