FIRST TRIMESTER SYLLABUS
Course: Biology
Instructor: Ms. Hopkins
Course Description:
This biology course is designed to teach students about the living world through a hands-on approach to learning. In this seminar, students will study the evolution of species from single-celled Archeabacteria to human beings. While studying the evolution of life on Earth, students will use the scientific method to question the world around them. Students will study living organisms and their interactions with the environment using a project-based approach to learning. In doing so, students will learn about the structure of organisms from part to whole; starting with cells and how they form tissues and moving on to eventually study entire organisms. Students will also study the evolution of species through sexual reproduction as a result of natural selection. As students study structure and function at the cellular, molecular, and organismal levels, they will participate in a number of hands-on laboratory investigations. These laboratory activities will include dissections and a variety of inquiry-based investigations. In this class, students will learn to make detailed observations and relate those observations to prior knowledge in order to make sense of the world around us.
Goals/Objectives:
Students will learn that all living organisms share a set of common characteristics.
Students will realize that life emerges due to the chemical organization of matter into cells.
Students will study cells and the organized structures and systems within cells that are necessary to support chemical reactions that are needed to maintain the living condition.
Students will realize that new cells arise from the division of pre-existing cells.
Students will study the process of differentiation by eukaryotic cells, which makes it possible for multicellularity.
Assessment:
Students will be assessed on their understanding of the objectives using a variety of assessment tools. Students will complete daily warm-ups to assess their prior knowledge and/or their understanding of the material from a previous lesson. Students will complete weekly or biweekly Smart Response quizzes to assess their understanding of PSSA questions that are related to the current subject matter. Students will also be assessed on their understanding of the concepts presented in this class through lab reports, homework, and projects. Finally, to assess student recall of the information presented in this course, a final exam will be given at the end of each trimester.
Late Policy:
homework assignment is 1 day late, the student will lose a third of the credit for that homework
assignment. HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED MORE THAN ONE DAY AFTER THEY ARE DUE. Lab reports and projects will be collected at the beginning of class on the day they are due. If a student turns in a lab report or project after the due date, the student will lose 5 points for every day it is late. LAB REPORTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED MORE THAN ONE WEEK AFTER THEY ARE DUE. Students who miss class will be given the same number of days to complete the assignment as they missed. For example, if a student misses two days, they will have two days from the day they return to turn in the missed assignment.
Grading Scale:
100 – 90%
A
89 – 80%
B
79 – 70%
C
69 – 60%
D
59 – 50%
F
Classroom Rules & Expectations:
1. Be Prepared. Students should come to class with all necessary materials, including notebooks, pencils, and completed homework assignments. If a student fails to come to class prepared, he or she will lose 5 participation points. If a student comes to class without a pencil, in addition to loosing 5 participation points, he or she must borrow a pencil by trading an item of interest.
2. Be On Time. Students should come to class on time. Students who show up to class more than 3
minutes late will lose 3 workforce points. If a student comes to class more than 5 minutes late, he or she will also lose 5 participation points. These rules do not apply if a student comes to class with a valid pass signed by an administrator or another advisor.
3. Be Respectful. Students should behave in a respectful manner at all times. Students should listen
while others are talking, respect the thoughts and opinions of their classmates, and treat others they way they wish to be treated. If students are not behaving in a respectful manner, students may be asked to leave the classroom, they may be sent to the principal, or their parents may receive a phone call to discuss further disciplinary action such as peer mediation.
4. Be Safe. Students should follow all rules and guidelines set by the advisor at the beginning of each
class. Students should not eat or drink in the science classroom, and students should follow all of the lab safety rules outlined in the lab safety form.
These classroom rules are meant to facilitate learning and serve as a guideline for the way I expect students to behave in the classroom. These rules are in addition to any school wide rules that appear in the student handbook.
After having read this document, please sign below to indicate that you have not only read it, but you agree to abide by these rules and expectations.
Student Name (Print): ________________________________________________________________________
Student Signature: ____________________________________________________________________________
Scope and Sequence:
1st Trimester:
Unit 1: The Building Blocks of Life
Common Characteristics of Life
Standards:
o 3.1.10.A1. Explain the characteristics of life common to all organisms.
o 3.1.B.A1. Describe the common characteristics of life. Compare and contrast the cellular structures and degrees of complexity of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Explain that some structures in eukaryotic cells developed from early prokaryotic cells (e.g. mitochondria, chloroplasts).
o 3.1.C.A1. Explain the chemistry of metabolism.
o 3.1.12.A1. Relate changes in the environment to various organisms’ ability to compensate using homeostatic mechanisms.
