Curriculum Map

Biology (HS Credit)

A complete high school Biology course scaffolded for accelerated 8th graders. Covers biochemistry, cell structure, cellular processes, genetics, DNA, evolution, classification, ecology, body systems, and biotechnology. Earns 1.0 high school science credit. TEKS §112.42 aligned.

14 Units

Early Units (Foundation)

Building Skills

Advanced Concepts

Capstone/Synthesis

The Science of Life

Discover what makes something alive and how biologists investigate the natural world using the scientific method.

3-4 days

Chemistry of Life

Explore the chemical building blocks that make life possible — water, carbon, macromolecules, and the enzymes that drive biological reactions.

3-4 days

Cell Structure and Function

Investigate the organelles that power life at the microscopic scale and compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell organization.

3-4 days

Cellular Processes: Energy and Transport

Trace how cells capture, transform, and use energy through photosynthesis and cellular respiration, and how molecules move across membranes.

3-4 days

Cell Division and the Cell Cycle

Understand how cells replicate through mitosis and meiosis, and how the cell cycle is regulated to prevent cancer.

3-4 days

Mendelian Genetics

Discover how traits are inherited through generations using Mendel's laws, Punnett squares, and probability.

3-4 days

DNA and Gene Expression

Unravel the double helix — how DNA is structured, replicated, and read to produce the proteins that build and run every living cell.

3-4 days

Genetic Technology and Biotechnology

Explore the tools scientists use to read, copy, and edit DNA — from PCR and gel electrophoresis to CRISPR and GMOs — and the ethical questions they raise.

3-4 days

Evolution and Natural Selection

Examine the evidence for evolution and the mechanisms — natural selection, mutation, genetic drift — that drive life's changing diversity over time.

3-4 days

Classification and Phylogenetics

Explore how biologists organize the diversity of life using taxonomy and cladistics, and what phylogenetic trees reveal about evolutionary relationships.

3-4 days

Ecology: Populations and Ecosystems

Investigate how energy flows through ecosystems, how matter cycles through living and non-living systems, and what forces regulate population size.

3-4 days

Body Systems and Homeostasis

Examine how organ systems work together to maintain homeostasis through negative and positive feedback loops, linking cellular function to whole-body physiology.

3-4 days

Humans and the Environment

Examine humanity's impact on biodiversity and ecosystems, and evaluate evidence-based conservation strategies for protecting the living world.

3-4 days

Capstone: Research Proposal Design

Apply the scientific method by designing an original biology research proposal, peer-reviewing a classmate's design, and reflecting on a year of biological thinking.

3-4 days

Learning Progression

This course is designed to be taken sequentially. Earlier units establish foundational concepts that later units build upon. While you can explore units in any order, following the numbered sequence provides the most coherent learning experience.