Teacher/Mentor: Denise Boiko
Course Length: Two Semesters
Type of Class: Group class through HEART Academy
When: Fridays, 10:05-11:20
Cost: $75/month
Credit Classification: 10 credits, Lab Science
Lab Fee: $30 one time only
Minimum & Maximum Class Size: 6 and 25
Questions: Email Denise Boiko at dboiko12@gmail.com or phone (408)375-5189.
Prerequisite: Ability to manage high school level course with maturity. Students should be 8th grade or above unless specific permission has been received from Mrs. Boiko.
Shelter-in-Place Class: Same fees apply
PARENTS, PLEASE NOTE: WE WILL BE USING THE NEW 3RD EDITION APOLOGIA BIOLOGY BOOK. SEE DETAILS LATER IN THE DOCUMENT.
Course Description
(From description on Apologia.com website):
This high school biology course is designed to be your high school student’s first science course. As a college-prep high school biology course, it will set the stage for success in their homeschool years in high school, prepare them for college-level courses, and give them an understanding of the basic biological world that surrounds them each day of their lives so that they can appreciate the real-world relevance of scientific inquiry. We believe that students’ educations should prepare them for life, not just an academic year.
Providing a detailed introduction to the methods and concepts of general biology, our award-winning, homeschool, high school biology covers:
•A heavy emphasis on the vocabulary of biology so that students are properly prepared to have scientific discussions•A strong background in the scientific method so that students are trained for laboratory sciences in other high school science courses, as well as university studies•Labs that cover experimentation, field studies, microscopy, and dissection•Introduction to classification, biochemistry, cellular biology, molecular and Mendelian genetics, evolution, ecosystems, and much more.
Honors credit:
The course may be taken for honors credit. Additional assignments will be required; please ask instructor for a list of these assign-ments. Students desiring honors credit must make this request by the first or second week of class. If you are not sure whether to take the course for honors credit, you may start in honors and later drop back to a standard course if desired.
Topics to Be Covered:
16 modules (chapters) paced at approximately one module per two weeks:
- 1st Quarter: The Science of Life; The Chemistry of Life; Cell Structure and Function; Cellular Energy
- 2nd Quarter: DNA, Proteins, and the Cell Cycle; Genetics; Ecology; Evolution (Christian perspective)
- 3rd Quarter: Prokaryotes and Viruses; Protists and Fungi; Plant Diversity and Reproduction; Plant Structure and Function
- 4th Quarter: Animals – Invertebrates, Part 1; Animals – Invertebrates, Part 2; Animals – Chordates, Part 1; Animals – Chordates, Part 2
Note:HEART classes will be on break during the holidays, from before Thanksgiving until just after New Year’s Day. In order to stay caught up in your textbook, you will read through two modules during this time (the ecology and evolution modules). These modules will not have any labs assigned, and tests and study guides will be optional for standard level students (required for honors level students), but recommended for all, as they are helpful for comprehension.
Class Expectations:
- Attendance and punctuality (very important). Please be in class on time, ready to start, and prepared for the day’s material.
- LISTENING to instructions given in class and FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS. This will save time and energy for all of us and isextremely important for safety and for good performance.
- Participation in discussion. We will review the chapter in class to prepare for the test.
- Participation in lab and turning in lab reports.
- Completing other assigned homework (on time!) such as study guides and On Your Own questions. Specific assignments will be given weekly by email and by handout. Please stay caught up!
- You will study on your own with your parent’s help as needed during the week (reading the chapter, possibly performing some household-based labs and reporting back during class, answering On Your Own Questions and Study Guides, and studying for tests).
- Tests will be completed at home and proctored and scored by parent. Since biological concepts continually build on importantprevious material, parents may choose to allow the student to take the test a second time if mastery has not been achieved on the firstadministration of the test. We can also discuss other ways to help the student assimilate the material.
- Use of basic technology applications (word processing applications, email, internet).
- A willingness to learn how to apply a Christian worldview in biology.
- In addition to class time, this subject will require a workload of about one hour a day, five days a week. Additional hours will beneeded for honors students.
