Before You Begin:
- Download (see section below)
- Middle School Kingdom Animalia book
- Course Expectation file
- Be sure you have a working microphone for class. A webcam is allowed and is optional.
- Prepare a binder with sections to place sheets
- Have colored pencils
- If dissecting, order kit (Home Science Tools Intermediate Dissection Kit [DE-KITINT])
Each Week:
- Complete all the Class Preparation for the following week
- The book
- Read the book sections assigned
- Watch my video. Follow along and take notes on the slide sheet
- Animal and Researcher Videos
- Watch the SoL or Eye Witness videos
- Complete the Questions Sheets - submit them in the dropboxes
- Drawing OR Dissection
- Drawings - submit them in the dropboxes
- Dissections - submit pictures and dissection sheet in the dropbox
- Review the book to be ready to answer the oral quiz during class
- Prepare for class
- Have the book sections, slides, and notes handy to use during the oral class quiz (still review the information!)
- Have video question sheets handy as we go over the answers during class
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Total classes: 12
Duration: 55 minutes
Instructor: Dr. Kris Correira
Instructor Email: athomescience@gmail.com
Course description: This course is an introduction to classification of the animal kingdom traced through its evolutionary development. The course is based on the Shape of Life and Eyewitness video and provided eBook. Students have the option of completing either weekly drawings or a series of 7 dissection labs. This course covers learning standards in disciplinary core areas 2 & 4 of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for middle school life science.
Course outline:
Week 1: Introduction to Biodiversity and Classification
Week 2: Porifera and Cnidarians
Week 3: Worms and Mollusks (clam dissection)
Week 4: Annelids (earthworm dissection)
Week 5: Marine Arthropods (crayfish dissection)
Week 6: Land Arthropods (grasshopper dissection)
Week 7: Echinoderms (starfish dissection)
Week 8: Fish (perch dissection)
Week 9: Amphibians (frog dissection)
Week 10: Reptiles
Week 11: Birds
Week 12: Mammals
Course materials:
Colored pencils
The eBook and other learning resources are provided FREE by Dr. Correira
For the lab, the Home Science Tools Intermediate Dissection Kit [DE-KITINT] ($40) or its equivalent is required (https://www.homesciencetools.com/product/intermediate-dissection-kit/).
Homework: This course is taught in a flipped-classroom format. Students are expected to gain familiarity with the assigned media (print, audio, video) and submit work prior to class. Homework will consist of reading the provided eBook to prepare for the open-book quiz as well as watching videos and answering questions based on the videos. At the beginning of the course, students will choose to EITHER submit weekly drawings of the related phylum OR to complete seven dissections. (Students must remain in that option for the entire course.) Other simple activities may be assigned on a week-by-week basis. Approximately 3 to 4 hours each week will be needed to complete these requirements.
Meeting time is spent discussing the material, including a chat quiz, and reviewing questions. Students are graded in part based on their weekly discussion participation (written and in class) according to the rubric provided in the course.
- Teacher: Kris Correira