Apologia Biology – Module 2: Pond Water

Posted by jlsgrant in Apologia Biology, Nature on September 11, 2010

Collecting pond water may ordinarily be viewed as a relaxing and interesting venture.  (Somehow, I hear Vivaldi’s Four Seasons playing in the background, butterflies flittering to and fro, and birds singing sweetly in the trees.)  But we are in Florida!   Perhaps the soundtrack from Jaws, or maybe a track from an old film where people are running fast (you know the music I’m talking about), would be more appropriate for this story.

There is the perfect spot for collecting our samples just a few minutes from my house, or so I thought!  When we arrived at the Scrub Park, we noticed that it was looking a bit over-grown.  The musty aroma of moss and decaying leaves filled the air.   Now in other places in the country, this would not really be cause for concern.  Here it Florida, it might make you pause and question the wisdom of your journey.  But we decided to go for it!

In we trudged, carrying our four empty bottles and our ladle.  Twigs were crowding the path, and we had to duck to go under the Spanish Moss hanging gracefully from the Live Oak trees.  Did I mention that ticks really enjoy Spanish Moss?  Anyway, a few minutes into the trail, I heard a quiet scream from behind me, then a calmer, “Oh my gosh, I almost walked face first into that spider web!”  Like other things, the spider webs here seems a bit larger than other places….hitting it face first, would be BAD!  After catching our breath, we took a little time to take a more scientific approach and tried to identify the specimen.  My pictures did not turn out, but I found this one on Photobucket:

This is the Spiny Orb Weaver (Gasteracantha cancriformis )….she’s really quite lovely, isn’t she?  This species looks quite fierce, especially with the skull and cross-bones on its back, and the blood laden spikes.  But the smiley face on the skull, makes her appear more friendly!  At any rate, she was only about 6 -7mm long at best, and is totally harmless to humans (as far as I could tell!)

Now back to the story…Since this trail was over grown and appeared to be a really good place to build a web, we decided to take another trail.  We headed north through a small clearing and soon came across a more traveled path.  We stopped to find big sticks; people often carry big sticks when they go for nature hikes here.  I used to wonder why.  Heading west toward the pond, we decided it would be wise to keep our eyes scanning the trail to assure, “we see them before they see us!”  All of the sudden, a scream and then an announcement, “Run, just run!”  I obeyed the wise voice behind me who was running the opposite direction, my heart beating quickly.  After about 20 feet or so I stopped to ask why.  “There is a huge snake and you just stepped right over it!  It was right between us!”  OK…..not good!  While I can recognize some of the important ones, the Coral Snake, aka “red meets yellow kill a fellow”, and anything with a rattle…I am no snake expert!  There, crossing the trail was this beautiful specimen, though it did not seem beautiful at the time:

In retrospect, he is quite lovely!  I’m pretty sure he is about as harmless as snakes come, a Yellow Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta quadrivittata).   This photo is courtesy of Photobucket.com.  Our “friend” was stretched out length-wise and appeared to be about six feet long.  My camera was safely in my pocket at the time!  It seemed like it took an eternity for him to inch his way across our path; we waited patiently while he did so!   Then decided to consider “Location B” for our pond water sample.  After all, our small stick would be no match for what lives in most fresh water ponds in central Florida, and the way this trip was going so far, we were sure to encounter something larger ahead!

We walked rapidly back to the car to consider our options.   Located near the car, we found the perfect spot….a peaceful pond, with frogs jumping, and  minnows and tadpoles swimming:

We collected our water samples, snapped a few pictures and headed back home to prepare our specimen jars.

To be continued……..

(Watch for the next post with pictures of Experiment 2.2 and microscopic images.)

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Curriculum Review: America’s Math Teacher

Posted by jlsgrant in Curriculum Reviews on September 10, 2010

America’s Math Teacher is a thorough online math curriculum that covers everything from 4th Grade Basic Math through Algebra.  Using the website’s Video Lessons, the student is smoothly guided through each lesson by the instructor.  The student can then print and complete written exercises and check their answers.  Once the section has been completed, there are online quizzes to take as well as a final exam, both of which are graded automatically online.

  

The experts at America’s Math Teacher have this to say about their product:

“So many benefits to this program, and it really works!  America’s Math Teacher will make each topic simple, and easy to understand. Students learn lots of math and have lots of fun while doing it! America’s Math Teacher is perfect for home schooling, and educational institutions. Our video lessons don’t include distracting sound effects, animations, or graphics, just simple one on one instruction to teach concepts and increase retention.”

“Rick designed this system for elementary, middle grades and even high school students who were not prepared for algebra, to help bring them to algebra-readiness in less than one school year. Through this program, many of Rick’s students have improved several grade levels in their math abilities in just one school year. Rick has also used the program successfully with students who are struggling with math and have limited English skills. This award-winning program compliments all basic math textbooks, so it is a perfect partner program for schools.”

Here is a list of benefits from the website:

  • Online access anywhere anytime
  • Access entire library of courses
  • Provides great addition to classroom learning
  • Students learn and master exact topics recommended by the National Math Advisory Panel
  • Excellent for families with children at different levels
  • Curriculum spans Grade 4 through Algebra, and Algebra II COMING SOON!
  • Written exercises ensure practice a necessary part of learning
  • Resource Center with Glossaries, charts, tables, and more.
  • Students can work at their own pace and repeat lessons when necessary
  • Students will master the topics necessary for success in college
  • Excellent for adults as well as children No fluff or side topics: just good solid instruction  

This product truly has the potential of being a tremendous asset to any homeschooling family and could easily be used for traditional school children who are in need of a math tutor.  There are many benefits to having this kind of content available for the whole family, instead of buying curriculum for each child individually.  Only one of which is the potential cost savings.  The videos are generally less than 10 minutes long and can be followed up with a portion of the related written exercises.   The website is very content-rich and appears to be largely based on the author’s more traditional product, Math Essentials, which includes a workbooks and DVDs.  (More information can be found by clicking the Math Essentials link below.)

However, at the time of our review, much of the website was under development and there are apparently some bugs that still need to be worked out.  I found the navigation to be a little cumbersome as well.  The videos are easily located from the Learning Center, but I found that the corresponding written exercises were more difficult to locate, in the Resource Center, four or five clicks from the video.    From a navigation standpoint, it would be simpler for the user if the written exercises for each video were easily located on the same page as the video.   (Or as an alternative, there should be instructions to print the written work and answer sheets for each section first, then watch the video lessons.)   In writing this, I double checked the website to make sure I hadn’t missed those instructions and here’s what I found: “Once you have worked through some problems by watching the video lessons, you can then work through some exercises on your own by printing them out from the list on the right.”  (Additional note:  No “list on right” found.)

On a positive note, I loved the format for the written exercises, both visually and content-wise.  Take a look at these sample pages:

We also had a lot of fun with the wheel format for the online speed drill.  It’s nice to see a different format for this imperative exercise!  The system generates the problem and highlights the associated numerals, then the child slowly and methodically quick-like-a-bunny enters the correct answer in the box and the next problem appears on the screen.   Check this out….

As for the evaluation section, again, there is great potential.  However, in my opinion it should be turned off until it gives proper results!  (Sorry if that sounds harsh!)  Thankfully, I did an evaluation myself before having the kids test it out because correct answers were marked incorrect and some multiple choice questions did not have the correct answer as a choice.

This website easily has the potential of having a full “Five Rock” rating; a virtual pocket-full of rocks!  However, in my opinion, the website has been released to the public pre-maturely.  Before being able to recommend this website, it needs to be thoroughly evaluated and proof-read, page by page by the developer.  As stated above, the Evaluation section needs to be taken off the website, until it is working properly.  With all of that accomplished, it could be developed into a premier product.

(Word of Caution: As part of a family who has developed, owned and managed a fully internet-based business application for over 10 years, I may be a little biased in the functionality of this type of product.  In my opinion, this website should be considered more of a “beta” site, then a finished project at this time.)

Free Trial Available at America’s Math Teacher

Other Products:  Math Essentials

Disclaimer:  Members of the TOS Crew were given free access to this product for their families’ use.  In return, they were asked to post an honest, informational review on this product. No monetary compensation was received.  

For more reviews on this item, please visit: 

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