Orleans Southwest and Lamoille North
Science Curriculum (Grade Cluster 6-8)
Big Idea: Scientific Inquiry
1. Change
2. Questioning
3. Investigate
4. Conclude
Big Idea: Life Science
1. Structure and Functions
2. Changes in Living Systems
3. Ecosystems and Energy
Big Idea: Earth and Space Science
1. Patterns and Cycles
2. Structures and Properties
3. Sustainability
Big Idea: Physical Science
1. Matter
2. Energy
3. Motion
Science Learning Principles
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Science Learning Principles:
1. Students learn science concepts best when they are actively engaged in an inquiry based process Therefore
we will provide opportunities for students to engage with materials, explore through investigation, propose and
critique explanations based on evidence, and apply understanding to take the next steps.
2. Students develop deeper understanding when given opportunities to communicate scientifically.
Therefore students will be provided the opportunity to construct their understandings through purposeful
conversations, multi-media outlets, and writing where students share, evaluate, and defend their ideas.
3. Students learn best when given the opportunity to identify prior knowledge and refine and confront current
understandings.
Therefore students will be provided the opportunity to formulate new knowledge by modifying and adding to
their understanding of concepts that in turn will guide instruction.
4. Students are able to transfer scientific knowledge best when provided the opportunity to relate the big ideas
to personal experiences and connect what they learn to the bigger picture for a greater understanding.
Therefore students will be provided with curriculum and instruction that is guided by big ideas and will be
provided with opportunities to transfer their learning to new contexts.
5. Students gain scientific literacy when provided the opportunity to be taught using common language, skills,
and content on a continuum from K-12.
Therefore students will be provided the opportunity to be taught a vertically aligned curriculum and instruction.
6. Students develop a deeper understanding of scientific content when assessments are intentional and
ongoing.
Therefore teachers and students will engage in: ongoing, diagnostic, and formative assessment aligned to
enduring understandings and grade level benchmarks.
PreK-12 Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions for Scientific Inquiry:
1.1 Students will understand that current scientific knowledge and theory is subject to change based on new
evidence.
•
•
How do questions about our natural world guide our scientific inquiry to help us learn more?
How can prior knowledge or misconceptions affect the creation of a hypothesis?
1.2 Students will understand that identifying questions and concepts will guide scientific research. They will
understand that they must be able to develop a hypothesis using explanations, models and evidence.
•
How are scientific questions formulated and hypotheses generated?
1.3 Students will understand that they need to collect evidence to answer a question via investigation or research.
They will understand how to design and conduct an investigation. Investigations are logically organized and use
appropriate tools to gather, organize, represent and summarize data .
•
In what ways can we design and conduct an investigation to test the question? What evidence is
necessary to answer a question?
1.4 Students will understand that evidence must be used to analyze and interpret data and develop conclusions
about their hypothesis. They will understand it is necessary to communicate scientific findings and be able to
generate further question. Students will understand that scientific knowledge gained through investigations can be
transferred to other contexts and applied to real world situations.
• How does your data guide your analysis of an investigation?
• To what extent does evidence support or refute a hypothesis?
• How do scientists use their findings to generate alternative explanations and investigations?
• How do scientists apply their findings to the real world?
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Grade Cluster 6-8
Inquiry:
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•
•
•
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The work of scientists is a creative endeavor, and one that has the potential to contribute to solving major challenges that confront society
today using past evidence and current knowledge and research.
Refine, refocus and identify testable questions and testable hypotheses based on ideas, concepts, observation, experiment, or research that will
that can be answered by investigation or research.
Design and conduct a scientific investigation related to the question and hypothesis that
- identifies the dependent, independent and controlled variables
- uses a control
-uses accurate measurement
- identifies equipment
- collects, quantifies and organizes results
-clarifies ideas based on scientific knowledge
Identify appropriate evidence that will support or refute a hypothesis.
Students will be able to
-think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and explanations so that data that does not fit into the findings
can be identified as experimental errors.
