8th Grade curriculum
8th grade curriculum – Physical Science
This curriculum does not show that every Friday is reading day in science class.
We use Current Science, Science World and various books that we read in class.  Most Fridays, students get to choose what they want to read, but there is always a literary technique involved that I teach the students that will help them become better readers.  Some examples would be text based questions, using sticky notes to highlight parts of the articles that they know/don’t know, doing a web with their classmates, modeling of reading by myself, pair reading, mainstream vocabulary words etc.  They write down what they do in their science journals and they are left in the class.
 
 
  1. Introduction to Matter – opening day demonstrations
  1. Describing matter
  1. Properties of matter
  2. Kinds of matter
  3. Compounds and mixtures
  4. Changes in matter- physical and chemical changes
  1. Measuring matter
  1. Mass
  2. Volume
  3. Density
  4. Density lab
  5. Density worksheet
  1. Particles of matter
  1. Atoms, past and present
  1. Solids, Liquids and Gases
    1. States of matter
    2. Gas behavior
      1. Relating pressure and volume
      2. Relating pressure and temperature
      3. Relating volume and temperature
      4. Demonstrations of these
      5. Corn starch lab
    3. Graphing gas behavior
    4. Changes in state
      1. Melting
      2. Freezing
      3. Vaporization
      4. Condensation
      5. Sublimation
      6. Video demo of sublimation
e. review game
f.Test on chapter 2/review packet due
 
  1. Atoms and the periodic table
  1. Inside  an atom
  2. Organizing the elements
    1. Electron dot diagrams
    2. Handing out periodic tables
    3. Alien periodic table lab
    4. Reading the periodic table
  3.  
i. metals in the periodic table
ii. alloys
 
  1. Nonmetals  and metalloids
    1. Properties of nonmetals
    2. Properties of metalloids
  2. Review game
  3. Test on chapter 3/review packet due
  1. Chemical bonds
    1. Ionic bonds
      1. Bonding worksheet
      2. Polyatomic ions
      3. Ion worksheet
      4. Properties of ionic compounds
      5. Salt crystal demonstration
      6. Electrical conductivity demonstration
    2. Covalent bonds
      1. Bonding worksheet
      2. Properties of molecular compounds
    3. Crystal chemistry
      1. Mineral properties
    4. Review game
    5. Test on chapter 4/review packet due
  2. Chemical reactions
    1. Evidence for chemical reactions
      1. Chemical reaction lab
    2. Writing chemical equations
      1. Worksheet on balancing chemical equations
      2. Classifying chemical reactions
    3. Controlling chemical reactions
      1. Concentration
      2. Temperature
      3. Surface area
      4. Catalysts and inhibitors
      5. Penny demonstrations
    4. Fire and fire safety
    5. Review game
    6. Test/review packet due
  3. Acids, bases and solutions
    1. Understanding solutions
      1. Milk, syrup demo
      2. Effects of solutes on solutions (lower freezing point and higher boiling point)
      3. Colloid worksheet
    2. Concentration and solubility
      1. Acid demo with magnesium
      2. Movie on concentrations
      3. Changing solubility (temperature, pressure and solvents)
    3. Describing acids and bases
      1. Acid salt demonstration
      2. Properties of acids
      3. Properties of bases
      4. Indicators
      5. pH paper demonstration
    4. acids and bases in solution
      1. strengths of acids and bases
      2. measuring pH
      3. acid/base worksheet
      4. acid rain
      5. acid base inquiry lab******
    5. digestion and pH******
      1. mouth
      2. stomach
      3. small intestine
    6. review game*******
    7. test on chapter 6******
  4. exploring materials
    1. radioactive elements
      1. nuclear reactions
      2. isotopes
      3. isotope worksheet
      4. radioactive decay
      5. alpha decay, beta decay, gamma decay
      6. practice with radioactive equations
      7. half-life
      8. using radioactive isotopes
        1. tracers
        2. industry
        3. medicine
        4. nuclear power
        5. safe use of radioactive materials
    2. half life penny lab (with graphing)
    3. chapter test/review packet due
WHEN WE COME BACK FROM BREAK, ALL 8TH GRADE CLASSES WILL BEGIN DOING AN 8TH GRADE SCIENCE TEST REVIEW BY ANSWERING 3 QUESTIONS FROM PREVIOUS 8TH GRADE SCIENCE TESTS!!
 
  1. Motion
    1. Describing and measuring motion
    2. Distance and the metric system
      1. 2 metric review sheets
      2. Metric mania review game
      3. Speed calculations worksheet
      4. Review slope of a line
      5. Graphing motion
    3. Slow motion on planet earth
      1. Plate tectonics
    4. Acceleration
      1. Calculating acceleration/worksheet
    5. Chapter 9 review game
    6. Chapter 9 test
  2. Forces
    1. The nature of force
      1. Unbalanced forces
      2. Balanced forces
      3. Newton’s first law of motion (inertia and mass)
    2. Force, mass and acceleration
      1. Calculating force worksheet
      2. Changes in force and mass
      3. Newton’s second law of motion
    3. Friction and gravity
      1. Sliding friction
      2. Fluid friction
      3. Rolling friction
      4. Gravity/air resistance
      5. Weight vs mass
      6. Sneaker lab
    4. Action and reaction
      1. Newton’s third law of motion
      2. Momentum
      3. Conservation of momentum
      4. Momentum worksheet
    5. Chapter 10 review game
    6. Chapter 10 test
  3. Chapter 11
  4. Chapter 12
  5. Chapter 13
  6. Earth Science Unit
    1. Rock cycle
    2. Weather
    3. Earth in Space
    4. Earth’s atmosphere
    5. Earth’s Interior
  7. Review of 7th grade material