SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

VISION: All students achieve full scientific literacy through standards referenced, problem/project based instruction that develops critical thinkers who apply scientific and engineering practices to authentic problems in a globally competitive society.

TEACHERS:
Staff email addresses and phone numbers are also listed in the Staff Directory.

Beth Arias-Hoskins

Science 6

Bethzaida_Arias-hoskins@mcpsmd.org

Aldo Cardoza

Technology & Foundations of Computer Science

Kellie Coble

Science 6

Kellie_L_Coble@mcpsmd.org

Auda Cottrell

Science 7 & FACS 7

Auda_J_Cottrell@mcpsmd.org

Sabina Di Maio

Science 7

Sabina_DiMaio@mcpsmd.org

Tess Falabella

Content Specialist & Science 8

Terese_Falabella@mcpsmd.org

Danielle Howard

Science 6

Danielle_N_Howard@mcpsmd.org

Edgar Macal

Science 8

Edgar_H_MacalJr@mcpsmd.org

John (Jack) McCloskey

Science 8

John_M_Mccloskey@mcpsmd.org

Jennifer Zimmerman

Science 7

 

 

 

Grade 6 Science
Unit Title Content Focus
1 Ecosystems and Dynamics

Essential Question: How do matter and energy move through an ecosystem? 

Topics: Biomes, biotic and abiotic factors, biodiversity, limited resources, interactions among organisms, and producers, consumers and decomposers

2 Earth’s Resources and Human Impacts

Essential Idea: How does human consumption of Earth’s resources impact our planet? 

Topics: Natural vs. man-made resources, renewable resources, natural resource distribution, resource usages, ocean resources, land pollution, and watersheds

3 Matter and its Interactions

Essential Question: How can you describe matter and predict its interactions?

Topics: Atoms and elements, molecules and compounds, physical and chemical properties, states of matter, thermal energy, heat transfer, and physical and chemical changes

4 Energy and Waves

Essential Question: How is energy transferred or conserved between objects or systems? Topics: Static Electricity, magnetism, energy forms, energy transfer, and waves

 

Grade 7 
Unit Title Content Focus
1 Cellular Structure and Processes 

Essential Question: How do the structures of an organism enable its life functions? 

Topics: Characteristics of living things, cell organelles, plants, photosynthesis, and cellular respiration

2 Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms

Essential Question: How do your body systems work together to make your body function? 

Topics: Levels of organization, muscular system, cardiovascular system, nervous system, digestive system, excretory system and nutrients

3 Inheritance and Variation of Traits

Essential Question: Why do individuals of the same species vary in how they look, function, and behave? 

Topics: Asexual vs. sexual reproduction, chromosomes and genes, punnett squares, artificial selection, mutations

4 Earth’s History and Biological Evolution

Earth’s History and Biological Evolution

Essential Question: What evidence shows Earth’s history and how different species are related? 

Topics: Geological time scale, fossil records, relative age, mass extinction, evidence of common ancestry, and Natural Selection

 

Grade 8 
Unit Title Content Focus
1 Weather and Climate

Essential Question: What regulates weather and climate? 

Topics: Water cycle, oceanic circulation, air masses and influences, weather maps, and winds

2 Earth’s Materials and Systems

Essential Question: How and why is Earth’s surface constantly changing? 

Topics: Hydraulic Fracturing, Earth’s interior, continental drift, Plate Tectonics, monitoring natural hazards, rocks and minerals. 

3 Earth, the Solar System and the Universe

Essential Question: What predictable patterns are caused by Earth’s movement in the solar system? 

Topics: Earth-moon-sun models, unequal heating, seasons, phases of the moon, and gravity

4 Forces, Motion and its Interactions

Essential Question: How can you describe and predict an object’s motion? 

Topics: Speed, acceleration, force, Newton’s Laws of Motion, potential and kinetic energy, and momentum

 

Elective Grade 6-Technology
Unit Title Content Focus
1 Introduction to Technology & Engineering Students are introduced to technological systems and learn and apply the Engineering Design Process to a variety of challenges. Students are introduced to Computer Aided Design using TinkerCAD.
2 Engineering Design & Modeling Students utilize the Engineering Design Process and technical skills of isometric sketching, multiview drawing, and Computer Aided Design using TinkerCAD to design solutions to engineering challenges.

 

Elective Grade 7-Technology

Unit Title Content Focus
1 Innovation & Engineering Design Students learn the importance of invention and innovation in technological development and apply engineering-thinking skills and technical skills to complete each step of the engineering design process to creatively address a real world challenge. Students learn or extend technical drawing and Computer Aided Design skills. This course is accessible for students who have not taken the Grade 6 Engineering courses.
2 Applied Engineering Design Students learn how societal factors affect technological development and apply the engineering design process, engineering-thinking skills, and technical skills including Computer Aided Design to design engineering solutions to real-world challenges.

 

Elective Grade 8- Computer Science (High School Credit)
Unit Title Content Focus
1 Foundations of Computer Science A/B

This course includes programming, but the focus is on the computational practices associated with doing computer science rather than just a narrow focus on coding syntax and tools.

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