Middle School Science

Instructor: Mr. Paul Collins

Assignment Calendar

Course Description

8th Homeroom- High School Prep:

Each quarter focuses on a different aspect/characteristic of skills needed to be successful in high school and college/career readiness.

Quarter 1- Science and Service: quarter-long extended science experiments or a service project. Students self-select to conduct these individually or in small groups.

Quarter 2- "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens" Literature Study. Small group reading and discussion on the habits needed to be a highly effective teen.

Quarter 3- Healthy Habits and Hobbies: using the knowledge gained from the literature study, students use homeroom time to improve their skills (ie typing) or to practice/develop a new skill (drawing, cellphone photography, embroidery, etc).

Quarter 4- Career Explorations: working with the counselor, students use Myers-Briggs personality profiles as the basis to explore potential careers. Students prepare and present a "Career Expo" to two classes they invite.

Middle School Science:

What makes my classes different from other middle school science teachers: I use a 3-year spiraling curriculum that allows opportunities to revisit and deepen understandings of previous science content. All three grades study the big three Science Disciplines (Earth, Life, Physical) each year and this gives them opportunities to increase both the breadth and depth of what they are learning!

The curriculum pulls from multiple sources, each of which is student-centered and highly hands-on. FOSS Kits, Science Labs, Document Based Inquiries, and Text-Dependent Study Guides are woven tightly together to create a learning environment that fosters growth, scaffolds support, and is fully Literacy and Science standard-aligned.

The following units are taught over the course of the year:

6th	7th	8th
Quarter 1	Quarter 1	Quarter 1
Earth Science	Earth Science	Earth Science
What is Science?	Science as Inquiry- Meteorites and Outer Space	Crystals & Minerals and Rock Cycle Review
Earth’s Forces and Plate Tectonics	The Atmosphere	Observing the Solar System and Planetary Geology
Oceans, Water, and Weather	Oxygen, Nitrogen, & Carbon Cycles and Fossils/Fuels	Stars and Galaxies and Microgravity
Quarter 2	Quarter 2	Quarter 2
Earth Science	Physical Science	Life Science
Rocks and Earth Cycles	Mixtures and Solutions FOSS Kit	What is Biology & Taxonomy
Astronomy and Solar System, Moon Phases	Atoms & Periodic Table- Minerals & Metals, Electricity	Biodiversity and Biomes
Human Impact on Earth	Chemical and Physical Changes	Ecosystems & Ecology and Environmental Issues
Quarter 3	Quarter 3	Quarter 3
Physical	Life	Physical
Electricity and Magnetism FOSS Kit	What is Life- Protists, Bacteria, Fungi	Acids, Bases, Salts
Levers and Pulleys FOSS Kit	Obtaining Energy- Animals & Plants	Wave Energy, Sound and Light
Thermodynamics and “Warm the Water”	Heredity & Genetics	Velocity, Acceleration, and Newton’s Laws
Quarter 4	Quarter 4	Quarter 4
Life	Life	Physical
Living Things- Cells & Life Cycles	Steelhead Fish	Nuclear Energy and Power
Kingdoms of Life- Animals	Natural Selection & Evolution	Work, Power, and Machines
Conserving Resources	Ecology- Environments and Invasive Species	Solar Power

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