November 

• (weeks of 11/2 and 11/9)  After learning about how fossil fuels are burned to generate electricity, student groups  researched alternate sources of energy that can be used to produce electricity in a more renewable and environmentally friendly manner.  Groups researched water (both hydroelectric and tidal), wind, biomass, heat of the earth, and the Sun answering the following:
• Is their source renewable and why?  
• Give a basic description of how it is used to make electricity.
• Are there places in the world where this is being used as an important source of a country's energy?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of this energy source?

 They then gave wonderful presentations, teaching their classmates what they had learned.

• (Week 11/16)  Before beginning our final ecology unit, exploring food webs and food chains, we took a look at classification of living things.  Starting with a groups of local Chesapeake animals students divided them into two groups (Vertebrates and Invertebrates), doing research to confirm ones they weren't sure of.