"Science is part of the reality of living; it is the what, the how, and the why for everything in our experience." ~Rachel Carson
Class Description: Sixth grade science is composed of many topics and strands of science. This year you will be learning and focusing on parts of all three strands: Life, Physical and Earth.
· During Life Science the focus will be on the structure and function of living systems. This includes describing the basic structure of a cell, describing the function of cell parts, differentiating between plant and animal cells, relating the structures of living organisms to their functions, and describing how the various systems of living organisms work together to perform a vital function.
· During Physical Science you will learn and gain an understanding of the nature of matter and energy, including their forms, the changes they undergo, and their interactions. We will do this by studying objects and the forces that act upon them, you will develop an understanding of the fundamental laws of motion, knowledge of the various ways energy is stored in a system, and the processes by which energy is transferred between systems and surroundings.
· During Earth Science you will get an understanding of the Earth, its history, composition, and formative process. This includes how water is cycled in nature, factors that affect climate, and weather systems, and the composition and interactions between the structure of the Earth and its atmosphere.
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Course Activities: How will we meet the goals of the class? What are the activities that we will do to make sure we meet and exceed the goals of the class and objectives? You as students will use the scientific process: questioning, planning and conducting investigations, using appropriate tools and techniques to gather data, thinking critically and logically about relationships between evidence and explanations, and communicating results.
- You will practice and use the scientific method during experiments
- You will gather data from the experiment by measurements and using appropriate tools
- You will keep a record of your observations and data from the experiment
- You will learn how to analyze (read or interpret) the data and explain correlations and results.
Besides conducting experiments, this class will also have a focus on reading, note taking and organizing and analyzing the information you are reading and learning about. We will be using thinking maps. Thinking maps are a way to visually organize information in eight different patterns to help us better remember and retain the information we are learning.
· We will also have quarterly projects
· Review games
· Hands on activities
· Work sheets
· Videos
· Current events
· Weekly quizzes
· Tests
In science you will have multiple opportunities to both work together in groups, pairs and individually. You will be expected to participate in class discussions and keep a journal for notes and warm ups.
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Grades and assignments: Class work is assigned daily and some homework will be assigned weekly. Most homework will be to review and read over class notes from that day to prepare students for weekly quizzes. Also if students do not finish class work it will become homework; due the next day. Quarterly projects will be assigned based on the topic we are learning about. These are the items you will be graded on:
- Bell work (warm ups)
- Class participation
- Class assignments
- Homework assignments
- Activities (including worksheets)
- Projects (group and individual)
- Experiments
- Notebook
- Current event articles
- Quizzes
- Tests
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Contacting Teacher: An open line of communication is a critical component to student success; that is why parents are encouraged to contact me with any questions or concerns that I can help address. Please remember that grades are available via the online grade book. Please email when possible. Email is the quickest line of communication; but if you need to call and talk to me, you can leave a voicemail and I will return your phone call as soon as possible.
Phone: 615-662-3000 ext.
Email: tracy.decker@mnps.org