Environmental Science

Transcription

1 Envirnmental Science Rbert Fuhrman Curse Descriptin: This curse is an interdisciplinary apprach t the study f Earth s ecsystems and the interactins f man with the natural wrld. As an intrductry curse, it is designed t stimulate curisity and evke an awareness f envirnmental issues that will make a student a mre infrmed citizen in ur sciety. Classrm discussins, labratry exercises, field investigatins, and lng- term independent research prjects are the methds used fr these studies. The skills f bservatin, data cllectin, analysis, and evaluatin are practiced and enhanced in this curse. Thrugh the study f the envirnment a greater appreciatin fr the gifts f Gd and ur place within His wrld will be realized. This curse fcuses n interactins between living (bitic) and nn- living (abitic) factrs within ur envirnment. Students will explre the rle that water, sil, energy, and weather play in the develpment f cmmunities f plants and animals. The interactin f plants and animals hw they cperate and cmpete is examined. Als, the effect f man n these cmmunities will be studied in depth. Tpics discussed include: bidiversity, energy resurces, glbal warming, pllutin, agriculture, water resurces, ppulatin dynamics, envirnmental plicies, and cnservatin. Students are encuraged t expand their hrizns thrugh daily readings f newspapers and peridicals as current lcal and reginal issues are incrprated int the discussins. Only in this way can the cmplexities f the envirnment be appreciated. Curse Objectives: The student will examine the factrs influencing human interactins with the envirnment and discver the intercnnectivity f rganisms within ecsystems. Thrughut the curse students will develp and enhance their scientific writing skills, build upn research skills, and practice safe and apprpriate labratry and field investigatin skills. Students will becme better infrmded citizens able t make reasned and valued diecisins cncerning envirnmental issues in their cmmunties. They will evaluate thse practices which are sustainable and investigate ways t reduce the human impact n ecsystems. Thrugh these practices they will better appreciate Gd s natural gift t us and develp ways t becme better stewards f ur Earth. Materials/Supplies:

2 Textbk: Envirnmental Science 14 th Editin; ISBN ; Miller & Splman Graphing calculatr Three ring binder and paper 3x5 index cards (100) Grading/Assessment: The percentage awarded t quizzes, tests, etc. is Hmewrk 15% Quizzes 25% Participatin 15% Tests 30% Labs 15% Papers/Prjects/Quizzes/Labs: Hmewrk Other than reading, I generally d nt give much hmewrk. Generally yu will be assigned ne r tw wrksheets per unit. Quizzes Quizzes will usually be given after a majr part f a unit r chapter has been studied. Quizzes will cnsist f multiple chice and shrt answer questins. These quizzes will always be scheduled and the dates psted n the class website. Occasinally I will give a reading quiz t gauge yur prgress with assigned reading. The text and any reading assigned are subject t questining n quizzes. Tests Tests will be given after each unit r after a lng sectin (i.e. the Human Factr, Nnrenewable Energy). Shtgun answers will nt be fully cunted. If a questin asks fr tw factrs r tw examples nly the first tw given will cunt. Often students will write as many answers as they can think f regardless whether they are crrect r nt in the hpes that sme f their respnses will fulfill the requirements f the questin. That will nt be acceptable. Labs and Prjects The are a variety f exercises that will cnstitute a lab: Field exercises like the stream survey Wet labs like chemical analyses f water and sil Paper exercises like the predatr/prey lab Labs and activities will be listed n the weekly schedule. Yu will usually have ne week t write and submit yur lab/prject reprt.

3 Participatin This curse is very tpical and discussin is encuraged. Yur pinin is valued and yu are expected t actively participate in class discussins. Class participatin will be nted fr each class perid and a final assessment will be based n verall participatin. Anther factr t cnsider is the quality f participatin. Making vague r general cmments in rder t check the bx and say yu have participated will nt be helpful. My calling n a student t engage them in the discussin shuld nt be cnstrued as active participatin. Calendar: The units we will study are listed belw. This is a general utline and may change due varius factrs such as schl clsings. The pace f the curse may change depending n student understanding f the material presented. A mre detailed curse curriculum will be psted n the class LibGuide. First Semester Intrductin t Envirnmental Science Envirnmental Systems Climate and Bimes Ecsystems: Speciatin and Adaptatins Ppulatin and Cmmunity Dynamics Demgraphics Secnd Semester Resurces Land Use and Planning Energy Pllutin and Slid Waste Glbal Issues Culture, Plitics, Ecnmics, and the Envirnment Rules/Expectatins/Plicies: Hnr Cde Students wh rely n ther anther student s wrk fail t strengthen their wn understanding; students wh give help beynd acceptable limits interfere with that ther student s learning. As a way f clarifying:

