Welcome to Biology
I am pleased to be your biology teacher this year and I look forward to a successful year. I am here to see that you succeed in this class. My job is to work hard to help you learn biology; your job is to work hard and put in the effort it takes to pass this course and the SOL test. By participating in this class, you will gain knowledge and experiences that will help you understand your world and your body throughout your life. ----Ms. S. Lewis
Teacher: Ms. S. Lewis
Classroom: F3
Room phone: 850-6806
Email: [email protected]
Classroom Rules:
1. Be in your seat and ready to learn when the bell rings
2. Leave your assigned seat only when you have permission to leave it.
3. Listen and follow directions, lab safety rules and lab instructions.
4. Help yourself and others learn by practicing respectful behavior toward yourself, your classmates and any living organisms.
5. Enjoy your food, drinks and gum outside of the classroom. (Bottled water is okay.)
Consequences for breaking classroom rules:
1st offense—warning reminder of rule
2nd offense—student/teacher conference about rule
3rd offense—teacher detention/parent contact
4th offense—referral to administrator
Severe clause—horseplay or insubordinate behavior in a lab or other behavior that endangers the health or safety of others will result in an immediate referral.
Rewards:
Bonus points
Homework coupons
Verbal praise
Policies and Procedures:
Late work:
• Homework is due within the first FIVE minutes of class. Late homework is NOT ACCEPTED and will receive a zero. It is better to turn in incomplete homework for a partial grade, than to turn in nothing.
• Projects/lab reports must be turned in by the due date but may be turned in ahead of time. If you have a sudden, unplanned absence, you must make arrangements to get the project or report turned in by the due date. NO LATE PROJECTS WILL BE ACCEPTED! An “excused” absence DOES NOT change the due date for your project. Lab reports will be accepted the next school day with a 50% deduction from your earned grade. It is better to turn in a late report or an incomplete report than to turn in nothing.
• Unexcused tardies to class will result in a zero for the bell work if the quiz has already started when you arrive to class. Be on time!
Make-up work:
• It is your responsibility to check the assignment board and to sign the Make-up Notebook for any missed assignments from an Absence or Excused Tardy. Per the Hampton City Schools Rights and Responsibilities Handbook: The class work must be made up within a specific time period equaling one-day make up per one-day absence. In case of a pre-arranged absence the class work is due on the day of the return. Students are encouraged to make up work before returning to school. Students missing one (1) or two (2) days may do so by getting work from a classmate. Students missing three (3) or more days can contact the office to request make up work. Please allow at least 24 hours notice to the teacher. Extenuating circumstances may be considered in extending the time for make up. If work is not completed, it will result in a lower grade, failing grade, or denial of high school credit. For field trips, sports and club competitions, you are expected to ask for the work no later than 48 hours BEFORE your trip. Any quizzes or tests must be taken in advance of the field trip at the convenience of the teacher. Failure to observe this policy may result in a zero for the work.
• Work that was due the day of your absence (with the exception of projects and lab reports) is due the DAY YOU RETURN TO THIS CLASS.
• Make-up work will be scheduled before or after school. If you need to make-up work with the teacher (labs, activities, quizzes, tests), check to make sure I will be available, then use the APPOINTMENT NOTEBOOK to schedule your make-up session. You must make-up the lab, activity, quiz or test within a week following your return.
• Tests or quizzes scheduled for the day you were absent will be made-up in class on the DAY YOU RETURN to my class. For a multi-day absence you will be allowed to get the notes and make-up labs and assignments before taking the test.
