Welcome to 7th and 8th Grade Science with Mrs. Harris

Welcome to your  7th and 8th Grade Science class at Tenino Middle School! Science is a fun and exciting content area and I hope that you will enjoy your year with me.  I have many hands on lab investigations planned for you that I think you will find interesting and engaging. I look forward to working with you this year and watching your Scientific skills and knowledge grow. 

Required Materials

The following items need to be brought to class each day.

·         Composition Notebook – you will need TWO of these, one for the fall and one for the spring.
·         Additional notebook/paper for notes, homework assignments.
·         Pencils – ALL work will be done in pencil in this class.
·         Calculator
·         Ruler
·         Colored Pencils
·         Closed toed shoes  - We will be doing a lot of hands on experiments and for your safety your toes must be covered.

Lab Safety Contract

Mrs. Harris Student Laboratory Safety Contract Conduct yourself in a responsible manner at all times in the laboratory.  HORSEPLAY, PRACTICAL JOKES, AND PRANKS ARE DANGEROUS AND PROHIBITED Follow all written and verbal instructions carefully.  If you do not understand a direction or part of a procedure, ASK YOUR TEACHER BEFORE PROCEEDING   WITH THE ACTIVITY. When entering the science classroom, do not touch any equipment, chemicals, or other materials in the laboratory area until you are instructed to do so. Perform only those experiments authorized by your teacher.  Carefully follow all instructions, both written and oral.  Unauthorized experiments are not allowed. DO NOT EAT FOOD, DRINK BEVERAGES OR CHEW GUM in the laboratory, this is for your safety. Keep hands away from face, eyes, mouth, and body while using chemicals or lab equipment.  Wash your hands with soap and water after performing all experiments. Observe good housekeeping practices.  Work areas should be kept clean and tidy at all times.  Labels and equipment instructions must be read carefully before use.  Set up and use the equipment as directed by your teacher. Experiments must be personally monitored at all times.  Do not wander around the room, distract other students, startle other students or interfere with the laboratory experiments of others.

I, __________________________________ (student's name) have read and agree to
follow all of the safety rules set forth in this contract.  I realize that I must obey these
rules to insure my own safety, and that of my fellow students and teachers. I am aware
that any violation of this safety contract that results in unsafe conduct in the
laboratory or misbehavior on my part, may result in my being removed from the
lab classroom, detention, having to redo a lab on your own time, and/or further
disciplinary action.  

Student signature: ______________________________________  Date:_____________

Parent/Guardians:  I have read, understood and support the classroom safety contract.

Parent signature:________________________________________ Date:_____________

(modified from http://educatoral.com/Lab_Safety_Contract.htm)

7th Grade Course Content

Course Content 2013-2014

In the fall students will learn about the Diversity of Life.  The Diversity of Life unit emphasizes the use of knowledge and evidence to construct explanations for the structures and functions of living organisms. Students will observe and maintain protists, plants, and animals in the classroom and study their characteristic features. The study progresses from macroscopic to microscopic observations to discover the fundamental unit of life, the cell. Students will then investigate organism subsystems and behaviors and consider their diversity of adaptive structures and strategies. The unit is broken down into 10 investigations.

Investigation 1: What is life?

Investigation 2: Introduction to the Microscope
Investigation 3: Microscopic Life
Investigation 4: Cells
Investigation 5: Seeds of Life
Investigation 6: Transpiration
Investigation 7: Plant Reproduction
Investigation 8: Snails
Investigation 9: Roaches
Investigation 10: Kingdoms of Life

Students in the spring will learn about Forces and Motion.  This unit investigates linear motion, including position and several aspects of change of position—distance, displacement, speed, velocity, and acceleration. They will also investigate the fundamental forces in familiar environments, such as pushes, pulls, impacts, and falls.   Students will conduct investigations of opposing forces and additive forces to help them develop the idea that a net force on an object produces motion. The unit is broken down into the following investigations.

Investigation 1: From Here to There

Investigation 2: Speed
Investigation 3: Comparing Speeds
Investigation 4: Representing Motion
Investigation 5: Acceleration
Investigation 6: Force
Investigation 7: Gravity
Investigation 8: Momentum

 Throughout both semesters students will also learn about the scientific method and will be able to write hypotheses and procedures, plan and conduct scientific experiments, record and analyze experimental data and draw solid conclusions based upon the scientific data obtained.

http://www.fossweb.com/

8th Grade Course Content

Course Content 2013-2014

In the fall students will learn about the Populations and Ecosystems.  This unit explores ecosystems as the largest organizational unit of life on Earth, defined by its physical environment and the organisms that live within it. Students will learn that every organism has a role to play in its ecosystem and has structures and behaviors that allow it to survive. Students will raise populations of organisms to discover population dynamics and interactions over a range of conditions. They will also learn about reproduction, including limiting factors, heredity and natural selection as ways to understand both the similarity and the variation within and between species. The unit is broken down into 10 investigations.

Investigation 1: Milkweed Bugs
Investigation 2: Sorting Out Life
Investigation 3: Miniecosystems
Investigation 4: Mono Lake
Investigation 5: Finding the Energy
Investigation 6: Population Size
Investigation 7: Ecoscenarios
Investigation 8: Adaptations
Investigation 9: Genetic Variation
Investigation 10: Natural Selection

Students in the spring will learn about Catastrophic Events.  Each lesson in this unit builds on skills and concepts presented in previous lessons. As students’ progress through the module, they take greater responsibility for their own learning, eventually planning and conducting their own procedures, devising their own data tables, and analyzing the results they obtain.   The Catastrophic Events unit is organized into three parts:

1. Storms

2. Earthquakes
3. Volcanoes.

Throughout both semesters students will also learn about the scientific method and will be able to write hypotheses and procedures, plan and conduct scientific experiments, record and analyze experimental data and draw solid conclusions based upon the scientific data obtained.

http://www.fossweb.com/
http://www.carolinacurriculum.com/STC/Middle+School/Catastrophic+Events/index.asp