AP Environmental Science 2019 - 2020 Course UPDATE: Instruction to Resume Online on Monday

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AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
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Hello Budding Environmental Scientists (and Parental Units),

Here is a brief update on how I will be proceeding to complete your instruction for AP Environmental Science this school year. Over the weekend I will send out a detailed email explaining how the WGHS APES class will get instruction (including getting help on assignments), turn in assignments, and do tests for the remainder of the shutdown.

First, I have amended the Independent Research Project directions to include a purely secondary research-based report option. Please see the following blog post for a more detailed explanation:

https://mrbursch.blogspot.com/2020/03/apes-independent-research-project-update.html

Second, I have posted additional links in the "Instruction" section of the AP Environmental Science page. I will continue to add online resources from College Board and other organizations to our AP Environmental Science web page in the coming days. Please avail yourselves of these resources as you prepare for the AP exam--yes, College Board is still planning on administering the AP exams starting in May--please see College Board's AP Central: About AP: News and Changes section for the AP Updates for Schools Impacted by Coronavirus page.

Third, I will be assigning regular readings and practice assignments that were originally planned for these last couple of weeks. I will update instructional calendars to reflect our new timeline.

For all unit 10 assignments that were in progress, please complete them to the best of your ability using your notes and online resources:

• Lung Volume and Air Pollution Lab
• Auto Exhaust Lab

If you have questions about how to proceed with your independent research project, please email ASAP.

I will score and enter your Household Water Use projects this weekend as well--look for those scores in the IC grade book during the next few days.

That's all for now--more to follow by Sunday evening, so stay tuned!


Mr. Bursch



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Biology / Honors Biology 2019 - 2020 Course UPDATE: Instruction to Resume Online on Monday

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BIOLOGY / HONORS BIOLOGY
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Hi Bursch Bioscientists and Parental Units,

Here is a brief update on how I will be proceeding to complete your instruction for Biology in the Dynamic Earth this school year. Over the weekend I will send out a detailed email explaining how my biology classes will get instruction (including getting help on assignments), turn in assignments, and do tests for the remainder of the shutdown.

First, I will most likely need to simplify our Science Research and Symposium project (which I had not yet assigned when school was closed) since we will not be at school until May at the earliest--for now I want to focus on transitioning to fully online instruction, so let's not worry about this project for the time being.

Second, I will waive (excuse) the co-teaching requirement for any students who had not yet completed it. For those who completed this requirement earlier in the year, you have already received credit.

Third, I will not be assigning The Story of the Seed blog post #9 at all this year, but I will be assigning blog post #8 next week. In the email I sent a few days ago I was referring to blog post #6 and #7 and was informing students and parents that, for those who had not yet gotten them checked for points, those posts are still due and need to get checked by me ASAP and no later than the last week of May 2020. If you already finished the flower dissection lab needed to do blog post #7, use your photos and research to complete the post--if you did not finish the dissection and get your own photos, use pictures from the internet which show the anatomical structures you were supposed to photograph. Let me know if you have questions about either post.

For all genetics (unit 6) assignments that were in progress, please complete them to the best of your ability using your notes and online resources:

• Incomplete Dominance and Co-dominance practice problems (online: Google Doc)
• X-linked genetics practice problems (on paper--take a picture, place in Google Drive folder)
• Meiosis Modeling activity (For bio students only, you may simply draw a detailed step-by-step color diagram and send me a high-quality photo via email--honors bio should have been done before closure)
• Flower Dissection Lab, TSOTS blog post #7 (directions on TSOTS website, students post on their team's TSOTS website)
• Genetics Virtual Triathlon Legs 2 and 3 (online: Google Doc)

For online assignments that would have been stamped on your stamp sheet, place them in your Google Drive folder for biology in a subfolder called "Genetics Assignments" and I will put a score directly on them. For on-paper assignments, you have to photograph and place in your Google Drive folder--for these photographed assignments, I will only put the assignment score in IC so you will have to check the grade book to see your score (you could email me as well to inquire about any assignment score). To expedite scoring of any assignment you have just placed in your Google Drive folder, email me immediately after placing the file in your folder to inform me that it is ready for scoring.

That's all for now--more to follow by Sunday evening, so stay tuned!


Mr. Bursch



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