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EARTH SCIENCES / PHYSICAL SETTING

About the course | Criteria for Credit | Calculation of Grades | A Note To Guardians | Details Details

ABOUT THE COURSE:

Welcome to the Physical Setting: Earth Sciences. This course is what was formerly known as the Earth Science Regents. If you have passed the exam for the old version Earth Science Regents, you may not take this course.

This IS a regents course designed to prepare you for the new exam. If you do not need the regents exam you should not be programmed for this class, whether or not you "just need the credit". There are 3 distinct areas of the NYS Regents Earth Science curriculum: Astronomy (1semester); Geology (1 semester) and Meteorology-Environment-Exam review (1 semester). The suggested order is to take meteorology last, but all must be taken.

As young adult learners, you are responsible for all earth science topics on the Regents exam, including earth science environmental issues. (See Course Outline) In this regard you will have to make sure your family group advisor programs you correctly for the 3 semesters, and records the full name of the section of the course you complete.

During the 3 semesters of coursework you will have to successfully complete the lab component. Lab work is not optional as your labs are included as part of the course work and is included in the calculation of your grade. A sucessfully completed lab must meet certain requirements as will be outlined later. Your lab book is a NYS legal document, and as such must remain within the department for a full 3 years prior to your passing the regents exam.

The Physical Setting-Earth Sciences Exam has 2 parts: The Lab Practicum given after school the week prior to regents week. The Written Exam given on the state established day during regents week.

According to NYS education law:

  1. If you have not "successfully" completed 1500 minutes of lab work rated SATISFACTORY, you WILL NOT be allowed to take the Lab Practical (even if you are a senior). Labs are now legal documents to be stored with regents results for a period of 3 years.
  2. If you have not taken or been excluded from the Lab Practical, you CANNOT sit for the written portion of the exam.
  3. If you have taken the Lab Practical, you may take or retake the written exam at any time thereafter and the points you acquired on the Lab Practical will be added to your written exam score for your total exam grade.
  4. If by law you are entitled to special test conditions or modifications as stated in your IEP, go to the following site http://www.chemtutor.com/heurist.htm#lern & read this it, as it applies to all sciences, then please let Lzzz know upon beginning this class so that I may meet your needs.

Unfortunately, there is so much information that must be covered in such a short period of time that this class will move very quickly. If you feel that you are falling behind at any point in class, preferably ask questions in class (you probably aren't the only one), or come see me after class. Your success on the Regents exam will depend entirely on your participation in class throughout the semesters. You must ask questions, must do homework, must study, and must listen in class to your instructor & peers!

CRITERIA FOR CREDIT

PARTICIPATION = ATTENDANCE & ATTITUDE

ATTITUDE: A good portion of participation has to do with your attitude in class. Be on time, raise your hand & contribute to discussions, stay in class the entire period, RESPECT all others while they are speaking. Respect all items in the room. Practice active listening. Your OFF TASK behavior cost you points!

LGE GP: LECTURES DISCUSSION FILMS TRIPS: Aren�t talking, Are questioning concepts, Aren�t working on other tasks, Are taking notes, Are correcting assignments.

SM GP: LABS / INVESTIGATIONS, READINGS, BRAINSTORMING, ANS. QUESTIONS, CONSENSUS, GP PROJECT: Are working on designated task, All are participating, All are taking notes, Aren�t too loud.

INDIV: READINGS ESSAYS QUESTIONS EXAMS, INDIV PARTS OF LABS: Are working on designated task alone, Aren�t talking at all, Are in seat, Are asking for help.

RULES OF LZZZ'z ROAD:

PARTICIPATION = ATTENDANCE & ATTITUDE

ABSENCES: Absences are a Failure To Participate (FTP�s), the SCIENCE DEPARTMENT POLICY applies. Official excused FTP�s are court, death in family, medical, social services. A note on agency letterhead must be submitted. If your advisor or social worker is aware of personal situations that constitute in their mind as an excused FTP, they can furnish the note. Telling me to speak to your advisor is not acceptable.

  • It is your responsibility to find what work was missed. Use the online self-help notes!
  • ASTRONOMY GEOLOGY METEOROLOGY and on my home page.
  • Also make use of the online daily calendar (coming soon) (see specific course above)
  • It is your responsibility to make up any missing work that has not already been corrected as a large group LGE GP.
  • Unexcused absences result in the loss of the 4 PARTICIPATION PTS (PP) required each day. They will quickly "weather" your grade. Only 3 Officially Excused absences are waived.

    TARDINESS: Lateness results in the loss of 1 PARTICIPATION PT (PP) from the 4 that are required daily. It is your responsibility to initial the LATE LIST when U come in, if you don�t you will remain marked absent. (Its like a job timeclock, don't punch in-> you don't get paid no matter how much work you did.) Don't make a spectacle of yourself coming in giving everyone a pound or a kiss. Just get to work or you will not receive the 1 PP for being tardy, instead you'll lose another.

