Syllabus
APES Syllabus – Bugenske
2016-17
A primary objective of this course is to provide a rigorous fourth-year science experience, which focuses on in-depth scientific examination of environmental issues with emphasis on related concepts of biology, chemistry, earth science and physics. Please remember that this is a college equivalent experience. The course will stress scientific principles of inquiry and analysis, and includes a strong laboratory and field component. The goal of this course is to provide each student with the background, knowledge and experiences necessary to prepare students for the AP exam given in May. Topics covered in the course include: scientific analysis, interdependence of the Earth’s life-support systems, population dynamics, natural resource utilization, environmental quality, global changes, and environment, technology and society issues. Students enrolled in this course will take the AP Examination on May 1.
Course Prerequisites: The AP Environmental Science class is open to students who have taken biology, chemistry, and either integrated math 3 or advanced algebra. Students should have good math fluency (without a calculator), a firm foundation in biology and chemistry, a firm foundation in data collection and graphing, and a good work ethic.
Methods: Daily instruction will consist of lecture, discussion, collaborative group work, written reaction papers, demonstration, guest speakers, in-class assignments, computer simulations, current events and homework. A large portion of the class will consist of lab work. All lab work will require a written component. A minimum of one class period or its equivalent per week is spent engaged in laboratory and/or field work.
Unifying Themes:
Topics to be Explored
Unit 1 - Introduction
Chapter 1 – Studying the State of Our Earth
Chapter 2 – Environmental Systems
Unit 2 – The Living World
Chapter 3 – Ecosystem Ecology
Chapter 4 – Global Climates and Biomes
Unit 3 – Biological Populations
Chapter 5 – Evolution of Biodiversity
Chapter 6 – Population and Community Ecology
Unit 4 – Human Population
Chapter 7 – The Human Population
Unit 5 – Earth Resources
Chapter 8 – Earth Systems
Unit 6 – Water Resources and Polllution
Chapter 9 – Water Resources
Chapter 14 – Water Pollution
Unit 7 – Land Use
Chapter 10 – Land – Public and Private
Chapter 11 – Feeding the World
Unit 8 – Energy Resources and Consumption
Chapter 12 – Nonrenewable Energy Sources
Chapter 13 – Achieving Energy Sustainability
Unit 9 – Air Pollution
Chapter 15 – Air Pollution and Stratospheric Ozone Depletion
Chapter 19 – Global Change
Unit 10 - Waste
Chapter 16 – Waste Generation and Waste Disposal
Unit 11 – Global Change and a Sustainable Future
Chapter 17 – Human Health and Environmental Risks
Chapter 18 – Conservation of Biodiversity
Chapter 20 – Sustainability, Economics, and Equity
Resources:
Textbook: http://bcs.whfreeman.com/friedlandapes/#t_668210____
Strive for a 5 Guide – Study Guide and Test Prep to accompany text. This is yours to keep.
Shmoop: https://www.shmoop.com -AP test study site
Digital communication:
Infinite Campus - You are expected to review your grades and assignments each week.
Weebly- http://mrsbssciencescoop.weebly.com– Agendas, due dates, files, current event blogs, and lots of cool stuff can be accessed. You will also get your own webpage for current events.
Email - Feel free to email me with any questions or concerns:[email protected]
Conduct: We will have a class discussion about expectations and classroom procedures.
In addition, the school-wide expectations are enforced, including no use of phones or other electronics without teacher permission.
Classroom Rules
Be on time (in your seat and working when bell rings)
Come prepared
Stay on task
Be respectful and polite
Be safe
Turn off and put away electronics
Students will be given a warning. If another rule is broken within the same week, the student will be asked to spend 20 minutes with me before or after school. If the student does not attend, they will be referred for morning school detention at 7:00am.
Science Lab Fee: There is a fee assessed to each student in APES of $31.00 in order to defray the costs of our consumables (including a workbook) and chemical disposal costs. This fee may be paid on-line or by check (Beachwood City Schools) or cash. If this fee is not paid, the student’s semester and possibly final grade will be listed as incomplete.
