Science
The Shaker Middle School science program is dedicated to preparing all students for commencement level science courses in the high school. Our programs foster imaginative problem solving, effective collaboration, and responsible and appropriate communication skills in a safe, positive, and supportive environment. Students will meaningfully engage with science tools, techniques, skills, and concepts to raise their capacity as curious and critical thinkers.
New York State has recently undergone a full overhaul to our science standards. For more information about the new standards in science, called the New York State p-12 Science Learning Standards (NYSp-12SLS), please visit:https://www.nysed.gov/curriculum-instruction/parent-resources-science
A QR Code for the webpage is available here:
Courses
Physical Science 6
This course is based on middle school topics in Physical Science and follows the new, New York State p-12 Science Learning Standards. The chemistry topics occur predominantly in the first semester and cover middle school depth in the following topics: Structure of Matter, Physical and Chemical Properties, Characteristics of Chemical Reactions, Heat and Matter, and Energy. In the second semester, the course moves to a physics based program and covers middle school depth in the following topics: Forces and Motion, Gravitational Forces, Electric and Magnetic Forces, Potential and Kinetic Energy, and Waves. Since this course is aligned with new standards, students will also engage in the Science and Engineering Practices and the Cross Cutting Concepts in Science. Please see the “Additional Information Regarding the New York State p-12 Science Learning Standards” section, below, for more details regarding the Science and Engineering Practices and the Cross Cutting Concepts in science.
Life Science 7
This course is based on middle school topics in Life Science and follows the new, New York State p-12 Science Learning Standards. Topics include: Structure and Function of Organisms, Information Processing, Growth and Development, Inheritance/Variation of Traits, Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms/Ecosystems, Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems, and Biodiversity. Since this course is aligned with new standards, students will also engage in the Science and Engineering Practices and the Cross Cutting Concepts in Science. Please see the “Additional Information Regarding the New York State p-12 Science Learning Standards” section, below, for more details regarding the Science and Engineering Practices and the Cross Cutting Concepts in science.
Earth and Space Science 8
This course is based on middle school topics in Earth and Space Science and follows the new, New York State p 12 Science Learning Standards. Topics include: Space Systems, History of Earth, Earth’s Systems (material cycles, energy flow, Earth resources), Weather and Climate, and Human Impacts. Since this course is aligned with new standards, students will also engage in the Science and Engineering Practices and the Cross Cutting Concepts in Science. Please see the “Additional Information Regarding the New York State p-12 Science Learning Standards” section, below, for more details regarding the Science and Engineering Practices and the Cross Cutting Concepts in science.
Accelerated Earth and Space Science Honors
This course is based on both middle school standards in Earth and Space Science and high school standards in Earth and Space Science. Topics include: Space Systems, History of Earth, Earth’s Systems (material cycles, energy flow, Earth resources), Weather and Climate, Human Impacts, and Human Sustainability. Since this course is aligned with new standards, students will also engage in the Science and Engineering Practices and the Cross Cutting Concepts in Science. Please see the “Additional Information Regarding the New York State p-12 Science Learning Standards” section, below, for more details regarding the Science and Engineering Practices and the Cross Cutting Concepts in science.
Because this program consists of standards from both middle school and high school Earth and Space courses, students/families should be exceptionally thoughtful as they consider this placement. Students must exhibit outstanding work ethic, be independently responsible for their work/effort, and exhibit a high level of aptitude in both science and mathematics.
In addition to the above, students enrolled in this program will complete the NYS minimum laboratory requirement of 1200 minutes hands-on lab time, a mid-year test, and the NYS Earth Science Regents examination in June. In order to accommodate both middle school and high school standards, students enrolled in Accelerated Earth and Space Science must also attend an additional laboratory assignment. The extra laboratory assignment may interfere with a student’s ability to take certain elective courses such as music (multiple performing groups), Studio Art, or DDE.
A student must meet the following criteria to be placed in this advanced class:
Achieved an A average in Life Science 7.
No individual effort and conduct grade may be less than G throughout Life Science 7.
Recommended by his/her Life Science 7 instructor for placement.
Success in advanced sciences such as Chemistry and Physics at Shaker High School is strongly correlated to success in mathematics. Specifically, students having completed Geometry before entering Chemistry, and Algebra 2 before entering Physics, are most successful. Therefore, students qualifying and electing to accelerate in science by taking Accelerated Earth and Space Science in 8th grade, should most often select and be capable of successful acceleration in mathematics as well. In rare instances, exceptions to this may exist. Please seek the advice of your student’s science teacher and/or counselor if you qualify for and are considering acceleration in science without acceleration in mathematics.
Additional Information regarding the new, New York State p-12 Science Learning Standards The new, NYS p-12 SLS standards are not only content standards, but they also emphasize particular practices as well as common themes found in all sciences. These practices and themes are found in all courses from Kindergarten through 12th grade, and differ only in complexity based on a particular age/grade. Therefore, in addition to the topics listed in the course descriptions above, students will also engage with the eight Science and Engineering Practices (practices) and the seven Cross Cutting Concepts (themes). The table below lists each:
