Announcements *Most 'announcements' will be on the 'Daily Power Points' (I post a new one every day in class). We'll also use "Remind" a great deal, so please make sure you've joined our class account!
Spring 2020: 3/15/2020: Class Procedures while school is closed- beginning 3/16/20 (*check back and/or refresh this page often- there will be updates/additions most days): 1- Document I gave to students on Friday, 3/13. Please read over this carefully! 2- These were the original due dates for Unit 5, if we had been in school (Pic #1 and Pic #2).
Obviously, we'll "lag" behind this timeline somewhat (kind of like an Okazaki fragment...haha).
Reasons:
Students will likely have more trouble understanding the material without being in the classroom and going through our "typical procedures" on unit concepts, such as:
Warm-Ups;
Going through unit PPts together and receiving more explanation, analogies, drawing processes on whiteboard, demos & "role playing", asking me questions & receiving immediate feedback, labs, etc. Therefore, there will be no penalty if students submit work late. Work must be submitted to their Unit 5 Google subfolders- NOT by email or Remind (see #1, above).
Students are not expected to spend an unreasonable amount of time on required Bio homework (around 30 minutes or so).
Some assignments (including watching videos and good teacher 'lectures') are highly recommended, but not required (go to Unit 5 for this info, which will be updated every day or two). However, if you're not clearly understanding concepts after reading/studying both my PPt and the OpenStax text, you should carefully consider doing these "optional" assignments. Also, your Wheeler Magnet gmail accounts come with the bonus of having some good apps, such as Google Hangout. Students are encouraged to make student peer study groups, as that would likely facilitate learning.
The Unit 5 Test will be 1-2 days after we return to school. Students should make every effort to not get too far behind. *FYI: the test will NOT be the first day we return!
3- Information for signing up for www.usatestprep.com will be uploaded within the next week. Weekly EOC review assignments will be due on Sunday nights beginning NEXT Sunday, 3/29. 4- Student Year-Long Projects: See both #1 (above) and also go to the "Projects" page & review requirements given on Checkpoint #1 and Checkpoint #2. There will be a Checkpoint #3 uploaded within the next week or so regarding your progress on the project. It will be the last Checkpoint before the Project Presentations after the EOC in May. 5- More info later...I need to go do this for both Mag Biochem and AP Bio before my phone "blows up" (haha). Hope everyone is healthy and well...that's THE most important thing!
1/6/20: *I know this post is long, but please read- very important!
We will be using 2 online textbook(s) this semester. For the 2018-19 school year, Cobb County adopted new textbooks for all science courses. There was only one adopted textbook for all levels of first year high school Biology. All students have access to the online text, as each teacher only received one class set of hardback editions (32 total texts/teacher). However, Magnet Biology (as well as Magnet Chemistry) are both Pre-AP courses. While the newly adopted text certainly meets the standards of an introductory high school biology course, our first year Magnet science courses are accelerated courses and more depth is needed. This ensures that our students are better prepared for the rigor of upcoming AP science courses.
Due to these circumstances, we will use a different online resource that offers excellent (and free!) online textbooks. The resource that we will primarily use is 'OpenStax' (www.openstax.org) from Rice University. There are TWO books you should download:
I will post very thorough Power Points on this blog for each unit. Some will be from our former textbook: "Biology" by Sylvia Mader.
