Bingo with Year 11 for Acids and Bases

Last week I played bingo with Year 11, for the first 20 elements of the periodic table. I sort of found bingo sheets online - the only one that included the first 20 elements was in the format of lines rather than the familiar table format, and the kids did query me; "don't you know what bingo is Miss?!"

By changing up some of the clues we were able to revise electron configuration, ion formation, and the periodic table:

Magnesium	Mg	2,8,2	The electron configuration for this element's’ ion is 2,8 and it has LOST 2 electrons
Hydrogen		1	Water molecules have two of these in them.
Lithium		2,1	The electron configuration for this element's’ ion is 2 and it has LOST 1 electrons
Calcium		2,8,8,2	The electron configuration for this element's’ ion is 2,8,8 and it has LOST 2 electrons
Phosphorus	P	2,8,5	The electron configuration for this element's’ ion is 2,8,8 and it has GAINED 3 electrons
Nitrogen	N	2,5	This atom has 7 protons
Argon		2,8,8	Has three full electron shells
Chlorine	Cl	2,8,7	This atom has 3 electrons shells, and gains 1 electron to become a negative ion.
Oxygen		2,6	Water molecules have one of these in them.
Helium		2	The first noble gas in group 18.
Berylium		2,2	Has four electrons
Fluorine		2,7	This atom has 9 protons.
Carbon		2,4	This atom makes up diamonds.
Boron		2,3	This atom has 2 electron shells, but loses 3 electrons to become a 3 plus ion.
Neon	Ne	2,8	Has two full electron shells
Sodium	Na	2,8,1	Has eleven electrons
Aluminium		2,8,3	The element now used to make tin cans.
Silicon		2,8,4	The element often used in breast implants.
Sulfur		2,8,6	This element is found lots in Rotorua, it is often yellow, it stinks like rotten eggs and it’s found around volcanoes and volcanic vents.
Potassium	K	2,8,8,1	This element has 4 electron shells but is not Calcium

They ended up enjoying it anyway, and it was so popular that I've decided to try this tactic again to help students become familiar with names of different ions, as they will be given an un-named Table of Ions in their NCEA Acids and Bases exam at the end of the year.  Unfortunately I couldn't find a good game of Bingo online (again), so this time I painstakingly made 20 bingo cards and to save someone else the trouble in the future I thought I would share them here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jE7kHVy01_hQ35xwQGj_xV3Ba0nPgvlCe-OvbQ-LHxM/edit?usp=sharing

Feel free to make a copy and use it! 

Colourfloo, Octarabbit, Flonty, Flurtle

Today Year 13 learned about taxes, and practiced answering NCEA questions about imaginary, made up species by using just the cues in the question that they recognized. 

To finish the lesson they each made an imaginary critter and made a question about it, to test their classmates understanding of chemo-, gravi-, hydro-, thigmo-, thermo-, photo- taxis. 

Here is my critter:

Here is my question: 

The colourfloo is an insect with six legs and two wings that flies around and lands on people to paint their nails while they are sleeping. After it paints their nails a fabulous pink colour, it also takes a bite out of the human's finger using it's sharp teeth, then quickly flies away.

What is the environmental stimulus it is responding to?

What is the orientation response it displays?

What is the adaptive advantage for the colourfloo?

Runnin' (From Lava)

Year 11 is starting their second assessment on Surface Features of New Zealand. 

To gain the credits in this assessment students need to produce a report, create a Prezi or presentation, or make a tourism video or brochure about Auckland's volcanoes. 

 They need to explain processes happening UNDER the ground that cause Auckland volcanoes, as well as what occurs ON TOP of the ground during an eruption, and some process that happen over many years AFTER to form the familiar peaks or lakes around Auckland. 

Why is there a Beyonce song at the start of this post?

I love learning through music! 

One of my students was listening to Beyonce instead of me the other day (she IS fabulous, but can she teach about volcanoes? hmmm...) 

Turns out that she can, if we use her song but change some lyrics. That same student and her friend will hopefully record this song for their class in coming days, to help them learn about the hotspot under Auckland:

[Girls]

These four layers deep have changed the Earth’s surface

The Earth’s surface,

It’s changing still.

The heat it starts deep first from the outer core,

Heats mantle up,

Mantle just above,

Starts heating up.

Where else can it go?

Where else can it go?

Convecting up,

To the crust.

Crust then starts to melt,

Magma building up,

Hot magma

Hot magma

Hotspot, hotspot, hotspot, hotspot,

Hotspot, hotspot, hotspot

No hotspots at the plate boundaries,

Just in the middle at Auckland,

It’s a hotspot, hotspot, hotspot, hotspot,

Hotspot, hotspot, hotspot,

A hundred kilometers below,

The melted rock is building up.

