Biology II—Honors
(I) Curriculum Content Portfolio Evidence
1. Teacher Rationale and Curriculum Content:
Honors courses are designed for students who consistently exceed the objectives and expectations of the essential curriculum, both in terms of content knowledge and application. The Biology-II Honors course is taught in greater depth and includes an emphasis on abstract materials, thus requiring extensive independent work, self-discipline, and commitment to meet rigorous expectations and timelines. The honors course teacher should possess the skills, knowledge, and dispositions to challenge and inspire thought processes of honors level students through a differentiated curriculum and a variety of instructional strategies. The honors curriculum student should possess the motivation, interest and ability to meet the prepare students for post-high school education.
The Biology- II Honors course follows the goals and objectives set forth by the College Board AP Biology course description. It is designed to cover concepts and principles in biology that are representative of an introductory college level biology course. Students may receive college credit upon successful completion of the course and passing the College Board AP Biology exam.
The course has shifted from a traditional “content coverage” model of instruction to one that focuses on enduring, conceptual understandings and the content that supports them. Students will focus on inquiry-based learning of essential concepts which will help them to develop the reasoning skills necessary to engage in the science practices. Students taking this revised course will also develop advanced inquiry and reasoning skills, such as designing a plan for collecting data, analyzing data, applying mathematical routines, and connecting concepts in and across domains.
Big Ideas:
· The AP Biology Curriculum is framed around core scientific principles called the big ideas. There are four big ideas and for each of these there are enduring understandings that incorporate the core concepts and essential knowledge. These will be used to guide the AP Biology course curriculum. Below are the Big Ideas that this course will focus on: 1) The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life. 2) Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce and to maintain dynamic homeostasis. 3) Living systems store, retrieve, transmit and respond to information essential to life processes. 4) Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.
Our goal is to expose students to a wide range of biological topics that may spark an interest in various science, technological, engineering and/or mathematics fields. This class is designed to help students understand and build skills needed in science and fulfill the college readiness standards. In an effort to ensure your child’s success, high but obtainable goals will be set for your child.
2. Standards and Objectives:
Big Ideas / Enduring UnderstandingOne: The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life. / A. Change in the genetic makeup of a population over time is evolution.
1. Natural selection is a major mechanism of evolution.
2. Natural selection acts on phenotypic variations in populations.
3. Evolutionary change is also driven by random processes
4. Biological evolution is supported by scientific evidence from many
disciplines, including mathematics
B. Organisms are linked by lines of descent from common ancestry.
1. Organisms share many conserved core processes and features
that evolved and are widely distributed among organisms today
2. Phylogenetic trees and cladograms are graphical representations
(models) of evolutionary history that can be tested
C. Life continues to evolve within a changing environment.
1. Speciation and extinction have occurred throughout the Earth’s
history
2. Speciation may occur when two populations become
reproductively isolated from each other
3. Populations of organisms continue to evolve
D. The origin of living systems is explained by natural processes.
1. There are several hypotheses about the natural origins of life on
Earth, each with supporting scientific evidence.
2. Scientific evidence from many different disciplines supports
models of the origin of life
Two: Biological systems utilize energy and molecular building blocks to grow, reproduce, and maintain homeostasis. / A. Growth, reproduction, and maintenance of the organization of living systems require free energy and matter.
1. All living systems require constant input of free energy
2. Organisms capture and store free energy for use in biological
processes
3. Organisms must exchange matter with the environment to grow,
reproduce and maintain organization
B. Growth, reproduction, and dynamic homeostasis require that cells create and maintain internal environments that are different from their external environments.
1. Cell membranes are selectively permeable due to their structure
2. Growth and dynamic homeostasis are maintained by the
constant movement of molecules across membranes
3. Eukaryotic cells maintain internal membranes that partition the
cell into specialized regions
C. Organisms use feedback mechanisms to regulate growth and reproduction, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.
1. Organisms use feedback mechanisms to maintain their internal
environments and respond to external environmental changes
2. Organisms respond to changes in their external environments
D. Growth and dynamic homeostasis of a biological system are influenced by changes in the system’s environment.
1. All biological systems from cells and organisms to populations,
communities and ecosystems are affected by complex biotic and
abiotic interactions involving exchange of matter and free energy
2. Homeostatic mechanisms reflect both common ancestry and
divergence due to adaptation in different environments
3. Biological systems are affected by disruptions to their dynamic
homeostasis
4. Plants and animals have a variety of chemical defenses against
infections that affect dynamic homeostasis
E. Many biological processes involved in growth, reproduction, and dynamic homeostasis include temporal regulation and coordination.