Cheating/Plagiarism:
• Cheating in my class is totally unacceptable. I will do everything I can to prevent you from being tempted to cheat. COPYING ANY ASSIGNMENT, including homework, is plagiarism, a form of cheating. Plagiarism is copying the thoughts or works of another person without giving the proper credit in the form of a citation, regardless of whether the copying is intentional or unintentional. This includes but is not limited to “cutting and pasting” from the Internet, encyclopedias online or CD-ROMs. You may not cite another student’s homework paper as your source. In college, cheating or plagiarism may result in expulsion. On the job, it can result in jail time. In cases of cheating on homework or classwork, for the first offense the grade will be divided equally between all parties (ex. 3 students have identical homework or parts of homework and received a grade of 90; 90/3=30 so each will receive a 30) and discipline referral/parent call will result. Subsequent offenses will receive a zero and referral. In ALL other cases of cheating or plagiarism, the student will receive NO CREDIT for the work or portion of the work and a referral for each occurrence. Your administrator may award other disciplinary actions. If you cheat or plagiarize in my class, I will report you to any honor society or organization that is considering you for membership. Bottom line, don’t do it!
• “Group work” is work assigned and completed using a collaborative (working together) process with only one paper turned in for a grade. This paper will have all group members’ names on it. All students receive the same grade. LAB EXPERIMENTS ARE NOT GROUP WORK! The experiment itself will be performed as a collaborative effort; each member will record his/her own data. The data should be the same. All procedures, analysis questions and conclusions are individual answers. Each student earns an individual grade. Labs with identical written answers (not data) will be considered plagiarized.
Assignment headings:
Each assignment or paper you turn in should have the following heading in the upper right corner of the top page:
• Your name
• Date
• Class period
• Assignment Title
Additional pages should be numbered and have your name on the top right corner of each page.
Two points will be deducted for improper headings.
Make-up and help day:
I will be glad to help you with your assignments, with tutoring and making up your work. I am available mornings and afternoons by appointment. Make-up labs and activities will be scheduled and announced. Please use the “Appointment Notebook” to sign-up; you must give me 24 hours notice and make sure I will be available that day.
Contacting me:
You may contact me with questions by leaving me a voice mail at 850-6806 or by email at [email protected] Please be aware that I do not usually check voice mail and email from home.
Daily expectations:
1. Use your agenda to keep track of your assignments and grades earned.
2. Please don’t throw anything in classroom. It is dangerous to do so in a lab class and will result in detention or referral for every occurrence.
3. Be on time as I enforce the school’s tardy policy. If you are more than 10 minutes late you may be referred for skipping.
4. Be ready to work with your textbook, notebook and all needed materials each day.
5. Stay away from the prep room, teacher desk, computers, cabinets and lab stations unless given permission.
6. Stay in the classroom so you don’t miss important info! YOU GET THREE EMERGENCY PASSES PER 9 WEEKS. LOCKER PASSES ARE NOT GENERALLY GIVEN. PASSES ARE NON-TRANSFERABLE AND WILL REQUIRE YOUR AGENDA. If possible, use the bathroom before class. Unused passes convert to extra credit at the end of the nine weeks.
7. Treat lab equipment and supplies gently; broken supplies won’t help you learn. If you need to borrow supplies, please ask and return them to me when you are finished.
8. Listen and stay attentive, please! Lots of important information will be given to you, so activities such as reading books or magazines, doing homework, personal grooming, and sleeping are not acceptable.
9. Use pencil, blue or black ink for assignments or lose two points.
10. Wait in your seat for me to dismiss you.
Biology Course Syllabus
Ms. Sally Lewis
Classroom phone: 850-6806
Email: [email protected]
Course description: This course is designed to fulfill graduation requirements and to provide a general overview of biology. Topics covered are dictated by the Virginia Standards of Learning developed by the Virginia Department of Education (www.pen.k12.va.us). Hampton City Schools’ curriculum includes experiments, readings, activities, lab reports, lecture, field trips and dissections to enhance the instruction of biological concepts.
Course objectives: The course objectives are driven by the Standards of Learning. Students will obtain a detailed understanding of living systems. Students will employ the skills necessary to examine various scientific explanations, acquiring knowledge gained through lab work and the use of support materials provided by the text, technology, and library resources.