    COURSEWORK [CW]

    GENERAL GUIDELINES APPLY FOR QUALITY COURSE WORK

    TESTS:Tests and quizzes will cover material presented in class notes, labs, readings, trips and homework. If you keep up with the work, you will not have to devote large chunks of time to studying. If you miss class exams, there will be NO make-up unless you present an official excused absent note AND a note from your advisor or social worker requesting a make up. CW points will go into your required grade total. 65% is the accepted passing grade.

    HOMEWORK: Should be of professional quality on 8x11 paper (less chance of me losing small sheets) and presented before it is corrected in class in order to receive the HW points for it . Some assignments require more than 1 draft. Each homework has a point value; to obtain full points you must complete all parts on time. Partial credit can be awarded.

    Homework Guidelines:

    The following set of guidelines for homework submissions & or labs is intended to insure that I award all the credit due you on each and every problem and that we know where you are having difficulties so I can help. I can't do either if I can't read what you've written. You also might find that recopying your homeworks makes the answer - and your path to it - clearer to you. Regardless of whether it helps you or not, it helps us, so do it. Please.

    -Use the answer grids and blanks included in the handout.

    -Answer the problems in numerical order. Avoid arrows (if possible) to other pages and statements like "finished on last page." You wouldn't turn in a paper like that, so don't turn in homework like that.

    - I often grade homeworks/labs at coffee shops, on the kitchen table, in other peoples houses where they can keep me awake, etc.. Unless you want loose pages of your homework being walked on by caffeine-addled humans, cats & rats, staple the pages together. I am not responsible for loose or little pages.

    -If you can't finish a problem, tell me what you are trying to do and where you think the problem is headed. The Partial Credit Genie will wand you..

    -Don't leave me guessing which of several answers is the right one. "Shotgun" answers are not answers.

    -Keep track of units. If the problem gives units, your answer will usually have units. Tell me what they are.

    -If the question says graph your solution, then graph it. Besides making me happy, seeing your solution in graphical form will help you understand it better (and may help you catch mistakes). Graphs don't have to be fancy, just informative.

    -Discuss questions in a group, unless its individual work: You'll learn more and enjoy the course more.

    The Golden Rule: do not wait until the night before homework is due to begin working on it. You may need to talk with me, or other students before you can complete it. If you wait until the last night, you won't be able to.

    After the deadline, its too late, but I can guarantee, you will see it again -->see tests

    CLASSWORK: This is work expected to be done in class, not at home unless told to complete the assignment & return with it the next day. Each assignment has a point value; to obtain full points you must complete all parts on time.

    UNIT PORTFOLIOS: Portfolios will involve a great deal of work. They will include notes, lab abstracts, and journals. Students should spend at least 2 hours per week on their portfolio. Do not wait until the last minute to complete the portfolio!

    LABORATORY: You will need to obtain a bound (untear-outable pages) notebook. Lab reports will be due two or more days after the lab experiments are performed. All lab reports will have an abstract attached. (See Details Details) No lab will be accepted without an abstract. Lab reports will be rated. Rewrites are expected until you receive a SATISFACTORY rating. Then that will be collected & counted toward your Lab Practical requirement. If you need yoru lab report to study for an exam, you must return it to me immediately after the exam. According to the state, if it is not physically in the school file, it does not exist. Lab books remain in the classroom, loose sheets get glued into the lab book.According to the state, if it is not physically in the school file, it does not exist.

    NOTEBOOK: You are required to have a separate notebook or section of a notebook (8"x11") dedicated solely to this class. You are expected to keep all class work & handouts and carry your notebook and reference table EVERYDAY. Get a folder, esp if you are using a spiral (work will be collected). As outlined in the Details Details section of this page, your notebook & notes will have a specific format, and will be part of each Unit Portfolio. The purpose of the Unit Portfolio is to create a study guide for yourself. By the time you reach the end of the 3rd semester of this course. I will have the Unit Portfolio to return to you & you will be able to look back on work done the 1st & 2nd semester and easily prepare for the state exam. Have a pencil or pen (but blood works).

    A valuable skill you should learn early in High School is how to take USABLE notes. To encourage this - I will check your notebook a number of times during this class without advanced notice! You should have your ESRT, NOTEBOOK and something to write with (Blue or black pen or pencil) - EVERY DAY! I have no loaners!

    When you hand in your Unit Portfolio- I will look for (for the current Unit) -

    The Notes (from overhead, other presentations, other work you have done in class) - with your additions (see format for your re-writes in Details Details, below)
    ALL handouts you were given during the unit ,ALL Graded papers for the unit (including homework)(if they have been returned).
    Since a good Unit Portfolio will help you to prepare for your tests - it will be graded as a part of your TEST for the unit. It will be worth 10% of the test grade. For example - if the TEST is worth 50 pts and we check notebooks - the test will now be worth 55 pts with the notebook making up the extra 5 points. A 40 point test will be worth 44, etc.

