This is one of my favourite courses to teach.  I have taught it for the last three years at the Canadian College Italy.  It is laid out by the Ontario curriculum and units include:

 

• Diversity of Living Things,

• Evolution,

• Genetic Processes,

• Animals: Structure and Function, and

• Plants: Anatomy, Growth, and Function.

 

I have found that Biology is the least intimidating science class for most students, so I have been fortunate to have a lot of really excited students in my classes.  This course lends itself really nicely to a variety of activities, so my students regularly describe this course to others as being really fun.  I take that as a huge compliment!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Biodiversity Project: This is the first major project in this course.  It has students working in pairs or small groups to take pictues of a variety of plants, animals, or fungus found in the area surrounding the school.  They then select 10 different species and have to classify them by using relevant search terms and matching pictures found online.  This can be a very difficult task (especially with plant species) but the importance of the project is really the process of thinking like a scientist rather than finding the absolute correct answer.

 

Pedigree Activity: This is a simple activity that I use as a way to teach the class about genetic pedigrees. They follow the instructions to create a pedigree that follows the trait of freckles through the fictional Lawler family. There are certain questions that should come up if the students are thinking along the right lines, so I circulate and chat with each group as they progress through the activity. 

 

Speciation Skit: This is one of my favourite activities in this class!  I found it on the STAO website and it has been very successful the past two years that I have done it. In fact, students from the previously year were still able to tell me what each group did and could explain the topics to me. In groups, students must create a skit to teach the class about a certain type of reproductive isolation that prevents species from successfully mating and producing viable offspring. On the day of the presentations, each group also submits a summary of their skit and an outline of how it demonstrates their topic.   

 

Stop Motion Body Systems: This is one of the options for a video project for body systems. Students create a stop-motion photography tour of either the digestive system, respiratory system, or cardiovascular system. If students select this option, we look at previous projects together to determine what worked and didn't work and develop a plan to make their version unique.  I have found that students really enjoy their project and are proud of their results. Other options for this project include creating a talk show, visual essay, or documentary about technologies, diseases, or careers involving the human body.     

 

Plant Scavenger Hunt: For some reason, students are often prejudice about plants and assume that they are boring!  I try my best to change their minds throughout this unit, and we finish it off with this photo scavenger hunt.  It's easy - each group must go outside and take a picture of each item on their list.  I create coloured labels (different colours for each group) that must be held up beside the item in each picture.  This makes it easy for me to mark.  I tap into their competitive spirit by making it a race and having a prize for the group that finds the most items in the shortest amount of time.