My commitment as your instructor is to provide instruction and encouragement to you, supervise laboratory experiments during class time, review the chapter material in class before the tests, and grade or evaluate your work. I will be available to help you develop skills in scientific observation and analysis, and in understanding the complex concepts we will be learning. Please feel free to come to me with questions or email me during the week, so that this can be a team effort in learning together!
An assignment sheet will be made available every week. It is designed as a communication device for you, to clarify your weekly work process and help you focus on the topics we are discussing in class. Please read it at the beginning of every week and use it as a working guide. Once you have read the assignment sheet, please store it in your binder for future reference.
Laboratory Exercises:
Exploring Creation With Biology contains three types of laboratory exercises:
- Household labs – Only household equipment is used. Some of these will be done in class, and others may be done at home (eitherrequired, or for extra credit), with the results shared in class.
- Microscope labs – Require a microscope and slide set (will always be done in class with the microscopes and slides provided by HEART).
- Dissection labs – Require a dissection kit (will always be done in class with supplies provided by HEART).
Materials: A few very common household materials may occasionally be requested from you and your family. We will be performing the microscope and dissection labs in class and will be purchasing microscope and dissection equipment and specimens in order to have a ratio of three or four students per microscope and dissection kit. Your lab fee will be paid at the beginning of the year.
If you miss a lab due to an absence, the lab generally cannot be made up due to equipment considerations, though sometimes we can try to make arrangements for you to catch up in some way. Alternate activities may be assigned if you miss more than two or three labs.
Handing in Assignments:
Assignments are due at the beginning of class. All work should be done neatly and reflect your best efforts. Strive for excellence and do your best work. Extra credit will be available for students who need to enhance their grades. Extra projects are also available for students with special interests, gifts, or those needing a more advanced course – please ask instructor.
Bring to class every day:
1.A 3-ring binder with spine size approximately 1 1/2” to 2.” Insert two plastic sheet protectors at the front of the binder to store latestassignment sheet and important reference information. If it is a view binder, you may decorate the cover page any way you like. Insertdividers, labeled as follows. Have a small supply of college-ruled paper in each section.
- a.OYO Questions
- b.Class Notes and Handouts
- c.Study Guides
- d.Tests
- e.Extra Credit
2. A second 3-ring binder with spine size about 1 1/2” to 2”. This will be the lab notebook, and will periodically be turned in for grading. Insert two plastic sheet protectors at the front to store lab writeup instructions and drawing instructions. Have a supply of lined paper and plain white paper in the binder, for lab reports and drawings.
3. Sharp pencils with good erasers, for sketches and drawings. Mechanical pencils are useful.
4. Pen.
5. 6” ruler for drawing straight lines for labels on lab drawings.
6. Colored pencils for biological drawings (at least 6 colors).
7. Zippered pocket for pencils, erasers, etc. (place this in your main Biology binder which stays with you and doesn’t get turned in).
8.Textbook.
Workload:
On Your Own Questions – These are to be answered as you come to them in the reading of the module, and kept in a labeled section of your notebook. Start each new module on a new sheet of paper.
Experiments – All experiments will be done on Fridays, along with a short review of the module. Occasionally, experiments involv-ing only household materials will be done at home (sometimes for extra credit).
Study Guides – These should be done in writing or typed on the computer, neatly and completely, at the end of each module. They should be used to help you study for the upcoming test and will be due when you have completed the test.
Module Summaries – These are OPTIONAL, as they are found only in the optional Student Notebook. They are a useful way to re-view the module before the test but are not essential. Page 37 of 98 5/13/2020 3:10 AM
Tests – A module test will be done every two weeks to evaluate your learning. Tests will be completed at home, proctored by the par-ent, and turned in to instructor during the next class, to be graded, recorded, and examined for further evaluation. Tests may be typed or handwritten. Tests should be done “closed book” unless otherwise instructed. In some cases, parents may allow open book tests depending on student’s needs, but closed book is strongly preferred for best preparation for college courses. Under no circumstances should students have access to the Answer Key while completing the test.
Lab Writeups and Drawings – Each lab experiment will require either a short writeup (hypothesis, materials, results, conclusion), neatly labeled drawings, or both. Writeups and drawings will be filed in a lab notebook to be turned in for grading periodically.
5-4-3-2-1 Summaries of Modules – Extra credit, but highly recommended to create a personalized wrap-up of the module. Use 5-4-3-2-1 handout. (Required for honors credit – one per module.)
