Microscope Madness!!

 One of the very important tools used by biologists is the microscope.  We have been doing a lot of exploring recently in class with two different types of microscopes, compound light microscopes and electron microscopes.

We were extremely fortunate this year to be able to purchase new compound light microscopes, and my students were the very first to use these new microscopes!  I was thrilled with the new microscopes and the ease with which the students were able to use them.  We used the compound light microscopes to complete three different lab activities.  The first activity had students practice with the microscope to become familiar with how to use it, and demonstrated to them how the microscope lenses produce flipped images of the specimens being viewed.  The second activity had students solve a mystery by identifying different substances using the microscope.  In the third activity, the students made slides of skin cells (from their own wrists!), onion cells, and pond water from our campus wetland.  It was fun to see the difference between animal and plant cells while comparing the skin cells and onion cells.  Some of our pond water specimens were amazing!  We were able to find larvae and even some planaria, which were both super cool to see under the microscope!  I was so caught up in the activity, I didn't get any pictures of these specimens, but I wish I had!  Here are just a few pictures of the students working with the microscopes.

In addition, we had the amazing opportunity to work with the SCOPE Program from the University of Toledo.  The University was able to connect their Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with the computer in my classroom so that my students were able to remotely operate the University's SEM.  This is really cool, because very few high school students ever get the opportunity to operate such a large and expensive microscope.  The director of the program spoke to my students about the SEM and how it compares to compound light microscopes, and then several students in each class got to sit at my computer and use the SEM to center, zoom in and out, and focus on specimens.  The students did a great job using the microscope and took some amazing photos.  This is my second year of bringing this program to my class, and I am very excited to continue to use it in the future.

Students use my classroom computer (in Spring Grove, PA) to remotely control the Scanning Electron Microscope (in Toledo, OH).

Here are some of the photos taken by the students:

Diatoms 6,000x magnification

Gecko Skin 5,500x magnification

Lilac Pollen 850x magnification

Moth Head 3,700x magnification

Cicada Wing 1,900x magnification

E. coli bacteria 25,000x magnification

Shark Skin 130x magnification

Butterfly Wing 850x magnification

New School Year 2022!

 We are back at it again!  A new school year is always exciting and busy.  Both students and teachers have had the summer to rest and rejuvenate, so the first few weeks are usually a time where everyone is putting forth their very best effort in order to get the year off to a great start!

In biology class this year, we began the year with a new activity that I adapted from Amy Brown Science, a resource on Teachers Pay Teachers.  I called this activity "Biology Bonanza," and it allowed students to move throughout different stations in the classroom and complete activities utilizing equipment and skills that will be important throughout the year.  These included using the microscope, interpreting graphed data, making inferences, making observations, utilizing measurement tools, and using science prefixes/suffixes to determine the meanings of larger words.  Each station also asked students a "get-to-know-you" question for them to discuss within their group, so not only did students get a taste of what is to come in biology class, they also got to know their classmates a little bit!  Below are some pictures from my period 1/2 class during the activity:

Microscope Use

Analyzing Data

Making Observations

Is it an animal?  

Additionally, each class worked to develop a set of class norms, which is basically a contract or agreement that we developed together about how we will each try to conduct ourselves to allow the class to function at its best.  Students brainstormed words and then we used a website recommended by a colleague at my school (Word Art Site) to create a cute word picture using their class period number.  These are posted in the room, and each student has a copy as well.  I hope that these words can be a good guiding force for both the students and myself throughout the year.  Some of my favorite words include: friendly, welcoming, passionate, open-minded, accepted, comfortable, calm, alive, good vibes, non-judgmental, teamwork, motivated, and responsible (just to name a few! 😀)

Our class norms, surrounded by stars decorated by each of my students

Students creating their unique stars for the bulletin board

We are looking forward to really diving into Unit 1, the Science of Biology.  Because we have a big event coming up on September 13 involving an electron microscope, we are starting the unit a little differently this year by talking about the metric system of measurement and microscopes, and then we will move on to the scientific process and characteristics shared by living organisms.  After a brief discussion of metric units, students had the chance to practice using measurement tools to measure length, mass, and volume. Below are some pictures from my period 10/11 class.

Using the triple beam balance to measure mass

Using the small graduated cylinder to measure volume

More triple beam balance!

To end this post, I wanted to share a cute picture of a praying mantis on the window here at school!  Hopefully it is an omen of a great year to come!

Have a great year, SG!