Category Archives: Activity

Sauce for the goose ain’t necessarily sauce for the gander

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Ed Hitchcock

We wrapped up the Chemistry unit of Grade 9 Science recently, and I was looking for an activity for review that might be a bit different, a bit more engaging, and intellectually stimulating at the same time. Since I had … Continue reading →

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The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, or Never Use a Formula You Don’t Understand

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Ed Hitchcock

In my grade 10 Science class I recently gave my students an introductory microscope lab, and in my haste I used a “canned” lab from a textbook. Although there are some good activities in this lab, students are presented with … Continue reading →

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Followup on non-traditional instruction

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Ed Hitchcock

Back in October I posted about my foray into non-traditional instruction, wherein the students in my grade 9 Science class wrote letters in order to take civic action regarding invasive species. Well, the replies have started coming in, and the … Continue reading →

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End of Term Quickies

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

Because of the vagaries of the calendar, school goes late in December this year. As a result, everyone is frazzled, and a not insignificant number of students have already left for the holidays*. As a result, I needed to come … Continue reading →

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Mitosis lab as the basis for a discussion of error

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

We were doing a lab in Biology the other day. AP Biology teachers will be familiar with it, but the basic idea is that students count the number of cells of each phase in the meristem of an onion root … Continue reading →

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Simple analogy for homologous chromosomes

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

I am teaching Grade 11 Biology this year for the first time in seven or eight years, and quite enjoying it. One thing about doing a course you haven’t taught in a while is the joy of going back through … Continue reading →

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Microscope Diagram

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

Many years ago, as a (fairly) new teacher, I made a diagram of a typical microscope that I was rather proud of. The years went by, and my photocopied versions would run low, so I would copy the copies, but … Continue reading →

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The cake is the truth

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

Three of my Grade 9 students, who happen to be fans of Cake Boss on the food network, decided to use a cake to represent the water cycle for a project. And hey, who am I to argue?
Behold the wonderfulness:

… Continue reading →

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Squishy circuits

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

I have not tried it yet, but with my intro to electricity in grade 9 this coming year I am SO doing this:

Funny thing is, she says “high school physics teachers have been doing this for years” – where the … Continue reading →

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Using the Sloan SkyServer

Posted on May 5, 2011 by ed

In Grade 9 Science, we are currently doing the Astronomy unit. Today we were looking at the shapes of galaxies, and a variety of deep sky objects one can see with even a modest telescope. Instead of just rambling off … Continue reading →

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