FYI: Around 7-8 years ago (and and before this last adoption), Cobb schools offered a course called "Biology II". The course was intended for students who had completed "Biology I", but not quite ready to make the 'jump' to AP Biology. However, few students from Cobb schools signed up for the course (including Wheeler) and it was not offered at most schools. As a result, there was a surplus of textbooks at the county office. I made a request to use the books for Magnet Biology and it was approved. It was an excellent book for this course and, although the book is now around 10 years old, I wish it was still available for our kids (I only have 1 class set). I am actively seeking to find a free online version for the students to access. If that happens, I will certainly let you all know! Either way, I can assure you that the students will have appropriate and thorough material for study, so no worries! 😊
SPRING 2019 3/24/2019: BEFORE CLASS MONDAY, everyone must sign up for www.usatestprep.com. We will begin EOC prep assignments this week. If you haven't signed up, I cannot assign anything to you, and that will result in a 0 (no one wants that!). The good news is signing up takes less than 5 minutes. Here are the instructions: 1. Go to www.usatestprep.com 2. Click on 'log-in' (top of page-orange tab) 3. Click on 'create account' (it's on lower left of page)
Account ID: wheeler
User: newton74
4. Make a user ID and PW that YOU WILL REMEMBER (write it down or make a note on your phone) 5. Join a class: Pick 'Susan Phillips' from the drop down 6. Join the correct class (there are a lot listed, so be careful...if you join the wrong one, your assignments will NOT COUNT!). It's one of these:
Magnet Bio Spring 2019-1st Block
Magnet Bio Spring 2019-3rd Block
7. There will be TWO assignments due over Spring Break. The FIRST ASSIGNMENT will be due on Sunday, March 31 by 11:59 PM (do it early if you are leaving town). The SECOND ASSIGNMENT is due Sunday, April 7 by 11:59 PM. 8. You will have at least one assignment due every Sunday until the EOC on 5/9/2019 (beginning 3/31/19) 9. Assignments will be graded based upon 2 factors:
Completion of each assignment. Deductions will occur if: 1) the assignment is late (or missing entirely); 2) you did not retry missed questions (if that option is given); 3) An appropriate amount of time was not spent on a practice exam (the site gives me that info). Example: only spending 5-10 min on assigned 30-40 MC questions. Depending on the student, it should take around 20-40 min for a practice test of that length
Overall Improvement in Scores.
2/23/2019:
Every student must create a folder on Google Drive (using your Wheeler Magnet account) titled either:
'(Last name) Mag Bio Project-1st' '(Last name) Mag Bio Project-3rd'
Next, share the folder with me: [email protected]. You must allow me to edit. This must be done NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY, 2/27/19. I will receive a notification when you have done this
Here's some info on what's due on 2/28/19. I'll give you info on Monday as to how to title the below documents :
STEM Project: Materials and Methods - This should be similar in format to lab directions that you are given by me when you are doing a lab in class. In your report, first give a list of all materials you are using in your experiment. Next, give 'step by step' procedures of your experiment. Be sure and # each step.
Art STEAM Project: Similar to "Storyboard" format. Here's some info about Storyboard, if you need it: (website- https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/what-are-storyboards/)
Engineering STEAM Project: Similar to "Storyboard" format. Here's some info about Storyboard, if you need it
1/6/19: *I know this post is long, but please read- very important! We will be using 2 online textbook(s) this semester. For the 2018-19 school year, Cobb County adopted new textbooks for all science courses. There was only one adopted textbook for all levels of first year high school Biology. All students have access to the online text, as each teacher only received one class set of hardback editions (32 total texts/teacher). However, Magnet Biology (as well as Magnet Chemistry) are both Pre-AP courses. While the newly adopted text certainly meets the standards of an introductory high school biology course, our first year Magnet science courses are accelerated courses and more depth is needed. This ensures that our students are better prepared for the rigor of upcoming AP science courses. Due to these circumstances, we will use a different online resource that offers excellent (and free!) online textbooks. The resource that we will primarily use is 'OpenStax' (www.openstax.org) from Rice University. There are TWO books you should download: 1) Concepts of Biology; 2) Biology 2e (2nd edition). Here is the link for students to get started. For each unit, I will be sure and tell the students which book is more appropriate to read and study. Also, I will post very thorough Power Points on this blog for each unit. Some will be from our former textbook: "Biology" by Sylvia Mader. Around 8-10 years ago (and and before this last adoption), Cobb schools offered a course called "Biology II". The course was intended for students who had completed "Biology I", but not quite ready to make the 'jump' to AP Biology. However, few students from Cobb schools signed up for the course (including Wheeler) and it was not offered at most schools. As a result, there was a surplus of textbooks at the county office. I made a request to use the books for Magnet Biology and it was approved. It was an excellent book for this course and, although the book is now around 10 years old, I wish it was still available for our kids. I am actively seeking to find a free online version for the students to access. If that happens, I will certainly let you all know! Either way, I can assure you that the students will have appropriate and thorough material for study, so no worries! 😊
1/3/19: Please sign up for a Remind account. Information and hyperlinks are posted on the 'General Information' subpage.