-explain data, interpretations, and conclusions
-recommend changes to procedures (e.g., to provide sufficient data, more accurate analysis)
-compare experimental data to accepted scientific data (e.g., provided data or required research)
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Physical Science:
PreK-12 EU : 2.1a Students will understand that all objects and substances are composed of matter with physical and chemical properties.
PreK-12 EQ : How can characteristic properties be used to distinguish one form of matter from another?
6-8 Enduring Understanding:
• Properties of solid, liquids and gases are explained by minute particles (atoms) in motion. Matter is classified according to its physical and chemical
properties. (boiling point, melting point, density)
• Matter is composed of minute particles (atoms) in motion.
• All matter is composed of one or more elements.
Benchmarks For Grade 6
Students Will Know:
• Density is a physical property of matter that
can be measured and quantified.
Students Will Be Able To:
• Measure and compare the density of objects
with either the same or different mass or
volume.
Benchmarks For Grade 7
Not at this grade level
Benchmarks For Grade 8
Students Will Know:
• There are more than 100 elements that combine in
a variety of ways to make up all matter. Atoms are
in constant motion.
• The motion of atoms in different types of matter
will produce observable physical properties
(boiling point, melting point, density).
Students Will Be Able To:
• Model and explain the states of matter at the
molecular level.
• Describe and compare a variety physical and
chemical properties.
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PreK-12 EU : 2.1b Students will understand that matter can change form or state but will always be conserved.
PreK-12 EQ : In what ways can matter be changed while being conserved?
6-8 Enduring Understanding:
• When matter undergoes changes of state, the particles are not changed in structure but may be arranged differently.
• Mass is conserved during physical and chemical change (i.e. transformation).
• Matter can seem to disappear in some transformations ( e.g. dissolving, burning.) In the invisible state, the materials still exist but in different form(s).
• Chemical changes occur when substances react and produce one or more different substances.
Benchmarks For Grade 6
Not at this grade level
Benchmarks For Grade 7
Not at this grade level
Benchmarks For Grade 8
Students Will Know:
• In physical or chemical changes the mass will
always remain the same but the properties may be
different. In a chemical change the atoms are
rearranged.
• Increasing the energy results in the increased
atomic movement.
• Changes in state are not a change in chemical
composition.
Students Will Be Able To:
• Observe a variety of changes and cite evidence
indicating whether they are physical or chemical
changes.
• Analyze the mass of substances that undergo
physical and chemical changes.
• Model and explain the effects of increasing and
decreasing the temperature of the substance.
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PreK-12 EU : 2.2 Students will understand that energy exists in multiple forms and is conserved.
PreK-12 EQ : What are the different forms of energy and how do they behave?
How can energy be changed and conserved?
6-8 Enduring Understanding:
• There are additional forms of energy that are transmitted through different means.
• Electricity and magnetism have a distinct relationship.
• Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed from one form to another.
• Energy interactions can be modeled in terms of transfer and storage
Benchmarks For Grade 6
See Life and Earth Science
Benchmarks For Grade 7
Students Will Know:
• Energy can be both stored (potential) and
transformed (kinetic). During energy
transformations the total amount of energy is
conserved.
Students Will Be Able To:
• Investigate and explain a variety potential and
kinetic energy transformations.
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Benchmarks For Grade 8
Students Will Know:
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•
•
Electricity and magnetism are related.
Heat energy is transferred by convection,
conduction and radiation.
Know that all energy transformations lose energy
in the form of heat.
Students Will Be Able To:
• Investigate the relationship between electricity and
magnetism.
• Investigate and explain the movement of heat
energy in solids, liquids and gases.
• Identify real world applications of where
radiation, conduction and convection occur.
• Investigate energy loss during transformations.
PreK-12 EU : 2.3 Students will understand that motion is affected by energy or force.
PreK-12 EQ :
In what ways can matter move?
How do forces effect motion of matter?
How can forces change the motion of matter?
