Honors Biology Instructor and Contact Information: Mrs. Shara Terrill Room C003 shara.terrill@jp2hs.org http://jp2hs.org/teachers/shara-terrill/ Course Description: Biology is the study of living organisms! Since students now understand these basic rules and concepts of physics and chemistry we will apply them to cellular, organismal and ecological studies. This understanding will also allow us to study and discuss current biological topics such as genetic modification, gene mapping, and changes in the ecosystems. Content is important but not the most important. Logic and reasoning can be applied to all areas of life and allow us to gain knowledge in a longer lasting form. Knowledge of content can be gained through experiences that provide the opportunity for investigation. Application of biological principles in the making of decisions concerning the environment and social concerns is critical to the sustaining of our world. I turned my mind to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the sum of things. - Ecclesiastes 7:25a, NRSVCE Course Outline: Semester One Unit One: Defining living and non-living organisms Unit Two: Water, biological molecules, and movement of molecules across cells Unit Three: Cell form and function Unit Four: Protein production and enzymes Unit Five: Genetics Application: A Molecular Crime What is life? What is water and how does it interact with living organisms? What other molecules are important for life and how are they utilized? What is the function of a cell and how does it depend on the form of a cell? How do cells exhibit their variation? How are traits passed to future generations? How can variations occur? Length of Unit of Study 1 week 5 weeks 1 week
Semester Two Unit Six: Photosynthesis and Cellular respiration with energy transfers in the ecosystem Unit Seven: Ecology Application: Frog dissection Unit Eight: Classification Unit Nine: Evolution How is energy used and transferred by living organisms within their environment and inside the cells? What determines an organisms niche in the environment? Can we classify organisms by traits alone? Does diversity change over time? Is it better to be a specialist or a jack-of-alltrades in the environment? Length of Unit of Study 5 weeks 2 weeks 1 week 5 weeks Supplies needed for the year : Charged, school issued ipad in protective case Calculator Pens/Pencils for tests Investigating Science Dye (2010) Biology Textbook - free o The pdf can be opened in the ibooks app for annotation o To access the book, go to: https://openstax.org/details/books/biology Class time: Treat your classmates, your teachers, your school, and yourself with respect. You are expected to participate fully during class. You must come to class each day with the materials you need to be prepared for that class meeting. ipads support our studies of Biology, and you must come to each class with your ipad charged. ipads may only be used for teacher-approved uses in class and may be taken away at any point. Grading: Your grade is a direct and objective reflection of the work you put into this class as well as your comprehension of the material. Please see the assessment chart for specifics on weighting in the categories. Each semester exam is comprehensive for that semester. Please save all returned work in your binder. Veracross: All homework assignments and assessments will be posted on Veracross no later than the day they are assigned. You should check there for information about all assignments and assessments including due dates. You should check Veracross frequently for the current status of your grade. Please note that for NTI (not turned in), a zero will automatically be calculated into your grade until you submit the late assignment within the acceptable late penalty policy timeline. If you are absent,
your assignment will stay as pending until you turn in the assignment and it is graded OR until the allowed make-up time has passed (at which time NTI will be used). You will receive full credit for assignments missing from an excused absence if they are submitted by the proper deadline. Description Abbreviation Notes Pending Pending Assignment has not yet been graded, the deadline has not yet arrived, or the deadline has arrived but a student has an extension due to an absence. Complete -- Completed assignment. Not Turned In NTI Student did not turn in the assignment on time. Late penalties apply. This will also be used for students missing work due to an absence only after the allowed make-up time has passed. Incomplete INC Student failed to finish or hand in acceptable quality of work on an assignment or an assessment. Not Required to Complete NREQ Student is not required to complete the assignment. Grade ending with 0.0 1 ex. 87.0 1 The assignment was late and received a late penalty. Grade ending with 0.0 2 ex. 93.02 The assessment/assignment was corrected for up to half credit back. Modeling Assignment Grading: Original Thoughts are those you complete on your own for homework. They should be completed in black or blue. They will be graded for thoroughness of completion unless otherwise stated in class. They will be graded on a 20 point scale as follows: Description Symbol Numerical Veracross All thoroughly + 20 Complete answered All attempted 18 Complete Most attempted - 16 Complete Not all attempted or none attempted I 14-0 Incomplete or Not Turned In If procedures are not followed, grades will be dropped one level. Modified Thoughts are those you begin during class during board meetings and group work. You must also justify your answers once you get home. It is important that you understand why you decide your answer needed modification. The modifications must be completed in Red. These will be graded for accuracy by the
teacher and point values will be determined based on each assignment. It is expected that answer will be developed during class discussion. If you are still having difficulty with a concept please stop by a tutorial for additional help. Missing Assignments : In the event that you miss an assignment (for a reason besides excused absence) your grade will begin grading as follows: Number of meetings late Homework Labs, Research Assignments, Tests 1 70% 90% 2 50% 85% 3 Not accepted 80% (continuing to lose 5% each day until CRS) Students will be issued a Credit Restoration Session (CRS) for a not turned in or an incomplete lab report or major research project component. The CRS will be assigned for the following Monday from 2:30-4:30pm (or on Tuesday from 3:10-5:10pm on alternate schedule days). These assignments may be completed and submitted by the next class meeting for a maximum of 90%. Each additional class meeting will warrant an additional 5% penalty. Failure to attend CRS or failure to complete and submit the assignment during the CRS session will result in a assignment grade of 0 (and other academic and/or student life consequences). In Case of an Absence: It is your responsibility to make up all assignments and assessments when you miss class. When returning from an absence, the student is responsible for checking Veracross immediately regarding work missed. It is the student s responsibility to get notes from a classmate, download handouts, submit assignments, and arrange to make-up missed labs, quizzes or tests. The late work policy will take effect if assignments are submitted after the absent time allowance. All quizzes and tests must be made up within 1 week from the date of missed school, unless special arrangements have been made within that time period with the teacher. If a student will be missing school due to a planned absence, they should see the instructor before being absent to make arrangements for make-up work. All work missed while absent is due the day that the student returns to school, and due dates of assignments given during planned absence will remain unmodified, unless otherwise specified by the teacher. Research Project As with all advanced science classes at JPII the students will complete a research project in pairs. It is suggested that students wisely select their partners, keep up with due dates, and keep a good journal. If students are considering AP biology than selecting a project that they could continue with more depth over the summer would be an excellent idea. Students enrolled in AP Chemistry will have the project grade in chemistry used as the project grade in biology - these students will not complete 2 research projects.
