My day started out with girls PE and I gave the girls the chance to tackle the Marshmallow River. The girls came up with a great strategy quickly, but had trouble making it work. The last two girls across the river ended up having to scoot across on a single marshmallow, rather than stepping on marshmallow "Stepping stones." The girls were super supportive of each other and really helped each other and cheered for one another. I look forward to continue to challenge them with increasingly difficult initiatives.
In 8th grade, we we dissected Perch. There was a bit of a fishy smell to be overcome, but it was great to observe all the things that we have been talking about in lecture. Kiran and Payam's fish had a nice full swim bladder, which made the idea of the fish having an actual air sac inside them to help them move up and down in the water column a little more tangible. It was also really great to look at the lateral line, the fish's extra sensory organ that allows them to sense changes in water pressure around them and to know if there is a fish or a boat or a rock nearby. Junte's fish was FULL of eggs. The ovary was so large that it filled the entire abdomen of the fish and pushed all the other organs up towards the head.
Check it out:
Kiran and Payam's fish was much daintier and was most likely a male. If a fish does not have a giant egg filled ovary like the one in the picture, it does not necessary mean it is a male. A females gonads are generally larger than the males, but they are not always filled with eggs.
Overall it was a successful dissection. We had fun and learned at the same time.
8th graders, please do not forget to answer all the questions, draw all the pictures, and do all the calculations asked for in the lab hand out. This assignment it due Monday and I am expecting quality work that is nicely presented. Type the questions. Use colored pencils on the diagrams. Proof read your work!!!
In 7th grade we listened to Fatimah and Nimras presentation on the lovely Pin Cushion Star Fish. This is one of my favorite animals that I saw often while diving in The Bahamas this past summer. The girls may have suffered a bit, by researching something that I know a lot about, but they answered questions to the best of their ability and did a really great job presenting! Their diorama was amazing creative and so, so pretty!!
After the presentation, we played a memory type game that required us to use our vast knowledge of invertebrate phyla. It got pretty competitive!
See you tomorrow!
That Egg Sac Was Huge!!!
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