6th Grade Science Beginning of the Year
Welcome to the wonderful world of middle school science!! We are kicking the year off with Chapter 1: Introduction to Earth Science. Throughout this chapter we will learn about many of the process skills real scientists use I their everyday practices including: Observing, Inferring, and Predicting. Once we have reviewed these skills students will apply the processes in a variety of labs. Next we will review The Scientific Inquiry(Process).
Chapter One: Introduction to Earth Science
Section One - What is Science?
Students will begin the year by learning and practicing the process skills scientists use to learn about the world around them.
Observing is the first skill students will experiment with. Students will learn that there are two types of observations scientists can make-- Quantitative and Qualitative. Students will practice using both in the "candy" lab, penny lab, and the airplane lab.
Inferring is the next skill students will practice. During the lab Mysterious Journeys in the Life of a Raisin students will infer why the journey took place.
Predicting -
Scientific Attributes
Scientific Method
Students will learn what scientific inquiry involves including the six step method that we will follow for the 7th grade Science Fair. While learning the steps of the method students will focus on a few key steps of writing a science report including: variables, operational definitions, and writing hypotheses.
Hypotheses, 7th grade students will learn that a hypothesis is a prediction over what they think will happen in an experiment. They will also learn that hypotheses are written in an if/then/because form.
Variables, students will practice identifying at least 4 different variables that could be manipulated in a variety of different experiments. Students will then learn about three specific types of variables used in scientific experiments:Manipulated(Independent), Responding(Dependent), and Controlled variables. Students will then practice picking out these variables in a number of experiments.
