General Biology Expectations

Mr. Shay

Room 614

E-mail:

General Biology

General biology will cover and survey concepts of the individual cell all the way up to YOU and your environment. The purpose of this class is to give you a brief overview of biology, so that you can walk out of this classroom with the ability to analyze and make informed decisions about biological concept that WILL affect your life including: your health, your environment and even who you get to decided to lead our country! We will explore biological concepts analytically and then review/explore what scientists currently know about biology. You will learn biology concepts through many different learning styles, including lecture, shared stories, labs, individual and group work/presentation and field trips. To be successful in my class you will have to pay attention, complete homework regularly and on time and most importantly participate in classroom discussions. A major part of science is asking questions and the more you ask the more you and your peers will understand.

Topics Covered:

1stsemester: Ecology, Classification, Biochemistry and Cell biology

2ndsemester: Genetics/DNA/RNA, Evolution, Survey of the Animal Kingdom and Ecology review

Materials:

-Text – Biology provided! Also visit to view review material

-Notebook(s)

-WRITING UTENSIL…please use your own or you’ll give me one of your shoes!

Student Expectations:

-Be on time (three tardies result in a lunch detention, six tradies result in an after-school detention.)

-Complete assignments

-Remain in your seat unless asked to do lab work or classroom activities

-REMAIN in your seat until the bell rings!

-Bring needed materials to class

-Speak and act in a CIVIL manor towards your peers and myself

-Avoid bringing food or drinks into the classroom…it’s a biology and chemistry room you do not know what was on your desk the previous hour! Water bottles will be permitted unless they become a distraction.

-This room get VERY cold during the entire school year…it’s the source of air-conditioning for the building. Dress appropriately.

-Dress appropriately for field trips and labs…we WILL get dirty!

Grading scale

I will use the High School grading curve:

Grade Breakdown: Grading Categories:

Quarter 1 or 3= 45% Tests = 25%

Quarter 2 or 4= 45% Quizzes = 25%

Final= 10% Homework = 25%

Lab/activities = 25%

Missing/Late work policy:

I expect you to have assigned work completed by the beginning of class. Homework is a VERY important part of my class and your grade (25%). It is to your advantage to make up homework in a timely fashion; homework will be used as a very important teaching tool in my classroom. My missing/late work policy is as follows:

-If you do not have the assignment completed at the beginning of class you will be asked to place all classroom materials under your desk. You will have to opportunity to hear the answers but not write them down.

-Missing work will only be eligible to receive a maximum 75% of the assignment value.

-During the end of 2nd and 4th quarter, there will be an announced date that you will no longer be able to turn in missing work for that corresponding semester and will receive a zero for every missing assignment that is not turned in.

-Up-to-date grades will calculate the missing work as being a zero and will only change once the assignment is turned in, graded and entered into my grade book

  • Two points to remember:
  • These missing zeros could affect your current eligibility for school sponsored extra curricular activities (according to the extra curricular code) depending on your up-to-date grade.
  • And most importantly, your lack of timeliness affects my ability to enter grades in a timely fashion; assignments will be entered once grading and entering of late assignments conforms to my schedule.

-Infinite Campus grades for “late” work (assignments turned in after due date) will be reflected with a “late” notation.

Late projects will have a 10% reduction each day they are late…with the internet and email…if due on Friday and turned in on Monday it will be considered 3 days late!

If you have an excused absence, you will be given a grace period to make up work missed according to the high school code. Unexcused absences are no excuse to NOT do the work; you are expected to do everything your peers do. Unexcused absences on due dateswill result in a 50% reduction of assignment valueand must be do with in 24 hours or a zero will be assigned.

Quiz Policy

Almost every Friday there will be a 10 point quiz covering material that week and possibly material covered from previous weeks. Quizzes will be graded, recorded and handed back on Monday where we will go over the questions as review of what was learned the week before. If you receive 8/10 or higher you can’t make corrections for extra points. Any other score will require you to make corrections in order to receive up to 7.5/10.

To receive a 7.5/10 you will have to:

-Rewrite the questions and give a 2-3 sentence correction

-Write down a citation/notation of where you found the answer in your book

-These corrections need to be returned to my room NO later than the first hour bell on Tuesday.

Correction example: 2) Primary consumers get energy from?

Answer: Primary consumers are organisms that eat primary producer and are generally referred to as herbivores. P. 212 sec 4-2 Food webs

3)….

Bad example2) answer: B because I’m an idiot and didn’t study.

In return for this opportunity, I will rarely assign homework on the weekends. This policy is for QUIZZES ONLY, test are treated as a final assessment. Quiz corrections are an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and are not considered homework assignments.

Test corrections will be review at the time of tests.

Survival Strategies

  • Prior to tests, I will allow students to create and turn in a 1 sided handwritten note sheet and receive 2 free points or use the note sheet on the test
  • Keep and organize all packets, quizzes, labs and test in a 3 ring binder in order to review for the final.
  • DO YOU HOMEWORK ON TIME
  • ASK QUESTIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you are thinking it…most likely there is another person thinking the same thing!