MR. GRAY'S WEB PAGE 

  ALKI MIDDLE SCHOOL 

VANCOUVER,  WA      

WHAT IS THE GRADING SCALE?

DO YOU ACCEPT LATE WORK?

WHAT IF A STUDENT IS ABSENT?

WHAT ARE PARTICIPATION POINTS?

WHAT ARE CURRENT EVENTS?

HOW DO I REACH MR. GRAY

WHAT SUPPLIES ARE NEEDED?

WHEN CAN A STUDENT STAY AFTER FOR HELP?

WHEN IS THAT ASSIGNMENT DUE?

INSTRUCTION

Life science in my class typically follows a pattern of instruction.  One third of the time students are gaining an introduction and a foundation of the concept being taught.  This is usually done with the textbook, computers, worksheets and vocabulary quizzes. One third of the time students practice the idea with hands-on activities to help them experience the concept.  The final one third of the time is spent working on a culminating event.    

ROOM ARRANGEMENT

Each table in the room has a computer situated at it's end.  
Students have access to their network files and the Internet at all times. This arrangement allows for a 1:4 ratio of computers to students. Group work and individual work is expected. 

 WHERE DID THE TECHNOLOGY COME FROM?  

I was lucky enough to win a Gate's Grant last spring and have been able to equip the room with 8 iMac DV computers, an awesome Hitachi projector, a printer and Microsoft's Office Suite software. As part of the grant, teachers are expected to attend a technology boot camp for five days during the summer and three Friday, Saturday meetings during the fall/winter/spring.  The training has been intense and quite valuable.  Many of the lessons I teach are in the form of a PowerPoint® with current internet content incorporated.  Excel® is also used in my science class to display data, and create charts and graphs.  I have created this website using Microsoft FrontPage® which was another program included in the software bundle.

Update: The iMacs were replaced with Dell machines running Windows. I still use the Microsoft office suite