CHS AP BIOLOGY SUMMER ASSIGNMENT 2010



CHS AP BIOLOGY SUMMER ASSIGNMENT 2010

Welcome to AP Biology at Conestoga! Because Conestoga has such highly motivated students (who don’t mind doing extra school work during their summer break) and because we want you to have the most successful year possible, we have created a required summer assignment. In order to cover in just one year what most schools cover in two years of Biology, we need you to do a bit of legwork before you arrive in the classroom.

To complete this assignment you will need to login to the textbook’s website:

❖ Go to

❖ Scroll to the bottom set of textbooks that says “Biology: Concepts and Connections”

❖ Click on the book with the pelican on the front which will bring you to the log in screen

❖ Login Name: apbiostoga

❖ Password: stoga2010 (if this does not work, check for updates)

❖ You will see a set of tabs on the left side of the screen – choose E-book

❖ Click on the link displayed to take you to the E-book

❖ Click on Unit 7 – these are the chapters that you will need for this summer assignment

The Assignment:

PART I: You are to READ AND OUTLINE (in any form that works for you) the following chapters:

Chapter 34: The Biosphere: An Introduction to Earth’s Diverse Environments

Chapter 35: Behavioral Adaptations to the Environment

Chapter 36: Population Dynamics

Chapter 37: Communities and Ecosystems

Also, not required, but might be helpful - you may wish to start reading/outlining chapters 1 & 2 which we will not be spending much time on in class.

PART II: An in-class open-note (you may use the notes that you created) test will be given on Tuesday September 7th.

Questions? Contact either of the AP Bio teachers:

Mrs. Gontarek – gontarekj@

Mrs. Wolfe – wolfej@ See you in September!!!

Don’t know how to take good notes? See the next two pages for assistance!

How to Be an Effective Note Taker

A NOTE ABOUT READING SCIENTIFIC TEXT: A science text presents new and complex material which may be difficult to understand.  One piece builds on another to help you build your understanding. The text can provide the foundation for understanding, and bring together information in lectures, labs and hands-on experiments, field trips, and media.

Step One: Get a perspective

❑ Review the assignment in the syllabus and any handouts (1-2 minutes)

Maybe you are not required to read some sections

❑ Survey the chapter (5-10 minutes) for how the content is organized; get the "big picture"

This is not to fully understand, rather develop preliminary associations of bits of information that later will help you understand

Quickly page through the introduction, the summary, vocabulary list, self-test questions, headings, boldfaced material, major graphics, etc.

Notice the major concepts, definitions, descriptions, causes, effects and arguments.

❑ Check out the textbook website to see what it contains

❑ Take no notes, and mark no text in this phase

Step 2: First reading

Make the main purpose of your first reading simply to read and get a good idea of the material: what you understand, and what you do not

❑ Read sentences, paragraphs and short passages with 1-second pauses. 

Read and pause, read and pause.  Let your mind assemble the parts you just read to give you the meaning of the whole unit.  This assembly of meaning happens fairly automatically as long as you are intentionally looking for meaning and paying attention to the meanings

❑ Look back and forth between words and related graphics.

until you can see/tell yourself how they are showing/saying similar things.

A set of text passages that is related to graphics is very useful to understanding.  There are many kinds of graphics: pictures, diagrams, maps, charts, tables, graphs

❑ From time to time, ask yourself if you are "on track" to understanding.

If you find yourself reading without understanding, stop and ask why. 

Is it a question of complexity or distraction?  of preparation or terminology?

If you think it is serious, ask your tutor, teacher or academic advisor for help

❑ When you notice that the author is using comparisons and examples, link them to their descriptions and explanations.

❑ If you are tired and meanings come very slowly into your mind, take a beak. If a break is not possible, vary your study activity.  For example, draw a picture rather than write, walk instead of sit, read aloud rather than silently

❑ If you return to reading after an absence, scan the text and your notes again before reading to cue associations.

❑ Read just enough to keep an understanding of the material.  Do not take notes, but rather focus on understanding the material.  It is tempting to take notes as you are reading the first time, but this is not an efficient technique:  you are likely to take down too much information and simply copy without understanding

❑ If there is a summary at the end of a chapter, read it. This will give you a good idea of what the author feels is important.

Step 3: Review the material & Take Notes

❑ Locate the main ideas, as well as important sub-points

❑ Look up words. Look up words whose meanings are important to your understanding of the material, but you cannot discern from the context.

❑ Set the book aside & paraphrase the information you just read.   

Putting the textbook information in your own words forces you to become actively involved with the material Do not copy information directly from the textbook Add only enough detail to understand

❑ Organize your notes by connecting ideas you choose into an outline or concept map.  Pay attention to relationships between ideas.

❑ Do not confine yourself to words! Use representations, graphics, pictures, colors, even movement to visualize and connect ideas.  Use whatever techniques work to help you understand

❑ At this point, if you do not understand your reading, do not panic! 

Set it aside, and read it again the next day. If necessary, repeat.  This allows your brain to process the material, even while you sleep.  This is referred to as distributed reading.

❑ Re-read the section you have chosen with the framework (outline or concept map) you have constructed in mind. Separate out what you do understand from what you do not.

❑ If the reading is still a challenge, consult with either your teacher, academic counselors, or reading specialists. 

Materials Adopted from :

And College Reading and Study Skills by Nancy V. Wood, Holt Rinehart and Winston, Inc. 1991

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