8th Grade Earth and Space Science

Fall 2015-Spring 2016

Hayes Middle School, Grand Ledge, Michigan
Teacher: Miss Carly Atkinson

Email: atkinsonc@glcomets.net

Phone: (517) 925-5722

9:32-10:28

Contact Time: 3rd hour

Course Overview

This course will provide a comprehensive overview of astronomy,

meteorology, hydrology, and geology using reading/writing, inquiry and
application based lab activities, individual study, and short- and long-term
projects. This class will give students insight into the world around them, students
will be able to explain everyday, natural phenomenon, using scientific
explanations. We will use real-time data to study many of the topics covered in
this course. Using real-time data allows this class to be connected to students
everyday lives. Earth science encompasses many topics, which occur on such a
large scale that it is impossible to study them in the classroom. Technology will be
implemented in order to best model these large-scale phenomenon.
This course will have a couple main themes that will run throughout all of
the units. The first being energy and matter, after this course, students should be
able to trace all energy on Earth back to its source. Students will also be able to
trace matter moving throughout the Earth, driven by energy. The second main
theme of the course will be density, a physical property of matter. Density will be
used to explain many major natural processes that occur on Earth. Students will
also be learning scientific skills, such as making observations, analyzing data,
constructing scientific explanations from evidence, and engaging in argument
from evidence. These practices come from the Next Generation Science
Standards, which will be the standards used to teach this course.

Expectations and Rules

The expectations, rules, procedures and consequences of my classroom are

intended to keep the classroom environment safe, orderly, and productive. The
rules are not hard to follow, nor are any of them out of the ordinary. They are
simply expected behaviors for middle school students. There should never be a
rule that does not have a purpose!
Class Expectations
1.
Respect yourself, the teacher & others

Show respect for the teacher, yourself and others at all times.

Respect others property. Avoid touching or writing on anything that does

not belong to you (including desks, textbooks, teachers belongings, walls,
chalkboard, etc.). Please pick-up after yourself.

Respect yourself and the rest of us by using appropriate language and

wearing appropriate clothing.
2.
Put forth your best effort at all times

Always do your best work.

1


Put learning ahead of getting good grades.

Put quality ahead of just getting it done.

3.
Be prepared for class each day

Come prepared with all materials necessary:

4.
Follow directions when given

When directions are given, do your best to follow them the first time. If you
are confused or have questions, ask.
5.
Pay attention, participate and ask questions

Engage in what is going on in the classroom. If you have a question, ask it!
Otherwise, I might not know until the test that you didnt understand something.
There are no stupid questions, and chances are, if you are wondering about it,
someone else in the class is to. Be proactive about your learning and dont be
afraid to ask for help. If you feel most comfortable waiting until after class, that is
okay, too, but do keep communication open between us.
6.
Preserve a positive learning environment

Student actions that interfere with teaching or learning in the classroom will
NOT be tolerated.

Use class time to learn science. Please do not spend your time grooming,
sleeping, talking, writing notes, playing cards, listening to you iPod, textmessaging friends, or doing work for other classes.
7.
Take responsibility for your actions

Take responsibility for your actions.

Take responsibility for missed assignments.

All handbook rules will be enforced. Please read your handbook.

CLASS RULES
1.
Turn off cell phones & electronic devices

Electronic devices (iPods, tablets, cell phones, etc.) are NOT permitted in my
classroom.

Cell Phones should be turned off and invisible during the class period. If I
see or hear your phone it will be taken away and given to an administrator.
2.
No food or drink, except water

You may drink bottled of water in the classroom. If a spill occurs, please
clean it up immediately and inform the teacher.

No other food or beverage is permitted.

3.
Arrive to class on time & ready to learn

When the bell rings, you need to be sitting in your assigned seat.

You should immediately begin on the warm up activity or journal entry.

Be physically and mentally present in the classroom

4.
Never line up at the door before dismissal

Please remain in your seat until I have dismissed you. Never line up at the
door before dismissal. Remember, I dismiss you, not the bell.
5.
Do not cheat, plagiarize, or copy work

Cheating is completely unacceptable. If I see you cheating on any

assignment even for another class I will give you a zero and report the
incident to the other teacher as well as your assistant principal and parents.

Plagiarism (copying work from another source without giving proper credit)
is completely unacceptable. If you plagiarize on any assignment you will earn a
0 on that assignment with no opportunity to re-do the work for credit.
2

6.
Use polite and appropriate language

Offensive, derogatory, and profane terms are not tolerated. In order to

have a safe classroom environment where all students feel comfortable, no put
downs, swear words, or slang words with demeaning connotations will be
accepted. Remember, if you dont have something nice to say, dont say it at all!
7.
Do your best work & turn it in on time

Remember that the work that you turn-in is a reflection of your effort on the
assignment. Remember to always put your name on your assignments.
CLASS PROCEDURES
1.
Turn in homework to the proper bin

Homework is due at the beginning of the hour when you come to class. I
will not accept work completed once class begins. Turn in your homework to your
hour bin. Turn absent/late work into the absent/late work bin.
2.
Pick up after yourself before you leave

Take all of your belongings, pick up any scrap papers around you, and put
your desk back in line before you leave each day.
3.
Get missed work from absent folder

Attendance is essential for optimal learning. Being on time and present and
class physically and mentally will be part of your overall grade. You may not be
excused form my class by another teacher without first seeking my permission.