4 Asking fr assistance as t where t lk fr answers r slutins is acceptable. Asking fr help as t hw t d a particular prblem is acceptable. Asking fr specific answers r steps t slve a prblem is nt acceptable. Cpying anther student s wrk r writing dwn their answer is nt acceptable. Plagiarism, intentinally cpying r quting anther s wrk withut prper acknwledgement, is nt acceptable. If yu have any questins please talk with me fr clarificatin befre submitting any wrk. Web Site I will pst assignments, review guides, articles t read, sme f the labs, and website addresses t help yu with labs and prjects n the class LibGuide. Check the site ften. Schedules will be psted n NetClassrm, LibGuides, and n the bulletin bard in the classrm Calendar and Schedules Students will be given a general plan fr the curse fr the year. This will utline in a general way the material we will cver and the mnth(s) we will be studying that tpic. I will try t maintain that schedule but it is entirely pssible that schl clsings will result in mdificatins. Every Sunday I pst a weekly schedule n NetClassrm that lists the tpics t be discussed each day, any hmewrk that is assigned, and any tests r quizzes that will be given. Labs and the due dates fr lab reprts are als n the weekly schedule. Hmewrk assignments will als be fund n the Envirnmental Science LibGuide, which can be accessed frm the Cvenant Schl hme page. Safety Lab safety is very imprtant. Hrseplay and being ff task will nt be tlerated. Vilatins f lab safety plicies will result in at least a lwer grade fr that exercise. Cntinued minr vilatins r a significant vilatin (endangering a classmate r playing with fire fr example) may result in yu being asked t leave the lab and getting a zer fr that exercise. I take safety in the lab very seriusly and s shuld yu. Extra Credit Extra credit is given in the frm f ccasinal bnus questins n tests and quizzes. I d nt accept ther frms f extra credit. Missed Wrk I adhere t the handbk plicies regarding making up wrk due t absences.

5 Students are expected t submit all assignments prmptly. All missing wrk will be recrded as a zer until submitted. Fr late wrk, 10% f the earned grade will be deducted fr each class day the assignment is late (with a maximum f 50% taken ff the earned grade). Any wrk nt cmpleted by the end f the quarter will remain a zer. Sme assignments (e.g. hmewrk crrected in class) may be graded simply fr cmpletin n the due date and will nt be accepted late; teachers shuld infrm students in advance which assignments will nt be accepted late. Assignments due n the day f a student s absence must be turned in t the teacher the next class day upn the student s return. If a student knws in advance he/she will be absent frm class (e.g. fr field trips, sprting events, cllege visits, etc.), the student must turn in the assignment n r befre the due date. If absent, it is the student s respnsibility t find ut what wrk was missed while absent frm class; this infrmatin can be fund n FAWeb. Upn returning t schl, the student will meet with his/her teachers t determine a reasnable timeframe fr cmpletin f any missed assignments, quizzes, and tests. I als knw that an absence may mean multiple tests r quizzes that have t be made up. Als, make up wrk depends n what material we are cvering and if that material is needed fr the next unit. Therefre I generally ask that yu meet with me t discuss a timetable t make up missed wrk. I feel that lunch is smething I r my students shuld nt miss. We all need sme dwn time. Therefre I reserve lunch fr meeting with my teachers r administratrs and fr infrmal time with my students. Tests, quizzes, and labs will nt be made up at lunch. Tests and quizzes can be made up befre schl, after schl r in a supervised study hall. Library Passes There will be numerus ccasins when yu will need t use the resurces in the library. I will write passes nly fr specific requests i.e. t cmplete a graph using Graphical Analysis. Please d nt cme t my class and interrupt a lessn t ask fr a library pass. Additinal Supprt Our schedule prvides time each mrning frm 8:00 t 8:25 fr assistance. I will be available at that time fr any student wh wuld like sme help. I wuld expect any student with an average f less than 70 t be at thse sessins. I will be available immediately after schl n thse days I d nt have a faculty meeting. Additinally, I am usually at schl by 7:30 and will be glad t meet then as lng as I d nt have an early AP class sessin. I prefer nt t meet during lunch as I feel we all need a bit f a break during the day and that is the time I mnitr the schl stre and meet with my teachers. Hwever, n a case- by- case basis I will meet as needed at lunch. I will als pst when I am available during my planning perid fr help sessins. After schl hurs please feel free t me at rfuhrman@cvenantschl.rg Signature: Rbert Fuhrman