Course outline and approximate schedule
First semester
First nine weeks:
Unit One: Scientific investigation 2 weeks
Unit Two: Properties of life 1 week
Unit Three: Ecosystems 3 weeks
Unit Four: Classification 2 weeks
First nine weeks Benchmark test (5% of nine weeks grade)
Second nine weeks:
Unit Five: Biochemistry 2 weeks
Unit Six: Cells and cell processes 4 weeks
Unit Seven: Viruses and Bacteria 2 weeks
Exam (includes Benchmark test (25%) and teacher exam (75%)—Total 20% of semester grade
Second semester
Third nine weeks:
Unit Eight: Protists, Fungi, Plants, Animals 4 weeks
Unit Nine: DNA/Protein Synthesis 2 weeks
Unit Ten: Continuity of Life/Genetics 3 weeks
Third nine weeks Benchmark test (5% of nine weeks grade)
Fourth nine weeks:
Unit Eleven: Evidence of change 3 weeks
SOL Testing and review 3 weeks
Special labs and activities 2 weeks
Exam (SOL score equivalent or exemption may be available based on criteria established by the School Board)—20% of semester grade
Special requirements: Students are expected to keep notebooks, participate in all activities and laboratory exercises, follow all safety procedures, participate in fire/intruder/tornado drills and abide by the classroom rules. No student will be allowed to participate in labs or activities without a Safety Contract signed by the student and a parent and kept on file with the teacher. In addition, each student will take and earn at least a 95% on a Lab Safety Test.
Dissections: Dissections are considered to be an essential part of a general survey of biology. According to the laws of our Commonwealth, students and their parents/guardians may sign a waiver to request an alternative activity to dissection. This paperwork will be given to students during with two weeks notice as to when the dissection labs will occur.
Textbooks: Biology (Holt), 2008
Study Guide or Notetaking Workbook
In accordance with Hampton City Schools’ policy, science textbooks are to be covered at all times; random textbook checks will be conducted with homework grades, extra credit or homework coupons awarded. This is a new textbook—the replacement cost is up to $76.50 based on the year your book was first used. Please keep track of your book to avoid this fee.
HONORS students only: Additional reading as may be assigned. This is a pre-college course and as such it is appropriate to assign outside reading to further the coursework. You may be required to turn in reading logs and vocab lists periodically, and to participate in seminars/ discussions. Additionally, you may be asked to do outside research about current topics related to the selected book. Beware: DO NOT PLAGIARIZE your work from the internet or from a classmate. Refer to the policy on cheating and plagiarism in my handout and the HCS Rights and Responsibilities Handbook for consequences—among them loss of eligibility for honor societies.
Supplies:
You are required to have a loose-leaf notebook or binder, minimum 1 and 1/2 inches in size, for this class and a 70 or more page spiral notebook for vocab and notes. Additionally, you need a highlighter. Colored pencils and graph paper will be needed a few times during the year. Notebook checks may be conducted the day of each unit test.
Grading: You will have a variety of assignments in this class.
Your first and third nine weeks grade will be determined as follows:
Benchmark test- 5% Tests, portfolios 45%
Classwork/homework/labs- 15% Quizzes/notebooks/projects- 35%
Second nine weeks: Benchmark is included as part of semester exam
Tests, portfolios 45%
Classwork/homework/labs- 20% Quizzes/notebooks/projects- 35%
Fourth nine weeks:
SOL review work- 5% Tests, portfolios 45%
Classwork/homework/labs- 15% Quizzes/notebooks/projects- 35%
Warm-up/daily quizzes/bellringers are based on your notes or textbook and are usually “open book/notes.” They are graded as classwork. Work from absences must be made up within the time frame outlined in the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook or will result in a zero. If you are late to class with an unexcused tardy and the class has started on the bellringer work, you will not be able to do it for credit. Please be on time!
Each 9 weeks grade will be 40% of your semester grade. All students will take the mid-term exam in January (20% of semester grade). No exam exemptions are granted in January. You may be exempted from the final exam in June by passing your SOL test and satisfying attendance and citizenship requirements set forth by the School Board.