Woodstown-Pilesgrove Regional High School

Course Syllabus

Honors Biology Mr. Ordog

2016-2017

Course Description: Welcome to biology! Biology is a dynamic, interactive and interdisciplinary subject, and in order to fully appreciate it, you must be so as well. This course is a higher level biology course designed to challenge you while introducing you to important principles in the world of the biological sciences. It is expected that you have some background in biology and that you will work hard to further your understanding in this field. Together we will work to foster your critical thinking skills and analytical ability regarding the study of life and its processes. We will cover a wide range of topics, including cytology, evolution, genetics, taxonomy, zoology and anatomy. You will be challenged, and you will have to commit and apply yourself in order to succeed in this class.

Materials: You will need to come to class every day with a three ring binder (supplied with paper), as well as a pen and pencil. You will also need a notebook committed solely to lab. We will have a classroom set of books, and you will have access to a hard copy of the book to take home. We will be frequently using internet resources as well, if you have any issues regarding internet access, please see me.

Laboratory: This course is accompanied by a lab period one day a week. We will be undertaking some sort of laboratory exercise nearly every week. You will receive a grade for lab, much of which will depend on the completion of your lab notebooks. Appropriate laboratory behavior is expected.

Projects: You will be assigned a few projects throughout the year which will require a high amount of time and effort in order to be successful. Details on these projects will follow later in the year.

Grading Policy: We will utilize Standards Aligned Grading in this class. The four categories students will be evaluated on will be: Content, Application, Literacy and Accountability (21st Century Skills). The grading policy will use total points, so there will be no weighted categories. The value of each assignment will be reflected in its point value. This process allows the teacher to identify strengths and weaknesses of each student, and empowers the student (and parents) to focus on academic areas that may require improvement rather than receiving one ambiguous grade for each assignment. Each assessment will have different distribution of categorical evaluation, and some assessments may not include all of the categories. A full explanation of the SAG policy can be found on your section’s Google Classroom webpage.

Homework: Students will be assigned homework throughout the school year. The amount of homework will be variable throughout the year. Students are expected to complete the assigned work within the provided timeframe and will be held accountable for the quality and punctuality of this work.

Science Fair: Each student enrolled in Honors Biology must complete a science fair project. The development and articulation of these projects will be part of your grade for this class.

FTCA Policy: The school policy applies to this course. You are expected to complete your assignments on time, and appropriate measures will be taken as necessary.

Science Department Re-test policy:

  • Student must have all assignments completed for the subject tested prior to the first test, to be eligible for the retest.
  • Student must successfully complete an additional assignment given by the teacher, such as a review.
  • Student must meet with their science teacher outside of class time or attend a science lab prior to the retest test.
  • Students will be given one opportunity for re-take per assessment.
  • The make-up test must be completed in 1 week from the date the assessment was put into power school.

I will do my best to always grade your assignments promptly and return them to you in a relatively short amount of time. Your grades will always be posted on PowerGrade, where you and your parents can keep track of your progress.

Expectations and Classroom Rules:

  • Respect
  • Be on time
  • Come prepared
  • Complete assignments on time

Additional Information: I am available before and after school for extra help/consultation. If you are having trouble grasping a concept or understanding directions, please talk to me at your convenience. I am also available through email () after school hours.