Units we will be studying this year:
Plate Tectonics
During this interdisciplinary unit, students will learn about how the Earth’s
crust is made up of plates that are slowly moving and causing a number of
phenomena such as faulting, earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain-building and sea-
floor spreading. Students will identify and describe the layers of the Earth,
define and support the theory of Plate Tectonics, and create team
presentations and working models to demonstrate their learning.
Environmental Detectives
Working as environmental detectives, students will explore a range of crucial
ecological issues as they investigate and solve a "crime": a mysterious
environmental calamity in which fish die off over a five-year period.
Potential causes of the fish deaths include chlorine pollution, acid rain,
erosion and sediment pollution, predator-prey relationships, phosphate runoff
causing algal blooms, and oil pollution. In this real-world learning
scenario, students become aware of the interconnectedness of the natural
world and the complexity of many environmental problems.
Note: The November 6th “Water Rocks” field trip to Georgetown’s Inner Space
Cavern (exploring physical properties of the Earth’s crust) and the Brazos
River country Exhibit at the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco (exploring wetland
ecosystems and environmental conservation) will provide experiential learning
that supports both the Plate Tectonics and Environmental Detectives units.
Bridges
"To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology
are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and
technology heroes." Dean Kamen, Founder, Milikin Community High School
The goal of this unit is to enable students to experience the excitement of
contemporary science and technology and better understand what engineering
means. Students will: learn how bridge building has changed throughout
history and why bridges are important economically and socially; research and
compare famous bridges; and construct the seven the types of bridges
(suspension, arch, girder, truss, cantilever, cable-stayed and moveable). The
academic areas related to bridge building include physics and engineering,
math, writing and research and observation skills.
Global Reporters: Get It!
This unit—integrating economics, geography, history, language arts and
science—engages students as investigative journalists to research and write
about issues surrounding consumer choices and international trade. Students
will learn about and be encouraged to take actions to support worldwide
sustainable environmental and economic solutions. The Get It! Curriculum,
developed jointly by Heifer International and the Center for Teaching
International Relations at the University of Denver, emphasizes reading
comprehension, writing for a particular audience, higher-level thinking, and
research strategies.
