Spring 2015 Honors Physics Syllabus

Spring 2015 Honors Physics Syllabus

Atkins Academic and Technology High School

Instructor: Mrs. Henry-Linder Email:

Class Website: http://wsfcs.k12.nc.us/Page/43899

Edmodo Website: https://www.edmodo.com (code given in class)

Course Description:

Physics is a science that deals with matter and energy and their interactions. It is concerned with systems, laws, models, principles and theories that explain the physical behavior of our world and the universe. Physics is regarded as a fundamental scientific discipline since all advances in technology can be traced either directly or indirectly to the physical laws and theories. The course is organized into 3 Main Goals

·  Force and Motion

·  Energy: Conservation and Transfer

·  Interactions of Energy and Matter

This course will focus on the applications to the physical world through exploratory investigations and activities. Students will be provided experiences to develop and enhance those long term transferrable skills of ethical conduct, team work, problem-solving, critical thinking, reasoning, graphical analysis, data collection, interpretation of data, communication as well as the application of mathematics.In addition, it encourages the use of various teaching learning strategies to inculcate these skills while at the same time catering to multiple intelligences and different learning styles and needs. The learning goals for the class are based upon the Essential Standards developed by North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Homework:

Students will have homework two to four times a week for 15-45 minutes, depending on how well they read and comprehend the material. Homework will include reading, researching, preparing for tests, writing, and skill-building activities. These assignments may require digital devices that are connected to the Internet. Students are expected to complete homework whether graded or not.

Work missed due to illness or special circumstances needs to be made up within the number of days the student was absent. It is the student’s responsibility to ask for and turn in work after an absence. Homework assignments will be posted regularly on Edmodo and/or given in class. It is the students’ responsibility to check Edmodo daily including the weekends.

Required Materials:

Students must bring these materials everyday.

1.  Pocket Folder with three ring prongs (at least 4)

2.  Ruled (lined) Paper 6. Whiteboard Markers/Eraser

3.  Pencils/Color Pencils/Pens 7. Flash Drive (External Hard drive)

4.  Scientific Calculator 8. Poster Board/Foam Boards

5.  Bound Science Composition Notebook (graph paper)

*******Computer with Internet Access is Needed *********

Grading Policy:

Grades are based upon the standard scale: A = 100-93%, B = 92-85%, C = 84-77%, D = 76-70%, F = below 69%. Grade percentages will be based on performance in tests, homework, labs, classwork and projects as follows:

Class Average

35% - Unit Exams

20% - Proficient Assessments, Quizzes and mini-Projects

15% - Labs, Whiteboard meetings, classwork, practice problems

10% - Blogs/Articles

20% - Honors Project

Semester Average

80% - Class Average

20% - Common Core

Unit Exams and Quizzes are designed to assess whether the learning goals/Essential Standards have been mastered. You may study and retake Proficient Assessment within one week from the date it was given back. Your final grade will be the average of the two scores or a 60% depending on which is the higher score. Your retake proficient assessment may or may not be identical to the original.

Formative Assessments: Class Work, Homework and Labs

·  Students are expected to participate in class assignments, activities, labs and discussions.

·  Homework will be assigned, but for student understanding not necessary for a grade.

·  It is necessary that students attend class everyday, due to the rigorous level of this class and intensive Labs that will be conducted to discover new concepts and build models.

·  Discussions will be held in class (Whiteboard Meetings) for further understanding of the concept being discovered.

·  Deployment Exercises will be given as class work and/or homework to allow students to apply the model they have learned/understood to various new situations i.e. problems. The problem solutions are prepared on whiteboards and presented in front of their peers, for discussion and further understanding (Whiteboard Presentations).

·  The culture of my class is student lead where I will assume the role as a facilitator probing as students discover new information via exploring and investigating the problem at hand. Therefore each day the class will begin with a Problem/Essential Question that will challenge the student(s) to solve the problem, provide evidence of their solution and comminute their findings.

·  Students will work in collaborative teams to investigate, analyze, evaluate, and communicate their findings to the problem.

Summative Assessments

·  Proficient Assessments (PA) will be given as concepts are discovered but for student understanding not necessary for a grade. They are progress checks for students to demonstrate their understanding of the model and its application. When they are for a grade, students will have the chance to stay after school to try to master/understand the concepts and retake the assessment.

·  Quizzes are the intermediated check for student understanding. They provide new situations that allow the student to apply a more qualitative and quantitative understanding of the information.

·  Unit Exams are a final check for student understanding as models are learned and changed based on new concepts discovered. The test will be TIMED and have a spiral nature that requires the students to incorporate models developed earlier in the course into their problem solving.