Dear Students and Families, Welcome to 7th grade Science! I’m excited about the opportunity to get to know you, and I’m looking forward to a happy and productive school year. The course syllabus on the following pages is meant to assist students and is tentative. Students are expected to alter test or homework dates if needed and record in their agenda and inform parents. I am hoping to stick to this schedule as much as possible. Grading System:_____________________________________________________________ Tests, including Lab Practicals: 35% Classwork: 30% Lab Activities: 25% Homework: No more than 10% Late homework assignments will not be accepted. Makeup work is not considered to be late. ***Students will be required to complete a social studies or science project, and must commit to one or the other by September 15th. Project guidelines will be sent home in September, but projects may be started anytime I approve your topic. The sooner the better---you may give me a WRITTEN project idea at any time to be considered for approval. Students are asked to bring pens and pencils, a 3-ring binder, and paper the first day of class. A pocket calculator would be handy throughout the year. There is also a $10 lab fee which pays for consumable items used in class such as dissection specimens, chemicals, microscope slides/ cover slips, lab specimens such as fruit flies, paramecia, amoeba, and elodea. 1.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Students will follow all safety procedures during lab activities without exception. Protective eyewear, when required, will not be removed until after all students have completed their lab activity and the teacher has instructed the students to remove their safety equipment. Students will follow basic rules of courtesy when asking questions or requesting help. All questions pertaining to individual student’s grades will be discussed at the end of class. Respect others. Ridiculing others, particularly in relationship to questions in class, is not permitted. Students should work until the end of class and wait to be dismissed. All unfinished class work is expected to be finished at home before the next class period. Students should bring all necessary materials to class every day. Be on time for class. Students should never talk when announcements are made over the intercom. Students are responsible for making up missed assignments.

If you have any questions or concerns or if you would like to visit our classroom or schedule a conference, you can contact me at [email protected] or 221-7676 or 364-1502. The best time to reach me is after 3:15pm. Please sign and return only this bottom portion: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - -I have read and am aware of the classroom rules and information concerning my child’s 7th grade Science class. Student name: _______________________(Print) Student signature: ___________________________

Parent name: ___________________(Print)_ Parent signature: ______________________

Life Science Course Syllabus 8-15-2016 8-16 8-17

1st 9wks. 2016

Instructor: J.B.Jennings

Lab Safety and classroom procedures Lab Safety and classroom procedures Basic Chemistry—atomic models and use of periodic table Demonstration: chemical reaction of group 2 and 6. Safety goggles required

8-18 Basic Chemistry-- students will identify the elements most often found in living organisms. Students will be able to draw a Bohr model of an atom. Homework assignment due 8-22-16…… Bohr model practice. Students will draw Bohr models of Calcium, Neon, Oxygen, Hydrogen, and Sulfur. 8-19 Basic Chemsistry—Students will be able to predict which groups of elements will react with one another based on the octet rule, students will be able to write chemical formulas for ionic compounds and simple covalent compounds. Lab activity: students will perform a single displacement reaction with copper, iron, and copper sulfate. Resulting copper plated paper clip will be discussed, a correct chemical equation for the reaction written with correct chemical formulas. 8-22

Basic chemistry-- Students will write formulas for simple ionic compounds Lab activity: students will make models of ionic and covalent compounds using toothpicks, colored marshmallows, gum drops

8-23

Basic chemistry---quiz—drawing Bohr models and writing ionic formulas Students will exchange papers and make corrections on quizzes, students who have mastered atomic models and ionic formulas will peer tutor students who need extra help, along with individual instruction by teacher for students who need extra help. 8-24

Basic chemistry--

Review/ quiz redo until mastery achieved. Peer tutoring for ionic formulas Practice-- students will identify incorrect safety procedures in lab, given pictures/video clips of students doing lab work.

8-25

Basic chemistry--

Review elements in living things, study guide, reteach any needed topics

8-26 (Friday) Basic chemistry Test 1-- students will draw Bohr models, write ionic formulas and simple covalent formulas, students will predict which elements will react with other elements and identify the ratios of each element, students will be able to state the octet rule. Students will be able to identify basic safety procedures in the lab. Identify the main elements present in living things. 8-29 Cells-- Differ between plant and animal cells, identification of organelles present in living cells. Given diagrams of plant and animal cells, students will label the organelles and state the function of each. Homework assignment (due 8-31) explain the function of the vocabulary words on page 61 of take-home text. 8-30 Cells-- Lab activity: Photosynthesis and observation of oxygen production in plant cells. Students will observe the effects of sunlight on leaf chads, observing them beginning to float when oxygen builds up. Review: drawing and labeling cells. Home Reading assignment--- pages 37-44

