8th Grade Science

Physical Science Interactive Notebook: The notebook is an organic artifact that will change over time. However, it is used primarily for 3 reasons:

To assess student knowledge both formally and informally.
To create an archive of covered material so that students may use it to reference for gaps in knowledge as well as for reference in Quizzes, Midterms and Finals.
To establish connections in the brain that come from the hand.
- The Hand: How Its Uses Shapes the Brain, Language, and Human Culture.

Students are graded on Interactive Notebooks every week in class. I do not take late work, so it must be done by the end of the week.

HONORS NGSS Aligned Interactive Physical Science Notebook 8A

NGSS Aligned Interactive Physical Science Notebook 8A

Our teacher designed curriculum applies cross-cutting concepts for the following areas:

AVID-Interactive Notebooks, Read and Response, Writing, Reflection, and many other elements of WICOR.
GATE-Depth and Complexity, understanding patterns, synthesizing concepts, and others.
IEP: Extra time to finish work (at home), weekly task list, visual stimuli.

8^th Grade

Objects Move and Collide (9 weeks)

Noncontact Forces Influence Phenomena (9 weeks)

Evolution Explains Life’s Unity and Diversity (9 weeks)

Sustaining Local and Global Biodiversity; Human Activity (9 weeks)

* Because of the requirement of a full semester of health education in grade seven, LAUSD, for the one semester of science, is prioritizing the teaching and learning of Instructional Segments 2 and 3 with Disciplinary Core Idea PS1.A from Instructional Segment 1. Prioritizing Segments 2 and 3 does not mean that Segments 1 and 4 are not important, it means that students will learn the foundational science principles needed for students to achieve in high school science courses.

Los Angeles Unified School District has selected the Integrated Model published in the CA NGSS Framework for science middle grades. An interOffice Correspondence was sent to all schools to guide and support the implementation. All LAUSD middle schools are implementing the new integrated courses for science. Click on this link to download the standards:The California Next Generation Science Standards- Preferred Integrated Model.

The rigor and expectations of the three dimensional learning of NGSS for each grade band endpoints are well defined. It is of great importance that teachers use the progression document as they are planning thier instruction.