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Visual Biology Beginnings: Cells and Organisms

New class
Ages 8-12
Self-Paced Course
Draw with me as I animate middle school biology standards MS.LS1: From Molecules to Organisms, which explores foundations of cell biology, anatomy and physiology, and metabolism
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:
(4,600 reviews)
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8 pre-recorded lessons
8 weeks of teacher support
Choose your start date
1 year of access to the content

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Your learner can start learning when they want and progress at the speed that works best for them.
Start when you want.
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Access course material for a full year.
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What's included

8 pre-recorded lessons
average 41 mins per video
8 weeks
of teacher support
5 hrs 31 mins
total video learning hours
1 year access
to the content
Homework
1 hour per week. Weekly Modules, including evaluation questions, are designed to take 1/2 - 1 hours to complete
Assessment
There are evaluation questions and an answer key for each lesson. Learners and their families may administer these questions and use the results as they wish, as a formative assessment on the path towards mastery or a summative assessment to evaluate progress at the end.

Class Experience

US Grade 5 - 8
Advanced Level
Visual Biology Beginnings is designed for gifted learners aged 8-11. It is also a great fit for learners with ADHD or Auditory Processing Disorder. Vivid animations keep learners engaged while my conversational question and answer style provide many inroads to engage with this class. It's also great for leaners that want to learn how to draw on Procreate or practice their drawing skills. Learners are encouraged to draw their own set of sketch notes with me. 

Each class is based around current research in the field of biology, featuring recently published articles in popular science magazines, such as the Smithsonian, Scientific America, or Science News. I try to find innovative ways to teach the standards, for example I use sea sponge anatomy to teach cell theory.

Check out our classroom board to see recent themes and sketches: https://padlet.com/petercreativecooperative/fall-2024-visual-biology-beginnings-vcmnbwhhl77xkijy

I believe a good class is centered around good questions. I build my classes around leading questions and I engage students by asking them to share what they already know or to invent their own hypothesis. This approach creates a conversational atmosphere where students feel encouraged to speak up and ask questions. Parents say that my classes leave their students feeling smart and empowered. 

In this class, we often dip our toes into advanced topics that aren't normally covered in middles school biology classes. For example, we covered the carbonate-silicate cycle to which explains how sea cucumbers are affecting coral reefs. We discovered that carbonate and calcium that weathers from mountains ends up in the ocean where sea cucumbers help process it into a form that corals can use for their skeletons. This class challenges students with high level material. I use animations and metaphor to make college level concepts comprehensible for a younger audience. 

Each week we will explore one of four categories of life sciences. 
In Learning Standard 1 (LS1 - Cells) we explore the inner workings of cells and talk about tissues and organs. For examples, in MS.LS.1.3 we explored the organs of sleeping glass frogs who hide their red blood cells inside their liver to become completely transparent! We discussed the role of the liver in our bodies and how hexagon shaped chambers and the hepatocytes within them filter blood and store nutrients. 

In Learning Standard 2 (LS2 - Ecosystems) we explore animals relationships to each other, plants, and the earth systems around them. For example, in MS.LS.2.4 we investigated why there are so many Mosasaur fossils on the west coast of Africa - answer: because ocean upwelling provided many nutrients for sea creatures in that region. I love Marine Biology and often weave Marine Biology topics into my classes. 

In Learning Standard 3 (LS3 - Genetics) we explore how different versions of genes create different organisms and how genes are inherited. In MS.LS.3.1, we explored how mutations in two zebra fish genes can create fins that have extra bones and could have led to the evolution of arms and legs in four legged animals! 

In Learning Standard 4 (LS4 - Evolution) we explore how the incredible variety of life forms on earth have proliferated through the process of evolution. In MS.LS.4.1, we delved into the fossil record to make a comprehensive history of all 5 mass extinction events that have shaped life as we know it, including the asteroid that ended the reign of the dinosaurs.

However each time we cycle through the 21 topics laid out by the Next Generation Science Standards, we will use a different subtopic to bring them to life. For example, while studying MS.LS.1.7  -  ("Develop a model to describe how food is rearranged through chemical reactions forming new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as this matter moves through an organism.")  -  one cycle we may talk about the molecular mechanisms of muscles, and on another cycle, we might talk about how caffein affects energy production in the brain. Learners can stay enrolled in VBB indefinitely, and many have, to continuously deepen their passion for and knowledge of science.

Learning Goals

Cell Theory

Syllabus

Standards
Aligned with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
8 Lessons
over 8 Weeks
Lesson 1:
Living Robots
 MS.LS.1.1 Conduct an investigation to provide evidence that living things are made of cells; either one cell or many different numbers and types of cells. 
41 mins of video lessons
Lesson 2:
Cell City
 MS.LS.1.2 Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and ways parts of cells contribute to the function. 
46 mins of video lessons
Lesson 3:
See-Through Frogs
 MS.LS.1.3 Use an argument supported by evidence for how the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups. 
43 mins of video lessons
Lesson 4:
The Evolution of Reproduction
 MS.LS.1.4 Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively. 
49 mins of video lessons

Other Details

Parental Guidance
All classes are based on the accepted consensus of the secular scientific community, and may include discussions of evolution by natural selection, the cellular and hormonal mechanics of sexual and asexual reproduction, and other aspects of studying living systems. For some topics, research will be drawn from vetted science news sources. Learners will have no need to navigate to these news sites themselves.
Supply List
Something to draw on and something to draw with (preferably with multiple colors)
Language of Instruction
English
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:

Offered by

4.9
4600reviews
Star Educator
Popular
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
Georgia Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Jordan Kohanim
Non-US Teaching Certificate in Social Studies/History
Cameron Shaw
Georgia Teaching Certificate in Special Education
Maria Thorne
North Carolina Teaching Certificate in Secondary Education
Allie Baker
Doctoral Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from University of Arts in Belgrade
Natalija Stojanovic
Master's Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from University of Arts in Belgrade
Natalija Stojanovic
Master's Degree in Education from University of Georgia
Whitney Panetta
Master's Degree in Education from Georgia College and State University
Maria Thorne
Master's Degree in Education from Georgia State University
Benjamin Corey
Bachelor's Degree in English from Kennesaw State University
Jordan Kohanim
Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Science from Vassar College
Cameron Shaw
Bachelor's Degree in Education from Georgia Southern University
Maria Thorne
Bachelor's Degree in Communications from Ramapo College of New Jersey
Jessica Rinzuello
Bachelor's Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from University of Georgia
Whitney Panetta
Bachelor's Degree in Education from UNCP
Allie Baker
Bachelor's Degree in Science from Oglethorpe University
Benjamin Corey
Bachelor's Degree in Science from Hampshire College
Peter Burke
Bachelor's Degree in History from Georgia State University
James Bostick
I have a Bachelors Degree in Agroecology from Hampshire College. I designed the curriculum for and taught my flagship course Garden Biology starting in 2021 and have been teaching biology for the last 3 years.

I received my Outdoor Leadership Certificate from Hanfl Center for Outdoor Education and Environmental Study in 2019 along with an Advanced Wilderness First Aid Certificate. 

I sat on the advisory committee for the Shao Shan Temple Community Garden which works with community members of all ages to create a nourishing space for mindfulness practice, community engagement, and to provide fresh local veggies for the temple programs and the local food shelf.  

I had the privilege of managing the gardens at the Art Monastery, which is dedicated to cultivating personal awakening and cultural transformation through art making, spiritual practice, and reciprocity with the earth. I managed volunteers to grow local organic food using ecologically informed techniques. And I am currently planning native perennial pollinator gardens to be planted at their facilities next spring. 

I have been teaching English abroad for the last three years. I have a TESOL certificate to teach English as a second language. I have traveled to Thailand and India while teaching English as a second language. 

During my Ecology and Agriculture major at Hampshire College I volunteered with Help Yourself Northampton to plant Public Access Food Forests in public spaces around the city. This involved working with the local government to approve such plantings and educating the general public about the importance of food security, food access, and the ecological benefits of diverse gardens as apposed to lawns. I had the privilege of working alongside youth volunteers, talking with them about ecology and gardening as we planted an edible garden next to a bike path in the center of town. I got to work side by side with young people from my community and understand their relationship to food and nature. 

I had the privilege of volunteering for Fresh New London; their mission is empowering youth, connecting community and growing food to dismantle systemic oppression and build food sovereignty. Again I had the amazing opportunity to work alongside high school students in the area to talk about gardening and the environment, but also to understand the local community and the needs of a diverse population. We worked to grow culturally relevant food options like Ahi Dulce, a popular sweet pepper from Latin America. 

I have also had the opportunity to volunteer at Nuestras Raices, a grassroots urban agriculture organization based in Holyoke, MA. Their mission is to create healthy environments, celebrate “agri-culture,” harness collective energy, and to advance a vision of a just and sustainable future. We worked together with the understanding that cultivating youth leadership can powerfully influence policy and systems change.

I also had the wonderful opportunity to assist with a nature based after school program at Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School which used nature games and nature based arts and crafts to teach K-4th grade students about basic ecological principles and basic outdoors skills. We ran activities such as identifying the signs of spring, looking at animal tracks, and building simple shelters to let kids connect with nature, get out of the classroom, and develop useful outdoors skills.

During my six month apprenticeship at Green Gulch Farm and Zen Center in San Francisco, CA I had the opportunity to meet with local high school students to talk with them about mindfulness, meditation, and organic farming during community outreach programs at the farm. 

During my time at Hampshire College I worked with the organization Real Food Challenge which is dedicated to mobilizing young people to redefine real food and build a food system that benefits everyone. I worked with youth leaders from around the country to advocate for more ethically and sustainably sourced foods to be served in dining halls in schools around the country. 

I was one of the original members of the Pioneer Valley Workers Center Farmworker Organizing Committee. They are pursuing a future in which workers, immigrants, and all people of color, revolutionize the way that we feed and sustain themselves. My role included organizing childcare and education for the farmworker meetings so that the parents could meet and discuss strategies to improve working conditions at local farms. 

I was lucky to present at the 2017 Northeast Organic Farmers Association about soil grown sprouts and the environmental benefits of growing fresh greens at home rather than buying them from farms across the country. 

I have had the privilege of taking a permaculture design course with Eric Toensmeier, the award-winning author of Edible Forest Gardens and Carbon Farming, and an appointed lecturer at Yale University, and international lecturer. I studied ecosystem mimicry in food production and we discussed innovative techniques to grow food, sequester carbon, and sustain wildlife. 

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