Mr. Velasquez - AP Biology (Dual Credit) Course Syllabus & Information Claudia Taylor “Lady Bird” Johnson High School

Teacher: Oscar Velasquez E-mail: [email protected] & [email protected] Room: E211 Tutoring Times: Mon. / Tues. / Thurs. (8:00-8:45am & 4:20-4:45pm) and Fri. (8:00-8:45am) Edmodo Site: https://edmodo.com/oscarsciencerocks Website: https://www.neisd.net/Page/11383 Required Text: -Campbell & Reese. Biology 10th Edition (Class Set with Digital Code for Student Access Online) Additional Recommended Texts:

-AP Biology Study Guide Book 2019-2020 Edition (Cliff Notes, Princeton, Kaplan, Barron’s etc.).

Lecture/Discussion Students will be given reading assignments prior to class and are expected to come to class prepared to take part in lecture/discussion. It is recommended that you take notes on the reading and add to them in the lectures, provided that this is a good learning strategy for you (this worked for me in college). The lectures will be driven in part by the student responses to questions I ask and inquires that you make. I will be using PowerPoints and Videos to aid in lecture explanation.

Labs/Investigations and Activities: Students will complete at least 8 of the 13 AP Labs. A pre-lab discussion will occur the day before the lab is done, followed by a post-lab discussion and lab quiz on the day after the lab is completed. Students are expected to write a formal lab reports or Posters for each of the AP labs done during the course. Many other labs and investigations will be conducted throughout the year to emphasize specific concepts. On selected labs you will be allowed to cut and paste the procedures.

Student Evaluation: Daily/Homework (5%): These grades include homework assignments, class presentations, and participation in class discussions.

Labs & Free Response Questions (35%) and Quizzes (20%): Students write formal lab reports or posters for each of the AP Labs and write modified reports for the other labs we will do. There is a quiz on each lab. Students are expected to answer all of the questions from the lab handout in the appropriate area of their lab.

Tests (40%): Smaller tests are given at the end of individual topics, and a major test is given at the end of each unit. The format of the unit tests will follow the same format as the AP Biology Exam. Each will consist of multiple choice questions (60% of the points) and free response questions (40% of the points).

Notebook: All work is required to be organized into a three-ringed binder that is collected at the end of the semester. It should be divided into five sections: 1) Notes, 2) Quizzes, 3) Labs/Investigations, 4) Classwork/Reviews, 5) Free Response/Exams

Final Exam (20%): A comprehensive exam is given at the end of the 1st semester and 2nd semester. The format of the finals will follow that of the AP Biology Exam.

Generally speaking, late work is looked down upon and will not be accepted unless under conditions such as family or personal emergency or the teacher’s discretion. Any late work will receive a 20% deduction. Course Organization This course has been recently redesigned for the 2019-2020 school year and beyond by the College Board. All Essential Knowledge Skills will be taught and all Learning Objectives will be met through this curriculum (see the College Board AP Biology Curricular Framework for a complete list) for each Unit. The course will be based on inquiry based laboratory work and the use of the science practices in both lab and non-lab activities. There are Six Science Practices that will be focused throughout the year.

Big Idea 1: The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life. Big Idea 2: Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce and to maintain dynamic homeostasis. Big Idea 3: Living systems store, retrieve, transmit and respond to information essential to life processes. Big Idea 4: Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties. Students will be given a copy of the Big Ideas, Enduring Understandings (EU’s) and Learning Objectives to self-monitor mastery as course objectives are met. The Big Ideas and Enduring Understandings will be posted in the room. As connections are made across Big Ideas, a line will join the related EU’s, visually building a web of relatedness as the course progresses.

The course content is organized into commonly taught units. The units have been arranged in a common sequence frequently found in many college courses and textbooks and also follows Alamo Community College Guidelines. The eight units in AP Biology, and their weightings on the multiple-choice section of the AP Exam, are listed below. Course exams throughout the year will be populated with several AP exam like questions to ensure familiarity with the exam in May.

TOPICS Each unit is broken down into segments called topics/concepts. Although most topics can be taught in one or two class periods, we will pace the course to suit the needs of the class and the investigations, labs, and activities that will be completed for each topic/concept.

The Six Science Practices that will be stressed throughout the Course are outlined in the next page.

The Laboratory Program The students will be engaged in investigative laboratory work for a minimum of 40% of instructional time. These labs will be inquiry based, student directed investigations. There will be at least 2 laboratory experiences per Big Idea selected from the list below from the AP Biology Investigative Lab Manual: An Inquiry-Based Approach or other similar labs. These labs will be spread throughout the school year. The descriptions below summarize the student inquiry portion of the investigation. Additional prescribed activities supplement the student inquiry.

Big Idea 1: Evolution 1. BLAST Activity: Students use NCBI to compare DNA and protein sequences for organisms to test student generated hypotheses on relatedness. 2. Hardy Weinberg: Spreadsheet development to investigate factors affecting Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium. 3. Artificial Selection: Students will grow organisms such as Fast Plants and select for specific traits over several generations.

Big Idea 2: Cellular Processes 1. Cellular Respiration: Students investigate some aspect of cellular respiration in organisms. 2. Photosynthesis: Students investigate photosynthetic rate under a variety of student selected conditions. 3. Diffusion/Osmosis: Students investigate diffusion and osmosis in model systems and in plant tissue. 4. Enzyme Investigation: In an open inquiry lab, students will investigate and quantify factors that affect enzyme action.

Big Idea 3: Genetics and Information Transfer 1. Cell Division: Mitosis and Meiosis: Students compare mitotic rate after exposure to lectin or other substances presumed to affect mitotic rate. 2. Bacterial Transformation: Students investigate bacterial transformation. 3. Restriction Enzyme Analysis: Students investigate restriction enzyme analysis.

Big Idea 4: Ecology 1. Energy Dynamics: Students develop and analyze model systems that describe energy flow. 2. Fruit Fly Behavior: Students investigate chemotaxis in fruit flies. 3. Transpiration: Students investigate the movement of water through plants in a model system.

Communication Students will maintain an AP Biology notebook/portfolio throughout the course. In addition to the AP Biology notebook, students will communicate to others in formats such as group presentations, PowerPoint presentation, poster sessions, mini-posters and written reports. Communication tools are not only for the laboratory experiences, but represent examples of the collaboration, reflection, and articulation seen in the course as a whole.

Below are some of the media platforms we will be using to help you be successful as possible. Codes and Instructions will be given in class to join the various media platforms.

Edmodo AP Classroom MasteringBiology (textbook) Shmoop Podcast