In Ms. Allnutt’s biology classes, students have been learning what the word “biology” means and what it means to be considered alive. If they learn nothing else this year, they will at least remember what “bio” means!

Students in general biology have spent lots of time working on their scientific thinking skills through labs based on observation and questioning. We learned about a girl named Addie who got extremely sick over and over again. We have been using this case to learn about bacteria, antibiotics and the development of antibiotic resistance through evolution by natural selection. We have discovered where around the school bacteria can be found, have used mathematical models to predict how bacterial populations grow through reproduction, and learned how they interact with different types of antibiotics and that some may have a competitive advantage.

In the co-taught biology classes, students have learned about the different molecules essential for life, such as proteins and carbohydrates, and about what makes water such a unique compound and important for life on Earth. We are currently learning about the structure of cells. There is a lot of new information in this chapter, but there are also several fun projects and labs. We will be doing a project to make a model of the cell to help remember all the parts and their functions. The model can be edible (cakes or pizzas) or it could be made out of Legos or perhaps a large crafty poster! Every year students have fun with this project so I am excited to see how creative we can get. 

Applied science students are learning the process of science through inquiry projects. Our first was to determine how many drops of water can fit on a penny and we are currently trying to determine if a beetle’s size has any relation to its strength: how many pennies can they pull?