Welcome to IB HL/AP Biology. As you know, you are signing yourself up for a complex, rigorous experience. By May of next year, you will be expected to have learned most of the material in our textbook, Biology, 7th Edition, by Campbell and Reece (ISBN 0-8053-6777-2). In order to help accomplish this task, I am asking you to do a reading, note-taking, and studying assignment over the summer. This will reduce the content load we’ll cover during the school year.

This assignment is based on the Ecology unit in the book, because this is the section that I think you will have the most familiarity with already. You should be able to grasp most of these concepts with a thorough study. Many of the other units will require extensive explanations in class.

Read:
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 50 Introduction to Ecology & the Biosphere
Chapter 51 Behavioral Ecology
Chapter 52 Population Ecology
Chapter 53 Community Ecology
Chapter 54 Ecosystems
Chapter 55 Conservation Biology & Restoration Ecology

Take good book notes, study them, and then hand them in for a grade. Include simple diagrams for key concepts. I will expect a minimum of 4 pages of notes per chapter. These book notes will be due the day of the Ecology test. I will expect you to use them to help you study before the test. Don’t get bogged down with detail. Look for the big picture idea and the main information that supports it. Use the “testing yourself” questions at the end of each chapter to determine how well you’re grasping the material.

These notes must be your own work, not ones you found from any outside source. If it appears that you copied notes you found elsewhere, such as the internet, it will be considered academic dishonesty, with all the implications that carries for George School. Take the time to do your own good work. It will be worth it. Budget time—there are seven chapters and roughly ten weeks to complete them. Think about doing a chapter a week.

On the first day of class, we will determine which day will be the test date for this material. THE TEST WILL BE ONE OF THE DAYS IN THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL. If there are significant questions on the material, I will be prepared to review some of this material with you on the first day(s). If there are no questions, we will schedule the test probably for the next class meeting.

If you have any questions, please contact me by phone (call or text) or email.

Erin Sio
erinbsio@gmail.com
215.962.4265