Month

Content

Skills for Student Achievement

Assessment

Performance Standards Addressed

Essential Questions

Week/

Month

Content

Skills for Student Achievement

Assessment

Performance Standards Addressed

Essential Questions

Weeks

1 and 2

·         Earth science overview

·         Science skills

·         Safety in the science lab

·         The scientific method

·         Measurement

·         Density

·         Identify and describe each of the four areas of earth science

·         Practice the science skills of observation, measuring, classifying, predicting, and modeling.

·         Recognize the lab safety rules and why they are needed.

·         Use the scientific method to solve a problem.

·         Use metric system to measure length, mass, volume, and density.

·         Project  – “The four areas of earth science.”

·         Lab/Activity Report – Skills of a scientist

·         Lab/Activity; measurement practice (use of balance, graduated cylinder, meter sticks)

·         Lab – Making sense out of pennies (write up includes background information, problem, procedure, data and result statement.

·         Class participation, assignment

·         Assignments

·         Test

·         Journal Entries

·          

·          

Weeks 4-6

·         THE HYDROSPHERE

·         Water Cycle

·         Groundwater

·         Oceans and Topography of ocean floor

·         Waves and Currents

·         Life of the Ocean

·         Identify the parts of the water cycle

·         Recognize parts of the groundwater system

·         Demonstrate that surface water and groundwater are connected

·         Recognize the large amount of water that there is on earth and how the oceans are arranged

·         Construct a model of the ocean floor (continental slope, shelf, abyssal plain, etc…_)

·         Label the parts of a wave

·         Predict the importance of ocean currents in the fisheries industry.

·         Classify organisms by life zone.

·         Lab Report – Permeability and Porosity of Soil Types

·         Lab Report/Graph – Mapping the Depths

·         Lab Summary – Density Layers

·         Assignments

·         Test/Quizzes

·         Journal Entries

·         Research questions; ElNino and LaNina.  Graph fish catches compare to ElNino years.

·          

·          

Weeks 7-9

·         THE ATMOSPHERE

·         Composition

·         Layers

·         Heat transfer

·         Pressure and Winds

·         Humidity

·         Clouds

·         Precipitation

·         Severe weather

·         Climate factors, zones, and the effect on soil and organisms.

·          

·         Identify what air is made of and what the three main atmosphere layers are.

·         Explore the three methods of heat transfer.

·         Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between pressure and area.

·         Recognize that H and L pressure systems create winds.

·         Measure relative humidity and compare different areas of the school (use of psychrometer)

·         Diagram the three main cloud types.

·         Determine precipitation type based on atmospheric conditions.

·         Discuss fronts and air masses.

·         Graph historical climate data for Canby

·         Recognize the main climate factors, how they are determined by location, and how climate effects soil type, plants, and animals.

·         Poster – layers of the atmosphere

·         Lab summary – oxygen calculation

·         Lab report – There is pressure underfoot.

·         Internet activity/assigment – Wind prediction.

·         Lab Report – Which area of the school is most humid?

·         Lab Report – Is bounty really best (saturation)? also, advertisement for one brand of paper towel, citing laboratory evidence…

·         Journal – Draw three cloud types.

·         Assignments/Test

·         State project – given one state in the US, produce a visual product which shows/describes the following; climate regions, soil types, flora, fauna.

·         Assignments – Canby Climate including graphing of temp and precip averages.

·         Assignments

·         Journal

·         Tests/Quizzes

·          

·          

Week 10

·         NATURAL RESOURCES

·         Types

·         Pollution

·         Conservation

·         Types of energy and energy conversion

·         Identify renewable vs. non-renewable, biodegradable vs. nonbiodegradable resources

·         Define the major methods of water purification.

·         Recognize methods of conservation in our area

·         Recognize difference between KE and PE

·         Assignments

·         Add one panel to the state project; natural resources.

·         Research questions – conservation programs in Minnesota..

