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Middle School Life Science With Weekly Labs: Flex Semester 2: 18 Weeks

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Mrs. Collins, Certified Teacher
Average rating:4.9Number of reviews:(77)
Life science refers to the study of living organisms including, microbes, human beings, animals, fungi, and plants. This FLEX class is a great way to experience Life Science with labs from home. 18 full weeks of instruction.

Class experience

1. Describe characteristics common to living things, including growth and development, reproduction, cellular organization, use of energy, exchange of gases, and response to the environment.
* Identifying homeostasis as the process by which an organism responds to its internal or external environment
· Predicting how an organism’s behavior impacts the environment
· Identifying unicellular organisms, including bacteria and protists, by their methods of locomotion, reproduction, ingestion, excretion, and effects on other organisms
· Identifying the structure of a virus
2. Identify functions of organelles found in eukaryotic cells, including the nucleus, cell membrane, cell wall, mitochondria, chloroplasts, and vacuoles.
Example:  mitochondria releasing energy for use in cellular respiration
· Identifying components of the cell theory
· Identifying cells as prokaryotic or eukaryotic
· Listing the sequence of the mitotic cell cycle
3. Relate major tissues and organs of the skeletal, circulatory, reproductive, muscular, respiratory, nervous, and digestive systems to their functions.
· Arranging in order the organizational levels of the human body from the cell through organ systems
4. Describe organisms in the six-kingdom classification system by their characteristics.
· Recognizing genus and species as components of a scientific name
· Identifying contributions of Aristotle and Linnaeus to the early history of taxonomy
5. Identify major differences between plants and animals, including internal structures, external structures, methods of locomotion, methods of reproduction, and stages of development.
· Describing the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration
6. Describe evidence of species variation due to climate, changing landforms, interspecies interaction, and genetic mutation.
Examples:  fossil records over geologic time, rapid bacterial mutations due to environmental pressures
7. Describe biotic and abiotic factors in the environment.
Examples:  biotic—plants, animals;
abiotic—climate, water, soil
· Classifying organisms as autotrophs or heterotrophs
· Arranging the sequence of energy flow in an ecosystem through food webs, food chains, and energy pyramids
8. Describe the function of chromosomes.
· Identifying genes as parts of chromosomes that carry genetic traits
9. Identify the process of chromosome reduction in the production of sperm and egg cells during meiosis.
10. Identify differences between deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA).
Examples:  DNA—double helix, contains thymine;
RNA—single stranded, contains uracil
· Identifying Watson and Crick as scientists who discovered the shape of the DNA molecule
11. Identify Mendel’s laws of genetics.
· Recognizing Down’s syndrome and sickle cell anemia as inherited genetic disorders
· Using a monohybrid Punnett square to predict the probability of traits passed from parents to offspring
12. Understanding the different body systems and their functions.  
Mrs. Collins has been teaching science for 23 years. She is a certified teacher-science, ag and gifted certified. 
 5 files available upon enrollment
spiral notebook pencils coloring pencils pens tape scissors notecards glue sticks posterboard kitchen sponge bottle water dish soap small pieces of candy to recreate a model of the cell shampoo vinegar sugar food coloring chocolate syrup sugar gummy bears, salt, water, vinegar, sugar, kool aid package for osmosis lab eggs, glass cups, corn syrup, vinegar for active transport lab Modeling clay or play dough – perfect for modeling organs/tissues or completing a directional term dissection dry erase markers – for drawing or creating visuals on desk/plates/dry erase boards, they are easily wiped off with a damp paper towel or wet wipe Sidewalk chalk – great for taking the class outdoors and drawing diagrams in the parking lot (blood flow through the heart is a great one!) Pipe cleaners – use for modeling DNA or long molecules like actin and myosin during a muscle contraction lesson Dissection tools and trays (optional but helplful) – Practice using these by doing an introductory dissection lab with pickles or bananas! Various craft materials for modeling & demos (beads, saran wrap, straws, tape, scissors, glue, rulers, yarn, rubber bands, beads) – Dish soap, brushes, sponges – for lab clean up Colored expo markers for everyday writing Cell model supplies-shampoo, plate, small pieces of candy to represent parts of cell, toothpicks, paper DNA model supplies-gum drops, twizzlers, toothpicks Lung model-two liter bottle, balloons, tape, scissors Platelet model-cheerios, red and blue food coloring, water, marshmallows Digestion model-ziploc bags, water, crackers, vinegar
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Please carefully read the class description, review the supply list, and reach out if you have questions. 
Outschool disclaimer: Please look over the supply list and do not use any items the child maybe allergic to. 
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Class Information For Parents:
I am only a small piece of your homeschool puzzle. My goal is to provide your family quality curriculum, fun labs, crafts and assessment tools. I have over 23 years of experience in the classroom and homeschooling my own children. Over the years I have taught in the private, public and college setting providing quality labs and curriculum. I currently write science curriculum for 3 states to be used in public school classrooms. Over the years I have improved my craft by taking countless professional development on assessment methods, how to integrate technology into the classroom, and hands-on activities that promote learning. I am now taking my experience to provide quality curriculum for homeschool families. That being said, I do not provide hands-off learning. All of my classes encourage parents to be involved. Like most flex teachers on the platform I ask that you check to make sure your child is uploading work and look at their science spiral periodically. We are working together as a team to make sure your child has quality curriculum and the class is a success for the student. The first week of my class I provide practice assignments that I ask my families to work on together. The practice assignments (normally 3) involve practicing uploading an image, short video and pdf file (for grades 7-12). Those are the 3 ways we upload work so I want to make sure early that the student knows how. Outschool also provides an inbox so students can ask the teacher for help, but many students are unaware of how to find it so I help the parent setup the student inbox the first week. All of my science students keep a science spiral. This spiral is where the student will hold their notes, diagrams/drawings, key facts, and more. I provide a science spiral template the first week for the family to print out and glue in the spiral. This provides the students an easy template to add to as they go along.  The science spiral will consist of a checklist for students to check off when they complete a task to encourage student responsibility and organization, spiral table of contents, and where to write down test scores. 

