Class #7--7th Grade Life Science

Friday, September 17, 1:45 P.M., 7th Grade Science Class. Class #7 on my “50 Classes or Bust!” journey. I hustled down from the third floor to Mrs. Finnegan’s science lab on the first floor of the Middle School. If I can do it in four minutes, then I know the students can! You might think that Mrs. Finnegan has an unenviable class time—the last academic period, on a Friday, on a Black and Gold Day, and, actually, right before a Black and Gold activity in the gym. That assumption would be wrong. After the class settled down, Mrs. Finnegan started with a “Yeah, science!” exclamation, drawing applause and cheers from the students. Throughout the class, there were similar positive bursts of cheering and clapping. I have never seen such enthusiasm for a “Fun Fact” before! In the first part of class, the students learned about food safety, the danger of bulging cans, botulism, and applying the scientific method. Next, Mrs. Finnegan displayed a PowerPoint slide show focusing on (pun intended) the microscope. The power of the microscope was highlighted through the display of what various organisms look like through the microscope: dust mite, strawberry, snail teeth, butterfly wings, wasp, and bacteria. “I want you to look at the world through new eyes,” Mrs. Finnegan enthusiastically exhorted. The class then reviewed microscope basics, including safety, how to carry it, focusing, table placement, and identifying parts of the scope. Again, I am impressed by the amount of material covered in one period. Kudos to Mrs. Finnegan and her students. Yeah, science!