Earth Science Syllabus
Mrs. Roberts 7th grade
What is Earth Science?
Nearly everything we do each day is connected in some way to Earth: to its land, oceans, atmosphere, plants, and animals. The food we eat, the water we drink, our homes and offices, the clothes we wear, the energy we use, and the air we breathe are all grown in, taken from, surround, or move through the planet. By 2025, eight billion people will live on Earth.
If we are to continue extracting resources to maintain a high quality of life, then we, as individuals and citizens, need to know more about our planet — its processes, its resources, and its environment. Through this course, students will be able to understand and appreciate our complex planet and its relationship to other objects in space.
Overview
The students will explore Earth Space Science concepts in greater depth than in previous years. In general, the academic pace and rigor will be increased as the year progresses to have the student prepared for the end of the year exam.
Laboratory investigations that include the use of scientific inquiry, research, measurement, problem solving, laboratory apparatus and technologies, experimental procedures, and safety procedures are an integral part of this course.
The student is expected to be able to work with others as any scientist working in the field because many of the classroom lessons, activities and projects will be done in collaborative groups as in the real world.
Classroom Details
As you know our school is one of a few digital schools in Orange County. This translates into no paper textbook at home. The textbook and most of the classwork will be done electronically. We will still be doing laboratory investigations pair with digital investigations and plenty group work.
As part of the class, Edmodo will be use for posting all of the work, assignments, test reviews, projects and others. Every student is expected to go into Edmodo even when the person is absent or if I'm absent. Please follow all of the instructions and submit the work on time to stay current with the class material and assignments, especially in case of absences. Once the students join my group in EDMODO parents can follow the website using the same OCPS student login for the computer; I include the parents on every post and everyday.
Textbook
The textbook of choice is Florida edition of Science Fusion, specifically the Earth. It is an online textbook available at https://launchpad.classlink.com/ocps
Parent/Teacher Contact
Parents may contact me using the OCPS email system, is the easiest and fastest way to contact me.
407-249-6440 ext 5152291
Topics
We will be covering the following topics:
Laboratory Safety
Earth Systems
Nature of Science
The Universe
The Solar System
The Earth-Moon-Sun System
Space Exploration
Earth’s Structures
Earth’s History
Weathering, Erosion, Deposition
Weather and Climate
Grading Policy/Assignments
At Liberty Middle School the grading scale is based on a 1000 points scale. This scale in the science classroom is divided as follows:
Tests—300 points
Quizzes—100 points
Classwork— 200 points
Laboratories— 200
Projects - 100
Homework—100 points
Materials
Laptop
Headphones
Composition notebook (from school list)
Pen/Pencil
Enrichment Fee -$5.00