6-8 Enduring Understanding:
• Students will understand the relationship between the position and speed of an object.
• Motion is relative to the frame of reference that is chosen.
• The relationship between mass, the magnitude of an applied net force, and the resulting change in speed and direction can be measured quantitatively.
• Students will understand how forces can affect objects and their motion.
Benchmarks For Grade 6
Not at this grade level
Benchmarks For Grade 7
Students Will Know:
• Know how forces interact with objects and a
change in position is the result of unbalanced
forces.
• Understand that reference point is necessary to
observe and quantify motion.
Students Will Be Able To:
• Investigate and apply how forces on an object
determine the position, speed and acceleration of
an object (Newton’s laws).
• Perform an experiment and determine the
relationship between position, time, speed of an
object.
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Benchmarks For Grade 8
Students Will Know:
• Newton’s three laws of motion (include friction).
• Know that velocity is the relationship between
position and time. Velocity is a vector quantity.
Students Will Be Able To:
• Investigate and apply Newton’s laws.
• Design an investigation that illustrates the effect of
a change in mass, position, velocity or
acceleration to describe an object’s motion.
Life Science:
PreK – 12 EU: 3.1 Students will understand that all living organisms have certain needs and structures with unique functions that allow them to survive.
PreK – 12 EQ: What do living organisms need to survive?
How does an organism’s physical structure enable it to survive?
6-8 Enduring Understanding:
• All organisms are composed of cells that that contain structures that carry out survival functions.
• Organisms are composed of cells, tissues, organs, and systems that work together to allow survival..
Benchmarks For Grade 6
Students Will Know:
• Know the body systems, basic functions, and
how the body maintains equilibrium.
(digestive, circulatory, nervous, respiratory)
Students Will Be Able To:
• Investigate and explain how the body systems
function independently and work together to
meet the survival needs of the human
organism.
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Benchmarks For Grade 7
Benchmarks For Grade 8
Students Will Know:
•
Both unicellular and multicellular organisms are
composed of cells that allow them to meet the needs
of all organisms.
• The structure of cells support life and reproduction of
the organism.
• In multicellular organisms, cells work together to
meet the needs of the organism.
Students Will Be Able To:
• Define and Identify the organelles and their structures
and functions and explain how the organelles meet the
needs of life.
• Compare and Contrast Plant, animal and single
celled organisms and how they meet the basic needs
that allow them to survive.
• Design an experiment to identify what substances pass
in and out of cells to help maintain equilibrium
• Explain the relationship between cells, tissues, organs
and systems and why this organization is needed in
complex organisms.
Not at this grade level
PreK – 12 EU: 3.2a Students will understand that species have changed, are changing and will continue to evolve over time.
PreK – 12 EQ: How do species change over time?
6-8 Enduring Understanding :
• Changes in environmental conditions can affect survival of individual organisms and entire species .
• Individual organisms with advantageous traits are more likely than others to survive and have offspring.
• Many species on this planet have gone extinct and the species that exist now are not in the same form as recorded in the fossil record
Benchmarks For Grade 6
Not at this grade level
Benchmarks For Grade 7
Students Will Know:
• Survival is dependent upon organisms completing the
basic functions of life.
• Species are a group of organisms that produce fertile
offspring.
• Organisms with traits more suitable to their
environment are more likely to survive and pass traits
on through reproduction.
• Small differences between parents and offspring can
accumulate in successive generations within a species
so that descendents are very different from their
ancestors.
Students Will Be Able To:
• Investigate/ research specific cases of species survival
due to advantageous traits.
• Given a characteristic, predict how that characteristic
might benefit an organism within its environment for
competitive, reproductive, or survival purposes.
• Make observations about an environment and predict
what traits could be passed down to offspring for
survival
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Benchmarks For Grade 8
Not at this grade level
PreK – 12 EU: 3.2b Students will understand that all living organisms have life cycles and reproduce.