Current Events – Extra credit or for honors credit. Description of a scientific news item of your choice. Current event form questionswill be filled out to describe the event or discovery.(Required for honors credit – two per semester)
Book Report – Extra credit or honors credit.1 or 2 page summary of a book from a recommended list, or of your choosing with ap-proval of teacher (Required for honors credit – one per semester).
Semester Project – Extra credit or honors credit. An extra experiment, detailed drawing, game, poem, report, or other project of yourchoosing, to augment the learning experiences in the class (Required for honors credit – one per semester).
Grading and Assessment:
Parent involvement in discussion and evaluation of student’s work is a priority. Parents will score each module test before the student turns it in, and I will double check the scoring, sometimes allowing more points or partial credit. I will be available to parents as needed, to assist in evaluating performance against priorities, answer questions, or simply be a sounding board for discussion. I want to do everything I can to assist you in this endeavor.
A teacher-created evaluation will be provided for every student, which may be used as a record of accomplishment for students plan-ning to attend college, and as an aid to help parents ascertain grades for report cards. All evaluations include the number of tests, homework, labs, and other assignments completed, a description of challenges and accomplishments, a review of student’s progress and performance, test scores, and recommendations for future work. While the parent gives the actual letter grade, this evaluation will be an individualized assessment of the student’s progress and effort and will help in assigning the grade. The basis for this assessment will be the following items:
Tests: 55%
Performance on tests (usually closed book, proctored and graded by parent but reviewed also by teacher). Partial credit is given for partially correct answers.
Homework: 10%
Completeness (not necessarily correctness) of study guides and OYO questions. For honors students, homework grade also includes 5-4-3-2-1 summaries, current events, and book reports.
Lab: 35%
Effort, enthusiasm, and performance during the lab experiments.
Neatness and thoroughness of lab writeups in lab notebook.
Maintenance of biology notebook as directed.
For honors students, lab grade also includes project grade.
Extra credit, as applicable
Extra labeled drawings, quarterly tests, current events, book reports, optional lab experiments, and other extra efforts in the class. Ex-tra points will add on to student’s existing point total.
Student will also be evaluated on preparation, participation and attitude in class.
Curriculum
IMPORTANT – PLEASE OBTAIN THE NEW 3RD EDITION OF THE BIOLOGY CURRICULUM. See Apologia.com for an overview and for sample pages.
REQUIRED:
1.Exploring Creation With Biology, 3rd edition, by Vicki Dincher, Apologia, 2020
ISBN 978-1-946506-45-0
2.Solutions and Tests Manual to accompany the above textbook.
To emphasize, please note that you will be needing both the main textbook and the solutions/test Basic Set, $89.95, which contains both of these items.
OPTIONAL:
You may elect to also purchase the Student Notebook. This is optional; it contains places to write answers to the OYO and Study Guide questions, and also contains extra module summary questions as a further review for the test. If you would like this option, pur-chase the Apologia Advantage Set, $119.95, which contains the main textbook, the Solutions and Tests Manual, and the Student Notebook.
Website: www.apologia.com
This site contains helpful hints and links for the parent and student which can aid in your study of the subject.
Contacting the Teacher:
Please contact Mrs. Boiko (course questions) or Mrs. Allen (administrative questions) if there are any questions during the year.
The best way to contact Mrs. Boiko is via email
Teacher Assistant Position Available:
Duties: taking roll, checking off homework completion, assisting with labs, setting up and cleaning up from labs, helping with class-room review games. (No biology experience is needed.) You will receive a discount on your student’s tuition in this class, according to HEART policies. Please contact Denise Boiko if interested.
Assignments for the first week:
(to be completed prior to the first class)
Parents:
Read introductory pages in the Solutions and Tests Book. Carefully read the course expectations from this descriptive document. Be ready to go over the handouts I give the students on the first day of class.
Students:
1.Read introductory pages in textbook.
2.Read pp 1-23 in textbook.
3.Do On Your Own questions 1.1-1.9 on notebook paper, and file in the OYO Questions section of your notebook.
4.Carefully read the course expectations from this current document (Biology Class Information). On the first day of class I will be giving you many handouts. Be prepared to go over these with your parents.
