LIVING ENVIRONMENT CURRICULUM
for Regents Classes
In Living Environment, students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.
Classes meet six period per week (ESL and Bilingual – seven). These classes include 5 periods of recitation (classroom work- 6 periods for ESL and Bilingual) and one period of laboratory activities. Students are required to complete 1200 minutes of laboratory activities with supporting lab reports turned in to and accepted by the teacher. Students who meet this requirement are allowed to sit for the New York State Regents Examination.
All students are issued a textbook and/or a Regents Review book. Students are expected to come to school with a three-ring binder, a pen, and sharpened pencils for everyday use.
Textbook Used:
Home Use:
· The Living Environment – Glencoe Science – McGraw Hill
· Biologia – Johnson Raven – Holt, et al. (Bilingual Class)
Classroom Use:
· Reading Essentials for The Living Environment – Glencoe Science McGraw Hill
· Science Notebook for The Living Environment – Glencoe Science McGraw Hill
Highlight of course of study:
Students will be given homework and reading assignments both from the textbook and supplemental books for classroom use to increase reading literacy of students. Projects will be given as an evaluation of learned concepts in Living Environment.
FALL
September
First few days: 9/ 4-5
Aim: How do we become successful in this course of study?
· Class Orientation ( General Outline of class expectations)
· Class Contract
· Laboratory contract/safety – students must sign and have their parents sign the lab contract outlining proper conduct and laboratory rules.
Measurements in Science – Metric System ( 3 days) 9/6-10
The Metric System is an international system of measurement which has long been used in science because of its universality and its decimal based increments. Conversions from one unit to another are all based on divisions or multiples of 10.
Aim : How is the metric system used in science?
Lab: Measurements
Scientific Method ( 7 days) 9/11-12 , 9/17-21
The central purpose of scientific inquiry is to develop explanation of natural phenomena in a continuing, creative process.
Aim: How is the scientific method used to make new discoveries?
How can we use the scientific method to design experiments?
Lab : The Scientific Method
Textbook pages: Chapter 1 – pages 2-3
pages 16-21
Chapter 1 – pages 14- 20 (Bilingual)
Study of Life (3 days) 9/24-26
Life flourishes on earth and a curiosity about life is a major reason why people study biology. How living things function and how all living things share these functions.
Aim: How do living things differ from nonliving things?
Textbook pages : Chapter 1 – pages 4-16
Chapter 12 – pages 251-255 (Bilingual)
October
Ecology (22 days) 10/1 - 31
Ecology is the scientific discipline in which the relationships among living organisms and the interaction that organisms have with their environment are studied.
1) Organisms and Their Relationships
Levels of Organization ( Organism, Population, Community, Ecosystem, Biomes, Biosphere)
Aim : How are living things organized within an ecosystem?
Textbook pages : Chapter 2 – pages 32-37,
Chapter 3-pages 65-81 (Biomes)
Chapter 16 – pages 339- 342 (Bilingual)
Chapter 17- pages 371-378
2) Symbiotic Relationships (Parasitism, Commensalism, Mutualism, Predation)
Close association between two or more species that live together.
Aim: How can we describe symbiotic relationships between organisms?
Textbook pages: Chapter 2 pages 38-40
Chapter 17 pages 362-365
3) Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem (Food Chains, Food Webs, Trophic Levels, Pyramids)
Energy is transferred from one organism to another.
Aim: How does energy flow within an ecosystem?
Textbook pages: Chapter 2 pages 41-44
Chapter 16 pages 345-347
4) Cycle of Materials in the Environment
(Water Cycle, Carbon-Oxygen Cycle, Nitrogen Cycle)
Materials are used and recycled within an ecosystem to maintain stability of an ecosystem.
Aim: How are materials recycled within an ecosystem?
Textbook pages: Chapter 2 pages 45-49
Chapter 16 pages 350-354
5) Succession
Changes in an ecosystem when one community replaces another due to changing abiotic and biotic factors.
Aim: How can we describe changes that happen in an ecosystem over time?
Textbook page: Chapter 3 pages 62-64
Chapter 26 pages 340-344 (Bilingual)
November
Organization and Patterns in Life (20 days) 11/1- 30, 12/3-4
The purpose of this topic is to describe the relationships between structure and function at the cellular and subcellular levels of an organism.
1) Cell Structure, Cell Theory, and Physiology
Function of all cell organelles, the structure of plant and animal cells, the difference between plant and animal cells as well as similarities between the two.
Aim: How do organelles maintain the functioning of cells?
Textbook pages: Chapter 7 pages 187-199
Chapter 3 pages 58-66 (Bilingual)
2) Cell Chemistry (Organic and Inorganic Compounds, Enzymes)
The study of the organization of life and the chemicals that it is composed of.
Aim: How do we describe molecules important in living things?
Textbook pages: Chapter 6 pages 166-171
Chapter 12 pages 254-257 (Bilingual)
3) Photosynthesis
The study of the process by which plants convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrate using sunlight as the source of energy and the aid of chlorophyll.
Aim: How do plants support life on Earth?
Textbook pages: Chapter 8 pages 222-227
Chapter 5 pages 93-103
4) Cellular Respiration
The process of breaking down organic molecules into ATP, the energy currency of all cells.
Aim: How do cells obtain energy?
Textbook pages: Chapter 8 pages 228-232
Chapter 5 pages 104-109
5) Substance Transport Through The Cell ( Passive Transport-Diffusion and Osmosis, Active Transport)
This is the study of the movement of molecules across semi-permeable membrane.
Aim: How do molecules move across the cell membrane?
Textbook pages: Chapter 7 pages 201-207
Chapter 4 pages 73-86
6) Mitosis (Cell Division, Cancer)
This unit will outline the process of cell division involved in growth and development.
Aim: How do we describe the events and goals of mitosis?
Textbook pages: Chapter 9 pages 247-257
Chapter 6 pages 128-132
December
Homeostasis and Immunity (25 days) 12/5-21
1) Body Systems Overview
This unit focuses on the structure and function of all the human body systems and describes some diseases.
-Digestive System - Chapter 21 pages 610-621
Chapter 39 pages 899-911 (Bilingual)
- Circulatory System- Chapter 20 pages 582-589
Chapter 38 pages 872-884 (Bilingual)
- Excretory System- Chapter 20 pages 595-599
Chapter 39 pages 912-916 (Bilingual)
-Respiratory System- Chapter 20 pages 590-594
Chapter 38 pages 855-890 (Bilingual)
-Skeletal and Chapter 18 pages 531-541
Muscular Chapter 37 pages 850-859 (Bilingual)
-Immune System- Chapter 23 pages 664-685
Chapter 40 pages 924-937 (Bilingual)
- Nervous System – Chapter 19 pages 550-573
Chapter 41 pages 944-966 (Bilingual)
-Endocrine System – Chapter 21 pages 621-629
Chapter 42 pages 974-988 (Bilingual)
-Reproductive System – Chapter 22 pages 636-657
Chapter 23 pages 996-1010(Bilingual)
January
2) Homeostasis and Feedback Mechanisms 1/2 - 18
Regulation of an organism’s internal environment to conditions needed for life.
Aim: How does the body maintain a constant internal environment?
Textbook pages: Chapter 5 pages515-523
Chapter 42 pages 980-981