The problem of using a state adopted textbook written to apply to a large body of students with varying interests and needs was overcome by using a detailed syllabus that arranged course content in a meaningful sequence that appealed to student interest. The outlined syllabus prepared a two semester life science curriculum to be used by the teacher to guide lesson planning. Both semesters were divided into three units each. Materials included in the syllabus were given to actual student groups in real classroom settings. Since hands on learning was an important part of classroom instruction, two laboratory sections were included in the appendices to be used with the syllabus.

Federal regulations such as the Clean Water Act (P.L. 92-500), and its amendments, direct the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) to implement programs to control the releases of conventional pollutants and toxics into the waterways of the United States. The EPA began requiring treatment plants to conduct toxicity tests (biomonitoring) of their effluent discharges. To control toxicity caused by chlorination of wastewater discharges, the EPA also began requiring some treatment facilities to dechlorinate their wastewater before discharging. This research was funded by the EPA to document the changes that occurred in the Trinity River from the dechlorination of the effluent from Ft. Worth's Village Creek municipal wastewater treatment plant. The study occurred over a two year period beginning in August 1990. A wide variety of biological field assessments and toxicological assays were used to measure various responses. Seven river stations, covering approximately twenty river miles, and the treatment plant effluent were assessed. Two of the river stations were upstream from the treatment plant and used as reference sites. The remaining five river stations were downstream from the treatment plant, spread out over seventeen river miles. The study evaluated the impact of chlorination prior to dechlorination, which served as a baseline. Responses …