Welcome to

AP Environmental Science

About AP Environmental Science:

The AP Environmental Science course is designed to engage you, the learner, with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships within the natural world. The course requires that students identify and analyze natural and human-made environmental problems, evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and examine alternative solutions for resolving or preventing them. Environmental science is interdisciplinary, embracing topics from geology, biology, environmental studies, environmental science, chemistry, and geography.

Crestwood High School's AP Environmental Science (APES) course is an excellent option for any interested student who has successfully completed one year of high school biology with at least a "C+" average. Students should also have either completed high school chemistry or be enrolled while taking APES. Due to the quantitative analysis that is required in the course, students should also have successfully completed at least one year of algebra.

What is APES like? Because APES is designed to be a course in environmental science rather than environmental studies, the course includes a strong laboratory and field investigation component. The goal is to complement the classroom portion of the course by allowing students to learn about the environment through firsthand observation. Experiences both in the laboratory and in the field provide students with important opportunities to test concepts and principles that are introduced in the classroom and explore specific problems with a depth not easily achieved otherwise. APES students can also participate in GLOBE Program research that is sponsored by NASA, NSF, NOAA, and our State Department.

Why take AP Environmental Science?

Gain the edge in college preparation - Get a head start on college-level work by possibly earning college credit. Improve your writing skills and sharpen your critical thinking and problem-solving techniques. Develop the study habits necessary for tackling rigorous college work.

Stand out in the college admissions process - Demonstrate your maturity and readiness for college. Show your willingness to push yourself academically. Emphasize your commitment to academic excellence.

Broaden your intellectual horizons - Explore the world from a variety of perspectives, most importantly, your own. Assume the responsibility of reasoning, analyzing, and understanding for yourself.

Another important reason to take APES? - it's not as hard as you think and most students later regret not taking it with their friends who completed the class. Don't live with regret - take APES!

AP Environmental Science College Board Course and Exam Description (CED)

ap-environmental-science-course-and-exam-description.pdf

Advanced Placement Environmental Science is a class designed and coordinated by the CollegeBoard. The CED for all nine (9) APES units is available by clicking on the image to the left.

The CED is a very detailed document and outlines all of the requirements laid out by the CollegeBoard for the class. The course framework includes two essential components: Science Practices and Course Content.

Science Practices: The science practices are central to the study and practice of environmental science. Students should develop and apply the described practices on a regular basis over the span of the course.

Course Content: The course content is organized into units of study that provide the sequence for the course. These units comprise the content and conceptual understandings that colleges and universities typically expect students to master to qualify for college credit and/or placement. This content is grounded in big ideas, which are cross-cutting concepts that build conceptual understanding and spiral throughout the course.

Course content is broken down into Big Ideas, Units, and Topics.

Big Ideas: The big ideas serve as the foundation of the course and allow students to create meaningful connections among concepts. They are often overarching concepts or themes that become threads that run throughout the course. Revisiting the big ideas and applying them in a variety of connects allows students to develop deeper conceptual understanding.

Units: The course content is organized into commonly taught units. The units have been arranged in a logical sequence frequently found in many college courses and textbooks. The nine units in AP Environmental Science, and their weighting on the multiple-choice section of the AP Exam, are listed below.

Topics: Each unit is broken down into teachable segments called topics. Each unit has a different number of topics based on the unit of instruction.

About Mrs. Johns:

Ngoc, Nathan, and Mr. Johns at Rockefeller Center, 2019

Nathan and myself visiting Yosemite National Park in August, 2022

Welcome to APES! This is going to be an exciting and unprecedented year as we all work together to discover how our home planet operates and the impact we Homo sapiens have on it.

I've had the honor and pleasure of teaching science at Crestwood High School for many years and it continues to be one of my life passions. I graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science and also from the University of Michigan with a Master of Science in Secondary Science Education. I am certified to teach all subjects in high school science and have majors in environmental science, biology, and earth science. I have many, many graduate hours beyond my masters degree from Michigan Technological University and Eastern Michigan University in a whole host of science courses because there is always something new to learn. I've served as Science Department Chairperson for quite some time so if you have questions about what pathway in high school science best suits your future goals, feel free to ask.

My son's name is Nathan and his wife is Ngoc. Nathan graduated from Dearborn High and attended Michigan State University, Harvard, and just graduated with two Master Degrees and his PhD from Columbia University in May, 2019. I really don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty proud of Dr. Nathan Johns. He recently completed his postdoc at Stanford University in the Fischbach Lab focusing on microbial genomics and bioengineering. He is currently a researcher in the same lab. Dr. Ngoc Tran is a pediatric allergy and physician at Stanford Medicine. My husband passed away in December, 2020 from COVID but was a professional forester and enjoyed all things outdoors. His passing has left a significant gap in our lives.

Student activities have been and continue to be an important part of my involvement at Crestwood High School and within the community . I am currently the adviser of the National Honor Society and I support GLOBE team science research through our Science Club. CHS has been actively involved in the GLOBE Program since 1995 (that's will be 30 years we've participated as of next year) and you will have plenty of opportunities to participate in Citizen Science research within our AP Environmental Science curriculum. GLOBE has taken some of our students around the United States to present at various Symposia and Professional Meetings and I've even accompanied students who won the chance to share their research at Global Learning Expeditions in India (2014) and Ireland (2018).

Ways that I will share communicate or share information with you this trimester:

Remind for APES

Remind is a one-way text messaging and email system. With Remind, all personal information remains completely confidential. I will never see your phone number. I will be using this remind message account to send you reminders throughout the week about class or school information. You will only stay in this remind the school year you are enrolled in APES.

