8th Grade Overarching Concept:
Perhaps the most important perspective with respect to Integrated Grade 8 is that it serves as a capstone for the middle school grade span. Many of the key concepts that have been flowing, cycling and building in complexity in the lower grades come together to explain awesome phenomena such as the unity and diversity of Earth's life, how humans impact and can sustain biodiversity, and the beautiful dances within the solar system. Since 8th grade is an assessment year, it is important while integrating to consider connecting back to concepts taught in earlier grade levels.
Unit 1: Up close- Objects move and collide.
Grade 8 presents the greatest challenge within the three middle school grades with respect to integrating the content throughout the year. The major physical science concepts of Newton’s Laws and noncontact forces do not readily integrate with the major life science concepts of evolution, natural selection, and human impacts on Earth systems. The goal of each instructional segment is to teach a coherent story that generally includes two or more science disciplines that meaningfully connect with each other within that IS. Earth and Space Science content provides the conceptual “glue” by separately linking with physical science (solar system, orbital motions, and asteroid collisions) and with life science (human impacts on biodiversity and geologic time scale via fossils in rock strata). IS 1 also features engineering design intimately connected with the IS science concepts.
Grade 8 presents the greatest challenge within the three middle school grades with respect to integrating the content throughout the year. The major physical science concepts of Newton’s Laws and noncontact forces do not readily integrate with the major life science concepts of evolution, natural selection, and human impacts on Earth systems. The goal of each instructional segment is to teach a coherent story that generally includes two or more science disciplines that meaningfully connect with each other within that IS. Earth and Space Science content provides the conceptual “glue” by separately linking with physical science (solar system, orbital motions, and asteroid collisions) and with life science (human impacts on biodiversity and geologic time scale via fossils in rock strata). IS 1 also features engineering design intimately connected with the IS science concepts.
Grade 8 Unit 1: Performance Expectations Addressed
ngss_ms_framework_grade_8_unit_1.pdf |
Instructional segment 2 continues to build upon the force of gravity and introduces other non contact forces such as electromagnetic fields. These phenomena are happening within a scale of existence that extends from submicroscopic atoms to clusters of galaxies. These phenomena also occur across a scale of time that extends from instants of collisions to billions of years of stability and change. All this grandeur and wonder would be unknown to us without the powerful science and engineering practices and unifying concepts that students experience and apply in NGSS middle school science.
Grade 8 Unit 2: Performance Expectations Addressed
ngss_ms_framework_grade_8_unit_2.pdf |
Instructional segment 3 connects back to cellular biology through the introduction of genetics and inheritance of traits. As mutations in genes occur, organisms tend to adapt to pressures from their environment. Evidence from fossils, anatomy, and embryology convincingly support the theory of biological evolution. Evidence from common ancestry shows that natural selection is the main mechanism leading to the evolution of species. Evidence from rock strata not only supports the theories of biological evolution and natural selection, but can be used to organize Earth's 4.6 billion year history into times periods on the geologic time scale. A potential to connect back to some of Earth's systems may present itself when teaching the geologic time scale.
Grade 8 Unit 3: Performance Expectations Addressed
ngss_ms_framework__grade_8_unit_3.pdf |
Instructional segment 4 builds upon the concepts of evolution and provides opportunities to connect back to ecosystems and how changes to environments can affect probabilities of survival and reproduction. Ecosystems may also serve as a lens while discussing seasonal and cyclical annual changes in relation to the absorption of sunlight and impacts of per capita consumption due to an increasing human population. Seasonal sunlight can easily segue into wave properties and electromagnetic radiation. IS 4 also features engineering design that can be used as a way to introduce and deepen student understanding of wave-based technologies.
Grade 8 Unit 4: Performance Expectations Addressed
ngss_ms_framework_grade_8_unit_4.pdf |