AP Environmental Science Syllabus 

Name: Mrs. McLoughlin   Contact email: jmcloughlin@westfieldnjk12.org 

Course Website: 

Textbooks:. Environmental Science for the AP Course, 3rd Edition. Friedland and Relyea 

Helpful not required:  The Cartoon Guide to the Environment, Larry Gonick & Alice Outwater 

AP Classroom: Section:  _______ Join Code = _____  Exam Date: May 15th 2026  8:00 AM EST


Course Description  -  AP Environmental Science (APES) is a year-long course - equivalent to a one semester college level Environmental Science course. Students are expected to take the AP Environmental Science test in May.    The course (APES) is the study of the way humans interact with their environment, both living & non-living components. The course goal is to raise awareness of global & local environmental issues we face today & the interdisciplinary studies involved in solving these  issues. This college level course critically analyzes & develops ways to combat ​these environmental stresses.   APES students also learn about environmental laws, regulations, & history.  

AP Environmental Science is fast-paced and rigorous. APES students must be good readers, writers, strong in math and must be able to process information quickly.  Students will have to put in a significant amount of independent work to do well in the course. Why do some not do well?  Course concepts are very relatable which may seem easy but the specifics, the details and vocabulary are often where students struggle if they have not independently studied these key elements. Also, students at this age may not yet have developed the ability to transfer a concept from memorization to application.   

Big Ideas  -  APES is interdisciplinary; it incorporates a wide variety of topics from many different areas of study. There are several major unifying themes, or big ideas, that cut across the topics within APES. The following big ideas provide the foundation for the structure of an APES course: 


Big Idea 1: Energy Transfer (ENG) 

Big Idea 2: Interactions Between Earth Systems (ERT) 

Big Idea 3: Interactions Between Different Species and the Environment (EIN) 

Big Idea 4: Sustainability (STB)

Science Practices -  In order for students to immerse themselves in the big ideas & content of the APES course, they will apply several major scientific skills & practices that allow them to engage in authentic scientific inquiry. The following scientific processes provide the foundation for APES  exploration: 

Science Practice 1: Concept Application     Science Practice 2: Visual Representations 

Science Practice 3: Text Analysis                  Science Practice 4: Scientific Experiments 

Science Practice 5: Data Analysis                 Science Practice 6: Mathematical Routines 

Science Practice 7: Environmental Solutions 

Grading is based on a point system for each graded assignment. 


The College Board Course Topics & textbook Modules & 

required units with associated labs/activities  

as well as Smedes Video access are listed via this Link: 

Please open and review:

  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c8zPyx6XyALGB8_yKX_R2B6kNSUxp5vraWKN3GLR15s/edit?usp=sharing 


Labs & Activities used to anchor understanding  -  Labs are conducted & comply with minimum 25% instructional time as required by the College Board. Some labs require individual research, data gathering and others have groups of 3–4 students working together. Ongoing field studies & long-term projects are incorporated into lab time. Lab & field reports include: Title, Introduction, Problem Statement, Methods, Data, Findings, and Conclusions. Reports are compiled into a lab/field experience notebook. 


Materials - You are responsible for bringing the following materials to class every day:


Class Schedule  -  The class schedule follows the WHS school schedule and the class drops  on _____ days   throughout the year. This course is jam-packed with information, and in order to get done in time for the AP course exam in May, we must keep pace. In the case of missed days by me or you, you must continue to read at the pace outlined on the course website & turn in assignments in accordance with their due dates which will be posted on the board when assigned.  


Academic Honesty    Study and work in an honest and respectable manner. The following rules must be adhered to, or  you will get a failing  grade for the assignment. This includes if you were the one copying OR you shared your work for someone to copy. You must complete & submit your own work!

Classroom Rules 

The AP Exam - is scored on a scale of 1 to 5. A score of 3 or above is considered passing.

Your AP Environmental Exam will be on May 15, 2026 at (time:) 8 :00 AM EST. 