1. Timing and coordination of specific events are necessary for the
normal development of an organism, and these events are regulated
by a variety of mechanisms
2. Timing and coordination of physiological events are regulated by
multiple mechanisms
3. Timing and coordination of behavior are regulated by various
mechanisms and are important in natural selection
Three: Living systems retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes. / A. Heritable information provides for continuity of life.
1. DNA, and in some cases RNA, is the primary source of heritable
Information
2. In Eukaryotes, heritable information is passed to the next
generation via processes that include the cell cycle and mitosis or
meiosis plus fertilization
3. The chromosomal basis of inheritance provides an understanding
of the pattern of passage (transmission) of genes from parent to
offspring
4. The inheritance pattern of many traits cannot be explained by
simple Mendelian genetics
B. Expression of genetic information involves cellular and molecular mechanisms.
1. Gene regulation results in differential gene expression, leading to
cell specialization
2. A variety of intercellular and intracellular signal transmissions
mediate gene expression
C. The processing of genetic information is imperfect and is a source of genetic variation.
1. Changes in genotype can result in changes in phenotype
2. Biological systems have multiple processes that increase genetic
variation
3. Viral replication results in genetic variation, and viral infection
can introduce genetic variation into the hosts
D. Cells communicate by generating, transmitting, and receiving chemical signals.
1. Cell communication processes share common features that reflect
a shared evolutionary history
2. Cells communicate with each other through direct contact with
other cells or from a distance via chemical signaling
3. Signal transduction pathways link signal reception with cellular
response
4. Changes in signal transduction pathways can alter cellular
response
E. Transmission of information results in changes within and between biological systems.
1. Individuals can act on information and communicate it to others
2. Animals have nervous systems that detect external and internal
signals, transmit and integrate information, and produce responses
Four: Biological systems interact and these interactions possess complex properties. / A. Interactions within biological systems lead to complex properties.
1. the subcomponents of biological molecules and their sequence
determine the properties of that molecule
2. The structure and function of subcellular components, and their
interactions, provide essential cellular processes
3. Interactions between external stimuli and regulated gene
expression result in specialization of cells, tissues and organs
4. Organisms exhibit complex properties due to interactions
between their constituent parts
5. Communities are composed of populations of organisms that
interact in complex ways
6. Interactions among living systems and with their environment
result in the movement of matter and energy
B. Competition and cooperation are important aspects of biological systems.
1. Interactions between molecules affect their structure and
function
2. Cooperative interactions within organisms promote efficiency in
the use of energy and matter
3. Interactions between and within populations influence patterns
of species distribution and abundance
4. Distribution of local and global ecosystems changes over time
C. Naturally occurring diversity among and between components within biological systems affects interactions with the environment.
1. Variation in molecular units provides cells with a wider range of
functions
2. Environmental factors influence the expression of the genotype in
an organism
3. The level of variation in a population affects population dynamics
4. The diversity of species within an ecosystem may influence the
stability of the ecosystem
All four of the big ideas are interrelated. During the year students will connect the enduring understandings from each idea with those of at least one of the other big ideas, more than one at times, whenever a practical connection can be established.
