Biology Program Goals and Objectives
Grade Level 6

About the Biology Program
All students will participate in the Barrier Island Ecology Course at the same time. Small groups of approximately twelve students together with a Sound to Sea instructor each start in a different habitat area and begin a rotation. This component introduces students to the five habitats (beach/ocean, maritime forest, freshwater pond, salt marsh, and sound/estuary), geological history, basic ecological concepts and general habitat study skills that are reinforced throughout the entire program. Sound to Sea instructors encourage exploration and present various ecological concepts (such as habitats, cycles, communities, populations, species, food webs, decomposition, etc.) as students discover concrete evidence that relates to that concept. As the groups explore each habitat, students observe the differences and make comparisons. The Habitat Study skills include: observation, measurement, data collection, and analysis and assessment of habitat conditions with respect to soil, air, water, wind, temperature, and human impact; and observation, identification, classification, mapping and representative sampling of species present within the habitat.

Main Curriculum Area: Science
Other Curriculum Areas: English, Math
Grade Level: 6

Primary Goals and Objectives:
These objectives will be covered during all Biology Program classes. Some objectives are more specific to one habitat than another, so if your schedule does not allow you to take all offered classes, or if there are particular objectives that you want to make sure we cover, please let us know what your specific needs are.

Science Competency
Goal 1		 The learner will build an understanding of the lithosphere.

Objectives
1.01 Determine how physical and biological agents and processes form soil and affect soil characteristics.

1.03 Evaluate ways in which human activities have affected Earth's pedosphere and the measures taken to control the impact:

  • Ground cover.
  • Farming.
  • Land use.
  • Nutrient balance.
Science Competency
Goal 2		 The learner will investigate the characteristics of matter and energy flow through an ecosystem.

Objectives
2.01 Examine evidence that plants convert light energy into stored energy which the plant, in turn, uses to carry out its life processes.

2.03 Describe ways in which organisms interact with each other and with non-living parts of the environment:

  • Limiting factors.
  • Coexistence/Cooperation/Competition.
  • Symbiosis.

2.04 Evaluate the consequences of disrupting food webs.

English Competency
Goal 1		 The learner will use language to express individual perspectives drawn from personal or related experience.

Objectives
1.03 Interact appropriately in group settings by:
  • listening attentively.
  • showing empathy.
  • contributing relevant comments connecting personal experiences to content.
  • monitoring own understanding of the discussion and seeking clarification as needed.

1.04 Reflect on learning experiences by:

  • describing personal learning growth and changes in perspective.
  • identifying changes in self throughout the learning process.
  • interpreting how personal circumstances and background shape interaction with text.
English Competency
Goal 6		 The learner will apply conventions of grammar and language usage.


Objectives
6.01 Demonstrate an understanding of conventional written and spoken expression by:

  • determining the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary words by using context clues, a dictionary, a glossary, a thesaurus, and/or structural analysis (roots, prefixes, suffixes) of words.
  • extending vocabulary knowledge by learning and using new words.
Number Sense, Numeration, and Numerical Operations
Math Competency
Goal 1		 The learner will understand and compute with rational numbers.

Objectives
1.02 Relate fractions, decimals, and percents.

Data, Probability, and Statistics
Math Competency
Goal 4		 The learner will demonstrate an understanding and use of graphing, probability, and data analysis.


Objectives
4.01 Create and evaluate graphic representations of data.

Other Goals and Objectives:
These objectives may be covered during Biology Program classes. If there are goals listed here that you specifically want covered, or goals not listed that you would like to try to touch on, please let us know.

Main Curriculum Area: Science

Science Competency
Goal 1		 The learner will build understanding of the Solar System.

Objectives
3.03 Relate the influence of the sun and the moon's orbit to the gravitational effects produced on Earth.

3.04 Associate the revolution of Earth around the sun and the tilt of Earth's axis with the seasons.

Spatial Sense, Measurement, and Geometry
Math Competency
Goal 2		 The learner will demonstrate an understanding and use of the properties and relationships in geometry, and standard units of metric and customary measurement.


Objectives
2.12 Estimate solutions to problems involving geometry and measurement. Determine when estimates are sufficient for the measurement situation.