Month

CONTENT

SKILLS

ASSESSMENTS

PA STANDARDS

September

Classroom procedures

Fire drill procedures

Class rules

Tardy rules

Syllabus

Use of daily planner

Check weekly planner

Check notebooks

Science Current Event Fridays for extra credit

Areas of science

Textbook skills

Guided reading activities

Guided reading worksheets

Planner Check

Scientific Method

SI System of Measurement – metric system

Math conversion problems

List and apply the steps of the scientific method

Observing and inferring rules

Study skills

Observing and Inferring worksheets

Scientific method group project

Planner check

S/T 3.2.7A

S/T 3.2.7B

S/T 3.2.7C

October

Earth’s surface

Topography

Spheres of Earth

Models of Earth

Inquiry skills

Classifying skills

Identify lines of latitude and longitude

Determine the correct location of places using latitude and longitude rules

Review and reinforcement

Analyzing the globe

Analyzing maps for information

Map-making project

S/T 3.1.7B

G 7.1.6A

G 7.1.6B

Computerized map making

State and local maps

Topographic maps

Interpreting topo maps

Correctly reading state maps to get from one place to another

Finding maps on the web

Correct directions given from one point to another

Interpreting symbols and elevation of topo maps on a quiz

November

Characteristics of minerals

Identification of minerals

Observation skills

Compare and Contrast

Analysis of data skills

Mineral Identification Lab

Chapter test on minerals

S/T 3.5.10A

Characteristics of rocks

Identification of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks

Observation

Compare and Contrast

Analysis of data

Rock identification lab

Chapter test on rocks

Layers of the Earth

Plate tectonics

Plate boundary diagrams

Continental drift

Theory of sea floor spreading

Note taking skills

Observation and inference skills

Use of models

Test taking skills

Quiz on section 1 and 2

Sea floor spreading lab

Test on chapter 4

S/T 3.2.7A

S/T 3.5.7A

December

Earthquakes

Elastic limit theory

Types of faults

Use of models

Bubble gum lab

Scales used to measure Earthquakes

Epicenter Mapping

Comparison skills

Mapping skills

Math computation skills

Epicenter mapping lab

Virtual Earthquake

Chapter test on Earthquakes

Volcanoes

Compare and Contrast

Synthesis of information from website to real life

Hazard City Simulation lab

Chapter test on volcanoes

January

Weathering and soil formation

Conservation of land and soil

Recycling

Describe processes that wear down and build up earth

Explain how water erosion is responsible for shaping earth’s surface

Describe land features formed by water erosion

Worksheets

Section review homework

Labs

Chapter test

S/T 3.5.7A

Erosion and Deposition

Earth’s changing surface

Force of moving water

Glacier erosion

Wave erosion

Wind erosion

Explain how sediments enter rivers and streams

List factors that affect a river’s ability to erode

Name and describe types of glaciers

Describe how glaciers erode land

Worksheets

Chapter review homework

Chapter test

G 7.2.6B

February

Energy resources

Fossil fuels

renewable energy sources

solar power, hydroelectric power, wind power

Differentiate between renewable and non-renewable resources

Draw and describe the process that formed coal and oil

List and describe alternative energy resources

Discuss the need to conserve fossil fuels

Homework Assignments

Labs

Chapter Tests

S/T 3.5.7B

Fresh water on Earth

Water Cycle

River systems

Watersheds

Virtual Tour of Water Cycle

Graphing and interpretation

Cause and Effect

Worksheets

Water lab

Quiz on Virtual Tour of the Water Cycle

S/T 3.5.7D

E/E 4.1.7B

Ponds and Lakes

Wetland Environments

Virtual Tour of Florida Everglades

Brainstorming

Comprehension

Guided Reading Activities

Chapter test on Earth’s Fresh water

E/E 4.1.7D

March

Groundwater

Virtual Tour on Groundwater

Interpreting models

Quiz on video streaming of Earth’s water resources

E/E 4.1.10B

Springs, wells, artesian wells

Water treatment

Compare and contrast types of springs and wells

Identify the steps in the water treatment cycle

Test on water treatment plants

Hydroelectric power plants

Types of energy transfer in a power plant

Electromagnetism

Compare and contrast local dams with major hydroelectric power plants in the United States

Differentiate between potential, kinetic and electrical energy

Review sheets

Quiz on electricity

Layers of the Atmosphere

Air quality issues

Ozone layer

Air pressure

Observation skills

Notetaking skills

Study skills

Section review

Chapter packet

Chapter review

Final chapter test on Ch. 15

S/T 3.5.7C

April

Heat transfer in the Earth’s atmosphere

Energy in the Earth’s atmosphere

Temperature conversions Review

Wind systems

Note taking

Temperature conversion problems

Section reviews

Quiz

Math problem conversions

S/T 3.4.7B

S/T 3.5.7C

Factors that affect weather

Weather factors lab

Observation skills

Measurement skills

Weather factors lab

S/T 3.5.7C

Relative humidity

Types of clouds

Types of precipitation

Graphing skills

Mathematical computation

Data interpretation

Relative Humidity math problems

Review sheets

Chapter test

S/T 3.5.7C

Air Masses and Fronts

Storms (hurricanes and tornadoes)

Predicting the weather

Graph skills

List and describe the types of air masses

Describe the conditions necessary for the creation of storms

Identify symbols used on a weather map

Tracking a hurricane lab

Section reviews

Weather forecast write up

Chapter test

S/T 3.5.7C

May

The Ocean

Waves

Tides

Currents

Ocean water chemistry

Shoreline features

Identify the types of tides and why they occur

Describe the causes for an ocean current and its affect on climate

List the major elements found in the ocean

Discuss the reasons for temperature differences in the ocean

List the major types of shoreline features

Quiz on wave vocabulary

Section reviews

Chapter test

S/T 3.5.7D

Earth’s Moon

Rockets

History of the space race

Describe the relationship between the Earth and the moon

Draw and describe the phases of the moon

Know the reason for the seasons

review questions – homework

Chapter Test

G 7.2.6B

Observing the solar system

Sun

Inner planets, outer planets

Comets, asteroids

Differentiate between the inner and the outer planets

Know the sun is the reason for life on Earth

Inertia and gravity hold objects in space

Comparison chart for the planets

Scale of the solar system activity

Homework

Chapter test

S/T 3.4.7D