Dear Parents/Guardians,
I am extremely excited to be your child’s 6th grade science teacher, and am looking forward to meeting and getting to know you and all of your children throughout the 2016-2017 school year! It is my goal every year to empower students by creating classroom experiences focused on critical thinking, inquiry, and problem solving. Students will be questioning and delving into learning to answer their questions. Students will encounter real problems, and through solving these problems, they will develop inquiry and critical thinking skills. As problem solvers and critical thinkers, students will be empowered as decision-makers and productive members of society. I want to pass on my love of learning to my students through employing a variety of activities and instructional strategies that actively engage them.
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) units covered throughout the year include:
Plate Tectonics
- Students will analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions.
- Students will construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how uneven distributions of natural resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes.
Chemistry
Atomic Structure-
- Students will develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.
- Students will analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.
- Students will develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved.
Changes and Compounds-
- Students will gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.
- Students will develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.
- Students will undertake a design project to construct, test, and modify a device that either releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical processes.
Energy
Motion-
- Students will apply Newton's Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving motion of two colliding objects.
- Students will plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object's motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object (Newton's First and Second Laws).
- Students will construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object.
- Students will develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.
Heat-
- Students will apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.
- Students will plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample.
- Students will construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.
Electromagnetics
- Students will ask questions about data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces.
- Students will conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact.
Astronomy
Interactions in the Solar System-
- Students will analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.
- Students will construct and present arguments using evidence to support the claim that gravitational interactions are attractive and depend on the masses of interacting objects.
Gravitational Interaction in Space-
- Students will develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons.
- Students will develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.
Class Expectations
I expect the students to:
- Behave in a school-appropriate manner
- Be on time
- Work hard
- Be honest
- Be responsible – complete work on time and to the best of their ability and come prepared to class with necessary supplies each day
- Respect others and their belongings
- Not touch anything for labs until instructed to do so (follow all lab safety rules)
- Ask for help if they’re having trouble on a assignment or topic
- Ask questions
- Pay attention
- Feel comfortable and cared for…and of course we want them to have FUN! ☺
Grading
Skyward is the online grading program. You will have access to grades online at any time. A username and password will be given to you by the district with a description on how to access your child’s grades. Please check grades often.
Academic Grading Scale (Percentage for Science):
95%-100% = Exceptional (5)
85%-94% = Proficient (4) - Expected standard for Hadley students
75%-84% = Satisfactory (3)
67%-74% = Beginning (2)
66% and below = Unsatisfactory (1)
Work Habits Grading Scale (Rubric):
5 = Exceptional
4 = Proficient - Expected standard for Hadley students
3 = Satisfactory
2 = Beginning
1 = Unsatisfactory
Supplies
- Goggles - supplied to all 6th grade students; kept in classroom.
- Students will always need to bring their assignment notebook to class to write down their homework each night.
- Something to write with (pen/pencil). *Please replenish as needed throughout the year*
- Chromebook
Please contact me if you have questions or comments. I am looking forward to a successful and exciting year of science!
Sincerely,
Mr. Frank Modica