Mr. Padron’s

8th Grade Science Course Expectations

Welcome to an exciting year in your educational endeavors.  The aim of this class is to show you the world of science in a different way, to both excite and challenge the student, and most important, to provide a safe and comfortable learning environment.

Class Organization

Assessment:  Students will be assessed through an array of methods: Student progress will be assessed using class discussions, Amplify assignments, lab activities, projects, reports, group work, class and home assignments, tests and an occasional quiz.

Student progress and understanding of the material will be assessed using formative assessments and common formative assessments that will drive the curriculum.

Class/Homework: (30% of total grade):  Class assignments require more time to complete than the time allotted during class time, therefore it is considered homework.  Students will complete classwork assignments at home and prepare all assignments on Thursday evenings to be submitted Fridays.  This method allows parents/guardians to overlook and assist in the student’s learning process.

Exams/Quizzes: (30% of total grade):  Tests will be given to assess student comprehension of the subject material covered.  There will be various methods of assessing student concept learning and comprehension, from multiple-choice tests, discussions, projects, writing activities and whole class fishbowl seminars.

Lab/Activities and Projects: (30% of total grade):  Students will be working on lab activities with their team and it is the student's responsibility to complete the lab during class time and to be responsible for helping set up, perform and to clean up after the lab. 

Group Collaboration & Participation: (10% of Total Grade):  Every student deserves the right to a safe, comfortable, and positive learning environment.  Students should be able to modify their own behavior academically and socially during class and during lab activities.  Students will participate by Listening, Writing, Speaking and Reading every day in class.

Curriculum: The class will be divided into 4 segments:

Segment 1:  Up Close; Objects move and Collide (Physics).

Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity, Forces and Motion, Types of Interactions, Definitions of Energy, Defining and Delimiting Engineering.

Segment 2:  Noncontact Forces Influence Phenomena (Astronomy)

The universe and its stars, Earth and the Solar System, Types of Interactions (electric, magnetic & gravitational).

Segment 3:  Evolution Explains Life’s Unity and Diversity (Genetics)

The History of Planet Earth, Inheritance of Traits, Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity, Natural Selection, Adaption.

Segment 4:  Sustaining Local and Global Biodiversity (Human Impact & Light)

Waves Properties, Electromagnetic Radiation, Information Technologies and Instrumentation, Earth and the Solar System, Human Impacts on Earth Systems, Adaptation, Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems.

Commitment:  Responsibility and personal commitment are highly valued in the class.  It is expected that each student gives their best effort for all assignments, assessments, discussions, labs and invest their best interests to all activities of the class.  “If you believe that you will not succeed, you are right, and if you believe that your will succeed, you are right.” – Theodore Roosevelt.  How much you commit yourself to your education, is what you get out of class.

Classroom Expectations:  Everyone deserves a safe, interactive, and a positive learning environment; therefore the following are expectations for all students:

1.      Show respect for yourself and others.

2.      Make good decisions, always do the right thing.

3.      Solve problems.

4.      Be responsible.

Grading:  The student will be graded on a point percentage system:

90-100% = A, 80-89.9% = B, 70-79.9% = C, 60-69.9% = D, 59.9% or lower = F

Late, missing, or incomplete work…  If absent, it is the responsibility of the student to ask group mates, check the absent folder and check in Google Classroom for missed assignments, all assignments are submitted on Fridays.  Have your work ready to turn in completed on Friday evenings.  If a student is absent on Friday, they are expected to submit their work by Monday evening.  A student in Honors class will be expected to submit late work no later than one week after due date for an excused absence.  No late work is accepted.  Please discuss this with me, I am open to talk to help you.

By the end of the year, 8th graders should be able to:

• Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations.

• Design and conduct a scientific investigation.

• Use technology as a tool to gather data and information.

•  Analyze and interpret data.

• Think critically and logically to connect evidence and explanations.

Contact Information:

Rafael Padron

rpadron@fusdk12.net

Room A130