REFLECTION ON ULTIMATE SURVIVAL UNIT

Reflect on what has helped you in understanding the "big idea" of the unit.
(Big Idea:  Students will understand the use and management of natural resources, the transformation of resources into human capital, goods, tools and machines as well as sustainable development of human society to maintain the delicate balance between man and the natural environment.)

Reflect on the unit question (What is a necessity and how does an organism ensure survival of its species within its environment?) and how it relates to the unit title:  Ultimate Survival.

How did the unit question allow us to view survival through The Area of Interaction: Environments:(FOR EXAMPLE:  The effects of one environment on another, the roles our environments play in the lives and well-being of humankind, and the effects of our actions, attitudes and constructs, such as sustainable development and conservation.)


What would you have liked to do more of?  Less of? 



In your point of view, how well did we investigate the unit question, concept, and area of interaction?  Include this in your reflection as well and give specific examples to support your opinions.  

Before you write your response, go to www.bubbl.us.com and complete a web of all the related concepts and knowledge you gained throughout this unit and paste a jpg image to your blog post.  Then, respond to the above writing prompts using various words from your web. 

  

Food Inc Reflection

After watching Food Inc, what are your impressions of how science of food industry, technology of food industry, and society are interrelated?  

How did the film describe science & technology as a positive or negative impact on society or the environment?  

How do our consumer choices affect what is out on the market and therefore, our own species survival?  

How are we as humans connected to how the Earth is used?  

A few ideas that popped up in conversation throughout the movie were:  

When do we say "no" to more high tech devices and go back to what caused the problem in the first place?  Why are we only into the "HOW" things work and not the "WHY" things don't?  What did this farmer mean? 

What is the difference between natural farming and industrial farming?  Which is better?  Are they both necessary for human survival?  Why or why not? 

If technology and industry have improved so much that we are getting faster, fatter, bigger, and cheaper, how are science and technology held responsible for improving or ruining human health and survival? 

What economic costs, environmental costs, ethical costs, health costs, and cultural costs did you observe while watching the film?   

Finally, state your final thoughts about this film and any changes you see happening in the food industry in the future or even your own eating habits.   

  

Green Plastics Video: Friend or Foe?

ChemMatters - Episode 2: Plastics Go Green from ACS Pressroom on Vimeo.

Watch the video above about "Green" methods for creating plastics.

Use the questions below in writing a reflection of this video on your blog.
When you are finished, check out at least two of your classmates' blogs and make a constructive comment on each. In your comments try to make a comparison between what you and your peers learned from the video.

How are these plastics being developed?

What makes these plastics "green?"

What are some issues with plastics that were mentioned?

How might these green plastics change packaging practices?

Packaging Project Sources

Here are some really good resources:

News about new developments in plastics
http://www.sayersftp.com/webimages/plastics/pdfs/latest.pdf
Types of Plastics
http://greennature.com/article2158.html
Plastics Recycling Information Sheet
http://www.wasteonline.org.uk/resources/InformationSheets/Plastics.htm
Plastics Uses & History Resource
http://dwb4.unl.edu/Chem/CHEM869E/CHEM869ELinks/www.plasticsresource.com/plastics_101/uses/uses.html
 Waste Education-Plastic Recycling-EXCELLENT SOURCE
http://www.essex.gov.uk/Environment%20Planning/Recycling-Waste/Waste-Education/Primary-Schools/Documents/Chapter_7_Plastics.pdf
Health Risks of Plastics
 http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=102202
Bioplastics
http://ezinearticles.com/?Mega-Packaging-Trends---Traditional-Plastic-Giving-Way-to-Bio-Plastic&id=2034764
Green Plastics History & Uses
http://greenplastics.com/wiki/Welcome_to_Green_Plastics

Plastic Back to Oil!!!

Hey Grade 7's!  I watched this video and it is truly an amazing example of how scientific inventions and technology can solve massive global problems.  I wonder if he could come to our school!  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGGabrorRS8&feature=player_embedded

Human Footprints

After watching the movie:  Human Footprints by National Geographic in class, you will need to write a reflection about your thoughts and opinions in your blog. Use the prompts below to help you.  I look forward to reading your thoughts.  :)

The video spoke a lot about sustainability.  What is sustainability?  Define this in your blog post and give examples of ways that you can lessen your human footprint.  What is a human footprint?  What do you think the video was trying to get across to you? 