AP Exam passing breakdown:  My students’ recent score distributions 2025 - 85 students     

AP Exam Score of   1 =   0%       2 =  1%      3 =  21%     4 =  43%       5 =  35%  

       

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS   


CLASSWORK:  includes worksheets, labs, & lab reports.  All classwork not finished in class must be turned in the day after it was assigned upon entering the room (not after class has begun)   


NOTES/PARTICIPATION. It is imperative that you are here in class to fill in guided notes, participate in group activities, listen to videos, etc.  


IN THE FIELD:  Focus, behavior, active engagement & help in executing field labs is counted as a test. 


STANDARD HOMEWORK:   ( other homework will be assigned in addition to the following) 

SMEDES UNIT NOTES  =  This will not be listed as homework on google classroom - due dates will be posted and called “Smedes unit notes”      At the beginning of each new unit  I will hand out a set of fill-in notes to be used daily for a review of the unit topics using an on-line video resource from Mr. Smedes. These are generally about 10-15 minutes long. His vidoes provide excellent reviews with good visuals to review a unit topic.  Students can slow down these videos & review as needed as they watch & fill in their copy of the fill-in notes.  These notes will be collected near the end of the unit.  They will serve as a great resource to use for the mid-term & final reviews.  These will be collected & placed in students’ second 3 ring binder     Access to Smedes Video unit  playlists  are found at the bottom of the document found at this link 

  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c8zPyx6XyALGB8_yKX_R2B6kNSUxp5vraWKN3GLR15s/edit?usp=sharing 


Strongly advised support materials -  Another valuable resource:   College Board Topic review videos for each topic.  They often include hints as test questions, FRQ questions or scientific experiment questions. The students who typically do best in this class are those who do BOTH smedes and college board videos.    The AP unit topic videos are accessible on the AP College Board site. 


AP CLASSROOM TOPIC QUESTIONS or mini-quizzes:  Throughout each unit, topic questions will be provided to help students check their understanding. The AP Classroom Topic Questions are especially useful for confirming understanding of difficult or foundational topics before the class moves on to new content or skills that build upon prior topics. Topic Questions can be assigned before, during, or after a lesson, and as in-class work or homework. Students will get rationales for each Topic Question that will help them understand why an answer is correct or incorrect, and their results will reveal misunderstandings to help them target the content and skills needed for additional practice. 


At the end of each unit or at key points within a unit, Personal Progress Checks will be provided in class or as homework assignments in AP Classroom. Students will get a personal report with feedback on every topic, skill, and question that they can use to chart their progress, and their results will come with rationales that explain every question’s answer.  If a topic area shows that re-teaching a topic is needed, time will be set aside to re-teach a topic  based on the results of the Personal Progress Checks.


Exams: at the end of the day, it is one exam in May that decides if you get the college credit for the course. Only 58% of public colleges (and 33% of private colleges) will accept a score of 3  to count for college credit, so we must aim for a 4 or a 5. This test is why we are going to work so hard! 

Your tests will be like mini AP exams.  Generally they will include up to 50 multiple choice questions and up to 5  free response questions (pieces of the longer versions).Timing  will mirror the times given for the actual College Board AP Test. 

You must be comfortable with high-stakes testing conditions, and you must know the material at a “4” or “5” level. That means you must be actively engaged every day in class, put in the practice for the math, and spend your own independent time reading and self-learning. 

Those who don’t procrastinate & take ownership of their learning do well in  class & on the AP exam!


Late Work Policy - There will be a 10% late penalty for every day an assignment is turned in late.   Just because I do not “see” you for class one day  or the class drops on that day, doesn’t mean you can’t drop it off.     Exception Note:   If I am out on the field trip (3 dates in October)  or ill (which is rare) do not hand in hard copy late work to the substitute.  Hand in any required work that is assigned by the sub on that date only.  ( No late work)


Make-up Work Policy  -   If you are absent and miss class, please check google classroom for what we did in class and /or email me for the work so you do not get overwhelmed and behind. If you miss a class on Monday, you technically can get the work the next day you are in school by stopping by even if our class does not meet that day  and you must turn it in the next class.   After that, the late work policy applies.