Orientation: daily icebreakers, the daily lesson pages and website, what notes should look like (Cornell + the 6 Rs), the lab notebook, lab safety, the PLTW web portal, and a Friday WebXam pretest.
What to do if absent- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning: make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure, the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities. Find it in Clever with your Microsoft sign-in, right next to Schoology.
Week overview - Orientation: how we learn in Biomedical Innovations
Set up the routines, tools, notebook, lab , and the PLTW portal, and take a baseline WebXam pretest, so the rest of the semester runs on shared habits and clear expectations.
- 1Learn the daily routine and classroom expectations.
- 2Learn to navigate the class website and the daily check-in (the website for the target, Schoology for the grade).
- 3Set up and the and the lab notebook.
- 4Pass a lab- check, sign the safety contract, and tour myPLTW.
- 5Take the baseline WebXam pretest and set a mastery goal.
- • You can run our daily routine without reminders.
- • You can find the target, resources, and tracker on any lesson page.
- • You can take , work safely, use myPLTW, and submit evidence.
Daily lessons this week
Open any day for its full lesson, the work due that day, and guided notes.
Exit ticket: your semester goal, one classroom expectation in your own words, and one question.
Website scavenger hunt sheet: today's objective, one resource you opened, and where you submit.
Notebook sample: your first Cornell page (cues, notes, and a summary that answers the essential question).
Lab- check: signed safety contract, completed safety scavenger hunt, and a screenshot showing you logged in to myPLTW.
Baseline WebXam pretest complete (ungraded) + a written mastery goal and a two-routine reflection.
Quick intro to the week
- This week is intentionally about procedures and routines, because a strong first week buys back weeks of teaching time later.
- Every day has an icebreaker to build the class community, plus one concrete system: the website, notes, , the portal, and the pretest.
- The WebXam pretest on Friday is a baseline, not a grade; it sets each student's growth target.
- Hold the same bell-to-bell expectations now that you will hold all year; this is where the pace is set.
Your PLTW coursework this week
Do this: Set up your myPLTW (classroom.pltw.org) access and complete the course orientation checklist: routines, website, notebook, contract, and the .
- • The class runs on a daily lesson page: objective, checklist, resources, tracker.
- • Notes follow the Cornell process and are graded against a rubric.
- • Lab work requires PPE, an SDS, and a signed contract.
- • Navigate the website and submit each kind of work with evidence.
- • Work safely in the lab and log in to the PLTW portal.
📋 Orientation evidence due this week: completed website scavenger hunt, a notebook sample (first Cornell page), a signed contract with a myPLTW login screenshot, and the baseline WebXam pretest with a mastery goal.
All PLTW activities are completed inside the PLTW course environment: this page only gives direction.
This week's PLTW tracker
Your week at a glance. Check off each deliverable as you finish it, then submit so Mr. Mendoza can see how the class is pacing.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
| Day | Date | Focus | Key deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | Tue, Jan 19 | Welcome, expectations, and how this class works | Exit ticket: your semester goal, one classroom expectation in your own words, and one question. |
| Wednesday | Wed, Jan 20 | How to use the class website | Website scavenger hunt sheet: today's objective, one resource you opened, and where you submit. |
| Thursday | Thu, Jan 21 | Cornell notes and the 6 Rs | Notebook sample: your first Cornell page (cues, notes, and a summary that answers the essential question). |
| Monday | Mon, Jan 25 | Lab safety, myPLTW, and how to submit | Lab-safety check: signed safety contract, completed safety scavenger hunt, and a screenshot showing you logged in to myPLTW. |
| Tuesday | Tue, Jan 26 | WebXam pretest and goal setting | Baseline WebXam pretest complete (ungraded) + a written mastery goal and a two-routine reflection. |
- M: routines, expectations, and a personal goal
- T: navigate the website + scavenger hunt
- W: Cornell notes + the 6 Rs + notebook setup
- Th: lab safety + signed contract + myPLTW tour
- F: baseline WebXam pretest + mastery goal
Due by week's end: Orientation checklist, signed safety contract, notebook sample, and baseline WebXam pretest complete.
5 panels from the illustrated semester.
Fiction. There is no such student. The lessons, labs and dates are the real planned course; the student, the classmates and the conversations are invented.
Lab day: what to bring & watch
This explainer accompanies the PLTW lab protocol: watch it before lab.
What to do when absent
Most days, this class is your PLTW coursework: and PLTW is online and individual. So being out usually just means doing exactly what we did in class, from home.
Open Clever, then myPLTWHow to get there: open Clever and sign in with your Microsoft (district) account. Both myPLTW and Schoology are in Clever. Do the activity in myPLTW. Turn the work in on this site or hand it to Mr. Mendoza, because that is the step that counts as submitted. Schoology only shows your report-card grade later.
You can't do those from home: do this instead:
Class still runs. A substitute will post today's plan: complete the online activity above; it's built to be self-guided. Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
CDC Laboratory Safety