If the pressure builds we lose it all

[Boys]

If I feel the earth shake I won’t be standing still,

Be gapping it,

To Hamilton,

As the magma pushes up through cracks,

And fissures,

To the surface,

Eruption time!

Where else can I go?

When Auckland loses control,

Lava on you,

Chasing you.

Hotspot, hotspot, hotspot, hotspot,

Hotspot, hotspot, hotspot

Eruption size and lava type,

Make different volcano shapes.

[Girls]

It’s a hotspot, hotspot, hotspot, hotspot,

Hotspot, hotspot, hotspot,

Caldera, strato-volcano,

Cinder cone and shield shape too.

[Boys]

When the lava cools,

It leaves behind,

[Girls]

It’s a ro-cky volcano,

slopes and sides,

[Boys]

Then it changes shape more

over time

[Girls]

When humans use it or,

e-ro-sion.

Blogs for 2016

Kia ora, 

Today is my first proper lesson with my Year 13 Bio class, and this year we've decided to set up blogs for the learning that happens during class time. 

I've given students some time to personalize their blogs, and then as a way to see what they remember from Year 11 write their first post. 

I am aware that blogging in the senior school will be a tricky path to navigate, balancing learning, creating and sharing towards internals and externals with the need for students to work individually while completing assessments and demonstrating their individual understanding. 

However, we are a collaborative and digital school, and giving Year 13's an opportunity to return to their Primary and Intermediate Manaiakalani roots where they share their understanding as it emerges and as they complete tasks to build knowledge will hopefully prove beneficial for them :) 

Here are the links for the Year 13's blogs! 

        Aki      Asinate     Bobbigrace     Cherub     Fiu     Lana    Rachael     Rita     Sela

I also took the opportunity to remind them about reliability of sources of information on the web, and perhaps to warn any potential readers that their post is purely what they can remember from 2 years ago, and may not be completely correct!

Year 12's Respiration Song

Hey Tyrone, what are you listening to? 

Oh it's a new song, it's called the Respiration Rap Trap!

How does it go, maybe I know it!

"oxygen and glucose, this changes to CO2 and water yaaaa, don't forget the ATP-"

"-ok ok, let's just listen to the full rap!

Here you go:

Lyrics: 

Tamaki Production

Biooo Babes

Yaa-a-

Oxygen and Glucose

VERSE 1

I’m like hey what’s up? Respire.

Need some energy for my cell life pro-ces-ses.

I just wanna turn, (pause) some glucose into it.

Use mitocondria, oxygen and the glucose.

Show you how to change it, making ATP for sure.

Make some more stuff, like water and a gas.

Carbon dioxide, what a waste product.

Energy requires, four main reactions.

With in and outer membrane, and a cristae, matrix though.

Man I swear I love it how it works in me for,

Making energy, in my different tissues,

Muscles they have many, cause of work that they do,

Other tissues they have less, less energy on show.

CHORUS

Oxygen and glucose

this changes to, CO2 aaandwater, yeaah,

Don’t forget the ATP,

It’s the energy for the cell from respiration yeaah

Mitochondria baby,

The folded cristae in-crease surface are-aaahh

Mitochondria baby,

Found more in the tissues that need more energy

I’m like “hey whats up?” Respire.

VERSE 2

Glucose enters the cell, in the cytoplasm it sits,

splits in two, this is called glycolysis.

I just might tell you now that the two molecules

Are called pyruvate, and now more reactions accelerate.

They go in mitochondria, and the link reaction happens,

on the cristae they roll through to the Krebs Cycle happy that they’re still on the cristae, there’s like a thousand reactions,

all you need to know is,

that the Krebs cycle happens.

CHORUS

Oxygen + glucose

this changes to,CO2 aaandwater, yeaah,

Don’t forget the ATP,

It’s the energy for the cellfrom respiration yeaah

Mitochondria baby,

The folded cristae in-crease surface are-aaahh

Mitochondria baby,

Found more in the tissues that need more energy

I’m like “hey whats up?” Respire.

VERSE 3

Electron-tran-sport chain pumps out hy-dro-gen ions,

Falling down concentration gradient it’s own,

Makes the ATP, now you definitely know,

Cause respirate or nothing,

Re-re-respirate or nothing!!

Yeah,

You heard my class.

We sound like a million mitochondria on this track.

And there’s more mitochondria in cells and tissue that need more energy to do more work.

Put your mitochondria where your mouth is so it can keep running.

Mitochondria make cell money.

We rollin in it.

Yeah.

Tamaki Productions.

Shh.