AP Biology Syllabus
Mr. Reid - Room 2212
Adam.Reid@madison.kyschools.us
COURSE OVERVIEW
Ideally, students must have completed both first year biology and chemistry prior to enrolling in AP Biology.
Occasionally, students will enroll in AP Biology concurrently with introductory chemistry. Our school firmly believes
in the need to reinforce science topics with relevant activities; therefore, we have a discussion of the day’s
assigned topic, according to the topic syllabus, and then follow up with a lab, activity, synthesis understanding
question, or discussion most of the time. Students will be provided topic outlines for each unit that summarizes
the information of the chapter. These serve to organize and simplify material. Even so, these are to be used in
addition to the required reading from the textbook. Each student comes to class having read and taken additional
notes on the assigned outline for the day. To begin class, we will perform daily, graded assignments that cover the
material from the appropriate outline to ensure student coverage before class. As the laboratory component is a
vital part of a good Biology program, we will be devoting about 30% of our allotted class time to performing labs.
We will cover the 13 recommended investigative labs, put forth by College Board, in depth and also cover content
related material using our textbook, Campbell Biology 8th edition. This class is designed to prepare students for the
AP Biology exam. Students taking this class will be required to take the AP exam at the end of the year.
GOALS
1. To familiarize students with the terminology and concepts of Biology.
2. To develop problem-solving skills of students using hands-on-labs, readings, collections, independent
projects, and class discussions.
3. To strengthen students’ communication skills with the use of written assignments, essays, abstracts, open
response, oral presentations, and lab reports.
4. To prepare students for further study in the Biological Sciences.
TEXTBOOK AND STUDY RESOURCES
Biology 8th edition by Campbell, Reece, Urry, Cain, Wasserman, Minorsky, Jackson, Benjamin/Cummings
Publishing, 2008
Barron’s AP Biology Test Prep: Edition 4, Deborah T. Goldberg, 2013
MATERIALS



3-ring binder with dividers
Separate laboratory notebook





Simple ($1) calculator (No graphing calculators will be allowed on the AP Biology exam.)
Barron’s AP Biology, 4th Edition Test prep book. This must be purchased by the student. It can be found
online for approximately $15.
Standard size, loose leaf notebook paper
Pencils
Access to the internet and word processor
Textbook (provided)
GRADING SCALE
90-100 A, 80-89 B, 70-79 C, 60-69 D, Below 60 F
60%: Assessment (unit tests, concept quizzes, major projects, lab reports)
30%: Homework (daily work, Quest)
10%: Final Exam
Students must maintain a “C” or above, each nine weeks, in order to remain in the course. Students
must take the AP Biology exam in May.
MAKE-UP WORK
 Students will have 2 days to make up work for Excused Absences Only. Any work that is missed during an
unexcused absence will result in a zero for that assignment.
 It is your responsibility to retrieve your make up work from the area designated in class, copy notes from
a classmate, and hand in the work within the 2 day grace period. Electronic copies of most of the work
done in class will also be available for download from my online classroom. Details concerning the online
classroom can be found later in the syllabus.
 Late work will only be accepted if it is returned by the deadline.
 Any test / quiz that is missed must be made up the day that the student returns to school outside of
class hours (this includes excused absences).
 Labs, tests, and quizzes must be arranged to be made up outside of regular class time unless discussed
with me.
CONCEPT QUIZZES
AP Biology is a difficult course with copious amounts of required material. I attempt to organize each unit into
subunits using the chapters from the textbook in order to assist students with the pacing of their studying for the
class. At the conclusion of each chapter, we will have a “concept quiz”. The questions will be divided into and
graded by the individual sections of the chapter. Students will be capable of retrieving points deducted on these
quizzes any time before the culminating unit exam by completion of section reviews, oral examinations, online
quizzes, and a variety of other methods. After the culminating exam, extra credit work for these concept quizzes
will not be accepted. These quizzes will be entered into the “assessment” section of the gradebook and will thus
greatly impact student grades. Fulfilling the extra requirements to recover these lost points will not only improve
the students’ grade on the concept quizzes but will also increase their test scores by providing them extra study
time with material they are struggling with. It is important for all students and parents to note that because
these points are available to students up until the culminating exam, no other form of extra credit work will be
given throughout the year.
QUEST – ONLINE HOMEWORK
There will be an online homework component of AP Biology this year. Students will need to go to the following link
to receive an ID for the site: https://idmanager.its.utexas.edu/eid_self_help/. The unique ID course
number required to enroll in this class is 40475. There will be an additional handout given to the
students with further instructions on how to enroll into my AP Biology classroom once they have an UT
EID as well information on using all of the resources on the site. Homework will be assigned from this site
every unit. I will announce the date that the assignment is due, and it will be your responsibility to complete the
assignment by the due date on your own time. I will always set the solutions for the homework to become
available on the site after the deadline for completing the assignment has passed.
Online Classroom:
If you visit the website http://www.madison.kyschools.us/olc/teacher.aspx?s=1740 then it will take you to the
“online classroom” for this course. (You can also get to this page by doing the following: 1) Go to the Madison
County School District webpage www.madison.kyschools.us, 2) Click on the “Online Classrooms” link located just
above the “quick links” section of the page, 3) Click on my name (Reid, Adam) in this list. 4) Once there, you will
find general information about me as well as a link to the parent portal for infinite campus (This link can be used
by parents and students to see their grades in every classroom).
On the left hand side of this page under the “My Classrooms” section you can click on your respective class (i. e.
Pre-AP Biology) where you will then be able to find class assignments in the appropriate folder for each unit. The
most important function of this website will be that students can download electronic versions of assignments in
class in the case that they miss a day of school or lose the hard copy given in class.
Edmodo:
Please visit the website www.edmodo.com (or you can download the Edmodo app for any smartphone). Once
there, click on the sign up link as “I’m a Student”. You will fill out the required information and use the code
ytmdb7. This will enroll you in the Pre-AP Biology Group. This website is basically like a “facebook for school”.
Students CANNOT message one another directly (so there is no chance for any sort of cyber bullying or other
problems), but there will be a wall page where students can post questions that will be seen by every other Pre-AP
Biology student that I teach. I will monitor this wall to make sure all posts are appropriate. This is useful for
students whenever they encounter certain material they have trouble understanding because it allows them to use
each other as resources. Students will not be allowed to simply ask each other answer to problems, but they can
freely ask for clarification from their peers on classroom content, dates that assignments are due, or any other
question they may have in class.
The most important function of this website will be that students can message me directly by typing my name into
the “send to” box once they’ve written a message. I will have these messages set up to go directly to my phone.
Students should also choose to have messages through Edmodo sent directly to their email or phone. This can be
done by going to settings, email and text updates, and filling in the appropriate email or phone number. You should
then choose to have alerts, notes, direct messages, and replies sent to this location. This allows messages to be sent
to an area where the student will naturally check daily and remove the need to actually visit the Edmodo website.
This will allow prompt communication and will be the most reliable way for students to get a quick response from
me. I welcome students to send me questions they may have about homework, problems while studying for exams,
questions about due dates, or questions they may have whenever I have a substitute.
Advance KY:
Our school is currently working in association with Advance KY to increase student participation and achievement
in AP classes. Students will have the opportunity to attend 3 Saturday Study Sessions where experienced AP
Biology teachers throughout the state will be leading sessions reviewing content. Also, each student who passes
the AP exam will receive $100 from this program.
•
I have read, and understand the guidelines set forth by Mr. Reid.
__________________________________
Student’s Signature
____________________________
Parent/Guardian Signature
______________________________________________________________
Parent / Guardian Phone # or email (whichever you prefer)