Grading (approximate):
Assignments – 40%
Assessments including FRQs – 40%
Discussion/Participation – 20%
On the weebly, you will find a list of assignments for each unit. These will be graded for points and fall under the Assignment category. Assessments will include summative unit tests and free response questions modeled after what you will see on the AP Exam. Discussion/participation will be graded according to a rubric you will receive shortly. You will need to be an active part of small group and whole group activities, with the goal of helping to move the conversation forward, support contributions with evidence, and synthesize and make connections.
*Please keep all chapter outlines as they will be turned in as a packet each semester for an assignment grade. You will use these as background in discussions and to prepare for the semester exams and AP exam.
Late Work: If the assignment is collected without answers being given in class, you may turn it in 1) one day late with a 10% penalty or 2) any day until the end of the unit for 50% credit. Late Homework Passes can be earned at my discretion by being always on task and engaged in what we are doing and not being disruptive in class. These passes will allow you to hand in any homework not reviewed in class for full credit before the end of the unit. You will need to keep track of these passes and staple them to your late work. Lost passes will not be replaced.
Academic Honesty: This seems to be becoming more and more of an issue as technology makes our lives easier. PLEASE do your own work. Using other experts and students’ ideas (not just “copying”), hurts you in the long run. All students and parents will be required to sign an academy honesty contract. Please read it thoroughly and take it seriously.
Attendance: Unexcused absences: If you have an unexcused absence, you will receive a score of 0 on any assignments handed out or due, and any labs, quizzes or tests completed that day. The assistant principal will also be notified.
Excused absences: You are responsible for all work missed. 1) Check Weebly for what you missed, 2) turn in late work to the Late Work Basket 3) Please come see me on the day before you will be absent or the day you return, before or after school. At the beginning of class is not a good time to ask what you missed. Do not wait a week to “catch-up”.
Tardiness: You are expected to be in your seat working when the bell rings. You will need a pass if you come in after the bell. After three tardies, you will receive a detention.
Textbook: Environmental Science for the AP*, Andrew Friedland, Rick Relyea, David Courad-Hauri, , W.H. Freeman and Company/BFW, 2012
Online book available: http://bcs.whfreeman.com/friedlandapes/#t_668210____
You will receive an access code, username, etc. at the beginning of school.
Field Trips
We will be partnering with the Clevelend Metroparks in their efforts to restore Acacia Reserve (formerly the Golf Course by Beachwood Mall. We will be taking 4-6 field trips during the school year that will take place on block day during our block period and require you to be at school at 7:25am. Please let me know ahead of time if this will be an issue. There may also be a couple of optional Saturday commitments. You will know about these well in advance.
School agenda/calendar: Each student will be responsible for using some kind of calendar or agenda. This is an excellent way to keep organized. Daily agendas will be posted in Weebly, so that you can write the information into your calendar. This is the first thing you do when coming into class.
Materials: Each day you come to class, please bring:
Ipods, MP3’s and cell phones: These types of personal items are not allowed to be used except by teacher consent. Phones should be silent and out of site at all times. If I see you with it, I will take it and a parent must pick it up from the office. This is a school-wide rule. The APES exam does not allow calculators, so we will not use them. On assessment days, phones will need to be placed in the phone “pockets”.
Homework help/Lab make-up : I will be available for the following academies:
AM Academy - T (7:25-7:45a), W (8:35 – 9:00a)
PM Academy – M, Th, F (2:45-3:10p) and W (2:35-3:00p)
If there is a change to this schedule, I will post it.
Math Fluency: You will take a math quiz at the beginning of school to determine if you have gaps that need to be addressed. It is highly encouraged that you use academy time to practice these areas.
Tests: Tests will be given at the end of each unit. Unit tests will be shown to the students after they are graded, but will be kept by the teacher in order for the students to review with them for midterms and finals. Students are not allowed to take graded unit tests home.
Labs:
Each student and parent/guardian must sign a lab safety contract in order to participate in labs in class. This is mandatory. Students who miss a lab are expected to make-up the missing lab outside of normal class time unless other arrangements have been made with the teacher.
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail at [email protected].
