Regents Living Environment emphasizes the study of living organisms and their place in and interaction with the environment around them. Students will explore the complex nature of all life from the cellular level to ecosystems. Human development and impacts on ecosystems will be emphasized, along with genetic technologies that help us improve medicine, forensics, and expand our understanding of living things. Laboratory investigations will be conducted to support students' understanding of required content. Regular class attendance and participation is extremely important because New York State requires students taking Regents Science courses to successfully complete a minimum of 1200 minutes of laboratory experience.
Scientific Method, Nature of Life, Ecology, Biochemistry, Cell Processes, Genetics, Evolution, Human Anatomy/Physiology
You will NEED to come to class with the following materials EVERY DAY!
Chromebook
Earbuds or headphones
Pencil and/or pen
1” 3-Ring Binder OR 6 Pocket Folders
Labs (30%): Any hands-on or virtual lab work we do will be included in this category. Labs will be returned to you for feedback and then stored in your lab folder in my classroom as evidence that you met the lab requirement for the Regents Exam.
Tests and Projects (30%): Unit exams and the NYS Regents exam will be included in this category.
Quizzes (20%): There will be weekly quizzes that will be included in this category. I will drop your lowest quiz grade each quarter.
Participation (20%): Your pre-work, exit tickets, Edpuzzles, and reading responses will be included in this category.
The following reasons either singly or in combination may be cause for a student being placed on the Academic Intervention List.
One or more missing or incomplete lab write-ups or assignments.
One or more failing quiz grades.
One or more failing test grades.
If you are absent, it is your job to make up the work. Handouts, videos of lessons, and other materials will be available on our Google Classroom page. You MUST schedule a time with me to make up any missed labs by emailing me. Regents science courses have a lab requirement that is described in the next section.
Attendance during lab activities is extremely important since the New York State Education Department requires completion of a minimum of 1200 minutes of satisfactory lab work (equivalent to approximately 30 lab exercises) before a student is allowed to take the Living Environment Regents (final) Exam in June. Completed labs must be kept on file in the classroom as evidence that the requirement has been met. If a student fails to complete the minimum lab requirement he/she will fail the course and be required to repeat in order to earn credit.
As part of the lab requirement, there are four New York State required labs that must be completed by all students taking the Living Environment Course.
Making Connections
Diffusion Through a Membrane
Beaks of Finches: Natural Selection
Relationships and Biodiversity
Respect yourself and everyone else in the room, including our virtual spaces like Google Classroom, and Zoom sessions.
Be on time and prepared for class (online and in-person).
Treat lab equipment and specimens, and live organisms in the classroom with care.
Follow lab safety guidelines.
*You will be subject to the following Consequences if you do not follow the behavior guidelines (These consequences will not necessarily be followed in the order listed below.):
Receive a warning
Be removed from lab or other activity, as appropriate
A parent/guardian will be contacted
A Referral will be written
Google Classroom will be used to organize our course. Joining our class will give you access to assignments, materials, a calendar, class and private comments, and other tools to help you learn and stay organized. Assignments will be submitted through Google Classroom.
In order to access your Google Classroom page use the link myapps.bgcsd.org
Then, click on the Google Classroom icon, shown to the right.
You should sign up with Google using your school account for any of the resources that ask you to sign-in.
School email: You can access on myapps.bgcsd.org
Edpuzzles: Utilize the links in Google Classroom
Kami: To complete work on pdf files
Castle Learning: Utilize the links in Google Classroom
Google forms, docs, and slides: Utilize the links in Google Classroom or open new files using the waffle
Virtual Labs: Utilize the links in Google Classroom
Anything else I find that will help you learn...
email: edegan@bgcsd.org
Google Classroom: You can comment on assignments to ask me questions privately.
Phone: You can leave a message with Ms. Hard for me at 967-6323