Assessment Types and Forms for Advanced Biology Type Description Assessment Form Approx Weight Homework Daily work Reading Guides. Short answer questions 20% designed to help to assist students in reading for students explore comprehension rather than completion. and review Applications. Students analyze data to concepts while also determine the effect of a variable in and improving their experiment or to evaluate a group of quantitative problem-solving organisms. These may also require skills. students to deploy a conceptual model. Creative assignments. The students may develop brochures related to diseases, analogies, mind maps, flow charts, drawings, and others. Readings. The students will be asked to read and evaluate a current event or article related to the topic of study. Quizzes Developing Vocabulary Quizzes. 15% Students are quizzed on prefix, suffix, and roots common to biology. They will match a definition to a word containing the prefix, suffix, or root. Lab Quizzes. Students are quizzed on procedures and safety measures associated with labs to be completed in class Concept Check Quiz. These quizzes are related to the reading or the concepts covered in lab or class discussions. Preparedness/ Participation Labs Unit Tests Explorations of concepts. Multiple-Choice, Short Answer, FRQ, Lab Practicum Students are expected to come to class fully prepared and participate fully in each class meeting. All labs have an in-class component where students will gather data (qualitative and quantitative) together. Analysis of the data (both numerical and written) is done at home by the individual. Some of the labs are AP biology labs and are formally written in a bound lab notebook. The ability to use knowledge about the content to answer multiple-choice style objective questions is one of the important skills that must be developed 5% 20% 25%
in order to be successful in AP courses and in other test (SAT, ACT)assessments. Occasionally, tests will include other types of short answer questions: fill-in-the-blank or matching. These will constitute a small percentage of the unit grade FRQ: Free Response Question is a word problem or question that will require analytical and quantitative reasoning to solve. Occasionally, tests will include a lab component where students will have to perform a task or evaluate a situation that was presented during the unit; this will be a very small percentage of the unit grade. Students identify a topic of interest and determine a question or problem to investigate. They go about this investigation by following the scientific method forming a hypothesis, devising and conducting an experiment, analyzing those results, and presenting their findings. The final product of this research will be a paper and a video presentation. Exception projects may be selected for presentation at the Middle TN STEM Expo. Exceptional papers will be sent to TJAS and may be selected (by TJAS judges) to be presented in April at the TJAS Spring Meeting. Rubrics for the project are clearly laid out in the Investigating Science book. All grading will be based on these rubrics - Research Project Small group (teams of two) research project 15% Exams Mid-Term Exam Final Exam Approximately 60% of the exam will consist of multiple-choice and true-false questions. Approximately 40% of the exam will consist of free-response questions (numerical) and short answer (conceptual). In its own category, the exams count 20% of the semester grade each term
Veritas: The Veritas Promise: I promise before God and members of this community that I will be a person of integrity who will not lie, steal, cheat or plagiarize. I will take responsibility for my decisions. I make this promise in order to build a community of trust and integrity with my brothers and sisters at JPII. You will be responsible for pledging Veritas on everything you submit. This means writing, I pledge Veritas and signing your name. Any type of cheating or plagiarism on any assignment will merit a zero on that assignment. The student will also be reported to the Veritas committee. See the Student Handbook for further information. Office Hours I will be available during 1st lunch Monday-Thursday for office hours (office hours changes will be posted on door for modified weeks). Monday - 10:55-11:25 Tuesday, Wednesday - 11:35-12:05 Thursday - 11:50-12:10 Contacting Mrs. Terrill You are welcome to email Mrs. Terrill. However, please note that Mrs. Terrill does not check email outside of school hours. During the school week, you will get a response, if warranted, within 24 hours. During weekends or holidays, you will get a response on the following school day.