3. Curriculum Plan:
Timeline for Course
Semester I
Unit 1: Chemistry of Life
Week 1:
Introduction to Biology and the Chemistry of Biology
Chapter 1: Introduction: Themes in the Study of Life
Chapter 2: The Chemistry Context of Life
The Significance of Water Molecules and Carbon Atoms for Life
Chapter 3: Water and the Fitness of the Environment
Chapter 4: Carbon and Molecular Diversity of Life
Week 2:
Macromolecules and Metabolism with a Focus on Enzymes
Chapter 5: The Structure and Function of Macromolecules
Chapter 6: An Introduction to Metabolism
Unit 2: The Cell
Week 3:
Cell Structure and Function with a Focus on Membranes
Chapter 7: A Tour of the Cell
Chapter 8: Membrane Structure and Function
Week 4:
Cellular Respiration
Chapter 9: Cellular Respiration: Harvesting Chemical Energy
Week 5:
Photosynthesis
Chapter 10: Photosynthesis
Week 6:
Cell Communication and Cell Cycle: Focus on Mitosis
Chapter 11: Cell Communication
Chapter 12: The Cell Cycle
Unit 3: Genetics
Week 7:
Meiosis and Mendelian Genetics
Chapter 13: Meiosis and Sexual Life Cycles
Chapter 14: Mendel and the Gene Idea
Week 8:
Chromosomal and Molecular Basis of Inheritance
Chapter 15: Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
Chapter 16: Molecular Basis of Inheritance
Week 9:
Transcription, Translation, and the Genetics of Microbes
Chapter 17: From Gene to Protein
Chapter 18: Microbial Models: The Genetics of Viruses and Bacteria
Week10:
Eukaryotic Genomes and DNA Technology
Chapter 19: The Organization and Control of Eukaryotic Genomes
Chapter 20: DNA Technology
Chapter 21: The Genetic Basis of Development
Unit 7: Animal From and Function
Week 11:
Introduction to Morphology and Physiology
Chapter 40: An Introduction to Animal Structure and Function
Chapter 41: Animal Nutrition
Week 12:
Circulatory, Respiratory, and Immune Systems
Chapter 42: Circulatory and Gas Exchange
Chapter 43: The Body's Defenses
Week 13 & 14
Homeostasis: Focus on the Excretory and Endocrine Systems
Chapter 44: Controlling the Internal Environment
Chapter 45: Chemical Signals in Animals
Week 15:
Concepts: Animal Reproduction and Development
Chapter 46: Animal Reproduction
Chapter 47: Animal Development
Week 16:
Nervous System and Sensory and Motor Mechanisms
Chapter 48: Nervous System
Chapter 49: Sensory and Motor Mechanisms
Unit 8: Ecology
Week 17:
Basics of Ecology and Behavior
Chapter 50: An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere Summer Reading
Chapter 51: Behavioral Biology &
Chapter 52: Population Ecology Notes
Chapter 53: Community Ecology
Chapter 54: Ecosystems
Chapter 55: Conservation Biology
Week 18: Midterm Exams
Semester II
Unit 4: Mechanism of Evolution
Week 1:
Evolution of Populations and Modes of Speciation
Chapter 22: Descent with Modification: A Darwinian View of Life
Chapter 23: The Evolution of Populations
Chapter 24: The Origin of Species
Week 2:
Phylogeny and the Origin of Life
Chapter 25: Tracing Phylogeny
Chapter 26: Early Earth and the Origin of Life
Week 3:
Analysis of the Kingdoms Monera and Protista and a Quantitative Analysis of Respiration
Chapter 27: Prokaryotes and the Origin of Metabolic Diversity
Chapter 28: The Origins of Eukaryotic Diversity
Unit 5: Evolutionary History of Biological Diversity
Week 4:
Plant Diversity and Evolution
Chapter 29: Plant Diversity I: The Colonization of Land
Chapter 30: Plant Diversity II: The Evolution of Seed Plants
Week 5:
Fungi and Animal Evolution
Chapter 31: Fungi
Chapter 32: Introduction to Animal Evolution
Week 6:
Invertebrates and Vertebrate Evolution
Chapter 33: Invertebrates
Chapter 34: Vertebrate Evolution and Diversity
Unit 6: Plants Form and Function
Week 7:
Plant Morphology and Growth, Transport and a Quantitative Analysis of Transpiration
Chapter 35: Plant Structure and Growth
Chapter 36: Transport in Plants
Week 8:
Plant Nutrition and Reproduction
Chapter 37: Plant Nutrition
Chapter 38: Plant Reproduction and Development
Week 9:
Control Systems of Plants
Chapter 39: Control Systems in Plants
______
Unit: AP Exam Review
Week 10: Review Ch. 1-4
Week 11: Review Ch. 5-8
Spring Break
Week 12: Review Ch. 9-12
Week 13: Review Ch. 13-15
AP Biology Exam –
Week 14 - 18: Final Projects
(II) Instructional Materials and Methods Portfolio Evidence
1. Teacher Rationale for Instructional Materials and Methods:
Biology-II Honors will be aligned with College Board. Students taking the honors courses will be required to cover all standard under Advanced Placement curriculum but will complete more in-depth scientific investigations and will work more independently. Students will expand their knowledge through various extensions that correlate to the Advanced Placement College Board Standards. This will be accomplished through regular class assignments, major projects, reading, critiquing, and presenting findings from scientific articles. Students in Biology-II honors will also be expected to participate in class discussions, outside research, teach mini-lessons, and contribute with class presentations.