Date - 04-01-15
Mr. Principal and Member of the District Board:
I want to take this opportunity to introduce you to my curriculum idea intended for my Biology and Ecology classes. The unit is titled “Soil Quality; The Difference a Zip-Code can make”. I believe that this unit will offer a vast amount of rich curriculum that our students need to succeed as they transition from High School to Universities and into their careers.
I intend to cover standards from both Next Generation Science Standards as well as the Common Core Literacy sets so that my students will indeed meet standards within, as well as outside of, the basic science curriculum set. Standards to be addressed include NGSS - HS-LS2-7:Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity, NGSS - HS-LS1-2 Develop and use a model to illustrate the hierarchical organization of interacting systems that provide specific functions within multicellular organisms, NGSS - HS-LS1-3 Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.7 Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.8 Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author's claim or a recommendation for solving a scientific or technical problem, and CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.9Compare and contrast findings presented in a text to those from other sources (including their own experiments), noting when the findings support or contradict previous explanations or accounts.
I believe that this unit will also encourage students to think beyond their own backyards and challenge their beliefs about how society works and the why the current social narratives of privilege vs oppression are the norm as opposed to the exception.
It is my intent to educate my students to the best of my ability and to encourage them to learn from books as well as hands-on experience. I will engage my classes in real-world career level analysis procedures that will introduce them to career fields which many of them may have never been introduced to. Along the way I will show them how to properly communicate their needs and get permission to conduct site sampling and data collection.
I do hope to proceed with the 3-4 week unit soon, and to do so with your blessing and support.
Thank you in advance for your time and your support!
Felicia A. Maxa
Biology – 9/10th grades
Mr. Principal and Member of the District Board:
I want to take this opportunity to introduce you to my curriculum idea intended for my Biology and Ecology classes. The unit is titled “Soil Quality; The Difference a Zip-Code can make”. I believe that this unit will offer a vast amount of rich curriculum that our students need to succeed as they transition from High School to Universities and into their careers.
I intend to cover standards from both Next Generation Science Standards as well as the Common Core Literacy sets so that my students will indeed meet standards within, as well as outside of, the basic science curriculum set. Standards to be addressed include NGSS - HS-LS2-7:Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity, NGSS - HS-LS1-2 Develop and use a model to illustrate the hierarchical organization of interacting systems that provide specific functions within multicellular organisms, NGSS - HS-LS1-3 Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.7 Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.8 Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author's claim or a recommendation for solving a scientific or technical problem, and CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.9Compare and contrast findings presented in a text to those from other sources (including their own experiments), noting when the findings support or contradict previous explanations or accounts.
I believe that this unit will also encourage students to think beyond their own backyards and challenge their beliefs about how society works and the why the current social narratives of privilege vs oppression are the norm as opposed to the exception.
It is my intent to educate my students to the best of my ability and to encourage them to learn from books as well as hands-on experience. I will engage my classes in real-world career level analysis procedures that will introduce them to career fields which many of them may have never been introduced to. Along the way I will show them how to properly communicate their needs and get permission to conduct site sampling and data collection.
I do hope to proceed with the 3-4 week unit soon, and to do so with your blessing and support.
Thank you in advance for your time and your support!
Felicia A. Maxa
Biology – 9/10th grades