WELCOME TO AP Environmental Mr. Allan Arbor View High School

INTRODUCTION Welcome to Mr. Allan’s AP Environmental class This is the equivalent of a college class and you will be expected to work at that level The goal of this class is to prepare you to take and pass the AP Environmental Exam There is a LOT of reading in this class and you can easily fall behind STAYING ON TOP OF THE READING AND ASSIGNMENTS WILL GO A LONG WAY TO ENSURE YOUR SUCCESS

WHAT’S EXPECTED? The course is designed so that we will be covering approximately 1 chapter/week In addition to the lecture and reading, there will be a number of labs throughout the course The information on these labs will also be present on the AP Environmental exam We will attempt to do at least 2 major labs every quarter Maintaining a neat, organized, lab book is essential

VOCAB You will also be expected to keep up with the vocabulary words that you encounter in the reading or in lecture Even though I will not be checking any vocab lists, I will expect you to know their meaning for the quizzes and tests that you will be given. If it’s in the reading assignments or in the lectures, you are expected to know it.

STUDY GROUPS You will be assigned MANDATORY study groups You will be required to meet and study with your group a minimum of 1 hour/week As part of your grade, you will submit a log of your study groups at the end of the quarter

STUDY GROUP LOG Your study group log must include: The dates/times you met. The individuals that attended the meeting The main topic(s) discussed You will begin study groups next week

WHAT YOU WILL NEED? You must bring the following items with you to class every day: Notebook (either loose-leaf or bound notebook dedicated to notes). Pen/pencil Lab Notebook – This book must be bound (not a binder). You will be recording every lab in this book. A spiral or composition notebook will be fine.

SUGGESTED MATERIALS You may also bring your own: Textbook Calculator (you can use on exams) Ruler Colored pens/pencils AP Review/Study Guide – such as “5 Steps to a 5”, “CliffsAP”, Princenton Review Book AP Environmental, etc.

CLASSROOM RESOURCES The following are a list of things that will help you succeed Textbook Withgott, Brennan, et al., Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, 3rd Edition, 2008, Pearson Benjamin Cummings Website my.ccsd.net/rdallan Has my powerpoints, handouts and links that may help you out (IN PROGRESS) Before and after school tutoring I am available before and after school Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for any additional assistance

GRADING Unit Tests: 50% Quizzes/Vocab Quizzes: 20% Your grade will be weighted according to: Unit Tests: 50% Quizzes/Vocab Quizzes: 20% Lab Notebooks/Assignments/Projects: 30% Homework will generally consist of worksheets/activities/projects to help you understand the material. Lab notebooks will consist of any activities or labs performed in class. Tests and quizzes will follow the format of the AP Biology exam. Quizzes will be given frequently (about 10-12 each quarter).

SEMESTER GRADING 1st quarter grade = 40% 2nd quarter grade = 40% End of semester exam = 20% There is NO rounding for grades 89.9% = B

NOTE ON TESTS/QUIZZES ALL tests and quizzes are timed. You will not be allowed extra time on an exam. (This is to help prepare you for the AP Environmental Exam.) We will be going over test taking tips throughout the course to help you with test taking strategies No other materials will be allowed on the exams. At the end of the quarter, you’re lowest quiz will be dropped

QUIZZES For each quiz, a student will be assigned to lead a 5-7 minute review of the material before the quiz This is a rare opportunity for extra credit I will run the review for the first quiz After that a student will be running them

TESTS All tests will be curved based on the highest test score In addition to the individual portion of the test, there will be a collaborative essay for each test If you are absent, you will have to do that portion on your own After the test is completed, you may do test corrections to recover ½ your points For each correction, you must justify your answer by citing a page number in your textbook NOTE: If you do not do test corrections while everyone else does, it will hurt your grade because the curve will be HIGHER

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Below are a list of sites that previous AP students have found helpful in learning the material Crash Course Biology (certain topics) Bozeman Science http://www.bozemanscience.com/ap-environmental-science/ Khan Academy Biology https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology (certain topics)

MY WEBSITE my.ccsd.net/rdallan The following website has ALL the power points and most of the assignments I will be using for the year: my.ccsd.net/rdallan Your first assignment is to go onto this website Click the AP Environmental tab You will do a couple of things: Second, you will review the AP Environmental syllabus Third, you will print out the assignments for this week (see the board)

NOTE ON ASSIGNMENTS I will have the assignments posted up on the board It is your responsibility to go to the website and print off the assignment yourself For some assignments, you may just write the answers If you are unable to print off the assignments, see me BEFORE the assignment is due and I will help you out

NOTE ON ASSIGNMENTS You must get the assignments in by the DUE DATE Late assignments will receive a zero EXCEPTION: You will have 2 late passes per quarter For 2 assignments, you may turn them in up to a week late for no penalty. Once you have used them, any late assignments will be a zero

CLASSROOM PROCEDURES Absences Tardies If late, DO NOT disrupt class. Just show me your pass Absences You must get missing information from: Website; or Classmate You have 3 days to make-up any missing tests, or assignments If it is not possible to make-up a lab, you will be given an alternative assignment.

THE BULLYING THING Bullying has become a serious legal matter recently If you are bullying someone, joking about being bullied or bullying someone, say the word bully, then I am required BY LAW to report you Please refrain from any bullying-like behavior as a joke because it will just waste a lot of time If you have a legitimate bullying concern, then you can of course, let me know

CELL PHONES/ELECTRONICS You may have electronic devices. The exceptions are Whenever you are testing Whenever I am lecturing, or Whenever another student is speaking or doing a presentation Just don’t be rude

RESTROOM I have one simple rule: ONE AT A TIME If you have to go, grab the pass and go. If the pass isn’t there, you don’t go until the pass gets back You’re pretty much adults . . . act like it

MY PET PEEVES The following is a set of things that BUG me. If you don’t do these, we will get along great. Talking when I’m talking Walking in front of class while I’m talking Writing on my desks

WE WILL HAVE A GREAT YEAR!!! Let’s get to work