Course Title General Biologycurriculum

Course Title General BiologyCURRICULUM

Course Description

The General Biology course is an introductory course designed to give students a well-rounded background in key areas of biology. The development is logical, based on an understanding of life on a cellular-molecular level and proceeding to more complex life forms. Students will study ecology, evolution, molecules and cells, developmental and organismal biology, and genetics.

Course Objectives

Science instruction must provide for all students the opportunity to:

1. learn science as a process that produces a changing body of knowledge,
2. experience science as a process through frequent hands-on laboratory activities,
3. understand the key concepts, principles, and themes of science,
4. learn of career possibilities in science and science-related fields,
5. recognize how science and technology affect individuals, societies, and their environments, and use this information to make responsible decisions,
6. use their natural curiosity and sense of wonder to explore natural phenomena,
7. develop the foundation required for them to pursue employment and participate in continuing education opportunities in order to advance their general education and enhance their job skills, and
8. use an understanding of science to enhance their personal lives.

Essential Questions

1. What is biology?
2. What is the chemistry of life?
3. How do cells function and what is their structure?
4. What is photosynthesis and cellular respiration?
5. How do cells grow and divide?
6. How does one cell give rise to many different types of cells?
7. What is Mendelian genetics?
8. What is meiosis?
9. What are DNA and RNA and how are they involved in protein synthesis?
10. What is the importance of genetic engineering?
11. How is human heredity explained in terms of chromosomes?
12. What is Darwin’s theory of evolution based on natural selection?
13. How do populations evolve?
14. What is the history of life on Earth?
15. How are organisms classified?
16. What is ecology?
17. What is the relationship between ecosystems, communities, and populations in the biosphere?
18. What is the relationship between the immune system and disease?
19. What is a pathogen?
20. How does the body maintain homeostasis?

Indiana State Standards

Process Standards

The Nature of Science (NOS)

Students should understand that scientific knowledge is gained from observation of natural phenomena and experimentation, by designing and conducting investigations guided by theory, and by evaluating and communicating the results of those investigations according to accepted procedures. Thus, scientific knowledge is scientists’ best explanations for the data from many investigations. Further, ideas about objects in the microscopic world that we cannot directly sense are often understood in terms of concepts developed to understand objects in the macroscopic world that we can see and touch. In the science classroom student work should align with this process of science.

Reading Standards for Literacy in Science

Reading Standards for Literacy in Science 9-10 RS

The standards below begin at grade 9 and define what students should understand and be able to do by the end of grade 10.

Key Ideas and Details

9-10.RS.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions.

9-10.RS.2 Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the text’s explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate summary of the text.

9-10.RS.3 Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments or taking measurements, attending to special cases or exceptions defined in the text.

Craft and Structure

9-10.RS.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific context relevant to grades 9-10 texts and topics.

9-10.RS.5 Analyze the structure of the relationships among concepts in a text, including relationships among key terms (e.g., force, friction, reaction force, energy).

9-10.RS.6 Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, defining the question the author seeks to address.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

9-10.RS.7 Translate quantitative information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words.

9-10.RS.8 Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author’s claim or a recommendation for solving a scientific problem.

9-10.RS.9 Compare and contrast findings presented in a text to those from other sources (including their own experiments), noting when the findings support or contradict previous explanations or accounts.

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

9-10.RS.10 By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend science texts in the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

Writing Standards for Literacy in Science

Text Types and Purposes

9-10.WS.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.

1. Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
2. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying data and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline appropriate form and in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
3. Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
4. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
5. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from or supports the argument presented.

9-10.WS.2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including scientific procedures/ experiments.

1. Introduce a topic and organize ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
2. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
3. Use varied transitions and sentence structures to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
4. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic and convey a style appropriate to the discipline and context as well as to the expertise of likely readers.
5. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
6. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic).

9-10.WS.3 Note: Students’ narrative skills continue to grow in these grades. The Standards require that students be able to incorporate narrative elements effectively into arguments and informative/ explanatory texts. In science, students must be able to write precise enough descriptions of the step-by-step procedures they use in their investigations that others can replicate them and (possibly) reach the same results.

Production and Distribution of Writing

9-10.WS.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

9-10.WS.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

9-10.WS.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

9-10.WS.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

9-10.WS.8 Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectivity to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

9-10.WS.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Range of Writing

9-10.WS.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Content Standards

Standard 1: Cellular Chemistry

Core Standard: Describe the basic molecular structure and function of the four major categories of organic compounds (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids) essential to cellular function.

Core Standard: Describe how work done in cells is performed by a variety of organic molecules, especially proteins, whose functions depend on the sequence of their monomers and the consequent shape of the molecule.

Standard 2: Cellular Structure

Core Standard: Describe features that are common to all cells and contrast those with distinctive features that allow cells to carry out specific functions.

Standard 3: Matter Cycles and Energy Transfer

Core Standard: Describe how the sun’s energy is captured and used to construct sugar molecules which can be used as a form of energy or serve as building blocks of organic molecules.

Core Standard: Diagram how matter and energy cycle through an ecosystem.

