| Course Description:
The seventh grade Earth Science course covers a broad range of topics
including astronomy, geology, and meteorology. In order to fully understand
and appreciate these topics, we will explore concepts that students can
observe first-hand, such as phases of the moon, clouds and precipitation,
tides, and rock formations.
The class will focus on how Earth systems have and continue to shape the
world around us. In the beginning, we “travel” outside of the Earth so that
we can study the history of earth and how it interacts with other bodies in
our Solar System. As the year progresses, students learn how the land is
shaped by forces such as water, weather, and plate tectonics.
The class will require written work in the form of homework, reports,
research papers, sensory descriptions of concepts covered, and short answer
responses on quizzes and tests. Students are encourage to also use
illustrations in their work. Students will also be asked to complete a
Science Bazaar Project during the second trimester.
Teaching Methods:
The exploration of the Earth will take the form of hands-on
activities, laboratory experiments, class discussions, and a three-day
camping trip in May to the Shenandoah Mountains. For example, in an average
week in this class, students would do a reading assignment from the textbook
for homework, discuss important concepts in a class discussion, listen to
some teacher lecture and take notes from computer generated slides, the
chalkboard, white board, or smart board, complete an activity on the web,
and build a model or conduct an experiment outside during class time. A
significant portion of the second trimester will be spent researching and
writing a Science Bazaar paper, and then creating and presenting a project
for the school-wide Science Bazaar event.
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