Third Party Tools: In my classes I use the following at times to help with comprehension: YouTube summary videos, Loom (I create how to videos), Quizizz, Quizlet, Nearpod, Flipgrid, Google Docs, and Google Slides. Outschool would like us to list all third party tools we may use in the class description. 

Assessments: Because my classes are flex, the option for live testing is not included. Instead I have a paid premium teacher membership to Quizizz and Quizlet. When it is time for an assessment I provide the student a website link and special code to take the test. Quizizz and Quizlet both grade test immediately for the family and allow the student the option to retest for a higher grade. Then students are asked to write down the grade, test name and date in their spiral on the "test score" page. All flex parents are asked to look at the spiral and test score page periodically to keep informed and to see how well the student is progressing in the class. If you are participating in a co-op that requires live testing, please let me know. I have a special Outschool one day option add-on that you can use for live testing. You can simply request the time/day for live testing that works for you. I have found that some flex parents use my Quizizz/Quizlet tests, but some families opt out of testing so it is whatever works best for your family. But I do provide the assessments if you would like to use them. Once the student is on the testing site via my special code they may also use the site for test over other subjects also. 

How To Grade: I recommend that parents add up all of the test scores at the end of the session, and divide by the number of test to get the final average for the class. At the end of the class I provide a general letter of completion that can be used for your records or charter/private/co-op use. If you need me to put a specific average on the letter, I am more than happy to just let me know the average your child has or seen me a list of their test scores to average.

On Outschool, I do make sure that I:
-provide weekly curriculum (4-5 mini tasks each week)
-upload the assignments each Sunday night for the upcoming week
-provide weekly tasks/assignments to go along with state science standards by grade level
-provide short positive general feedback on daily participation work on the class wall 2 times a week
-respond to parent and student messages within 8 hours
-provide easy to follow labs to try at home
-provide access to Quizlet and Quizizz for testing and to look over as a possible assessment site for other subjects
-provide access to my class Epic Books page if the family is interested for online reading books
-provide access to my class Padlet page for students to post funny responses/likes/share ideas in regards to class projects
-provide full year credit for courses (all of my semester 1 classes have a matching semester 2)
-supervise the class wall 2-3 times a week to make sure the student responses are kind to each other and supportive, promoting a safe learning environment
-sent a welcome message the first week to all parents and students (please check your inbox)
-provide practice family assignments the first week to show families how the class works, how to setup the spiral, and provide an area for families to learn how to upload work/find the inbox
-sent out a mid session message to parents asking for feedback on the class
-provide coupons for returning families to encourage more science education on Outschool 
-provide coupons to families that refer other friends and family members
-teach key skills needed for academic success
*I created a video I share with all of my classes teaching them how to crate notecards and how to organize their science spirals.
*I encourage the use of complete sentences (for embedded language arts cross curriculum standards) in all student written responses. 
*I provide direction on how to create a slideshow for students in grades 7-12. 
*I provide every 3-4 weeks a classroom reminder to encourage the student to update their spiral, show the parent their class wall/spiral/grades.

I hope the above information is helpful and I want to thank you for taking the time to read it. I strive to give 200% to my families on Outschool so please reach out if you have questions. 
https://freyscientific.com/FREY/media/downloads/cpo/douglas-county/LSN_Ebook.pdf 
Glencoe and Holt curriculum was used to create the class. 
We will use the following for class pdfs: CK-12 Flexbooks, Lumen Learning
Mrs. Collins, Certified Teacher
Average rating:4.9Number of reviews:(77)
Profile
Hello and welcome to my class profile/catalog. I offer mainly flex classes, and only a few live classes. My goal is to get to 900 subscribers so please subscribe today. 

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Flex Class

$189

for 18 weeks
18 weeks

Completed by 2 learners
No live video meetings
Ages: 11-15

This class is no longer offered
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