Looking forward to a wonderful school year,
Lisa Bugenske
2016-17
A primary objective of this course is to provide a rigorous fourth-year science experience, which focuses on in-depth scientific examination of environmental issues with emphasis on related concepts of biology, chemistry, earth science and physics. Please remember that this is a college equivalent experience. The course will stress scientific principles of inquiry and analysis, and includes a strong laboratory and field component. The goal of this course is to provide each student with the background, knowledge and experiences necessary to prepare students for the AP exam given in May. Topics covered in the course include: scientific analysis, interdependence of the Earth’s life-support systems, population dynamics, natural resource utilization, environmental quality, global changes, and environment, technology and society issues. Students enrolled in this course will take the AP Examination on May 1.
Course Prerequisites: The AP Environmental Science class is open to students who have taken biology, chemistry, and either integrated math 3 or advanced algebra. Students should have good math fluency (without a calculator), a firm foundation in biology and chemistry, a firm foundation in data collection and graphing, and a good work ethic.
Methods: Daily instruction will consist of lecture, discussion, collaborative group work, written reaction papers, demonstration, guest speakers, in-class assignments, computer simulations, current events and homework. A large portion of the class will consist of lab work. All lab work will require a written component. A minimum of one class period or its equivalent per week is spent engaged in laboratory and/or field work.
Unifying Themes:
- Humans have had an impact on the environment for millions of years .
- Technology and population growth have enabled humans to increase both the rate and scale of their impact on the environment .
- Environmental problems have a cultural and social context .
- Understanding the role of cultural, social, and economic factors is vital to the development of solutions .
- Human survival depends on developing practices that will achieve sustainable systems .
- A suitable combination of conservation and development is required .
- Management of common resources is essential.
Topics to be Explored
Unit 1 - Introduction
Chapter 1 – Studying the State of Our Earth
Chapter 2 – Environmental Systems
Unit 2 – The Living World
Chapter 3 – Ecosystem Ecology
Chapter 4 – Global Climates and Biomes
Unit 3 – Biological Populations
Chapter 5 – Evolution of Biodiversity
Chapter 6 – Population and Community Ecology
Unit 4 – Human Population
Chapter 7 – The Human Population
Unit 5 – Earth Resources
Chapter 8 – Earth Systems
Unit 6 – Water Resources and Polllution
Chapter 9 – Water Resources
Chapter 14 – Water Pollution
Unit 7 – Land Use
Chapter 10 – Land – Public and Private
Chapter 11 – Feeding the World
Unit 8 – Energy Resources and Consumption
Chapter 12 – Nonrenewable Energy Sources
Chapter 13 – Achieving Energy Sustainability
Unit 9 – Air Pollution
Chapter 15 – Air Pollution and Stratospheric Ozone Depletion
Chapter 19 – Global Change
Unit 10 - Waste
Chapter 16 – Waste Generation and Waste Disposal
Unit 11 – Global Change and a Sustainable Future
Chapter 17 – Human Health and Environmental Risks
Chapter 18 – Conservation of Biodiversity
Chapter 20 – Sustainability, Economics, and Equity
Resources:
Textbook: http://bcs.whfreeman.com/friedlandapes/#t_668210____
Strive for a 5 Guide – Study Guide and Test Prep to accompany text. This is yours to keep.
Shmoop: https://www.shmoop.com -AP test study site
Digital communication:
Infinite Campus - You are expected to review your grades and assignments each week.
Weebly- http://mrsbssciencescoop.weebly.com– Agendas, due dates, files, current event blogs, and lots of cool stuff can be accessed. You will also get your own webpage for current events.
Email - Feel free to email me with any questions or concerns:[email protected]
Conduct: We will have a class discussion about expectations and classroom procedures.
In addition, the school-wide expectations are enforced, including no use of phones or other electronics without teacher permission.
Classroom Rules
Be on time (in your seat and working when bell rings)
Come prepared
Stay on task
Be respectful and polite
Be safe
Turn off and put away electronics
Students will be given a warning. If another rule is broken within the same week, the student will be asked to spend 20 minutes with me before or after school. If the student does not attend, they will be referred for morning school detention at 7:00am.
Science Lab Fee: There is a fee assessed to each student in APES of $31.00 in order to defray the costs of our consumables (including a workbook) and chemical disposal costs. This fee may be paid on-line or by check (Beachwood City Schools) or cash. If this fee is not paid, the student’s semester and possibly final grade will be listed as incomplete.
