Life Science 2-Botany and Human Biology

View Syllabus

This is a one-semester life science zoology course for students in 6th-8th grades. Fifth graders will be considered with prior instructor approval. When combined with Life Science 1: Zoology (first semester), these courses, which both include a lab component, will provide one middle school science credit. These two one-semester courses can be taken as a full-year course: Life Science 1 and 2 for a reduced rate.

In this course, we will learn about plants and people. We will spend a few weeks learning about the importance and diversity of the plant kingdom. And of course, since plants are edible, we will do some activities that involve eating. Next, we’ll learn about the structure and function of all the parts of the human body. In this part of the class, you’ll learn about you. We’ll start with a discussion of cells and genetics, and then we’ll dive deep into the systems of the human body, learning how they function and how they work together to keep you moving and processing the world around you.

Course Structure

A typical week contains one 1-hour live Zoom class and 4 daily lessons. The live classes may include game-based reviews of topics from the previous week, an introduction to the coming week, and/or a case study that brings the current topic to life. Although it is always best if students attend the live classes, I will post the recording of the class so that students who can’t attend can watch it later.

The daily lessons will consist of a teacher-created online curriculum. I use many audio and video recordings to help students learn the correct pronunciation of new terms as well as to reinforce content from the book.

Since this course can be used as ½ credit of life science, a few additional writing assignments and projects may be given to students in grades 7 and 8.

Who should enroll?

Life Science 2: Botany and Human Biology is for curious students in grades 6–8 who have a strong desire to understand how plants function in the environment, and how they give us not just food, but oxygen. This course is also for students who want to know how their bodies function and stay healthy. When combined with Life Science 1: Zoology, these courses, which both include a lab component, will provide one middle school science credit. Fifth graders will be considered with prior instructor approval.

Technology Requirements

• High speed, broadband Internet
• Headset, microphone, and webcam (for live sessions)
• Streaming video capabilities to watch recorded lectures

Evaluation and Feedback

I use “learning checks” at the end of most lessons to assure both the student and teacher that students understand the concepts presented in the lessons. Many of the learning checks are automatically graded by the computer. For the essay questions and projects, I generally grade every day, sending feedback to the students to help them understand questions they may have missed.

A final grade will be based on the scores from learning checks, participation in activities and experiments. and attendance and participation in live classes. A Certificate of Completion with a final grade will be given at the end of the course.

Communication

I welcome any and all communication from parents. My goal is to partner with you in your student’s education, so if at any time you have questions or concerns, my virtual door is open. I send monthly progress reports to let you know how your student is doing in the course.