How do human impacts affect local ecosystems? What is “real food” and how is it different from processed foods or food substitutes? Why does a simple change in DNA lead to life-changing mutations? In 9th grade Biology, students will design and carry out experiments, analyze models, and collaborate with each other to learn about the complexities of life. We will study the major paradigms in biology, including ecology, human development, cell biology and biochemistry, molecular genetics, and evolution. Throughout our study, students will apply their developing understanding of life to analyze current issues in biology.
How do we keep our environment healthy? What does a healthy ecosystem even look like?
What is food?
How do our body systems work together with our cells?
How do proteins keep us alive? What (biologically) makes us who we are?
How do organisms change over time?
Game Making: Honors students play board games that use biological concepts as their game mechanism and then write reviews of the games. They then pick a biological concept of their own that matches the themes of the trimester and create their own games. At the end of the trimester, we come together and play the student-made games. This is repeated each trimester. Students may work together, but if they do so a more complex game is expected.
Essential Questions:
What makes a good experiment?
Major Concepts:
Experimental design and analysis
Characteristics of life
Major Content:
Independent and dependent variables, controls, two variable experiments
Pie charts, histograms, bar graphs and nested bar graphs
Characteristics of life
Levels of organization
Kingdoms of living things
Unit Assessments:
Quiz
Major Texts:
The forest off of the Cross-Rivendell Trail is our data source for much of this unit
Essential Questions:
How do we keep our environment healthy?
What does a healthy ecosystem even look like?
Major Concepts:
Ecosystems
Matter and energy cycles
Major Content:
Trophic transfer of matter and energy
Photosynthesis and respiration (as matter and energy transfer)
Interactions between organisms
Population dynamics, predator-prey relationships
Bioaccumulation, biomagnification, eutrophication
Unit Assessments:
Diagram of matter and energy cycles and flows in a closed ecosystem
Poster presentation at Dartmouth College on mercury levels in dragonfly larvae
Unit test
Essential Questions:
How do we keep our environment healthy?
What does a healthy ecosystem even look like?
Major Concepts:
Carbon cycle, global climate
Major Content:
The carbon cycle, greenhouse effect, causes, evidence, and impacts of climate change
Unit Assessments:
Detailed analysis and written arguments around climate data
Unit test
Essential Questions:
What is food?
Major Concepts:
Food provides matter and energy for organisms.
The body systems work together at the organ and cellular level to deliver food molecules to the mitochondria.
Major Content:
Basic biomolecules (general structure of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins)
Monomers and polymers, enzymes
Digestion, diffusion, and the digestive system
Cellular respiration, cell membranes, mitochondria and the respiratory system
Homeostasis (diabetes case study)
Unit Assessments:
Experiment and lab report on digestion of applesauce or milk products or other enzymatic reaction
Presentation/video on how oxygen and glucose reach cells for cellular respiration in a choice organism
Unit test
Essential Questions:
How do proteins keep us alive?
What (biologically) makes us who we are?
What is cancer/genetic disease?
Major Concepts:
Cellular processes
Protein structure and function
Molecular genetics
Major Content:
Prokaryotes and eukaryotes
Cell cycle
Structure and function of DNA
Protein production (general)
Dominant and recessive mutations
Cell differentiation
Unit Assessments:
Project exploring genetic disease, cancer, or neurochemical through proteins (3-d printed protein project)
Bacterial transformation lab
Unit test
Essential Questions:
How do our cells and proteins keep us healthy OR how do drugs impact the nervous system's cell and proteins?
Major Concepts:
Immune system: epidemics, cells of the immune system, primary and secondary immune response
Nervous system: parts of the brain, synaptic transmission, drug impacts on the synapse and addiction
Unit Assessments:
Immune system: investigation of a simulated local epidemic, letter to concerned parties about the epidemic, comic communicating to community about the epidemic
Nervous system: research into specifics of one drug-brain interaction, illustrated poster communicating the impacts of the drug at the cellular, organism, and community level
Unit test
Essential Questions:
How do organisms change over time?
Major Concepts:
Populations of organisms change over time (change).
Evolution happens to populations, natural selection happens to individuals.
Changes in populations are recorded in the DNA record, as well as in bone and skeleton structures and other similarities between organisms.
Beneficial mutations are propagated while detrimental mutations are less common in the gene pool.
The composition of organisms on Earth have changed over geologic time.
Major Concepts:
Evolution
Cladograms
Evidence for evolution
The geologic time scale
Unit Assessments:
Immune system: investigation of a simulated local epidemic, letter to concerned parties about the epidemic, comic communicating to community about the epidemic
Nervous system: research into specifics of one drug-brain interaction, illustrated poster communicating the impacts of the drug at the cellular, organism, and community level
Unit test