·         Journal Entries

·         Test/Quizzes

·         Lab summary – KE à PE conversion (balls lab).

·          

·          

Weeks 11-15

·         ASTRONOMY

·         Space exploration

·         Distance measuring in space

·         Our solar system

·         Earth seasons, day length

·         Moon

·         Eclipses

·         Tides

·         Our sun

·         Star characteristics

·          

·         Constellations

·         Galaxies

·         Compare types of telescopes

·         Research and report on one event in the history of space exploration – construct timeline as a class.

·         Construct simple balloon rockets, relate to forces experienced by rockets.

·         Measure and draw an accurate scale model of solar system.

·         Collect data about one planet, select information pertinent to human visitors, design a space suit for that planet.

·         Make a brochure or poster which defends one planet as the best to visit.

·         Identify/compare other objects in our solar system; meteoroids, comets, asteroids.

·         Recognize the difference between circles and ellipses; identify aphelion and perihelion positions of orbit.

·         Identify moon phases

·         List the three types of landforms on the moon (maria, highlands, craters)

·         Make drawings/compare solar and lunar eclipses. 

·         Graph real tide data

·         Recognize that the sun is the source of nearly all energy on earth

·         Describe sunspots, prominences, solar flares, and solar wind.  Relate them to events on earth (auroras, radio reception.)

·         Compare the magnitude of stars, moon, sun.

·         Use the H-R Diagram as a tool for estimating temperature based on color of stars.

·         Choose a constellation, research it’s history.

·         Recognize the types of galaxies

·         Notes on types of telescopes, include drawings.

·         Typed report about one event in the history of space exploration.

·         Lab Summary – Balloon Rockets

·         Paper scale model of solar system (planet positions)

·         Group presentation (fashion show) with narrative that describes 5 design elements required to visit one planet.

·         Travel poster or brochure about one planet – include accurate information about other planets.

·         Poster – Ellipse vs circle, orbit positions identified.

·         Teacher directed notes/coloring pages about moon phases and eclipses.

·         Class participation in marshmallow eclipses activity.

·         Graphing activity – tide data.

·         Class discussion notes.

·         Assignments

·         Journal entries

·         Test/quizzes

·          

·          

Weeks 16-18

·         GEOLOGY

·         Earth’s internal structure.

·         Maps

·         Topography

·         Chemistry of earthen materials

·         Minerals

·         Rocks

·         Weathering

·         Erosion

·         Mountains

·         Volcanoes

·         Earthquakes

·         Plate tectonics

·         Geologic Time

·          

·         Make accurate scale model of the earth’s interior

·         Measure and construct maps

·         List the three major topographical land areas.

·         Make a topographic map.

·         Use/interpret topographic maps.

·         Abbreviate elements using symbols

·         Recognize mineral compositions based on formulas

·         Classify materials as minerals or not, based on the five characteristics of minerals.

·         Use field hardness scale

·         Identify 12 common minerals.

·         Define the 3 types of rocks.

·         Identify rocks commonly found in this area

·         Poster of the earth’s interior (made with partner)

·         Map of the science room, complete with scale, compass rose.

·         Map of  central park; individuals make sections, groups combine data to make accurate maps.

·         Use contour model to make a topographic map.

·         Assignment – topographic map use/interpretations.

·         Lab assignment; identifying minerals based on identification characteristics.

·         Lab assignment – use flow chart to correctly identify common rocks.

·         Lab summary – exfoliation (temp change erosion of marble)

·         discussion notes

·         drawings of 3 types of volcanoes

·         assignments

·         journal entries

·         test

·          

·          

·         Recognize the main 2 types of weathering; chemical and mechanical.

·         Identify the agents of erosion

·         identify the 3 types of volcanoes, discuss magma types

·         Make fossil models  of plaster

Month

Content

Skills for Student Achievement

Assessment

Performance Standards Addressed

Essential Questions

Month

Content

Skills for Student Achievement

Assessment

Performance Standards Addressed

Essential Questions