Vanessa Vihnanek

1. What did you learn this week? This week we furthered our discussion about DNA. We learned that RNA comes from DNA because it makes small copies of parts of the DNA strand that is used to make protein. These copies are made during a process called transcription. The 20 different types of amino acids are what create protein.Genes are small sections of a DNA strand. There is four nucleotide base pairs that make up DNA. These include guanine, cytosine, adenine, and thymine.  2. Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew? I took a Nutrition class over winter break. I can relate what I learned about amino acids and proteins to what we learned this week in class. I can also relate what we learned about DNA to my high school biology class. I knew about the general basics of DNA but this class helped reteach me the important details I forgot.  3. How can you apply what you've learned to your teaching in the future? I can apply what I've learned into activities ...

 1. What did you learn this week? This week we learned about pollination. We pollinated our fast plant flower to help keep them alive. The female bees help transfer the pollen from one flower to the next. We also learned about sea turtles. We read a children's book and played a game to help us understand the topic. It was heartbreaking to learn that only one in one thousand turtles survive. A lot of factors affect the turtles survival both through nature and by humans. For example, lights from houses on the beach can distract turtles or racoons could eat the turtle eggs.  2. Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew? I am able to relate the lesson on turtles to what I already knew. When we played the turtle game, I was able to connect raccoons eating the eggs to a movie I have seen. In "The Last Song" the protagonist tries to protect the turtle eggs. She camps out around the nest to make sure nothing happens to them. One of the nights as shes guardi...

 1. What did we learn this week? This week we learned about biomes, habitats, and ecosystems. A biome is a large area that has similar climates and types of plants and animals. Habitats are a specific place where a particular community of organisms live. Finally, an ecosystem is a community of both living and non living things. In this community, the organisms interact with each other in a specific environment. We also learned about food chains and food webs this week. In food chains, only 10% of the energy is retained as you move up a trophic level. A food web shows the relationship between living things and the food they eat. It is a more detailed depiction of how the energy moves throughout the system.  2. Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew? Yes, I was able to relate what I learned this week to what I already knew. I remember learning about the difference between biomes and habitats in the past. When we were asked how to differentiate the two, ...

1. What did I learn this week?  This week we learned about the use of models in Science, specifically the 5E Model of Science Instruction. The model got the name because it's made up of five teaching phases that are each titled with with a word starting with E. This model works well with the NGSS. The five phases of the 5E model are engage, explore, explain, extend, and evaluate. Engage allows students to organize their thinking and develop questions to enhance their knowledge of the topic. Explore gives students the time to collaborate with their peers and learn by combining their curiosity and current knowledge. Explain focuses on teaching vocabulary and concepts. Extend allows students to investigate with their peers and test hypotheses to draw new conclusions. Finally, teachers can evaluate their students with tests at the end of the unit to check for understanding.  2. Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew?  Yes, I was able to relate the ex...