Welcome to Biology! My name is Dianne, and I
will be your teacher for this course.
Throughout this course we will be
learning about life. This is a scientific course, and you will need to complete
lessons, labs, and research projects to receive credit. Don't expect to finish
this course in a hurry--not only do some of the research projects and labs take
extra time, or have multiple parts that must be submitted separately, but you
can also expect some dialogue between us on each lesson, as we discuss some of
the concepts and theories.
Do not try to do the labs out of order, or
before you finish the lessons for the unit. Some of the labs depend on your
understanding from the lessons, and when appropriate the concepts from the
lessons should be part of your lab report. Search for connections, and back up
your reasoning with facts as to why the connections make sense.
For the final lab, you will need to find a large non-porous
object, such as a cinder-block, a big flat rock, or a piece of tile, and place
it in a growing area (a patch of grass is fine) where it can remain undisturbed
for at least a month. You may want to go ahead and place your object now, so
that you are ready for the lab when you get to it. Also be sure to let family
members know not to move it (make sure you are not placing it in the way of
where someone needs to mow). Check on the object each week, and write a brief
description of how the area has changed since you placed the object. (This will
also let you check to see if it has been moved.) If it has been moved, don't
replace it or start over--continue recording your observations, and make this
part of the report as well.
If at any point you are having difficulty
understanding the course material or locating information, please contact me for
help.
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