Standard 4: Interdependence

Core Standard: Describe the relationship between living and nonliving components of ecosystems and describe how that relationship is in flux due to natural changes and human actions.

Standard 5: Molecular Basis of Heredity

Core Standard: Describe the basic structure of DNA and how this structure enables DNA to function as the hereditary molecule that directs the production of RNA and proteins.

Core Standard: Understand the proteins largely determine the traits of an organism.

Standard 6: Cellular Reproduction

Core Standard: Explain the processes, both mitosis and meiosis, by which new cells are formed from existing cells and how in multicellular organisms, groups of cells cooperate to perform essential functions within an organism.

Core Standard: Explain the cellular processes that occur to generate natural genetic variations between parents and offspring.

Standard 7: Genetics

Core Standard: Explain how the genetic information from parents determines the unique characteristics of their offspring.

Standard 8: Evolution

Core Standard: Describe how biochemical, fossil, anatomical, developmental and genetic findings are used to determine relationships among organisms, producing modern classification systems.

Core Standard: Describe how modern evolutionary theory provides an explanation of the history of life on earth and the similarities between organisms that exist today.

Units of Instruction (State Standards)

ECOLOGY

1. BIOLOGY: THE STUDY OF LIFE (Chapter 1)

1. Introduction to Biology

Standards – NOS 10

1. The Nature of Science

Standards – NOS 1, NOS 4, NOS 8

1. Methods of Science

Standards – NOS 5

B. PRINCIPLES OF ECOLOGY (Chapter 2)

1. Organisms and Their Relationships

Standards – B.4.1

1. Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem

Standards – B.3.1, B.3.2, B.3.3, B.3.4, B.3.5

1. Cycling of Matter

Standards – NOS 3, B.3.4, B.4.1, B.4.2

1. COMMUNITY, BIOMES, AND ECOSYSTEMS (Chapter 3)

1. Community Ecology

Standards – B.4.1, B.4.2, B.4.3, B.4.4

1. Terrestrial Biomes

Standards – B.4.4

1. Aquatic Ecosystems

Standards – NOS 5, NOS 6, NOS 11, B.4.1, B.4.2

1. POPULATION ECOLOGY (Chapter 4)

1. Population Dynamics

Standards – B.4.1

1. Human Population

Standards – NOS 2, NOS 3, B.4.1, B.4.4

MOLECULES AND CELLS

E. CHEMISTRY IN BIOLOGY (Chapter 6)

1. Atoms, Elements, and Compounds

Standards – B.1.1

1. Chemical Reactions

Standards – B.1.2

3. Water and Solutions

Standards – B.1.2

4. The Building Blocks of Life

Standards – B.1.1, B.1.2, B.5.5

1. CELLULAR STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION (Chapter 7)

1. Cell Discover and Theory

Standards – NOS 8, B.2.1, B.2.6

1. The Plasma Membrane

Standards – B.2.2, B.5.5

1. Structures and Organelles

Standards – B.2.1, B.2.3, B.2.4, B.2.5, B.2.6, B.5.5

1. Cellular Transport

Standards – NOS 10, B.2.2, B.2.5, B.5.5

1. CELLULAR ENERGY (Chapter 8)

1. How Organisms Obtain Energy

Standards – B.3.1, B.3.2, B.3.3, B.3.4, B.3.5

1. Photosynthesis

Standards – B.3.1

1. Cellular Respiration

Standards – NOS 1, NOS 2, NOS 4, B.3.1, B.3.2, B.8.3

1. CELLULAR REPRODUCTION (Chapter 9)

1. Cellular Growth

Standards – B.5.1, B.6.1

1. Mitosis and Cytokinesis

Standards – B.6.1

1. Cell Cycle Regulation

GENETICS

1. SEXUAL REPRODUCTION AND GENETICS (Chapter 10)

1. Meiosis

Standards – B.5.1, B.5.2, B.5.5, B.6.1, B.6.4, B.6.3, B.6.5

1. Mendelian Genetics

Standards – B.5.2, B.5.6, B.6.5, B.7.1, B.7.2, B.7.3, B.8.6

1. Gene Linkage and Polyploidy

Standards – B.5.6, B.6.5, B.7.2, B.7.3, B.8.6

1. COMPLEX INHERITANCE AND HUMAN HEREDITY (Chapter 11)

1. Basic Patterns of Human Inheritance

Standards – B.5.6, B.7.2, B.7.3, B.8.6

1. Complex Patterns of Inheritance

Standards – B.5.6, B.7.2, B.8.6

1. Chromosomes and Human Heredity

Standards – B.5.6, B.6.5, B.7.1, B.7.2, B.8.6

1. MOLECULAR GENETICS (Chapter 12)

1. DNA: The Genetic Material

Standards – NOS 9, B.5.1

1. Replication of DNA

Standards – B.5.1, B.7.4

1. DNA, RNA, and Protein

Standards – B.2.4, B.5.3, B.5.5

1. Gene Regulation and Mutation

Standards – B.1.2, B.1.3, B.5.4, B.5.5, B.5.6, B.6.2, B.7.4, B.7.5, B.8.6

