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6th Grade Science – Course Information (2007-2008)
Mr.
John
Abbott
Classroom: D109
Office
Telephone:
720-424-1768
Office: D107
E-mail: John_Abbott@dpsk12.org
Office Hours: Before
school from 7:00 - 7:35, anytime during Access (9:05-9:15), or if these
times don't work, let's schedule a time that will.
Welcome
Students! This is going to be a fun and exciting year in
science! I am excited to have this opportunity to be working with
you as well as eager to get started helping you to reach your full
potential in a rich learning environment. It is my goal for you
to feel successful and positive about classroom learning and making
friends, while building a caring and safe environment. I am
thrilled to be your teacher, and I expect great things from our class
this year!
6th GRADE SCIENCE OVERVIEW
This is not a
day-to-day syllabus as you may receive in other classes. The
purpose of this is to give you an idea of what will be going on in
earth science and the expectations of the course. My website will
have the week-to-week activities on it, as I update it at least once a
week.
This course has been designed to explore all things earth
science. It is the goal of this course for you to engage in
science questions, understand the nature of science, and know how the
earth works as a system in which human responsibility is important for
the earth. You will explore the sciences through reading,
writing, discussion, activities, projects and laboratories.
We have some themes in Science. They are:
Abilities
to do Scientific Inquiry: Inquiry involves engaging in
scientifically oriented questions, giving priority to evidence in
responding to questions, formulating explanations based on evidence,
connecting explanations to scientific knowledge, and communicating and
justifying explanations.
Understandings about the Nature of
Science: The development of scientific knowledge is based on
questioning current knowledge, using empirical facts to develop logical
theories, and verifying observations and claims.
Literacy in
Geoscience: Geoscientific literacy is knowing how the Earth works
as a system in which humans as citizens have a responsibility to
sustain the delicate balance of these systems through careful
stewardship, informed decision making, and the wise use of Earth’s
resources.
The course goes as follows:
GRADE 6—EARTH SCIENCE
Program: Investigating Earth Systems (IES)
Developed by the American Geological Institute
Published by It’s About Time
UNITS OF STUDY
Unit 1—Rocks and Landforms
Rocks
and landforms are part of the geosphere but are changed over time by
interaction with the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere through
constructive and destructive forces.
Unit 2—Dynamic Planet
Earth
is an evolving planet undergoing constant change due to the heat
dynamics within its interior and the associated movement of
lithospheric plates that make up its crust.
Unit 3—Astronomy
Earth,
and its moon, is one of nine planets in the solar system, which is part
of the Milky Way galaxy, whose central body is the sun, around which
these planets orbit due to gravitational forces.
Unit 4—Water as a Resource
All
of planet Earth’s water (the hydrosphere), is essential for life,
circulates through Earth systems, shapes the land, and is used as both
an essential and non-essential resource by humans.
Unit 5—Climate and Weather
Weather
comprises all the various phenomena that occur in the atmosphere.
Climate represents the average pattern of weather variation at a
certain location over several decades.
BRING TO CLASS EACH DAY
1) Composition Book for journaling
2) Any type of notebook to hold papers and handouts
3) An awake, inquisitive mind and body!
ATTENDANCE
Attendance
in all classes is important! You are expected to be here on time,
and in your seat ready to work. If you are absent, please come to
me when you return, and I will get you your missing work. Or if
you know that you are going to be absent ahead of time, let me know and
I will send you home with work. Email is an amazing thing.
If you, your parents, or guardians have an email address, feel free to
contact me and I can get you caught up with missing work.
CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS
1) A safe learning environment!
2) A respectful attitude towards yourself, your classmates, and your teacher.
3) Students are expected to pay attention and to be quiet during teacher instructional time.
4) Water is allowed in the classroom, but no food or other drinks in the classroom.
5)
Turn off cell phones, IM devices, electric devices, recording devices
or any sort of music players. Unless specified in an IEP I will
take it away until the end of class. If it I need to take it away
a lot, I will hold it for a longer period of time.
6) Do not pack up to leave until you are dismissed from class.
7)
Leave your backpacks in your lockers. I walk around all the time,
and I tripped on these all the time. It is a safety concern, and
being safe is a must!
8) Be on time and prepared.
9) Follow all school policies.
CONSEQUENCES
1) A verbal or written warning by the teacher.
2) A conference with the teacher and student.
3) A phone call home or a parent conference.
4) A referral is submitted to the Student Advisor or the Assistant Principal.
GRADING
A 100% - 90% B 89% - 80% C 79% - 70% D 69% - 60% F 59% - 0%
Homework/Warm-Ups
20% - Work that is expected to be done at home, while reviewing the
Science material. The warm-ups are done at the beginning of each
class to get our “science brain” charged. Homework and warm-ups
are not worth 20% each but 20% combined.
Class
work and Projects 40% - There are projects that you will do in class
such as labs and group work. I try to always provide a rubric
ahead of time for you to know what I am looking for. Each unit
ends with a big project. More information will be given out when
we reach that part of the unit.
Exams/Quizzes 30% - Expect
a quiz about every two weeks. You will also receive a study guide
the class prior to the quiz.
Journals 5% - I check journals to make sure that you are staying up to speed on your work.
Attendance
5% - You will receive 5 points per class that you were on time.
For each minute that you are late, you will lose one point, plus
receive a tardy. If you have an excused absence then you will be
marked “exempt” for the day and it will not hurt your attendance grade.
Work
is expected to be turned in when it is due. Late work may be
turned in the next day for 50% credit. (Excused absences have 2
days for every day gone as district policy indicates.) If you
know that you are going to be absent, let me know and I can get your
work to you and you will be caught up.
NO NAME WORK
I didn’t
think I would have to address this issue, but I want to make it clear,
your name needs to be on your work! You may have done a beautiful
volcano description with all the parts labeled and working, but I can’t
give you full credit without your name. No name assignments will
be marked down by 50%. Only once the name is put on the paper
will I be able to enter the grade in the book. Unfortunately it
will be 50% off. The lesson here? Put your name on all your
work.
ASSESSMENT
Assessment takes place in many ways.
Energy and scholarship should be committed to everything you do
including: discussions, class work, homework, labs, individual and
group projects, quizzes, tests, and all other activities.
PARENT CONTACT
All
assignments will be posted on my DSA website, and can be checked at any
time. I update my website at least once a week with the weekly
activities in class so you can stay on top of what we are doing.
E-mail is the best way to contact me. I will update Infinite
Campus with grades as quickly as possible. Please be patient as
there are many students and many grades to enter. I will meet
with parents by appointment.
INFINITE CAMPUS
This is a
great tool for checking grades and staying on top of assignments.
I try to post assignments ahead of time with their due dates on it on
Infinite Campus. Assignments that are not turned in get marked
with a "missing" flag on it. The system automatically gives this
a "zero." The number one cause for "missing" work: no name!
I will try my best to get grades on Infinite Campus as quickly as
possible. Please be patient as sometimes I have over one hundred
journals to grade and it may take awhile! Thanks.
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