Environmental Science Honors (E.S.H) is an additional set of assignments in addition to the general Environmental Science course. It is intended to expand and broaden your experience and expose you to a greater variety of material in the subject. It is graded on a 5 point scale, so an A in Honors is worth more than an A in the general course.
E.S.H is self directed and will require significant planning and communication on your part. You will select assignments and complete them on your own schedule. A selection of ideas is listed below. Generally, you may not earn more than 4 points from a single assignment/type of assignment. You need 10 points for full credit in the course.
Before starting an assignment you must fill out an Honors Points Proposal and get it signed by your teacher, otherwise it is not worth points. At the end of the semester your grade will be adjusted based on total Honors Points. With 10 of 10 points your grade will remain the same. For every missing Honors Point your grade will drop by 5%
To join Honors, earn at least 1 point by the end of the 3rd week of school.
Attend Biology or Env. Science College level lectures (virtually or in-person): Students may request to audit a Biology or Environmental Science (or really any college level science course). Students may NOT miss HTH school to attend lectures.
Independent project: Petition an independent project to be conducted (and documented with dated photographs) over 6 weeks during the semester. These projects must be developed outside of school and on your own time (examples from previous years have included starting a family garden, building catchment barrels for rain-water, etc.).
Volunteering with Natural or Scientific Organization: Students can volunteer with an Environmental/Biological company or organization. Please check with Phil first before to verify that the organization is approved.
Independent Reading: Students can meet with Phil and decide on a book that they can read. Books should be scientific in nature. Honors points may vary depending on the book being read.
Master AP Environmental Science Khan Academy Course: You may earn points for mastering certain amounts of the course. Use this link: https://www.khanacademy.org/join/WZZP3H4G
Hiking Trails or Snorkeling: Students can visit and hike at trails and natural spaces around San Diego (or outside of our region).
Educational Documentaries and Podcasts: Similar to books, students can petition alternate documentaries/podcast - Movie examples might include: My Octopus Teacher, Biggest Little Farm, Kiss the Ground, The Social Dilemma - Podcast examples might be: Rick Ridgeway: Wild Life (Water People), Watershed Chats: Restoring Biodiversity via Practical Community Conservation Strategies (Water People).
For digital portfolio posts, push your thinking by using these question stems. Try and use questions each of the sections!