- Caruso Middle School
- 8th Grade Curriculum
8th Grade Curriculum
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The curriculum students will be following this year focuses on learning concepts and then making connections to what they’ve learned in the lab and classroom activities. Learning will require analytical thinking and problem solving. We will incorporate many hands-on lab and classroom activities to accomplish our learning objectives and to ensure greater understanding of concepts. Although much of our lab work is collaborative, students should strive to develop their own conclusions and communicate their own ideas in their lab work. We will be covering the following topics this year: General Science Skills, Structure and Propeties of Matter which includes us exploring the atom an the Periodic Table of Elements, Chemical Reactions which includes exploring how molecules and compounds form as well as chemical interactions, and finally,Environmental Studies and Human Impact. Click below to see what topics we will cover each quarter.
Content Accordion
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Quarter 1
8th grade students will review laboratory safety rules, identify the proper use of laboratory equipment, and sharpen their measuring skills. Students will also focus on learning about the structure and properties of matter by completing several activities, a design challenge, and laboratory experiments.
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Quarter 2
8th graders will begin their chemistry unit, which at the core is the study of the structure and properties of matter. This chemistry unit acts as an umbrella unit for the foundation subunits that contribute to it (matter, atoms, periodic table of elements, compounds and molecules, and chemical reactions). Quarter 2 will focus on the periodic table and how it is organized to reflect scientific knowledge about the properties of elements and the structure of atoms. Students will participate in several labs and activities to support their learning and were continually assessed to determine instructional needs.
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Quarter 3
8th grade students will continue their work in the chemistry unit, which explores the scientific phenomena of chemical reactions. Students will plan procedures and carry out lab experiments to determine if the law of conservation of mass holds true. Students will learn how to identify the indicators of a chemical reaction as they complete a series of labs that gives them some cool displays of chemical change. Later in the quarter students will have a choice of activities to help them with balancing equations and we will examine properties of acidic and basic solutions. Finally, students will show off their science and engineering skills during a chemical reactions lab practical.
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Quarter 4
8th grade students will explore the human impact and natural occurrences that affect climate change and global warming. Once students have a clear understanding of where coal, oil, and natural gas come from and how they are formed, the unit of study continues with an investigation of their impact on the environment and the Carbon Cycle. Later in the quarter students will examine alternative sources of energy and work collaboratively to solve an energy crisis in a make-believe country known as Utopia. Discussion will ensue as students learn more about the changing climate on Earth and the impact it has on global climate. Finally, students will participate in a culminating activity, showcasing some of the scientific principles and lab skills from this year during the end of the year Science Challenge.