     

    CALCULATION OF GRADES

    Your grade is based on the following formula:
    TOTAL POINTS REQUIRED / TOTAL POINTS EARNED X 100 = ___%
    You may not have more than 3 excused FTPs Failures to participate in a cycle.
    There are CW Classwork points which include points from classwork, homework, tests, labs & reports, each with their own specific point value. There are Participation points PP. It is required that you acquire 4 per each day of the cycle, that you do not have official excused absences (max 3 FTPs).

    These are the symbols you will see on my grade sheet. It is open to inspection during lunch or after school when I have no PM school class.
    symbol description of item points lost or gained miscellaneous
    * present on time +2/day  
    T tardy +1/day must write initials on the late list
    > 1 act of participation +1/check it depends on you minimum of 2/day expected
    A unexcused absence -4/day no official absence notes
    EA official excused absence 2 pts waived see above for details
    O Off Task -1/instance  
    ## CW points for activity each activity has a point worth must be on time/partial credit can be awarded

    A NOTE TO GUARDIANS


    This webpage outlines the academic and behavioral expectations I have for the young adults in my courses. Please try to schedule appointments after school hours or during days off from school. If this is impossible, please be sure to obtain a note from the agency.

  • DETAILS DETAILS

    UNIT PORTFOLIO REQUIREMENTS
    Materials needed for portfolio:
    High Lighter
    Three Ring Binder and Composition bound notebook
    Tabs (Homemade is OK)
    Folder
    gluestick
  • Class Notes
    As material is presented in class, you are expected to take notes. The key to good notes is balancing the need to listen and internalize information and record information to refer back to at a later date. Take notes in the form presented on the overhead. Its intentionally grouped by similar concepts & supporting info. The goal is for you to create a study guide
  • Write on only 1 side of the page
  • You will divide every page of your notes as shown in the diagram below:
    NOTES NOTES SUMMARY QUEST.

    Notes are written here

    -- try to keep the format given in class

    --dont write everything squished together in one paragraph

    --use bullets to separate ideas or

    --highlight or underline really important stuff

    ------indent or skip lines

    ------------note examples

     

    Summary Question of major concepts are written here :

    and

    Questions I need to ask Lzzz:

    How do I write my classnotes?

    As the class goes on, you will summarize each concept. This summary is to be one sentence, question or topic. When the topic or unit is then completed, you will have a summary that will make studying for tests easier and a study guide so that you can remember what was learned in the previous semesters (REMEMBER: this is a 1 1/2 year course!!! Don't spare the paper, your learning is a noble end for a tree.
  • Lab Abstract
    An abstract is a written summary of a laboratory activity done in class. The abstract must be done in a very specific format:
    Pre-Lab - To be done before the lab is started (1-2 paragraphs)
  • What are we going to do?
  • What do I think is going to happen?
    Simultaneous to the lab (free form)
  • What am I observing?
  • What is happening?
  • What are we doing?
    Post-Lab - After completion of the lab (1 paragraph)
  • What happened?
  • What did I learn?
  • Did the outcome match my expectations?
    Lab Study Guide
    Bullets that describe the important facts learned in the lab and discussed in post lab questions and discussion. REMEMBER: satsfactory labs are to be returned and glued into your lab book with the abstract, after the test for that unit or they will not be counted toward the regents exam.
  • Science Journals & Video Notes
    Article Summaries. There may be separate questions & a summary. The summary should address three questions:
    1. What is this article about? (Do not copy the article, put it in your own words. 1 paragraph)
  • YOUR WORDS = YOUR UNDERSTANDING
    2. Why is the science concept relevant? (How could it affect us or our environment? (1 paragraph)
    3. What do you think about this issue? What should be done? What would you do?
    OR, if you don't feel you understood the concept:
    What questions would you ask a scientist/the scientists involved?(1 paragraph)
  • In addition to the article summaries, you will also be asked to make periodic journal entries. Each entry is to be written on a separate piece of paper, unless instructed otherwise. Do not write more than one entry on a piece of paper!
  • Summary of Science Concepts
    At the end of each unit, you will be asked to summarize the science concepts that have been covered in the unit. This will most often be in the form of a graphic organizer, so please do not begin this exercise until it has been assigned.
  • Base Group Activities
    The only people that I would like you to work with are the people in your base-group. I will assign base-groups at some point in the future. IF YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL IN WORKING WITH A CERTAIN SET OF PEOPLE (see sm gp details) who just happen to be your friends, you may remain together as long as you continue to be successful, otherwise you will be the cause of your group being split & others being shuffled around to accommodate your lack of self-control. They will not be happy, and neither will you.
  • Do Now: When you enter the classroom, there will often be a short assignment on the board, called a do-now. You will complete the Do-Now by yourself unless instructed differently.

    If at any time you have a question or are feeling overwhelmed, please come and see me. If you wait too long to begin these assignments, you may not have enough time to finish them. Use your time wisely, and keep up with the work. You are responsible for your own time management!

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