To receive messages pertaining to APES, test dates, etc., text @fccbb to 81010 or go to rmd.at/fccbb on a desktop computer to sign up for email notifications.

Follow me on Instagram

Signing up to follow me on Instgram is OPTIONAL but very useful for keeping up-to-date with environmental current events that are key to your success in APES.

Follow me on Instagram @drjohns4msu if you have a Twitter account or are going to create one. If you don't have or don't want a Twitter account you can text Follow @drjohns4msu to the phone number 40404.

Google Classroom

All of the assignments are posted on Google Classroom. This is where I will send out your weekly assignment schedule, assignments, and schedule Google Meets.

If you have not already gotten an invitation to join google classroom, the codes are as follows:

First Hour: https://classroom.google.com/c/NTM5MDQ5NDQwMjE5?cjc=hoyqqrb

Second Hour: https://classroom.google.com/c/NTM5MDQ5NDQwMjIy?cjc=vr4ljma

Third Hour: https://classroom.google.com/c/NTM5MDUwODI4NTc2?cjc=rb7nje3

Google Mail

Be sure to check your email at the beginning of the school day and at the end of the school day. You will receive google notifications through email and I may send you a personal note this way.

I understand that your email can get clogged up with everyone trying to send messages. Try to flag important emails, delete anything that you do not need, and respond to questions as soon as you read the email. This can prevent important notifications from getting lost.

You can always reach me through my school email - drjohns@csdm.k12.mi.us

College Board:

Class Codes

It is essential that you be able to sign into your College Board account for Advanced Placement Environmental Science. If you don't have an account yet you will need to set one up in order to access course resources.

Be sure you remember your College Board password! You will need it for more than just APES

Applications that you will use in class:

The GLOBE observe app will be used extensively throughout the school year in order for you to make observations about clouds, land cover, trees, and mosquitoes.

You will be joining Crestwood High School Teams to collect data that will be used by NASA scientists to help "ground truth" data they get beamed back to Earth from various satellites orbiting the Earth.

Each APES student will receive training in several different protocols in order to collect quality Earth information that can be shared via the GLOBE Program's database with scientists around the world.

Student Connect

MiStar Student Connect is the easiest way to check your progress in class. Remember, a grade is meaningless unless you've mastered the content.

I usually update grades over the weekend so don't be surprised if your grade only updates once a week. While we are meeting remotely, the emphasis will be on making sure you've mastered each class standard and learning target rather than grading every single assignment you complete.

Assignments are given to keep you on track and to assist you in reinforcing your understanding. In order to understand the many topics we will investigate this year, it is important that you become accountable for your own learning. Don't do assignments just to hand them in. Complete each assignment with the goal in mind - "Do I understand this?" and if you don't, how will you proceed going forward to make certain you understand and master the learning target?

What a typical week will look like:

We will be using a variety of activities to master APES content and assess material this semester. They include, but are not limited to:

Completing projects/laboratory investigations to demonstrate your mastery of the material.
Participating in class activities and discussions.
Reading through the portions of text, PowerPoints, and other readings that are posted for you.
Accessing the College Board Advanced Placement website to do daily checks of understanding.
Logging on to your College Board account to watch daily videos.
Problem-solving and review writing activities to prepare you for the end-of-year College Board Exam.
Completing weekly assignments.

What happens if I am sick and cannot attend class?

Your health is the most important thing! Please email me to let me know what is going on. I am always willing to work with you. If you are sick, then take care of you first! When you are feeling better, start working on the lessons where you left off to catch up with the class. Email me to schedule a one-on-one time to meet so I can help answer any questions and you can demonstrate mastery of the standards that you missed.

Grading:

Grades will be posted in MiStar. Assignments that I have you turn into Google Classroom will be exported into MiStar to calculate your final grade. Each assignment that is graded is assigned a set number of points. Your grade is how many points you earn for that assessment divided by how many points were possible. To make that value a percent, multiply it times 100. The letter grade that you earn for each assignment is determined according to the grading scale below.

Semester Grades - The grade you earn for each trimester is based on percent weight of categories and assignments. The categories and percentage weights are shown below. Your final marking period and semester grade are determined by using the same grade cutoffs as shown above. The categories and percent weights are shown below.

Explanation of Weighted Categories - When weighted categories are used to determine your final grade it means that some types of work contribute more heavily to your final grade than other types of assignments. For example, tests are the most heavily weighted category in determining your overall grade. To do your very best in class you will have to study carefully and score well on tests. Just doing well on tests is not enough however; you must also do well in classroom laboratory investigations and complete your homework each night.

Within each category assignments are weighted by points. This means that a 100-point test will contribute more to your final grade than a quiz worth 25 points. Final grade calculation using the weighted percent method is as follows: a student's average grade in a category is multiplied by the percent value of the category. The weighted category averages are then added together and become your final grade. Percent weights are based on 100. Category weights can exceed 100% if you earn extra credit points.

Need Extra Help?

I am always willing to help, you just have to ask! I am available during school hours to help with anything that you may need and after school hours by appointment.

You can email me at drjohns@csdm.k12.mi.us if you would like to set up a time to meet or if you have a question that can easily be answered through email.

Advanced Placement Environmental Science concepts build upon each other and if you do not understand one concept, it DOES NOT GO AWAY! Please ask before the confusion builds up! Often, a quick explanation is all you need to fully understand the concept.

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