If you are absent, it is your responsibility to obtain any missed classwork.

Begin by looking for missed handouts in the ABSENT folder pertaining to the day
you were absent.

Make arrangements to take quizzes and tests immediately. It is your

responsibility to make these assignments, I will not and cannot track you down. If
you do not make-up quizzes in a timely manner (before graded quizzes are
returned to the students who were present), you will earn a zero on the quiz or
test.
4.
Hall passes

At the beginning of each semester, I will issue three hall passes to each
student. These passes are only valid when used at appropriate times to be
determined by the teacher.
5. Late Work

All assignments may be turned in late for no point deductions, you may still
earn full credit on the assignment. Late assignments may be turned in up
until the day of the unit test, which that assignment was a part of. For each
assignment that is turned in late, a student will lose 5 responsibility points.

Grading Procedures

The grades for this class will be broken down into the following categories:
Homework, Projects and Lab Activities 40%
Tests and Quizzes 40%
Student Responsibility 10%
Formative Assessments (warm-ups, participation, etc.) 10%
Grades should be based on what information a student knows. In this course,
assignments will be graded for accuracy, as well as completion. By allowing
assignments to be turned in late, the grade can reflect what the student
3

understands accurately. The grade will be impacted, in the student responsibility

category, when late assignments are turned in. Responsibility is only worth 10%
of the total grade in order to motivate students to turn in assignments.

Schedule of Topics

Unit 1: Materials and Processes that Shape a Planet: 12 weeks

Associated Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) from NGSS include:
ESS2: Earths Systems
ESS2.A Earths Materials and Systems
ESS2.C The Roles of Water in Earths Surface Processes
ESS2.D Weather and Climate
Goal 1. The student will demonstrate the ability to use concepts of system analysis to
identify major topics in geology and to discuss their relationship to other fields of Earth
and Space Science.
Objectives The student will be able to:
a. Identify and describe the components of the physical Earth as a system (inner core,
outer core, mantle, crust).
b. Explain and give examples of the dynamic balance between matter and energy within
and on the physical Earth.
c. Give examples of how changes in the physical Earth affect other Earth systems and
human activity.
Goal 2. The student will demonstrate the ability to describe and classify materials that
make up earth
Objectives The student will be able to:
a. Illustrate the chemical structure of the atom and describe characteristics of protons,
neutrons, electrons, and the nucleus.
b. Use selected properties to identify common rock forming mineral groups.
c. Describe the physical characteristics of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks,
including crystal size and shape, mineral and chemical composition, density, and origin.
Goal 3. The student will demonstrate the ability to explain how rock formation,
weathering, sedimentation, and rock reformation constitute a continuing rock cycle
in which the total amount of material stays the same even as its form changes.
Objectives The student will be able to:
a. Describe how convection, density, and the law of conservation explain the movement of
materials within the rock cycle.
b. Describe the constructive and destructive processes that drive the rock cycle.

Unit 2: Earths History: 9 weeks

Associated Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) from NGSS include:
ESS1: Earths Place in the Universe
ESS1.C The History of Planet Earth
ESS2: Earths Systems
ESS2.B Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions
ESS2.E Biogeology
Goal 1. The student will demonstrate the ability to use the concepts of system analysis
to identify major historical geology topics and discuss their relationship to other fields
of Earth and Space Science.
Objectives The student will be able to:
a. Identify and describe the components of historical geology.
b. Explain and give examples of the dynamic balance between matter and energy
throughout the geologic history of Earth.
4

c. Give examples of how changes in one part of historical geology affected other parts of
Earths systems.
Goal 2. The student will demonstrate the ability to explain the Theory of Plate
Tectonics and relate it to Earths dynamic nature.
Objectives The student will be able to:
a. Summarize the evidence and thinking that resulted in the development of the Theory of
Plate Tectonics.
b. Explain plate tectonics in terms of magnetic reversals, mantle convection, sea floor
spreading, and subduction.
c. Describe how the Theory of Plate Tectonics explains the location of earthquakes,
volcanoes, hot spots, mountains, mid-ocean ridges, deep-sea trenches, and island arcs.
d. Give examples of how progressive changes on Earths surface, including Pangaea, are
used to document the evolution of Earth through time.
e. Describe the purpose of current tools and techniques used to study plate tectonics
including seismograph data, triangulation, satellite sensors, image analysis, sonar and distance
measurement, and magnetometers.
Goal 3. The student will demonstrate the ability to explain how artifacts and events of
Earths past are dated.
Objectives The student will be able to:
a. Compare similarities and differences between relative age and absolute age.
b. Describe the principles used to determine relative age.
c. Describe the principles used to determining absolute age.
Goal 4. The student will demonstrate the ability to use geologic dating principles to
determine a sequence of events making up a core sample, rock column, or cross
section.
Objectives The student will be able to:
a. Create a geologic time scale (using eras, periods, and epochs) that shows the major
geologic and biologic events.
b. Interpret the geologic history of an area using geologic maps, and core samples.

