SEPUP Full-Year Courses:
ISSUES & LIFE SCIENCE
 Students will find that
many of the issues they will study in Issues and Life Science (IALS) appear frequently in the media and even on
election ballots. IALS does not tell students what decisions to make, instead, it provides them with knowledge,
skills, and understanding that will help them to make their own informed decisions.
- How do you decide what type(s) of medication, if any, to take when you are ill?
- What can you do to reduce the risk of catching an infectious disease?
- Would you want to find out if you have a genetic disease?
- How might you accidentally introduce a new species into a local ecosystem?
Relevant issues provide a framework for student work and reflection and a context in which to understand concepts.
OVERVIEW
Issues and Life Science is a standards-based, issues-oriented science course that
emphasizes the life/health sciences. The course can serve as a stand-alone, full-year program or as part of a three-year
integrated science with Issues and Physical Science, the SEPUP physical science course and Issues and Earth Science,
SEPUP’s Earth Science course.
Scope and Sequence
Content in Issues and Life Science is organized into
seven units, as follows:
| Unit |
Main Science Content |
Estimated # of
40- to
50 min. class periods |
|
|
Clinical trial, control variable, ethics, evidence, experimental design, hypothesis, informed consent,
nerves, nervous system, over the counter and prescription medication, placebo, qualitative data, quantitative
data, range, recording procedures, reproducible, sample size, scientific method, size, studying people,
touch receptors, trade-offs, variable
|
15-18
(3-4 weeks) |
|
|
Absorption, arteries, artery, atrium, blood pressure, Calories, capillary, cardiovascular, circulatory
system, control, coronary arteries, cross-section, digestive system, ethics, evidence, exercise, effect
of alcohol, experimental design, function, heart disease, heart, human body systems, indicator, joints,
liver, mechanical and chemical breakdown, modeling, muscle, nutrients, organ, placebo, public health, pulse,
qualitative, quantitative, range, recovery time, regulate, regulating internal environment, respiratory
system, risk factors, skeletal system, structure, surface area, tissue, toxin, trade-offs, valve, veins,
ventricle, volume, voluntary
|
26-30
(6 weeks) |
|
|
ABO blood types, agar, antibiotic resistance, antibiotics, bacteria, carrier, cell, cell membrane, cell
size, cell theory, classification, control, cross-section, cytoplasm, disease, emerging diseases, epidemiologist,
ethics, evidence, field of view, full course, full course, germ theory of disease, hypothesis, immune system,
infection, infectious disease, magnify, microbe, microscope, modeling, multicellular, noninfectious, nucleus,
nuclear membrane, organelles, organelles, permeability, petri dish, protist, qualitative, quarantine, quantitative,
red blood cells, respiration, scientific method, trade-offs, vaccine, vectors, viruses, white blood cells
|
35-41
(7-8 weeks) |
|
|
Allele, asexual and sexual reproduction, carrier, cell, characteristic, chromosome, clone, co-dominance,
diversity, DNA, DNA fingerprinting, dominance, dominant, duties, ethics, fertilization, gene, genetics,
goals, heredity, heredity, heterozygous, homozygous, hypothesis, incomplete, inherited, modeling, mutation,
nature vs. nurture, nucleus, offspring, pedigree, probability, Punnett square, random, recessive, reproduction,
rights, sexual, sexual reproduction, trade-offs, trait
|
22-30
(5-6 weeks) |
|
|
Anthropocentrism, anthropomorphism, carrying capacity, cell wall, chloroplast, classification, competition,
consumers, decomposers, domains, ecologist, ecology, ecosystem, energy flow, evidence, field study, food
web, genus, habitat, inference, introduced species, introduced species, invertebrate, kingdom, microbe,
observation, photosynthesis, phylum, plankton, population, population fluctuation, population, predator,
prey, producers, species, trade-offs, vertebrate
|
25-34
(5-7 weeks) |
|
|
Adaptation, class, classification, competition, DNA, endangered species, evidence, evolution, extinct,
extinction, family, fossil, fossil record, gene, geological, geological time, geological time scale, hypothesis,
inference, law of superposition, mutation, natural selection, observation, scale, selection, species, stratigraphic
column, time scale, trade-offs, trait, variation, vertebrate
|
13-17
(3-4 weeks) |
|
|
Aorta, control, design parameters, bioengineering, function, invention, prosthesis, prototype, robotics,
science, strategy, structure, technology, tendon, tool, valve, variable
|
15-17
(3-4 weeks) |
A. Experimental Design: Studying People Scientifically
Student investigations
address important ideas about the nature of science, the traditional scientific method and experimental design.
At the end of the unit, they evaluate several proposed studies for the quality of their scientific design.
B. Body Works
Students explore the role of organ systems in providing
nutrients and oxygen to the body and transporting and eliminating wastes (maintaining internal balance). The unit
focuses in-depth on the cardiopulmonary system as students investigate heart disease, nutrition and exercise.
 C. Cell
Biology and Disease
Students study microbiology; cell size, structure, function and permeability;
and systems of classification. They explore the function of the immune system and the growth of antibiotic-resistant
organisms. A project on disease develops research skills.
D. Genetics
Students explore fundamental principles of Mendelian genetics
in pea plants and humans. They study asexual and sexual reproduction, the process of cell division, and the role
of nature and nurture in determining traits. Near the end, students model the use of DNA technologies to solve real
problems.
E. Ecology
Students consider what happens when a new species is introduced
into an ecosystem as they model ecological relationships within an ecosystem; simulate the effect of competition,
predation and other factors on population size; and investigate local ecosystems.
F. Evolution
Students consider whether an extinct species should be brought
back to life as they examine fossils, consider the lines of evidence for evolution, natural selection, and the role
of genetic mutations. Students evaluate the impact of humans on the extinction/evolution of species.
G. Bioengineering
Students consider how biotechnology can improve the
lives of humans as they adapt to their external environment. Students construct, evaluate and revise their prototypes
of tools and products as they explore the design process. The contributions of various individuals to the fields
of science and biotechnology are presented and discussed.
For smaller classes, you may want to consider our 16 Student version of Issues and Life Science. This unique
package includes the products needed to complete all of the activities in the course, just smaller quantities and
a Teacher’s Guide. Student books must be purchased separately.
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