Course Syllabus

Course Policies and Procedures

 

Biology is a laboratory science that will meet the California State Life Science graduation requirement using the California State standards as a base for the curriculum. The goal of this course is to open your mind to the sciences and see that science is all around you. To understand concepts in biology as well as other sciences means you understand the world around you and hopefully you will be well-equipped to make informed decisions.

Expectations:

My expectations are pretty easy.  I want you to succeed and expect you to put forth the effort to achieve your goals.  I am a team oriented teacher, meaning I am the coach and you are the athletes. We are all here to reach a common goal, to understand biology and grow as students intellectually and socially. We must accomplish this by collaboration, cooperation, respect, and trust. You are all incredible human beings so when you walk into my class you put forth your best efforts and show your classmates and me everyday just how amazing you are. I expect you to follow three simple rules.

	Be Prepared		Be Respectful		Be Present

 Follow these three main rules and you will learn and have fun in the process.

Materials that will help you be prepared and organized:

            Interactive Notebook – composition book or spiral notebook

            Writing utensils – always have pens, pencils and erasers

            Index cards for vocabulary words

            Optional materials: glue stick, scissors, colored pencils, ruler, calculator, other office supplies that makes your life easy so you don’t have to share with others

Late Work:

Late classwork/homework will receive credit of a 50%. No late work will be accepted once the unit test has been taken for that unit. Late lab write-ups will lose 10% off each day it is late.

Weekly assignments will be posted in class as well as on MyConnect.

Learning Targets/Homework:

The learning targets are taken from the state standards and I have put guided reading questions that will help students find the important information from the chapter. These will be assigned almost every night to use as either review of material discussed in class or as pre-reading of concepts before discussing them in class. Students should do them as they are assigned but the packet will not be collected until the day of the unit test. If targets are not assigned, students should spend at least 20-30 minutes studying important vocabulary or reviewing their targets. There are many great resources on-line that can assist students in reviewing concepts they are learning in class. www.classzone.com comes with our textbook and has some animations, quizzes and other practice. Two other valuable tools are Bozemanscience.com and Crash Course Biology Videos on YouTube. If there is not a learning target to complete. I may assign a video from one of these sights.

We create the culture here on our campus. We decide if we are going to be honest, sincere, genuine, and caring individuals to ourselves, each other, and guests on our campus. Everyone wants to feel safe and welcome so treat each other the way you would like to be treated.

No cell phones during class unless I have allowed you to take them out.

Keep headphones out of your ears unless I have given permission.

Do not play games on electronic devices.

Tardies and Absences:

It is of great importance that you attend and participate in every class period.  You are responsible for your own learning.  If you are absent, it is your responsibility to check with your peers or teacher to see what you missed.  You may also check the calendar on Learning Point.

            If you miss a…

Tests –I will designate a retake date for students in am and a pm time slot. You MUST take it at one of those designated time slots. 

All other work – Needs to be made up in a timely manner. Preferably tutorial or set a time with me for morning or afternoon.

Other important information

Tests/Quizzes = 40% Lab write-ups/projects = 40% Class work/HW = 20%

Grading Policy:

                        89.5-100%           = A

                        79.5-89.4%          = B

                        69.5-79.4%          = C

                        60-69.5%             = D

                        59% below           = F (please do not get here!)

           

** Check grades for errors and let me know ASAP!!!

**IMPORTANT!!!!!  Academic Honesty:

Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. Do not copy work from others. You are not learning that way. DO YOUR OWN WORK!!!!!! When you are caught you will receive a zero on the assignment and a U (unsatisfactory) in citizenship for that grading period. You also run the risk of more serious consequences. See your student handbook for more on the PUSD district policy.