Related Textbook Chapters:
o Chapter 1: The Study of Life
Additional Resources:
o Diversity of Life Asset Kit
o Discovery Education – Biology: The Science of Life
Form and Function
Standards:
o 3.1.10.A5. Relate life processes to sub-cellular and cellular structures to their functions.
o 3.1.B.A5. Relate the structure of cell organelles to their function (energy capture and release, transport, waste removal, protein synthesis, movement, etc.). Explain the role of water in cell metabolism. Explain how the cell membrane functions as a regulatory structure and protective barrier for the cell. Describe transport mechanisms across the plasma membrane.
o 3.1.12.A5. Analyze how structure is related to function at all levels of biological organization from molecules to organisms.
Related Textbook Chapters:
o Chapter 7: Cellular Structure and Function
Additional Resources:
o Discovery Education – Cell Types
Interact: Characteristics of Cells
Watch: The Cell
Watch: Brief History of the Cell
o Discovery Education – Prokaryotic Cells
Watch: Bacteria (4:49)
Watch Bacteria: Tiny Talents
Read: Alexander Fleming: The Accidental ‘Wonder Drug’
Read: Life Styles of the Small and Microscopic
o Discovery Education – Eukaryotic Cells and Differentiation
Interact: The Challenge of the Chilly Mammoth
Energy Flow
Standards:
o 3.1.10.A2. Explain cell processes in terms of chemical reactions and energy changes.
o 3.1.B.A2. Identify the initial reactants, final products, and general purposes of
photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Explain the important role of ATP in cell
metabolism. Describe the relationship between photosynthesis and cellular respiration in photosynthetic organisms. Explain why many biological macromolecules such as ATP and lipids contain high-energy bonds. Explain the importance of enzymes as catalysts in cell reactions. Identify how factors such as pH and temperature may affect enzyme function.
o 3.1.C.A2. Describe how changes in energy affect the rate of chemical reactions.
o 3.1.12.A2. Evaluate how organisms must derive energy from their environment of their
food in order to survive.
Related Textbook Chapters:
o Chapter 8: Cellular Energy
Cell Cycles
Standards:
o 3.1.10.A4. Describe the cell cycle and the process and significance of mitosis.
o 3.1.B.A4. Summarize the stages of the cell cycle. Examine how interactions among the different molecules in the cell cause the distinct stages of the cell cycle, which can also be influenced by other signaling molecules. Explain the role of mitosis in the formation of new cells and its importance in maintaining chromosome number during asexual reproduction. Compare and contrast a virus and a cell. Relate the stages of viral cycles to the cell cycle.
o 3.1.C.A4. Relate mitosis and meiosis at the molecular level.
o 3.1.12.A4. Explain how the cell cycle is regulated.
Related Textbook Chapters:
o Chapter 9: Cellular Reproduction
Life Cycles
Standards:
o 3.1.10.A3. Compare and contrast the life cycles of different organisms.
o 3.1.B.A3. Explain how all organisms begin their life cycles as a single cell and that in multicellular organisms, successive generations of embryonic cells form by cell division.
Organization
Standards:
o 3.1.10.A6. Identify the advantages of multi-cellularity in organisms.
o 3.1.B.A6. Explain how cells differentiate in multicellular organisms.
o 3.1.12.A6. Analyze how cells in different tissues/organs are specialized to perform specific functions.
Additional Resources:
o PTEI Atlas Curriculum
Molecular Basis of Life
o 3.1.10.A7. Describe the relationship between the structure of organic molecules and the function they serve in living organisms. Explain how cells store and use information to guide their functions.
o 3.1.B.A7. Analyze the importance of carbon to the structure of biological
macromolecules. Compare and contrast the functions and structures of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids. Explain the consequences of extreme changes in pH and temperature on cell proteins.
o 3.1.C.A7. Illustrate the formation of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. o 3.1.12.A7. Evaluate metabolic activities using experimental knowledge of enzymes.