8-31 Cells--- Photosynthesis lab continued. Students will graph their data, discuss results, write the chemical equation for photosynthesis and explain how the cell gets and produces the reactants and products. 9-1 Cells---- Microscopy. Students will learn the parts of and proper use of a microscope, using it to observe onion skins cells and human cheek cells. Students will learn how to make a slide and stain their own cheek cells for observation under the microscope in class. 9-2 (Friday) Cells--- Discussion. Students will be in groups, each group given background information on cells, organelles, and organelle function. Student groups will be asked to respond to background info. and analyze and draw conclusions about cell organelles and overall cell function. Video clip—observation of transport in cells. Home Reading assignment---pages 72-80 in take-home text. 9-6 Cells--- Osmosis and diffusion. Video clip and lecture, discussing how diffusion/osmosis works in cells. Students will be asked to take notes and answer lecture outline questions. Lab preparation for Monday’s lab activity with diffusion. Homework assignment: due 9-7-2016 page 78 questions 1-4 (section 2 assessment) 9-7 Cells-- Lab activity: Osmosis and diffusion. Students will use onion skin cells and after staining cells, students will use salt water to cause the cells to undergo crenation. Students should see the cell membranes pull away from the cell wall as the cells shrink due to osmosis caused by the higher salt concentration outside the cells. Complete lab reports and clean up lab.

Home reading assignment pages 81-85 9-8 Cells-- Review of organelles. GLE LS-M-A2 Students will compare functions of plant and animal cell structures. Video quiz, analysis of cell diagrams, guided reading assignment, foldable review activity. Homework assignment due 9-9-2016 pg. 92 questions 1-16 9-9 (Friday) Cells-- Lab activity; making a cell model out of food. Students will use various candy, jello, and other food items to make a cell model. Students will then label their model and state the function of each organelle. 9-12 Cells-- Interactive smartboard activity. Students will observe examples of osmosis and diffusion in cells, identifying the direction of movement of particles within cells. Students will then solve basic problems with cell transport. Lecture: active and passive transport in cells. Students should take notes, outlining how endocytosis, exocytosis, facilitated transport works. 9-13 Cells—Why can’t cells get big? Lab activity: students will make cubes out of boiled egg whites and soak in a dye solution. After a few minutes, students will cut their cube in half and observe how far the dye diffused in the large and small cubes, and compare. Students will then measure the length and width of the cubes and calculate the volume and the surface area of the cubes. Students will compare the volume to surface area ratio of the big and small cube and explain why large cell size decreases the surface area to volume ratio and results in a failure of the cell to transport substances to the nucleus fast enough. 9-14 Cells-- Practice on organelle matching, organelle I.D., cell transport practice, Study guide review. Homework: Due 9-15-2016 Answer the following essay questions: 1. Explain the role of 7 organelles in the cytoplasm of the cell. 2. What is the purpose of active transport, and what are some substances that can only be transported into or out of the cell by active transport?\ 9-15

Cells-- Review- homework, Study guide, practice questions on cellular transport, analysis and conclusion practice, test prep.

9-16 Cells-- TEST 2 GLE’s LS-M-A1&A2 Students will need to know all the organelles of a plant and animal cells and the function of each, be able to differ between plant and animal cells, explain diffusion and osmosis; be able to determine, when given concentrations of solutes, which directions the solutes will move across a membrane; be able to describe the different types of active and passive transport and the membrane structures involved in transport. Essay question: Why can’t cells grow large? 9-19 Cells-- Respiration and Photosynthesis Lecture: cellular respiration Lab activity: Carbon dioxide production in animal cells—students will blow bubbles into a bromthymol blue solution, observing the color change and explain that aerobic respiration breaks down glucose and produces carbon dioxide as a waste product. Review: Students will write down equations describing cellular respiration, we will discuss the role of oxygen, plants, photosynthesis, and how respiration and photosynthesis depend on one another. 9-20