1. GENETICS AND BIOTECHNOLOGY (Chapter 13)

1. Applied Genetics

Standards – B.5.6, B.7.1

1. DNA Technology

Standards – NOS 10, B.5.6

1. The Human Genome

Standards – NOS 9, NOS 10

EVOLUTION

1. THE HISTORY OF LIFE (Chapter 14)

1. Fossil Evidence of Change

Standards – B.8.1, B.8.7

1. The Origin of Life

Standards – B.2.6, B.5.5, B.8.1, B.8.2, B.8.3, B.8.5, B.8.7

1. EVOLUTION (Chapter 15)

1.Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection

Standards – B.8.4, B.8.7

2. Evidence of Evolution

Standards – B.8.1, B.8.3, B.8.7

1. Shaping Evolutionary Theory

NOS 6, NOS 7, B.8.4, B.8.7

1. ORGANIZING LIFE’S DIVERSITY (Chapter 17)

1.The History of Classification

Standards – B.8.2

2. Modern Classification

Standards – B.8.2, B.8.3

3. Domains and Kingdoms

Standards – B.8.2, B.8.3

DEVELOPMENTAL AND ORGANISMAL BIOLOGY

P. MAMMALS (Chapter 30)

1. Mammalian Characteristics

Standards – B.8.2, B.8.3

2. Diversity of Mammals

Standards – NOS 2, B.8.2, B.8.2

Q. ANIMAL BEHAVIOR (Chapter 31)

1.Basic Behaviors

2. Ecological Behaviors

R. THE IMMUNE SYSTEM (Chapter 37)

1.Infectious Diseases

2. The Immune System

Standards – NOS 2, B.5.5

3. Noninfectious Disorders

Standards – NOS 6, NOS 7

The reading and writing standards for literacy in science will be incorporated into each unit’s activities.

Activity / Reading Standards / Writing Standards
Laboratory / 9-10.RS.3, 9-10.RS.7, 9-10.RS.8, 9-10.RS.9, 9-10.RS.10 / 9-10.WS.1, 9-10.WS.2, 9-10.WS.3, 9-10.WS.4, 9-10.WS.7, 9-10.WS.8, 9-10.WS.9
Note-taking / 9-10.RS.1, 9-10.RS.2, 9-10.RS.4, 9-10.RS.6 / 9-10.RS.10
Notebook/Reflective Work / 9-10.RS.2, 9-10.RS.5 / 9-10.WS.10
Presentations (Laboratory findings) / 9-10.RS.7, 9-10.RS.9 / 9-10.WS.5, 9-10.WS.6

Course Assessments

Assessment

The students will be tested over the material covered using standardized tests, teacher-prepared tests, and short quizzes. The laboratory work will be included as part of the material tested. There will be tests given by chapter or unit, nine weeks, and semester. Daily grades will consist of homework, class discussion and participation, and laboratory work skills. The required notebook will also be counted as a part of the daily grade. Lab grades will be based on the lab work that is turned in after each lab; students will also be assessed as they present their laboratory findings to classmates.

Timeline

Week 1 – Chapter 1

Week 2 – Chapter 2

Week 3 – Chapter 2

Week 4 – Chapter 3

Week 5 – Chapter 3

Week 6 – Chapter 4

Week 7 – Chapter 6

Week 8 – Chapter 6

Week 9 – Chapter 7

Week 10 – Chapter 7

Week 11 – Chapter 8

Week 12 – Chapter 8

Week 13 – Chapter 9

Week 14 – Chapter 9

Week 15 – Chapter 10

Week 16 – Chapter 10

Week 17 – Chapter 10

Week 18 – Final Exams – Semester 1

Week 19 – Chapter 11

Week 20 – Chapter 11

Week 21 – Chapter 12

Week 22 – Chapter 12

Week 23 – Chapter 13

Week 24 – Chapter 14

Week 25 – Chapter 15

Week 26 – Chapter 15

Week 27 – Chapter 15

Week 28 – Chapter 17

Week 29 – Chapter 17

Week 30 – Chapter 30

Week 31 – Chapter 30

Week 32 – Chapter 31

Week 33 – Chapter 37

Week 34 – Chapter 37

Week 35 – End of Course Assessment

Week 36 – Final Exams – Semester 2

Course Materials: Major Texts, Principal Materials and Films

Key Texts:

Biology –Indiana

Published by Glencoe McGraw Hill

Supplementary Materials:

There will be a wide range of learning activities. Students will participate in benchwork where they will learn to use various types of laboratory equipment. They will analyze data graphically and summarize their findings in laboratory reports. There will be reading assignments from the text. Lectures, films, class discussion, worksheets and hands-on activities will be used to demonstrate the material. Student will have written assignments covering the readings, lectures, discussions, and films.

Sample of Commercial Films/Videos Shown:

Great Pacific Media Biodiversity series

Typhoid Mary: The Most Dangerous Woman in America

Extinction!

Tainted Blood: Queen Victoria’s Bloodline and Royal Hemophilia

One Wrong Letter: Tay-Sachs Disease in Two Families

National Geographic’s Clone

Various short videos/clips available through Safari Montage software