Grading (approximate):
Assignments – 40%
Assessments including FRQs – 40%
Discussion/Participation – 20%
On the weebly, you will find a list of assignments for each unit. These will be graded for points and fall under the Assignment category. Assessments will include summative unit tests and free response questions modeled after what you will see on the AP Exam. Discussion/participation will be graded according to a rubric you will receive shortly. You will need to be an active part of small group and whole group activities, with the goal of helping to move the conversation forward, support contributions with evidence, and synthesize and make connections.
*Please keep all chapter outlines as they will be turned in as a packet each semester for an assignment grade. You will use these as background in discussions and to prepare for the semester exams and AP exam.
Late Work: If the assignment is collected without answers being given in class, you may turn it in 1) one day late with a 10% penalty or 2) any day until the end of the unit for 50% credit. Late Homework Passes can be earned at my discretion by being always on task and engaged in what we are doing and not being disruptive in class. These passes will allow you to hand in any homework not reviewed in class for full credit before the end of the unit. You will need to keep track of these passes and staple them to your late work. Lost passes will not be replaced.
Academic Honesty: This seems to be becoming more and more of an issue as technology makes our lives easier. PLEASE do your own work. Using other experts and students’ ideas (not just “copying”), hurts you in the long run. All students and parents will be required to sign an academy honesty contract. Please read it thoroughly and take it seriously.
Attendance: Unexcused absences: If you have an unexcused absence, you will receive a score of 0 on any assignments handed out or due, and any labs, quizzes or tests completed that day. The assistant principal will also be notified.
Excused absences: You are responsible for all work missed. 1) Check Weebly for what you missed, 2) turn in late work to the Late Work Basket 3) Please come see me on the day before you will be absent or the day you return, before or after school. At the beginning of class is not a good time to ask what you missed. Do not wait a week to “catch-up”.
Tardiness: You are expected to be in your seat working when the bell rings. You will need a pass if you come in after the bell. After three tardies, you will receive a detention.
Textbook: Environmental Science for the AP*, Andrew Friedland, Rick Relyea, David Courad-Hauri, , W.H. Freeman and Company/BFW, 2012
Online book available: http://bcs.whfreeman.com/friedlandapes/#t_668210____
You will receive an access code, username, etc. at the beginning of school.
Field Trips
We will be partnering with the Clevelend Metroparks in their efforts to restore Acacia Reserve (formerly the Golf Course by Beachwood Mall. We will be taking 4-6 field trips during the school year that will take place on block day during our block period and require you to be at school at 7:25am. Please let me know ahead of time if this will be an issue. There may also be a couple of optional Saturday commitments. You will know about these well in advance.
School agenda/calendar: Each student will be responsible for using some kind of calendar or agenda. This is an excellent way to keep organized. Daily agendas will be posted in Weebly, so that you can write the information into your calendar. This is the first thing you do when coming into class.
Materials: Each day you come to class, please bring:
- 3 ring binder, 1.5” with loose leaf paper or folder system
- pencil/pens, paper, and calendar
- charged chromebook or laptop
- Strive for a Five book (when needed)
Ipods, MP3’s and cell phones: These types of personal items are not allowed to be used except by teacher consent. Phones should be silent and out of site at all times. If I see you with it, I will take it and a parent must pick it up from the office. This is a school-wide rule. The APES exam does not allow calculators, so we will not use them. On assessment days, phones will need to be placed in the phone “pockets”.
Homework help/Lab make-up : I will be available for the following academies:
AM Academy - T (7:25-7:45a), W (8:35 – 9:00a)
PM Academy – M, Th, F (2:45-3:10p) and W (2:35-3:00p)
If there is a change to this schedule, I will post it.
Math Fluency: You will take a math quiz at the beginning of school to determine if you have gaps that need to be addressed. It is highly encouraged that you use academy time to practice these areas.
Tests: Tests will be given at the end of each unit. Unit tests will be shown to the students after they are graded, but will be kept by the teacher in order for the students to review with them for midterms and finals. Students are not allowed to take graded unit tests home.
Labs:
Each student and parent/guardian must sign a lab safety contract in order to participate in labs in class. This is mandatory. Students who miss a lab are expected to make-up the missing lab outside of normal class time unless other arrangements have been made with the teacher.
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail at [email protected].
Looking forward to a wonderful school year,
Lisa Bugenske