Biology

Attendance:  Students are expected to arrive to the classroom on time and be seated in their seat when the bell rings.

Assignment Expectations: Students are expected to turn in their assignments whether on paper or virtual by the given due date in order to receive full credit

Late Work Policy: Students may turn in assignments for the current unit up until the day we take the assessment for that unit.

Re-Take Policy: Students may retake any quizzes that were given throughout the unit up until the day before we take the assessment for that unit: In addition, a student may retake a unit assessment up until the time we take the assessment for the following unit.  However, in order to do this they must have no missing assignments in that unit.

 I am quite flexible on when these quizzes/assessments can be redone and the student simply needs to talk to me or email me so we can set up a time either before or after school that works with all of our schedules.

My plan is to have the gradebook updated each Friday before I leave. 

If you call and leave me a message on my school phone (816-650-7070) or email (tbarker@fortosage.net) I will be in touch within 24 hours. 

Biology Syllabus

Hello and welcome to Biology!

This letter is geared towards parents and guardians, but it is very useful for students to read through it as well.  This biology course will be unlike ANY science course you have taken before.  This is not an exaggeration.  It is not because you are now in high school, it is not because school “gets harder” each year.  It is different because we actually DO science, we don’t just read and memorize it!  Please take a moment to read this letter to gain some more insight on the class and please ask any questions you may have. Science LOVES questions!  

Science teachers from across the country have been collaborating in implementing the Next Generation Science Standards. Over the course of the last few years, a diverse group of educators that has been designing student-driven biology curriculum has released their work for all biology teachers to implement. The goal is clear: to enable students to grow and become self-directed learners through real-world problem solving. The aim of this shift in teaching will make them better learners and is a state and federal mandate.

Your students will be part of our launch of this exciting and engaging curriculum.  This will be the second year implementing at Fort Osage and the results of the first year were astounding! Students will be determining relatedness among lions based on actual genetic evidence. Students will be figuring out where lions live based on their genes. Students will track poachers from the DNA evidence in smuggled ivory. Students will be extracting seeds from (simulated) elephant poop to see how these animals disperse seeds and shape the landscape. Students will be calculating metabolic rates so they can design a biologically appropriate diet for animals at the zoo. And this is just the first unit of several we will implement this year!

These phenomenon-driven units involve students in making sense of the natural world through the use of authentic data while integrating different areas of science together when they are necessary to solve a problem. This allows for much deeper and longer lasting learning because everything is taught in context. And the students genuinely excel at a much higher level because of their deeper understanding.

Will students come home frustrated some days because they “just want the answer?” Absolutely. Will students want to memorize facts because that is to what they’ve become accustomed to? Many will. But the productive struggle that is part of science is critical to them growing as learners. They will not be overloaded with work as everything in which they are engaged will have purpose as we move through these coherent units together. Teachers who have implemented these units report that their students have been performing at a higher level and respond with enthusiasm, asking for more units like this. So we are excited to be employing this curriculum AGAIN this year. 

The Next Generation Science Standards clearly state "Students need to be able to make sense of the world and approach problems not previously encountered—new situations, new phenomena, and new information. To achieve this level of proficiency students need a solid grasp of key science concepts and the ability to relate that knowledge across disciplines." This is at the heart of this national push for putting students in the driver's seat of their own learning. If you would like to read more about the need to better prepare students for their post-secondary experiences, click below for the NGSS document that directly relates to why we are working to be more student-centered and student-driven in our science classrooms:

NGSS Appendix C: College and Career Readiness

If you have questions as we progress through the year, please know I am an email away! Please be sure your student is accessing their Google Classroom and Gmail daily as that is the approved method of communication used in our school. They are solely responsible for being sure they are keeping up with the communication from me throughout the school year.

Thanks for your support and here’s to a great school year!

Mrs. Tracey Barker

Semester 1

Africa Part 1 - Lions

Africa Part 2 - Elephants

Homeostasis - Sea Otters

Semester 2

Melanin - Rock Pocket Mouse

Disease - Naked Mole Rat

Population Dynamics - Penguins

Phylogeny - Canines