Priscilla Lundgren

Priscilla Lundgren holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Mount Saint Mary's University in Los Angeles. With a background in medical research, she worked at UCLA for over 10 years. Priscilla then transitioned to the care of the elderly by running her own senior care business. She later sold the company and retired becoming a stay-at-home mom. Despite her career shift, her passion for biology remains evident in her enthusiastic discussions about the life cycles of viruses. Priscilla loves gardening and cooking for loved ones. She can often be found exploring used book stores and getting overly excited at the produce at the farmers market.

Life Science!

Ages: 11-13

Text: an online text will be available for this class

This is a one year class, but students may choose to stay in the class each trimester.

Homework: Expect approximately 2 hours of homework per week, consisting of readings, assignments, and project-related tasks.

Hello and welcome to 7th grade Life Science!

This life science course is designed to give your student the skills to transition from elementary science to high school level Biology. Our units will take a deeper look into cell function, tissue and organ systems, genetics and DNA, evolution, and the cycling of matter. We will also investigate Ecology and how we all play an important role in our Earth. Along with our discussions and written activities the course will involve a variety of wet and dry labs that will bring their lessons to life. Our labs will include viewing cells under microscopes, modeling photosynthesis and cellular respiration after watching it in action, building DNA structures, observing evolutionary characteristics in fossils, and designing food web systems. Each lab will include a lab write up that will hone their knowledge in the scientific method.

Topics:

1. Molecules to Organisms

2. Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

3. Earth Systems

4. Earth and Human Activity

5. Matter and Its Interactions

6. Engineering and Design

As with all of our science classes here at HuckleBerry, this is a hands-on experience! Our weekly labs will include a fun and exciting array of wet and dry labs. In our photosynthesis lab, we will witness the effects of light and air on plant mass. We will model plate tectonics during our studies of the Earth’s system. We will experiment with fermentation while studying cellular respiration and build a model to learn about erosion.

Each trimester, our class will work on a group project to help solidify what was learned while fine tuning our collaboration skills.

All materials will be provided for this class, including access to electronic texts, workbooks, and lab equipment. Students must have access to a computer and the internet at home for homework and projects.

Prerequisite:

Students should be able to write at least a 5 paragraph essay and read at a 6th grade level.

NGSS Standards Covered:

This one year course will cover NGSS MS-LS 1-4

Fall

Unit 1: 5 weeks - Scientific Method and How to Write a Lab Report

Lab: All about Microscopes and How to Properly Use them

Unit 2: 6 weeks - Cell Structures and Function

Lab: Identifying Cells Under Microscopes

Winter

Unit 3: 5 weeks - Cellular Respiration and Photosynthesis

Lab: Modeling Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration

Unit 4: 5 weeks - DNA

Lab: Modeling DNA

Spring

Unit 5: 5 weeks - Natural Selection and Evolution

Lab: Looking at evolutionary traits

Unit 6: 4 weeks - Ecology

Lab: Ecosystems Food Webs

Priscilla Lundgrin: barefootpris@gmail.com