7th/8th Graders Begin to Think Like Entrepreneurs

The 7th and 8th graders are embarking upon a new journey in ETC.  Second quarter starts a new venture called Entrepreneur Fair during which students will have the opportunity to start their own business.  Students will develop business plans, products or services and marketing materials.  All of their hard work will be displayed in June at an Entrepreneur Fair at MJDS.  Last week, students started thinking like entrepreneurs by attempting to solve real-world business problems.  They used this experience and some work looking at the kinds of qualities an entrepreneur possess to begin to brainstorm some ideas.   Next week they will meet with business owners from our community to collaborate with them and learn more about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.  Ask them about their initial ideas!

 

8th Graders Become Genetic Counselors

 

The 8th graders are using their knowledge of genetics to analyze a case study.  Their goal is to determine the probability that a couple, Greg and Olga, will pass two different genetic diseases onto their children.  Students began their analysis of Greg and Olga’s case by creating a pedigree to outline the family history of the diseases and to try to figure out what genotypes Greg and Olga might be for each condition.  This will help them counsel the couple as they consider a family.

7th Grade Talk Climate Change

Periodically, throughout the year, students will have the opportunity to read about and discuss current science issues.  Today, they were fired up about climate change.  Talking about complex issues takes skill.  To help students formulate their ideas and discuss the issues effectively they used a discussion strategy called Save the Last Word.  Students read an article and documented ideas they 1) agree with, 2) disagree with, 3) have questions about, 4) can make connections to or 5) want to talk more about.  They then shared these ideas with a small group of peers discussing their ideas further.  This strategy challenges students to develop their own ideas, share them with their peers and respond to others’ ideas.  Ask them how they feel about our changing environment and nations’ reactions to it.

8th Graders Prepare for Case Study Analysis

The 8th graders spent last week learning that not all traits are passed on from one generation to the next in the same ways.  Autosomal, incomplete dominance, codominance and X-Linked are some of the inheritance patterns that determine how traits present themselves in an organism.  It is so exciting to see students making connections between traits in their own families and what they are learning in class.  In the next weeks, students will use what they have learned about genetics to analyze two case studies.   Stay tuned for updates!