Extra Credit Opportunities

Rationale for Extra Credit

Life happens. I understand that there are many demands placed on students these days - family expectations, academic responsibilities, work schedules, extracurricular commitments - that might make getting every homework assignment turned in on time tough. I do not accept late work for a number of reasons, the most important being that I want to provide feedback to my students in a timely manner. If I accepted work until the end of the semester, I would have to hold all graded work that was turned in on time until the end of the semester as well. That would just be ridiculous. Therefore I provide extra credit opportunities each semester that enables students to make up for two to three missed homework assignments or recover some points from assignments not fully completed.

Rules for Extra Credit

• Students may complete ONE (1) of the following options per semester.
• Students are to work on projects individually. If they want to travel together for the scavenger hunt or watch movies together, that's fine but each student must turn in his/her own scrapbook with pictures of himself/herself and answer the movie questions individually.
• Extra credit points will be awarded in either the homework or lab categories. The only way to earn points in the test category is by retaking the multiple choice tests.
• Projects are due by 11:59pm on Tuesday the week before finals. There is NO late date for 10% off with extra credit.
• If you have any questions, come talk to me or email me prior to the night before it is due. I will not help you if you have waited until the last minute to throw together a haphazard project.

Extra Credit Projects

• Go on a scavenger hunt: You can explore nature and the greater Portland area while collecting points for AP Biology. Each item on the list counts as one point. In order to earn those points, you need to take a picture of yourself with the item. You then need to present those pictures in either a PowerPoint presentation or a scrapbook. Each photo needs a caption that contains the title of the item pictured and the location where the photograph was taken. You should pay attention to everything on the same page as the list of items, except for the list of places to visit. That list is for the Seattle/Puget Sound area. I don't expect you to go there. You can check out these places, which are closer to home.
  • Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
  • Oregon Zoo
  • Portland Rose Test Gardens
  • Japanese Garden
  • Hoyt Arboretum
  • Clark County Parks and Recreation
  • Powell's Books
  • Portland Art Museum
  • Oregon Coast Aquarium
  • Bonneville Dam and Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center
• Read a book: You can choose a book from the list. You may read a maximum of three books each semester. You can earn up to 100 points for the first book and up to 50 points for each additional book for a maximum of 200 extra credit points. Be sure to complete EACH of the following steps to earn full credit:
  
  1. Read the book.
  2. Answer the questions on the worksheet linked to the title of the book in your own handwriting. (Answers can NOT be typed).
  3. Complete the supplemental reading verification form and have your parents sign it.
  4. Turn in completed papers by 11:59pm Tuesday before finals. I will NOT accept it on the last day of the semester.

• Watch a movie: You can watch one or two movies a semester and answer the questions linked to the movie title in essay form (typed). Each movie is worth 25 points, for the possibility of earning a total of 50 points each semester. You can rent the movies from Blockbuster, Netflix, or possibly even a local library. I also own all four movies, so you can stay after school two or three Thursdays if you can't find them any other way.
  First Semester Movies
  • Medicine Man
  • Lorenzo's Oil
  
  Second Semester Movies
  • GATTACA
  • Outbreak

Brianna Abraham
Biology teacher
Camas High School
26900 SE 15th Street
Camas, WA 98607
email: mrsabraham@hotmail.com