Coriolis Effect

Here is an illustration of the Coriolis Effect.

Guest Astronomy/Earth Science Lecturer

Today the Wynona Science Laboratory hosted a guest lecturer Mr. William "Willy" St. John. The High School and Middle School Students discussed solar flares and their effect on Earth's magnetic field, weather radar and forecasting, storm chasing, and much more. St. John introduced us to his web site where students can find educational tools and data including the very impressive " Weather and Disaster Monitoring Page". You can explore a variety of weather tools and much more at http://www.williamstjohn.net/

Science Chapter Exams This Week

Don't forget Chapter Exams this week.

Biology I- Tuesday, November 10th: Cell Structure and Function
Earth Science- Tuesday, November 10th: Weathering, Erosion, and Hydrologic Cycle
Zoology- Thursday, November 12th: Mollusca, Annelida Lab Practical
6th Grade Science- Tuesday, November 10th: Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Volcanoes, Plate Tectonics.
7/8th Grade Science- Monday, November 9th: Rock and Mineral Practical

Wynona High School Takes 12th at State Robotics Competition

Wynona's Robotics Team competed against 21 schools from around the state at last Saturday's competition at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, Oklahoma. The competition was tough, but Wynona certainly held their own against schools 10 times our size. Way to go team!

Robotics Practice Run is a Success

Joseph S., Kailey P., and Dhawn S., robotics team members, traveled to NWOSU in Alva on Saturday for our robot's trial run on the practice course. There were a variety of interesting designs at the field trial (right- a competitor's entry).


The Wynona robot (left) performed up to par with everyone else, but will require some minor modifications before this Saturday's competition. The robots will have to run through a timed obstical course where they must gather various items for points.

Voki Avatar, Viscious Rex

Get a Voki now!

Wynona Robotics Team to Attend Practice in Alva

The Wynona Robotics team will travel to Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva this Saturday to participate in a practice run on the obstacle course. There are 21 teams competing this year. Mr. Powell and the team have been working on the robot for several weeks now. Eleven of our high school students have participated in constructing the robot.

Grade Inflation and Academic Standards

Readers might be interested in some information about grade inflation and academic standards. As one student recently commented in class, "grades are more than just a mark on a paper". How true that is. This is an ongoing discussion/debate in my classes. As former Chairman of the Academic Standards Committee, St. Gregory's University I was deeply involved in this discussion starting over a decade ago. Currently, I am a member of the Master Teacher Project administered by The Oklahoma Department of Education's Office of Standards and Curriculum. Wynona School is participating by conduction a book review/ discussion of student literacy and developing recommendations to improve student performance.

I believe that students should understand the long term ramifications of grade inflation and diluted academic standards. This issue not only has consequences for the individual student, but for American society as a whole. I want to share some thoughts on this topic in the days and weeks to come. Keep an eye on Zooblog to follow this issue. First of all however, we need to understand the definition of "grade inflation". Here is a good definition:

According to Random House Dictionary 2009, Grade Inflation is:

-noun- the awarding of higher grades than students deserve either to maintain a school's academic reputation or as a result of diminished teacher expectations.

-origin- 1980-85

Oklahoma Academy of Science Field Meeting at Osage Hills

Fall Break is fast approaching and ALL science classes will have tests next week. We will review today and Monday. I will also collect note books before break. The Oklahoma Academy of Science annual Fall Field Meeting starts this afternoon and runs through Sunday morning at Osage Hills State Park. There will be a variety of field excursions including botany, herpetology, ichthyology, mammalogy, ornithology, malocology, geography, astronomy, geology, and aquatic invertebrates. Photo insert of Mr. Jimmie Pigg and Dr. Vernon Powders at the 1990 Fall Field Meeting.

6th Graders Study Laws of Motion

The 6th Grade Science Class has been studying motion and just finished a series of pendulum experiments this week. This activity required students to use metric and english units, and measuring instruments (rulers, balances, and digital timers). The whole idea was to study the effects of pendulum length and weight on periodicity.