Cells-- Cellular respiration and photosynthesis. LS-M-A4

Lab activity: students will use yeast growing in a resazurin solution, along with glucose testing strips and pH indicators to observe the changes in levels of glucose, pH, and CO2 production by the yeast. Students will graph their data, and use background information to explain what happened in their lab. Students will discuss results, critique peers on their answers, and offer explanations on how their lab procedure could be improved. Lab completion and report work finished 9-20 Home reading assignment pgs. 81-85 9-21 Cells-- Complete data graphing, clean up lab equipment from yesterday’s lab activity, complete lab reports. Students will explain how yeast produce carbon dioxide through aerobic respiration and alcohol through anaerobic respiration (fermentation). Students will compare alcohol fermentation to lactic acid fermentation. 9-22 Cells- Quiz: Aerobic and anaerobic respiraton, and photosynthesis. Students will distinguish between anaerobic and aerobic respiration (LS-M-A4) Students will be able to identify the reactants and products of aer. and anaerobic respiration, explaining the pros and cons of each type of respiraton in cells. 9-23 (Friday) Cell reproduction LS-M-B1 and B2 Contrast the processes of mitosis and meiosis in cellular reproduction, growth repair, reproduction, and heredity. Mitosis: Powerpoint program (mitosis and cell division). Students will take notes and answer questions in a study outline. Discussion: pros and cons of mitosis in real ecosystems. Students will be asked to explain why mitosis is such a great way to copy cells. Students will be asked why having exact copies can be both good and bad in an ecosystem, and asked to critique their peers’ answers and support their arguments. Homework assignment (due 9-23) page 121 USING VOCABULARY 1-10. 9-26 Cell reproduction-- Lab activity

Students will observe onion root tips under a microscope, sketching examples of cells during the different phases of mitosis: Prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. Students will then complete their lab reports. Questions will be asked on reports about when chromosomes appear, what is contained in a chromosome, why chromosomes line up in metaphase, what pulls chromosomes apart. 9-27

Cell reproduction Lab activity Students will use gummy worms and paper plates to model the movement of chromosomes in the different phases of mitosis. Students will explain when the steps occur, sequence the steps in the correct order. Video clip: phases of mitosis under a microscope in real time. Review: practice questions. Home Reading assignment: pages 95-100 9-28

Cell reproduction: Meiosis Powerpoint: phases of meiosis students will take notes and complete a study outline Review: Gummy worm and paper plate activity. Students will model the steps of meiosis and explain the similarities and differences in mitosis and meiosis. Discussion: (guiding questions) What is the purpose of meiosis and sexual reproduction? When do the chromosomes get copied? How does meiosis result in half the normal chromosome number? What phase of meiosis actually halves the number of chromosomes? Homework assignment due 9-30-2016 questions 1-5, page 109 Sect. 2 assesssment 9-29

Cell reproduction Meiosis Students will take a short quiz on their reading assignment. Students will discuss the possibilities for mistakes in meiosis and the consequences for living things. Students will outline the steps of sexual reproduction, explaining the processes involved. Students will explain why chromosomes in body cells exist in pairs ( LS-M-B2 9-30 (Friday) Cell reproduction Test review, complete study guide, check and correct homework, discuss essay questions on test on 9-30 Homework assignment: due 9-30-2016 page 122, questions 1-15 10-3 (Monday) cell reproduction TEST 3 Students will be able to outline and identify the steps in mitosis and meiosis. Distinguish between sexual and asexual reproduction. Contrast these processes in relation to growth, repair, reproduction, and heredity. Explain why chromosomes in body cells exist in pairs. Describe problems that result from mistakes in mitosis and meiosis. 10-4

Heredity: Video clip-- Gregor Mendel, how he discovered the rules of heredity Background info—rules of heredity, study outline completion. Discussion: How was math used in discovering the rules of heredity? How does probability and real life differ? Are there exceptions to Mendel’s rules? Home Reading assignment: 125-131 10-5 Heredity Lab activity: “Crazy traits activity” rules of probability. Students will use the crazy traits materials to learn about recessive and dominant traits by assembling an “animal” based on rules of heredity and what genes they randomly get for their animal. Lab completion, turn in reports. 10-6 Heredity Punnett squares. Students will learn how to use a Punnett square to predict the results of a monohybrid cross. Practice problems. Peer tutoring and individual instruction by teacher. Homework assignment: complete Punnett square practice problems. Due 10-10-2016 10- 7 (Friday) Heredity Punnett square problems continued, check homework. Peer tutoring, virtual lab activity in library for students who are experts at punnett squares. 10-10 Heredity Blood typing lab activity: students will type simulated blood, explain how genes determine blood type, and predict offspring phenotypes of parents with specified blood type. Students should be able to predict partial parent genotypes if given offspring phenotypes. 10-11 Heredity Lab activity: Taste tests for sodium benzoate, PTC. Students will observe how some students in the class can taste certain chemicals, while some cannot. Students will relate this discrepancy to genes. Review: vocabulary and practice problems with genetics. 10-12 Heredity

Reading pedigrees activity: Powerpoint: British royal family and hemophilia pedigree. Students will read a model pedigree and predict genotypes of parents when given offspring phenotypes, and offspring genotypes when given parent genotypes. Discussion: How pedigrees may be used in the future for medical treatment, how pedigrees may be abused by health insurance companies. Review: practice work 10-13 Thursday) Last day of 9 weeks Heredity: Lab activity: Crazy trait activity #2. Discovering how genotypes and probability affect real life traits. Complete and turn in lab reports.