Biology: A Community Context Student Edition [Hardcover]

McGraw-Hill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0078306949 | ISBN-13: 978-0078306945 | Edition: 1

An inquiry-based biology curriculum that engages every student!

Biology: A Community Context is an inquiry-based curriculum for high school general biology classes. It was developed by a team of scientists, science educators, and high school teachers coordinated by the Project Directors, Dr. William H. Leonard, and Dr. John E. Penick, and the Project Manager, Dr. Barbara J. Speziale, under a grant from the National Science Foundation. The materials in the curriculum align with the National Science Education Standards developed by the National Research Council and Benchmarks for Science Literacy (developed by Project 2061 of the AAAS)..

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0078306949
• ISBN-13: 978-0078306945
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 1 x 10.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,495,983 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars socially conscious and politically correct, but not hard science January 11, 2007

By Richard E. Wynn

This is not a biology book; it is an exercise in consciousness-raising, written to accompany a series of videos. Each section opens with instructions such as "while you watch the video, note ..." The first section is ostensibly "Matter & Energy" but the opening topic is "The Biology of Trash" & the first video is the saga of the garbage barge Mobro. The text reads, "You may be asking, 'Why should I study garbage? The answer is simple: because gargabe is part of biology." Page 28 contains an overt anti-smoking message. Section 2 is about industrial pollution; section 3's video is based on a film by the Zero Population Growth organization. Many people oppose overflowing garbage, smoking, pollution, and overpopulation, but these are social concerns, NOT biological science. The videos were not available for viewing, but if their content can be inferred from the text, the book has a political subtext. The section 6 video deals with the case of a murderer whose defense was that he had been exposed to toxic insecticides. (I looked up the case on the internet.) The jury didn't buy it, but this text SEEMS to be sympathetic to that defense. Section 7 deals with "biodiversity." The accompanying question, on page 427 is "How did the video increase your appreciation of the need to maintain and respect diversity among humans?" Section 8 lauds teh Earth Summit and the UN Environment Program and asks the question, "What right do we have to develop, or even explore, the planets?" (page 497) I compared this book to two other biology textbooks. They both emphasized such things as cell structure, chemistry, and the classification of plants and animals. This book is one of a series of colorfully illustrated texts from the same publisher, all of which emphasize "issues," giving the impression that such concerns are more important than factual knowledge. Apparently, a great many people agree. A reviewer of the paperback edition of this book gave it a 5-star rating for exactly that reason! I do not know if the paperback edition requires the videos, but this edition is not a self-contained text, as a good textbook ought to be. I give it a 3-star rating ONLY because it DOES contain a minimum of the basics of biological science, and a good teacher can emphasize this if he or she so chooses. However, I would not select this text for any serious academic study. It is very poor preparation for a college course in biology.

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best biology books I have had to read. August 16, 2009

By Racing2win

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One of the best biology books I have ever read...Made me be interested in biology again. Very interesting the way they approached subjects in biology.