Essential questions:
What does it mean to be living?
How is your body organized?
How do the parts of a body work together to carry out the function of the different organ systems?
How does your body change during puberty?
The year begins with the question What does it mean to be a scientist?
To answer this question, students learn about metric measurement as
well as key scientific instruments, and tools. In a project that
integrates math and science, they participate in Metric Olympics, a game
and number-based group competition.
The universe is the next topic, an exploration guided by the question Where are we in the universe?
Students learn about the parts of the universe and how the universe was
created. As they ponder their place in our universe, the next big
question is What type of galaxy do we live in?
Students study types of galaxies and learn about our solar system,
including a research project on the planet of their choice. A focus is
placed on what makes Earth so unique in terms of being able to support
life.
Our neighborhood is the next area of inquiry as students find the answer to such questions as Why is Park Slope sloped?,
studying the geology of our area and what it tells us of our recent
past. As part of this unit, students learn how to both read and make
topographical maps.
The year concludes with a study of the human body, particularly the body systems and a study of puberty.
As we experience and examine seasonal changes, sixth grade science students ponder the following essential questions:
• What causes seasons?
• What changes take place in trees during the fall?
• What kinds of changes does water go through in the winter?
• How can humans change water’s properties to deal with the hazards water can present in winter months?
• What are the different ways living things reproduce, develop, and grow?
Each
season, students create a seasons journal based on independent
activities that allow students students to head outside and experience
the changing of the seasons first-hand, collecting data, making
observations, researching, performing experiments at home, and using
interactive websites to deepen their understanding of the changes they
see around them.
The
first unit of the year explores why we have seasons. Students learn
about the rotation and revolution of the Earth. They look at pictures of
the sun taken from Earth at different times of the year and study
graphs of average temperatures around the globe in order to confront the
age-old misconception that seasons have to do with Earth's distance
from the sun. Finally, they examine how the tilt of the Earth affects
light intensity and causes seasons.
In
the fall, the focus is trees. We study the six kingdoms of living
things and learn how trees fit into this structure. Next, students
become familiar with the parts of trees and discover what rings can tell
us about the life of a tree (much more than age!), types of root
systems, and types of leaves. Photosynthesis, its process and
importance, is studied and acted out. Students learn how to read and
make dichotomous keys. The unit culminates in the students heading out
into our neighborhood to identify and create dichotomous keys for the
trees nearby. Parents join our newly-minted tree experts in a walk to
learn about the trees in our area.
The
winter unit focuses on water. The unit begins with a social justice
perspective, examining the importance of water to life on Earth and why
water is the number one 21st century global issue. Next, students study
the composition of water, its unique properties, states of matter, and
phase changes. The unit culminates in students designing an experiment
to discover the impact that different salts have on the freezing
point/melting of ice. At the end of this unit, students write their
first lab report, exploring why and how scientists present data.
The
theme of the spring unit is plant and animal reproduction. Each student
is assigned an organism for which they use computer programming
language to animate the reproduction of their organism. At the end of
the year, a human reproduction unit picks up where the fifth grade
puberty unit left off.
Science Buddies:
Since the sixth and first grade science curriculum explore similar
themes, each of our sixth graders is paired with a first grade science
buddy. Throughout the year, the buddy pairs join up to learn science
together through interactive games and activities, allowing sixth
graders to become mentors and teachers to their younger schoolmates. As we ponder our place in the universe, seventh graders explore the following questions:
• What is cosmology?
• How was our universe created?
• How was energy created?
• How did energy create matter?
• What are elements and how are they organized?
• How are elements created?
• How did your solar system form?
• How has life developed?
This course follows a narrative approach inspired by Bill Bryson’s book A Short History of Nearly Everything.
Students learn about the big bang and the evidence for it. They
explore e=mc2 in order to understand how the initial energy present in
the beginning of the universe could become matter. Students study the
different types of energy, learn how to identify them, and conduct an
original experiment connected to one of these forms of energy, gaining
additional experience with the lab report format. And, then they learn
how these fundamental particles of matter eventually formed simple
atoms, which became larger atoms through the life cycle of stars.
The
periodic table is the next focus with each student researching an
element. The end product is The Living Periodic Table, displayed
annually for the whole school.
Next,
we focus on Earth and how our planet has changed in the last several
billion years to become what it is today. Students consider how life
formed on our planet and evolved from our first single-celled ancestors
through the process of natural selection and evolution. To study the
transfer of genes from one generation to the next, students grow Fast
Plants, cross them, and grow the resulting seeds.
In
seventh grade, a special project is to choose, read, and blog about a
science themed book, either fiction or non-fiction as a way of
introducing students to the genre of science writing and to add to their
understanding of how science lives outside the classroom.
The
eighth grade science course is structured around three case studies
which explore the theme of balance and the following essential
questions:
• How do living and nonliving things create balance?
• How does something that is out of balance regain balance?
• Why is balance important?
The
first case study on population dynamics prepares students for their
week-long trip to the Teton Wilderness area in Wyoming. Working in
partners, students develop an original question about the impact a
particular changes will have on a community of protozoans. Using
population sampling techniques, they estimate the the total number of
individuals in a population and see how these numbers change over time
as a result of the variation that they have decided to explore.
The
Teton trip provides students with unique field learning opportunities.
Over the course of the week in Wyoming, they explore interactions
occurring in sagebrush and aspen stand ecosystems. They conduct citizen
science by collecting data on the pika, a climate sensitive mammal, and
carry out a stewardship project, as a way to give back to this
extraordinary national park. Highlights of the week include elk bugling
and a night hike.
In
the second case study of the year, students look at how humans impact
other living things and the process of climate change: the natural
process and our influence on climate. As a final project, students
select and research a change that is currently occurring in the Greater
Yellowstone Ecosystem as a result of climate change, presenting their
findings via an original podcast.
The
third case study is all about motion. Students study Newton's Three
Laws using carts, weights, frictionless tracks and PASCO probeware to
collect data and test these laws. A balloon car competition at the end
of the unit allows students to build their own vehicle and apply what
they have learned about motion.
The
last case study focuses on chemical reactions. Students continue with
their study of the Periodic Table from seventh grade and learn why and
how elements bond. By conducting a series of chemical reactions,
students learn how to identify when chemical change takes place and how
to describe reactions using chemical equations. The end project is an
Atomic Dating Game Show performance followed by the Science Oscar
Awards.
The
capstone experience of eighth grade science is the annual Science Fair.
Each student selects a science topic that allows them to explore their
interests and scientific passions. Guided by a science fair advisor,
they research the topic and create a question, conduct an experiment,
analyze the data, and reach a conclusion. Their findings are shared
with the larger community at a school wide event.
Balloon-powered cars
Solar system project and videos
8th grade science podcasts