7th Grade Life Science
Course Syllabus
Instructor: Mr. Day Rider
Where: Science Room
When: 4th Period (10:33–11:22, F: 10:03–10:42)
Contact Information:
School Phone: x204
Home Phone: 773-5201 or 845-2478
E-mail: jdrider@richey.k12.mt.us
“Office Hours”: Before school, 7th period, 8th period, after school until 4 PM (except for practices
in Lambert)
What is Life Science?
Life science, or biology, is the study of living things. Life science encompasses a wide variety of
disciplines and we will spend the year looking at how these each play a role in life science.
Course Organization:
This is a lecture/lab based class. Lectures will primarily be done through Power Point
presentations, SmartBoard Notebook, and hands-on activities. Labs will consist of work done on
the lab bench at the back of the room and unit projects. The class itself will be broken down into
9 units, w/ each unit being 2-5 chapters long. Some units will only consist of a single chapter.
Course Breakdown:
This course has been broken down into the following units:

Unit 1: Intro. to Life Science/LAB Safety (Chapter 1)

Unit 2: Cells and Their Processes (Chapters 2 & 3)

Unit 3: Genetics (Chapter 4 & 5)

Unit 4: Evolution (Chapter 6)

Unit 5: Microbiology (Chapter 7)

Unit 6: Plant Biology (Chapter 8)

Unit 7: Animal Biology (Chapters 9, 10, 11, 12, & 13)

Unit 8: Human Biology (Chapters 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, & 20)

Unit 9: Ecology (Chapters 21 & 22)
Required Materials:

Prentice Hall: Life Science

Notebook

Writing Utensil

Clicker (kept in classroom)

LAB Notebook
Grading Policy:
In this class, students will be graded on their performance on unit tests, quizzes, homework
assignments, class participation, and lab work. Grades will be determined based on a points
system. The points earned by the student will be divided by the total number of points possible
to produce a percentage. This percentage will be converted into a letter grade.
Homework:
Homework will be assigned frequently. Unless otherwise stated, homework
assignments are due by the end of the school the following day. Regular assignments
will be accepted late for 75% credit (an assignment is considered late unless it is turned
into its respective folder by the end of school on its due date). All assignments are
accepted up until the day an individual student takes the unit test; after this date,
assignments will receive no credit. Homework will usually consist of assignments from
the book, vocabulary worksheets, and study guides.
Laboratory Work:
This consists of labs and unit projects.
Labs:
The lab is an important part of any science classroom. Therefore labs and their writeups will be very important. Write-ups will consist of either worksheets for the lab or an
entry into the student’s LAB notebook. The due date for LAB worksheets will be the
same as a regular homework assignment. LAB notebooks will be collected at the end of
each unit, so any entries need to be completed by that date. The format for LAB
notebooks will be covered at a later time.
Projects:
There will be a project assigned for each unit except Unit 1. These will be assigned at
the beginning of the unit and will be due at the end. The format for these units will
change.
Quizzes*:
There will be a quiz after each chapter in a unit is covered. Quizzes will usually consist of
multiple choice questions, true/false questions, problems, and two short answer
questions. There will also be a challenge problem for bonus points. Point values for
quizzes will change.
Exams/Tests*:
An exam worth 150 points will be given at the end of each unit covered. Test format
will consist of a combination of multiple choice questions, true/false questions, matching,
fill in the blank, problems, short answer questions and bonus questions.
Participation:
Students will receive participation points for answering questions during lectures,
participating in labs, and participating in demos. These points will add up to no more
than 100 points per quarter.
*Incremental grading:
Tests and quizzes will be graded on an incremental basis, meaning that if a student does badly
on one test and then does better on the next, they can receive half the difference between the
two scores.
*Dropped Quizzes/Tests:
Students will be allowed to drop their lowest chapter quiz each quarter and lowest unit test each
semester.
Extra-Credit:
While there are no extra credit “assignments,” there are a number of ways students can receive extra
credit points:
1) Notes: Students are highly encouraged to take notes during lecture. These notes can be
turned in w/ their homework for extra credit and any extra points will be added to their
“bank.”
2) Science Current Event: students can earn EC points by finding a news article pertaining to
the topic that is being discussed (no articles about vertebrates when we are going over
ecology) and writing a short paragraph about it. These are worth 10 points each and need
to be turned in before the end of the unit.
Make-up Work:
In the event that a student is absent, it is the student’s responsibility to get any work that they
missed on the day they were absent. Any make-up work will be due two days after that student
receives their missed assignment. If a student misses a test, it is that student’s responsibility to
make-up the test as soon as possible. If a student knows they are going to miss an extended
period of time, it is better that he/she asks for any assignments that he/she will miss before
he/she leaves.
Classroom Rules:
1) Come to class prepared and on time.
2) Follow directions when they are given THE FIRST TIME.
3) Follow correct lab procedures and safety rules.
4) Utilize class time wisely
5) NO FOOD in the classroom.
6) Cell phones, iPods/iPads, Kindles are allowed in class but need to be silenced during lecture
time.
7) Be excellent to each other, and…
8) PARTY ON DUDES!!!!!!!
Discipline Policy:
1. Anyone caught cheating will receive a zero for that assignment.
2. Discipline in the lab is a must. Violations will result in the following in addition to a phone call to
the parent/guardian:
a. 1st time: student will be removed from the lab and will receive a zero for that lab.
b. 2nd time: students will be removed from the current lab, receive a zero, and not be
allowed in lab the remainder of the quarter.
c. 3rd time: students will be removed from the current lab, receive a zero, and not be
allowed back in lab the remainder of the school year.
3. Anyone not following the electronics rule will result in the following:
a. 1st time: asked to place the item in his/her locker
b. 2nd time: confiscation for the remainder of the day and parents will be contacted
c. 3rd time: phone will be turned into the office
*note: a ringing phone may be answered by the teacher
4. Any other rule violations will result in the following discipline procedure:
a. 1st Offense – Warning
b. 2nd Offense – 30 minutes detention*
c. 3rd Offense – 1 hour of detention*
d. 4th Offense – 3 hours of detention*
e. 5th Offense – In-School Suspension
*note: detention may be served w/ the teacher or the superintendent
Student’s Signature _________________________ Parent’s Signature ___________________________