Lesson Plans

Bryson Middle School 

Believe * Move * Succeed

8th Grade Science Syllabus

Christopher Evangelist

Room: D103 Phone: 864- 355-2192 e-mail Address: Cevangelist@greenville.k12.sc.us

Website Link Google Classroom  Textbook: Savaasrealize.com

4th PD     6th PD

5th PD     7th PD

Course Description: Link to state standards 

Eighth grade science is a general science class with a focus on the study of physical, earth and biological science.

Performance Expectations: 

Students will be able to develop the skills needed to have learning experiences built upon the three dimensional science approach: Scientific inquiry and Engineering design Practices (SEP’s), Crosscutting Concepts (CCC’s) and Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI’s). The performance expectations in eighth grade help students to engage in inquiry questions such as, but not limited to being able to:

1. Apply Newton’s Third Law to related forces to describe physical interactions between objects within systems of objects.

2. Describe the characteristic properties of waves and the behavior related to energy .

3. Describe how genetic changes can affect the structure and function of an organism.

4. Use information and begin constructing an explanation of genetic variation in natural selection and how this leads to traits in a population changing. 

5. Analyze and Interpret Data for patterns in how the fossil record documents Earth’s history with existence, diversity, extinction, and changing life forms as well as construct and explanation for the similarities and differences in modern day and ancestral organisms. 

6. Explain based on evidence and reasoning how genetic factors, the environment, and an organism’s behaviors and structures influence its growth, development, and reproduction.  

7. Investigate for evidence that an object’s motion depends on mass and sum of forces. 

8. Describe Earth’s place in relation to the solar system, Milky Way galaxy, and Universe, and evaluate information on scale properties of objects. 

Late Work and Retake Policies                          Missing Work Policy

Bryson Middle School strives to provide students with a rigorous academic curriculum, balanced with multiple modes and opportunities to demonstrate their learning.  We understand the unique development and needs of our middle school learners and believe that true learning often takes place at different paces according to individual pathways of readiness.  We believe that learning from mistakes is an integral part of developing a lifelong growth mindset, and this process promotes student reflection and ownership of their learning. These beliefs, aligned with district assessment guidelines, provide the rationale for the following policy on late work and retakes:

• Students may retake at least one major assessment without penalty within the first seven weeks of the quarter. 

• Students and parents must submit their request for a redo/retake within one school week of the graded assessment being returned.

• When a student retakes a major assessment, the original grade will be overwritten and the most recent grade recorded. The original grade will be noted as a comment in the gradebook.  

• There is no point penalty for retaking an assessment.

• A student will receive an NHI (Not Handed In) in the grade book when he or she does not turn in an assessment. 

• In addition to remediation/requirements determined and documented by the teacher on the Redo/Retake Form, clearance of NHIs on assessments leading up to the major assessment may be required before the retake.

• Retakes will cover the same standards but may not be the original assessment/assignment. Alternative assignments may be required at the teacher’s discretion.

• Students may not request a redo/retake on work handed in late.

• Test corrections of incorrect answers may be allowed in place of a full retake, as deemed appropriate by the teacher. Test corrections may result in partial credit returned. 

• A copy of the Retake/Redo form will be located in the teacher’s classroom.

When a student is absent, school policy allows five days after returning to school to complete make-up work. Students are responsible for contacting each teacher for missed work. The request should be made immediately upon returning to school. A parent may request make-up work for extended absences. Make-up work may be picked up after 3:20 p.m. on the day of the request. It is our goal at Bryson Middle School to ensure all students have the opportunity to make up any missing or late work and receive a grade that portrays their knowledge of the assigned material.

Purposely evading or refusing to do work are exceptions to the late work expectation allowance. These situations may be treated as behavioral and follow up with school support staff. 

• On Tuesdays during team meetings, the team will review student grades and any students with three or more NHIs in their core content classes, then the team will need to document the student’s name on their team agenda and then communicate with both the parent and student through backpack (email and text) the assignments in which the student has not completed. The student will be required to turn in the assignment by Friday of the same week. If students do not turn in the work, an NHI will remain in the gradebook. If the same students are emailed weekly in a two week period, then it will be expected that a parent conference will be held to discuss this behavior concern. 

• A student with one or more NHIs may be denied certain privileges or held accountable for the assignment(s) until the work has been completed and returned to the teacher.  

Bryson Middle School