W ELCOME TO THE RMS O PEN H OUSE M EET & G REET 2015 Mrs. Nicole Snipes Life Science – 7 th Grade

B ACKGROUND I NFORMATION Kennesaw State University: B.S.– Elementary & Early Childhood Education State of Georgia: Certified in Middle School Science & Math 10 years of management and leadership experience prior to teaching Fifth year teaching middle school in Paulding County

W HAT T O E XPECT A T S CHOOL ? Opening (10 – 15 minutes) - warm up, mini-review, clarify lesson, clarify questions, state standards and/or elements of the work, lead small group, set the stage for learning, communicate expectations for learning, provide feedback Work Period (25 – 30 minutes) - Activity period, conference & question, provide feedback, lead small group guidance, connect standard and/or elements to work, prepares for sharing, provide feedback (oral and/or written) Closing (10 – 15 minutes) – Summary, Share work and strategies, connect work to standards and/or elements, identify misconceptions, clarify learning goals assess students understanding, provide feedback (oral and/or written)

W HAT T O E XPECT A T H OME ? Homework Monday – Thursday Remind Text Messages Completion work 10 – 15 minutes of independent reviewing/studying of notes Student Agenda – to be signed by parent nightly as you talk with the student about his/her day at school.

W HAT M ATERIALS A RE N EEDED I N C LASS ? Interactive Science Notebook (composition book) – should be kept in class daily but can be taken home to review or study. Agenda – signed nightly Binder with a section for Science Loose leaf paper Pencil and hand held pencil sharpener or Pen Glue Sticks Colored Pencils

W HAT T O E XPECT T HIS Y EAR ? Unit One – Biomes Characteristics of Science Six Land Biomes – Desert, Tundra, Savannah, Mountain, Taiga, Temperate & Tropical Rain Forest Aquatic communities: freshwater, marine, & estuaries

W HAT T O E XPECT T HIS Y EAR ? Unit Two – Ecology Interdependence of organisms producers, consumers, decomposers Food Web & Food Chains

W HAT T O E XPECT T HIS Y EAR ? Unit Three – Cells (Structure & Function) Cell structure: cell membrane, cell wall, mitochondria, chloroplasts, nucleus, cytoplasm Cell Functions: diffusion, osmosis, photosynthesis, respiration Levels of cellular organization – cells for tissues, tissues form organs, organs form organ systems, organ systems form organisms.

W HAT T O E XPECT T HIS Y EAR ? Unit Four – Organization of Life Classification of living things into six kingdoms based on common characteristics: Eubacteria, Archabacteria Fungi, Protista, Animal, Plant Dichotomous keys for classification

W HAT T O E XPECT T HIS Y EAR ? Unit Five – Body Systems Digestive, respiratory, circulatory, excretory, muscular, skeletal, nervous, immune, and reproductive systems Each organ system has a specific function and interact with other organ systems.

W HAT T O E XPECT T HIS Y EAR ? Unit Six – Biological Traits & Heredity Roles of genes & chromosomes Inheritance of specific traits Abnormalities can be inherited Dominant and Recessive traits

W HAT T O E XPECT T HIS Y EAR ? Unit Seven – Evidence of Evolution Physical characteristics of organisms have changed over successive generations Species on Earth have evolved due to natural selection Survival of the Fittest

W HAT T O E XPECT T HIS Y EAR ? Unit Eight – Health/LifeSkills Training Health promotion and disease prevention Influence of outside factors on health behaviors Refraining from drug use Decision making skills & Goal setting skills to enhance health

Q UESTIONS ? Paulding County Website