About the Marine Biology Online Course

Dive in deep! In Marine Biology, we explore a fascinating subject in some depth, and the student has a chance to fall in love with the oceans God has created. We learn about the crucial role they play in sustaining life on our planet and begin to understand the intricate relationships involved. Everywhere we look we see the Creator’s fingerprints: marine wildlife and habitats, marine creature anatomy, microscopic organisms, intertidal zones, coral reefs, deep ocean communities, etc.

Students will turn in a minimum of seven full lab reports as assignments on labs chosen by the teacher — some labs will be done at home with teacher direction. Other labs will be done virtually — students will have required lab reports on these labs also.

Importance will be placed on students understanding scientific inquiry, the scientific method, and the resulting science lab reports. The lab reports required cement the applied learning and help the students own and understand the material, as well as undergird the rigor of the teaching that illustrates achievement for college transcript material. The teaching will move beyond the textbook to video observations of undersea life, live camera feeds, independent research on various elements of Marine Biology, a semester project (video or alternative), and more.

Grade Levels

10-12

Marine Biology Course Prerequisites:

High school Biology is required to take this class.

Course Materials:

1. Apologia Exploring Creation with Marine Biology (2nd edition), ISBN 978-1-940110-95-0

Not required: Student Lab Book/Workbook, Instructional DVD, tests, solutions manual, slides, dissection kit

2. ‘Marine Biology Coloring Book’ by Thomas Niesen

ISBN-10: 006273718X
ISBN-13: 978-0062737182

3. Composition Book to use for a Lab Journal. This should have graph paper instead of lined paper, and can generally be found at WalMart or similar stores for about $1.00.

4. SOME lab kit materials (list accessible to registered students)

5. Students will need a headset microphone.

Marine Biology Course Outline:

• Oceans of Our Planet
• Life in the Sea
• The First Four Kingdoms
• Marine Invertebrates 1
• Marine Invertebrates 2
• Marine Vertebrates 1
• Marine Vertebrates 2
• Marine Ecology
• The Intertidal Zone
• Estuary Communities
• Coral Reefs
• Continental Shelf Communities
• The Epipelagic Zone
• The Deep Ocean
• Ocean Resources
• Effects of Humans on the Sea

Testimonials:

“Dear Mrs. Mcllvaine, THANK YOU!!!! Jaden has thoroughly enjoyed your class and has learned a lot but most importantly to us as a family, is the love of learning he’s had while in your class. THANK YOU for the life lessons he’s learned while being in your class as well. He’s learned how to be responsible and truly cares about turning in his assignments and the grades he’s received. We’ve seen him mature in this last semester with you. Praise God for you desire to teach the next generation about His truths and sovereignty over ALL. We will be signing him up for next semester as well. (His request)”

“I am so thankful to have found you as a teacher for Marine Biology for my son this year. He was fairly sure that he wanted to pursue a degree in Marine Biology, so we wanted him to take a class to ensure that that was the correct direction for him. He has really enjoyed your class and has worked hard. It confirmed that he really would like to pursue this field.”

Meet the Teacher

Marji McIlvaine

Marine Biology, Young Scientist Marine Science

Marji McIlvaine (and her husband Rick) homeschooled their six children from K-12, even though she was just going to “try it for one year” with her first five-year-old. The children are all graduated and several are college graduates (2 Magna Cum Laude, 1 Summa Cum Laude). Some of the children are in college now, and some are in the work force, each one walking a God-directed pathway. [...]