Wynona Natural History Collection

Time is flying by really fast and cold weather is just around the corner; at least that is what the house flies think. I bet I have killed 100 house flies that have sought shelter in my trailer over the past two days. We have been overrun with specimens in the science lab. Students have been bringing in all manner of critters; garter snakes (Thamnophis sp.), Copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix), praying mantis, tarantulas, oak borers, GIANT slugs! 18-20cm (total length), Golden Orb Spiders, and a multitude of arthropods I have not even begun to sort through yet. Mostly, we observe specimens for a day or two and the find a safe habitat outside of town to release them. Some animals and botanical specimens will become permanent residents in our small, but growing natural history collection. One specimen we are particularly proud of is the 1.09m long Timber Rattle Snake (Crotalus horridus) my neighbors brought me a couple of weeks ago. The snake had been run over, but was in excellent condition. We skinned the snake and preserved the hide.

Fall Science Update

Our trip to the Wildlife Expo in Guthrie was a success. Quite a feat considering we took two busses with about 45 students (grades 6-12), 10 parent sponsors, and 6 teachers. Thanks to all the staff and families who helped pull it off!

Five-week progress reports went out last week and parents should schedule an appointment to visit if they are concerned with their student’s progress.

Here is this week’s schedule:

Biology I- Cell Structure and Function
Earth Science- Minerals
Zoology- Phylum Platyhelminthes (flatworms), lab practical Tuesday
6th Grade Science- Motion and Newton’s Laws
7/8th Grade Science- Rocks (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic)

This is real "authentic" Science

The buzz among science educators is "authentic science". For an old school zoologist, authentic science opens the door for lots of fun. The only trick is to meet our state standards and objectives in the process. This is really not all that tough. For example, Oklahoma science objectives ask students to "observe, measure, and classify". Perfect! We can use inexpensive natural resources around us to make this exciting and fun. Our students are inherently curious and this is where we can take advantage of that. In this photo, one of our students dissects a bunch of snake eggs that were discovered by a local resident and brought to our classroom. The students will measure and classify these specimens for future study.

Opportunistic Herpetology in the Classroom

Another really neat thing about autumn in Oklahoma is that we have an abundance of herpetological activity. Herpetology is the study of reptiles and amphibians; that is what I specialize in. The cooler, more moist conditions trigger animals to move in preparation for winter. They are feeding and migrating; some salamanders and toads are even breeding this time of year. This week we have observed several reptiles and amphibians including: American Toad (Bufo americanus), Green Tree Frog (Hyla cineria), Common Snapping Turtle (Celidra srpentina), Ornate Box Turtle (Terapene ornata), Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus), Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix), and Water Snakes (Nerodia) eggs.

Many of these animals can be easily observed in the classroom with some basic training and safety precautions. Animals can often then be released back at the point of capture. There are certain permits that are required to hold these animals in captivity. If you would like more information on Oklahoma Herpetology you may contact me. I will try to post some more tidbits in ZooBlog along the way- time permitting.

12 Words Commonly Used in Test Questions

These 12 words are very often part of the instructions on tests. Students do better if you know what to do when they see one of these words on a test. Spend a little time familiarizing yourself with these words and their meaning.

Trace- follow, track, find clues, list steps, outline, to make a graphic record
Analyze- break up the problem, explain each part, determine the relationship of each part
Infer- assume, imply, read between the lines, derive a conclusion from facts and evidence
Evaluate- math=solve or determine the value, rate, judge, look at both sides
Formulate- create, build, plan
Describe- who, what, when, how, why, supporting statements, give an account
Support- provide evidence, back it up, examples, details, reasons why
Explain- who, what, when, how, why, supporting statements
Summarize- short version, low down, brief, state the main idea
Compare- tell how things are alike
Contrast- tell how things are different
Predict- forecast, foretell, what is going to happen

2009 Wildlife Expo

YES, the rumors are true! We ARE going to the 2009 Wildlife Expo School Day on Friday, September 25th. If you want more information visit the website at: http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/wildlifeexpo.htm You may also view a video from last year showing some of the events. The video also gives instructions on what to bring, appropriate clothing, etc. View the video at: http://www.wynona.k12.ok.us/Site/Featured_Student_Project.html

Science Tests This Week

There will be exams in all WPS science classes this Friday. One exception, Earth Science, will be on Thursday. Notebooks in each class will be due the day of the exam.

September Science Update

Cooler fall temperatures at night and warm "Indian Summer" days are accompanied by animals and plants carrying out their annual life cycles or preparing for the winter.

