3rd Quarter
Honors Biology
Due by the end of March
Honors Biology Book Synopsis
Choose one of the following books to read:
Genetics
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters by Matt Ridley
Rosalind Franklin and DNA by Anne Sayre
The Panda’s Thumb or any book by Stephen Jay Gould
Chance in the house of fate : a natural history of heredity by Jennifer Ackerman
Living with our genes : why they matter more than you think by D. Hamer and P. Copeland
Viruses and Bacteria
The Hot Zone by Robert Preston
Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That
Caused It by Gina Bari Kolata
Black death : AIDS in Africa by Susan S. Hunter
Scourge : the once and future threat of smallpox by Jonathan B. Tucker
Demon in the freezer: a true story (anthrax scare) by Richard Preston
Germs : biological weapons and America's secret war by J. Miller, S. Engelberg, W. Broad
The mold in Dr. Florey's coat : the story of the penicillin miracle by Eric Lax
Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
Evolution
On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
The Diversity of Life by Edward O. Wilson
Biomimicry : innovation inspired by nature by Janine M. Benyus
Beyond evolution : the genetically altered future of plants, animals, the earth by M. Fox
Dr. Tatiana's sex advice to all creation by Olivia Judson
The Beak of the Finch : a story of evolution in our time by Jonathan Weiner
Traces of an Omnivore by Paul Shepard
Environmental Issues/Extinction
Cry of the Kalahari by Mark and Delia Owens
The Devil’s Teeth by Susan Casey
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
Seal Wars: twenty-five years on the front lines with the harp seals by Paul Watson
Eagle's plume : the struggle to preserve America's bald eagle by Bruce E. Beans
The Fate of the Elephant by Douglas H. Chadwick
The Last Panda by George B. Schaller
To Touch a Wild Dolphin by Rachel Smolker
The Return of the Wolf : reflections on the future of wolves in the Northeast by Bill McKibben
Walking with the Great Apes: Jane Goodall, Diane Fossey, Birute Galdikas by Sy Montgomery
The Sixth Extinction by Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin
Wild Solutions : how biodiversity is money in the bank by Andrew Beattie and Paul Ehrlich
Why Big Fierce Animals are Rare by Paul Colinvaux
Pandora's picnic basket : the potential and hazards of genetically modified foods by A. McHughen
Nature wars : people vs. pests by Mark L. Winston
Journey of the Pink Dolphins : an Amazon quest by Sy Montgomery
Last chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine
Potporri
Corpse : nature, forensics, and the struggle to pinpoint time of death by Jessica Snyder Sachs
Phantoms in the brain : probing the mysteries of the human mind by V.S. Ramachandran & S. Blakeslee
The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: the emotional life of farm animals by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
Rats : observations on the history and habitat of the city's most unwanted inhabitants by R. Sullivan
Brave New World by Adolph Huxley
Better by Atul Gawande
Complications by Atul Gawande
Stiff by Mary Roach
Honors Biology
3rd Quarter
Due by the end of March
You will be responsible for submitting a short summary, or “synopsis”, describing the book you
selected. You are responsible for composing and completing your own Synopsis. Students
submitting identical synopses or portions of Synopses will not receive credit.
The synopsis should contain the following five sections:
I.
CITATION: Use proper format as noted by librarian.
SUMMARY: Describe the entire content of the book. Please be sure this part of your
paper is in your own words! This should include a description of each of the main
characters, as well as highlights describing the basic plot of the book. Minimum of two
pages double spaced.
III. QUOTE: Include two exact quotes from the book -- choose sentences that you think
was particularly interesting or makes one of the most important points in the book (it
does not need to be a quote from a person—just a direct quote from the book) and
explain why you chose it. Please be sure to put quotation marks around the words of
the quote—not doing so is plagiarism! Indicate the page number on which the quote
may be located in parentheses at the end.
IV. QUESTIONS TO ASK THE AUTHOR: List and number at least 5 thought provoking/
deep questions you would like to ask the author. In general, what are some of the things
you wanted to ask the author when you were done reading the book? Explain why you
asked each of the questions.
II.
V. RELATIONSHIP TO TOPICS ON BIOLOGY: Biology is the science that studies how
living organisms are put together and how they function—both as individuals and within
the biosphere. How do you think the information described in the book you read related
to Biology? You must include 2 or more non-trivial ideas to earn full credit. Provide
specific evidence for your answer. This is one of the sections of your synopsis that I will
be looking at most closely for grading purposes.
GRADING RUBRIC
Possible Points
Components of Book Review
Citation- using proper format
5
Summary- 7-10 statements or 5 statements & 1 diagram, drawing, graph
or visual representation
25
Quote- using proper format
20
Questions to the Author- 3 points each
15
Relationship to Topics on Biology- “Wow me!”- make sure you relate
the content of the book to what you’ve been learning about
in class.
Grammar, Punctuation, & Organization
25
10
GRAND TOTAL
100
Earned
Points