Sometimes you will see these terms used:  Human Footprint, Carbon Footprint, and Eco Footprint.  They basically all mean the same thing. 
Visit this website:  http://www.ecovoyageurs.ca/en/page.cgi?stage=footprint/whatmakes

Find out what an Ecological Footprint is.  What does Earth have to do with our footprint?  Find out what makes an Ecological Footprint by clicking on each icon in the circle under:  What Makes an EcoFootprint?  Describe some global impacts that occur because of consumerism.  Now, follow the link below and play the game.

Using the website below, calculate your Eco Footprint and reflect on what you learned about your family behaviors and actions and what type of Footprint you are leaving on the planet.  Write down some ways that you believe you could lessen your footprint. 

 http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumerconsequences/


Now, go back to the Ecovoyageurs website and click on Earthly Impacts at the top of the page.  Visit both the Global and Personal impacts pages.  Were there any facts that surprised you from the website?  What about from the video we watched in class?  What were some facts that stuck in your head and really made you think about human behavior on our planet? 

Finally, click on You Can Help to get some ideas about what you can do to help lessen the footprint you leave.

***Remember all the things that we consume or use throughout a lifetime, you may be young and just one person, but that all adds up in the end.  What are some changes you and/or your family can make? 

If you'd like to see the website from the video, follow this link:  http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/human-footprint-3224/Overview

Relaxing Desert Video

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Ecosystem Review

http://prezi.com/xsj81zmxdiuv/copy-of-ecosystems/
http://prezi.com/ofxqbxnve9js/copy-of-ecology/
http://prezi.com/zkdgiimgdmbk/copy-of-ecosystems/

Use the above web links to go to three prezi presentations about ecosystems to help you with studying for Thursday's test.

ECOSYSTEM PROJECTS COMPLETE

Your classmates have completed their presentations. Have a look at them. Study them up for the test. It's a great way to study through your classmates prezis. :)

http://jovana123.glogster.com/savanna/ Jovana, Philipp, Riena, Viktor
http://prezi.com/3jyj849nob7q/the-desert-biome/ - Rafa and Adrian
http://prezi.com/presentation/llengyelisb@gmail.com/68j45r5/#0_162134 - Lilla and Monika
http://prezi.com/wdoisfsiyqrp/edit/#0_452396 - Roy and Ilija
http://prezi.com/brc9opv6f8o0/cold-deserts-by-luka-and-jan/ - Jan and Luka L.

Writing Current Events Tips

Be sure to read the SCIENCE NEWS each week.

• Choose a current article to write about in your blog post each Wednesday night.
  
• Be sure to include the title of the article, the author, the date it was written and the link to the article.
  
• Take notes as you read the article to be sure that you are paraphrasing and not just copy-pasting.
  
• Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If it's someone elses words, you need to use quotation marks and put the persons name at the end in parentheses who said it.
  
• Remember, the minimum is 200 words for your blog post, but your goal is to improve your writing each time.
  
• Read other classmates posts, and even Grade 6 or 8 student posts if you'd like. Comment on at least two student's blogs each week by Sunday night.
  
• When responding to a blog:
  

  Read a selection of your classmates’ postings. As you read their responses, note those to which you would like to respond with advice, questions, comments, and/or encouragement for improvement.

  Respond to two or more of your classmate's postings in any of the following ways:

• Provide feedback
  
• Ask a question
  
• Share an insight - (A connection or thought)
  
• Offer an opinion
  
• Make a suggestion
  
• Note a similarity or difference to your posting
  

Return to your post in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Reflect on what you learned and/or any insights you gained, and how these comments improve your writing. You do not have to write this, you are welcome to comment back on your post to help you remember for next week of what you wanted to improve.

Mr. Jamie Watts Presents

Last week we had an amazing guest speaker in our Grade 7 classroom to talk about his experiences in both the Arctic and Antarctic poles.



After his presentation, you all created a food web in your notebooks or online and posted them to your blog. I would like you to now create a new post OR go back to your blog post and write a reflection about the various things you learned about these two amazing ecosystems and how all the organisms there interact to ensure their species survival.

Points to discuss:

• What interactions between these animals did you notice? (For example, think about these various forms of interactions that you have been studying for your project: producers, consumers, decomposers, predation, commensalism, parasitism, mutualism)
  
• Why do animals migrate? (What is occurring within their environment that triggers this response?)
  
• How do animals know when it's right to reproduce? What conditions are they looking for?
  
• When do most large animals reproduce? What does it depend on?
  
• What adaptations did the animals exhibit in the polar region? (For example: body shape, appendages, wing span, food, coloration, stream-lined bodies, teeth, beaks, blubber, fur, group formations, hooks on tentacles, etc...)
• What various (breeding) mating rituals do species have?
  