Unit 3: Interactions of the Atmosphere and Hydrosphere: 5 weeks

Associated Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) from NGSS include:
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
ESS3.C Human Impacts on Earth Systems
ESS3.D Global Climate Change
Goal 1. The student will demonstrate the ability to use concepts of system analysis to
identify major atmosphere and hydrologic cycle topics and discuss their relationships to
other fields of Earth and Space Science.
Objectives The student will be able to:
a. Identify and describe the components of the atmosphere and the hydrosphere.
b. Explain and give examples of the dynamic balance between matter and energy within
the atmospheric and hydrospheric systems.
c. Give examples of how changes in one part of the atmosphere or hydrologic cycle affect
other Earth systems and human activity.
Goal 2. The student will demonstrate the ability to analyze the major components,
thermal structure, and chemical composition of the atmosphere.
Objectives The student will be able to:
a. Analyze and compare the heat transfer systems (radiation, convection, conduction)
affecting atmospheric circulation patterns.
b. Describe Earths energy budget using the radiative properties (adsorption, reflection,
and scattering) of the land, water, and the atmosphere.
c. Describe the causes of local and global air and wind patterns, including pressure
gradients, density, land and sea breezes, Coriolis effect, and energy exchange.
5

Goal 3. The student will demonstrate the ability to analyze how the transfer of energy
through the hydrosphere and atmosphere influences Earths climate and weather.
Objectives The student will be able to:
a. Identify an describe how Earths weather patterns and conditions influence climate type
and distribution fom a regional and global perspective.
b. Interpret the effects of atmospheric and hydrologic cycles on human activity.
c. Research and describe how changes in atmospheric and hydrologic conditions cause
long-term climate changes.
Goal 4. The student will demonstrate the ability to describe how the transfer of mass
affects the carbon cycle.
Objectives The student will be able to:
a. Describe the carbon cycle, and identify carbon sinks, including atmospheric CO 2, organic
carbon, fossil fuels, and carbonate rocks.
b. Describe processes, natural and human-induced, that affect the carbon cycle, including
volcanism, fire, weathering, decomposition, photosynthesis, deforestation, agriculture, burning of
fossil fuels, and CO2 accumulation.

Unit 5: Astronomy: 5 weeks

Associated Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) from NGSS include:
ESS1: Earths Place in the Universe
ESS1.A The Universe and its Stars
ESS1.B Earth and the Solar System
Goal 1. The student will demonstrate the ability to use concepts of system analysis to
identify major topics in astronomy and discuss their relationship to other fields of Earth
and Space Science.
Objectives The student will be able to:
a. Identify and describe the components of the universe.
b. Explain and give examples of the dynamic balance between matter and energy that
exists in the universe.
c. Give examples of how changes in one part of the universe affect other parts of the Earth
and Space systems.
Goal 2. The student will demonstrate the ability to identify and describe the properties,
natural forces, and theories of formation and operation of the solar system and
universe.
Objectives The student will be able to:
a. Apply Keplers Laws and Newtons Universal Law of Gravitation to planetary motion.
b. Describe the life cycle of stars, and the role of gravity in their stellar evolution.
c. Explain the relationship between absolute magnitude and surface temperature of stars
using the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram.
d. Explain how the Doppler effect supports the concept of an expanding universe and the
Big Bang Theory.
Goal 3. The student will demonstrate the ability to explain the role and interaction of
revolution, rotation, and gravity on the components of the Sun-Moon-Earth system.
Objectives The student will be able to:
a. Describe the Sun-Moon-Earth system.
b. Describe the characteristics of our sun.
c. Explain how revolution, rotation, and precession of the Sun-Moon-Earth system produce
changes in the soar angle of incidence that result in seasons and changes in the length of a day,
month, and year.
d. Explain how the movements and distances between Earth and Moon produce tides
including the relationship between phases and tides and tidal bulge and rate of lunar revolutions.

Grading Rubric
Summary Comments
Comments on specific sections. Criteria for grading are the bulleted lists in
each section.
Basic
information
Course
overview
Schedule of
topics
Class rules
Assessment
Final Grade =