PreK – 12 EQ: How do living organisms change and reproduce throughout their life cycles?
6-8 Enduring Understanding:
• Reproduction is a characteristic of all living things and can occur asexually or sexually.
• Cells reproduce from other cells and every organism requires a set of instructions for specifying its traits
Benchmarks For Grade 6
Not at this grade level
Benchmarks For Grade 7
Students Will Know:
• Asexual reproduction results in cells that are
identical to the parent. Sexual reproduction
requires specialized male and female cells to join.
• The nucleus contains the genes that direct
functions of the cell.
Students Will Be Able To:
• Compare and contrast sexual and asexual
reproduction (including which cells, purposes,
results, etc.)
• Model asexual cell division.
• Explain the relationship between genes and traits.
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Benchmarks For Grade 8
Not at this grade level
PreK – 12 EU: 3.2c Students will understand that the characteristics of organisms are influenced by heredity and environment.
PreK – 12 EQ: How do heredity and environment affect living organisms?
6-8 Enduring Understanding:
• The characteristics of an organism can be described in terms of a combination of traits, some inherited and some the result of environmental interactions.
In organisms with sexes, half the genes come from each parent.
• The characteristics of an organism can be described in terms of a combination of inherited traits.
Benchmarks For Grade 6
Not at this grade level
Benchmarks For Grade 7
Students Will Know:
• Traits are passed from parents to offspring
• Half the genes come from each parent
Benchmarks For Grade 8
Not at this grade level
Students Will Be Able To:
• Identify your own inherited traits
• Use punnett squares to investigate how variation is expressed in offspring through sexual reproduction.
PreK – 12 EU: 3.3 All living organisms depend on each other and their environment to meet their survival needs. Energy is transferred
through interdependent systems within an organism and throughout ecosystems.
PreK – 12 EQ: How do organisms obtain energy to survive?
How does energy flow within an organism and throughout ecosystems?
How do organisms interact with each other and their environment?
6-8 Enduring Understanding:
• The number of organisms and populations an ecosystem can support depends on the biotic/abiotic resources available and interactions among the
organisms.
• Light is transformed into chemical energy (sugar/starch) by producers.
• Food provides molecules that serve as fuel and building material for all organisms.
• Energy is transferred from one organism to another repeatedly and between organisms and their environment
Benchmarks For Grade 6
Students Will Know:
• A population consists of organisms that
belong to the same species and live in the
same geographical area.
• Survival depends on biotic and abiotic
factors.
Students Will Be Able To:
• Investigate the relationships between various
components of an ecosystem including
abiotic and biotic factors
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Benchmarks For Grade 7
Students Will Know:
• The relationship of trophic levels
within an ecosystem.
Students Will Be Able To:
• Examine the energy transfer of
organisms at different trophic
levels.
Benchmarks For Grade 8
Students Will Know:
• Most producers use the process of photosynthesis to store energy
from the sun as chemical energy.
• Most organisms respire to transform stored energy into a usable
form.
Students Will Be Able To:
• Describe the steps of photosynthesis including the necessary
ingredients and products.
• Compare and contrast photosynthesis and respiration and the
organisms involved in each process.
• Investigate and analyze how an organism gets its energy.
Earth and Space Science:
PreK-12 EU : 4.1a Students will understand that patterns, cycles and movement govern the universe.
PreK-12 EQ :
What are some observable patterns and cycles in the solar system and how does it affect life on earth?
What evidence can be used to show the universe has changed over time?
6-8 Enduring Understanding:
• Gravity is the force that keeps all objects in the solar system in regular and predictable motion. (mass and distance.)
• The motion of objects in the universe can be used to explain phenomena of the day, seasons, years, phases of the moon, eclipses and tides.
Benchmarks For Grade 6
Not at this grade level
Benchmarks For Grade 7
Students Will Know:
• Every object exerts gravitational force on every
other object. The force depends on how much
mass the objects have and on how far apart they
are.