• How do they ensure survival of their species? (Feeding, reproduction-production rates/birth rates/death risks, growth, etc...
• How did this presentation provide examples of what we have been studying?
  
• What are you wondering about now?
  
• How did Mr. Watts help tie in everything that we have been discussing during this unit?

If you want to find out more of what Mr. Watts does and is still doing, here is a Website I found. :)
http://www.quarkexpeditions.com/why-quark/our-people/expedition-team/jamie-watts

*When you have finished your own response, visit at least 4 other classmates blogs and see what they have reflected upon, once you do this go back and comment on your own blog with additions to make to your primary blog post. Questions to help you: What did you notice that other classmates talked about? How did they structure their writing? What ideas did you forget that they reminded you of? What did they write that sparked your own thinking? What did you like about your own writing?

Current Events

This week we will begin with reading science news and learning how to find the main idea of articles.

Choose one of the articles below, copy and past it in as a hyperlink into your blog.
Go to Moodlic and log into your Grade 7 Science Course.
Go to this week in Moodlic and there you will find the current event guidelines for weekly blog entries. Be sure to follow these guidelines.
Be prepared to discuss the impact of this type of scientific advancement on society.
You should take notes in your notebook and I encourage you to use a graphic organizer to organize your ideas as well as your writing. When you have finished, publish your summary and reflection in a new blog post on your science blog as well as the link.

James Bond-like Worms?!
http://www.sciencecastle.com/sc/index.php/home/james_bond_like_worms_discovered_in_deep_sea

Pea-sized Amphibians?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100825094915.htm

The Oily Gulf Disaster
http://sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20100602/Note2.asp

Tobacco Plant gives no Mercy to Predators!
http://www.eurekalert.org/features/kids/2010-08/aaft-wpc082010.php

Dirt! to the Rescue

Click on the link below to go to the Science Daily website. Read the article about soil.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2008/0711-saving_marshes__saving_the_planet.htm

Read the article above and write a reflection about it in your blog post. Discuss the impact of this type of scientific advancement on habitats and ecosystems.

Ecosystem Organization

Go to the website below to read about the difference between an ecosystem and biome. In your blog, create a table, or venn diagram to show the similarities and differences between them. Today, we will investigate how Ecosystems are organized.

http://library.thinkquest.org/11353/ecosystems.html

As you saw from the various animals in the film 'SURVIVAL', survival is based upon individuals adapting to their environments and utilizing the resources to the best of their abilities. Below is a list of 8 different ecosystems

	Tropical rain forest
	Subtropical savannas
	Deserts and semi-deserts
	Temperate grasslands
	Oceans and Seas
	Temperate forests
	Coniferous forests
	Alpine and polar regions You will be assigned an ecosystem in your class. The top four are for 7A to complete and the bottom four are for 7B to complete. Your task is to work with partner to create a concept map on poster paper to show how many habitats are within that specific ecosystem. Begin with the name of your ecosystem and then sprout out with the various habitats. Think back to the book I read you called "The Salamander Room" How many different habitats did the boy have in his room in the end? This is what you should find out. In the end, you will write a post about the similarities and differences between the various ecosystems and their habitats. Here is a link that may help you. http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org Questions to guide your project: What regions of the world is your ecosystem found in? (What about the climate?) What populations live in your ecosystem? What organisms interact with each other? (Who are the consumers, predators, decomposers?) What are the 3 types of interaction among species within the ecosystem? (For example: predation, competition, symbiosis (mutualism, commensalism, parasitism) What adaptations do these animals have? How does it help them to survive?

Living Things and the Environment

After reading the section on living things and the Environment in your textbook, apply your knowledge to answer the following questions in a new blog post on your blog. What needs are met by an organism's environment? What are the two parts of an organism's habitat with which it interacts? What are the levels of organization within an ecosystem? Why do you find different kinds of organisms in different habitats? Think about what will soon start happening within Belgrade. How do animals prepare for such a change?

Now, search for and embed a video showing a living thing in its environment. What would happen if we took away one or more of the living or nonliving factors in its environment? Which factors could they survive without?

Look at (at least) two of your classmates blog posts. Respond to them in their comments section under their post about either their answers to the questions or the video they have posted. Email me the names of the classmates who you respond to.

Blog Introduction

This blog will be used to post assignments for you to access such as videos, articles, podcasts, etc... After viewing your assignment on this blog, you will then respond in a new post on your own blog. I encourage you to use your own background knowledge of the topics we study throughout the year as well as your newly learned vocabulary when completing assignments.