Students, as you head into the autumn season here are some upcoming events to remember:

Oklahoma Wildlife Expo 2009

Wynona 6-12th grade science students will travel to the Lazy-E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma to attend the Wildlife Expo School Day Event on Friday, September 25th. This special school day event is hosted by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and will feature over 100 wildlife and outdoor related exhibits. We will be traveling by bus and will most certainly need parent sponsors. If you are interested in helping out, contact me through our school office. This is a free event, but in order to participate students must be eligible under school guidelines, the same as any other extra curricular activity.

Oklahoma Academy of Science- Fall Field Meeting

OAS will hold this year's field meeting at Osage Hills State Park the weekend of October 9-11th. Field trips will include Aquatic Invertebrates, Botany, Entomology, Geography, Geology, Herpetology, Ichthyology, Malacology, Mammalogy, Mycology, and Ornithology.

Friday evening's program (8-9:00 pm) will feature Calos Cordova from Oklahoma State University who will speak about Paleoecology of Bison, Grasses, and Fire in the Great Plains.

There will be astronomical viewing (weather permitting) from 9:30-11:30 pm)

Saturday evening, Steve Hallgren from Oklahoma State University will speak about Fire Ecology in the Cross Timbers. For more information go to the website: http://oas.uco.edu/

Resurrection Fern after 24 hours

Resurrection Fern after two hours

Resurrection Fern

Yesterday morning we poured a little tap water into a Petri dish containing a dormant resurrection fern, Polypodium polypodioides. We rehydrated the fern at 8:00 am on Wednesday, 26 August. These native ferns can remain dehydrated but alive for up to 50 years! After a good rain they will be green and lush in about 48 hours.

Bat Measurement Spreadsheet

Bat Identifications

Congratulations students! We have completed our bat species identifications. We seem to have (2) Big Brown Bats, Eptesicus fuscus and (1) Red Bat, Lasiurus borealis. Both species are within the family Vespertilionidae commonly found in our region. The bats will now be permanently maintained in our natural history collection for study by future classes.

The emphases in this exercise were on observation, measurement, and classification. We used measuring instruments including metric rulers and calipers. We used hand lenses, binocular dissecting microscopes, and digital cameras to collect our observations. Measurements were entered into an Excel spreadsheet and averaged across classes.

Scientific Method Review

All science students/grades will continue our review of the scientific method this week. Each student should study the PowerPoint entitled “How science works” that resides on our wiki space (http://zoowiki.wikispaces.com/ ). Students have probably seen this material at least once before at their lower grade levels.

The classroom exercise today will concentrate on skills required to apply the scientific method (observe, measure, and classify). We are classifying three bat specimens (order Chiroptera) that were collected in and around our school over the summer and preserved for study. Students will use the dichotomous key from Clair, et al. 1989 to identify our bats.

Natural History Notes: There are more than 850 species of bats worldwide. Oklahoma has 19 bat species representing two taxonomic families. This material corresponds to Oklahoma’s Science Process and Inquiry standards 1.1-3 and 2.1-2.

Reference:

Caire, W., J.D. Tyler, B.P. Glass, and M.A. Mares. 1989. Mammals of Oklahoma. University of Oklahoma, Norman. 567p.

Zooblog Etiquette Guidelines

Now that class enrollment has stabilized and we are returning to a routine, I wanted to post some basic guidelines for students using Zooblog.

1. Blogs are a platform designed to conduct on-line discussions concerning a specific topic(s); don’t stray from the central theme.

2. You are writing for a “global audience”. What you post is viewable by the public at large. When you post e-mails, blog comments, tweets, etc., these records come to reside permanently in cyberspace. Be courteous and respectful no matter what. Remember, many employers today conduct Internet searches on potential employees before hiring them. Your reputation and integrity is at stake here and what is done cannot be undone. Once you press the send/enter button, you cannot take it back.

3. Avoid plagiarism as you would in any form of media. It is not OK to copy and paste or use other people’s work without permission. If you refer to another author’s work, you should cite the reference. This applies to text/narrative, pictures, videos, and music.

4. It is OK to express your opinion, but you should try to be constructive and tactful. Again, remember that your reputation and the reputations of others are at stake here. If you offer a rebuttal try to make sure it is thoughtfully constructed and on topic. Avoid derogatory remarks and foul language.

5. Avoid SPAM. Do not unnecessarily advertise yourself or another website on someone else’s blog. If you want to post a link, you should contact the host 1st.

6. Stay current. If you are going to participate in a blog, try to keep up with the discussion and contribute. If you are managing a blog, give your readers something to look forward to. Reply to comments.