• Because of the tilt of the Earth’s rotation axis
relative to the plane of its yearly orbit around the
sun, seasons result from annual variations in the
intensity of sunlight and length of the day.
Students Will Be Able To:
• Compare the relationship between gravitational
force, mass, and distance. (qualitatively) (SEE
PHYSICAL SCIENCE LAWS OF MOTION)
• Investigate, model, and explain how the positions
of the sun and earth cause the seasons.
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Benchmarks For Grade 8
Not at this grade level
PreK-12 EU : 4.1b Students will understand that the relationship between the earth and sun creates changes over time encompassing the
water cycle, climate, weather and seasonal patterns.
PreK-12 EQ : How does the sun create and affect the water cycle, climate and weather patterns on Earth?
6-8: Enduring Understanding:
•
Students will understand that the sun’s energy influences Earth’s systems. (weather patterns, atmosphere, wind, ocean currents and the water cycle, etc.) AT THE
GLOBAL LEVEL
Benchmarks For Grade 6
Benchmarks For Grade 7
Benchmarks For Grade 8
Students Will Know:
Students Will Know:
• Know that there are interrelationships between the
• Know that the sun is the primary source of
Earth systems.
Not at this grade level
energy driving changes on the Earth’s surface
• Global patterns of atmospheric and oceanic
which influence Earth systems
movement influence weather.
• Know that there is a relationship between the
(SEE PHYSICAL SCIENCE CONVECTION,
earth systems caused by convection in the
CONDUCTION, RADIATION)
atmosphere and oceans.
Students Will Be Able To:
Students Will Be Able To:
• Investigate the cause and effect relationship
• Model or describe Earth systems and identify
between two or more Earth systems including the
patterns of change
effect of convection on weather patterns.
• Investigate the effects of convection in air
and water.
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PreK-12 EU: 4.2 Students will understand that forces shape the Earth and the Earth is made up of basic materials.
PreK-12 EQ: In what ways has Earth changed throughout its history AND what evidence can be shown to support it?
How do natural forces shape and change the Earth?
What are the basic materials that make up the Earth and how have they changed over time?
6-8 Enduring Understanding:
• The forces of tectonic plates influence the surface features of the earth .
• The rock cycle provides evidence of the forces within the earth and the connection between different types of rock.
Benchmarks For Grade 6
Students Will Know:
• Know that the earth’s crust is made up of
rigid plates that move slowly and create
changes on the surface.
• Major geologic events, such as earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, and mountain building
are continuous and result from plate motions.
• These changes in the Earth are continuous,
some happen abruptly and some happen
very slowly.
• Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks
are made up of minerals.
• Rocks can change from one type to another
through various processes.
Students Will Be Able To:
• Investigate /construct models of plate
movement and changes to the Earth surface.
• Derive evidence for plate boundaries by
researching occurrence of earthquakes and
volcanoes around the globe.
• Classify different rocks based on their
formation, structure and mineralogy
• Describe / model the processes that change
one rock type to another.
• Explain how the properties of rocks help tell
the story of their formation.
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Benchmarks For Grade 7
Not at this grade level
Benchmarks For Grade 8
Not at this grade level
PreK-12 EU: 4.3 Students will understand that humans depend on the earth for different resources and human activities can affect the
earth’s systems.
PreK-12 EQ: How has life changed the planet over time?
How have humans influenced earth’s changes?
6-8 Enduring Understanding:
• Everyday life is made possible by the available resources of the earth.
• Human action actions impact Earth’s systems
Benchmarks For Grade 6
Students Will Know:
• Renewable and non renewable resources that
can be used, reused recycled and over used.
There is only a finite amount of the nonrenewable resources. (SEE ECOSYSTEMS IN
LIFE SCIENCE)
• Human actions can impact Earth systems
Students Will Be Able To:
• Investigate life/human use of Earth’s
resources and its impact on our planet
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Benchmarks For Grade 7
Benchmarks For Grade 8
Integrate throughout
Integrate throughout