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College Station Middle School

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College Station Middle School

8th Grade Science Year at a Glance

YEAR AT A GLANCE COURSE:  Science Grade 8

2018 - 2019 School Year

The CSISD Science Program Ensures:

  • CSISD science students will be able to independently use their learning to:

    • Become informed, critical users of science

    • Craft and communicate evidence-based observations, analysis, and conclusions.

    • Design and conduct investigations in order to generate reliable knowledge.

    • Analyze interactions within natural, designed, and interconnected systems.

  • CSISD Eighth Grade science students will conduct laboratory and field investigations for at least 40% of instructional time.

Pacing Overview**

1st 6 weeks

8/20-9/28

2nd 6 weeks

10/1-11/9

3rd 6 weeks

11/12-12/21

4th 6 weeks

1/7-2/15

5th 6 weeks

2/19-4/5

6th 6 weeks

4/8-5/24

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Unit 4

Unit 5

**Note:  Throughout the year the units may shift due to testing and school activities.
 

Unit Overviews

Unit 1:  Science Processes, Procedures, Safety, and Tools

  • TIMELINE: 3 weeks

  • SUMMARY:  The students will be able to describe how society and science impact each other by 

conducting different investigations using inquiry, critical thinking, and a variety of tools. 

They will practice safety methods while conducting investigations. 

  • Safety, Conservation, and Tools:  Students will review proper equipment use, including safety procedures and environmentally appropriate and ethical practices.

  • Scientific Procedures:  Students will review and extend prior learning of inquiry, critical thinking, scientific reasoning, and problem solving skills that will support their interactions with the science content for the remainder of the course.

Unit 2:  Matter and Energy

  • TIMELINE: 9 weeks

  • SUMMARY:  This unit focuses on the composition of matter, atomic structure, and the chemical and 

physical properties of matter.   

  • Elements and Compounds:  Students describe the structure of an atom, determine an element's identity and interpret the Periodic Table.

  • Chemical Equations, Formulas, and Reactions:  Students learn how formulas are used to reveal the composition of substances.  Students investigate how evidence of chemical reactions indicate that new substances are formed. Through these reactions they are able to understand the  Law of Conservation of Mass.

Unit 3:  Force, Motion, and Energy

  • TIMELINE: 5 weeks

  • SUMMARY:  Students will explore and investigate the relationships between force, motion, and 

energy.

  • Force and Motion:  Students investigate, demonstrate (using models), and calculate how the net force of unbalanced forces change an object's motion.  Students explore the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration (F=ma).

  • Newton’s Laws:  Students investigate and describe applications of Newton’s Laws.

Unit 4:  Earth and Space

  • TIMELINE: 12 weeks

  • SUMMARY:  Students will investigate different systems including plate tectonics, Sun-Earth-Moon, 

global weather patterns, and the universe. They will use this knowledge to relate the 

formations/ phenomena each of these processes can cause and/or effect.

  • Plate Tectonics:  The student will understand the historical development of evidence that supports plate tectonic theory and how some features on the Earth's surface are related to plate tectonics.  

  • Sun, Earth, and Moon:  Students will understand that the Earth is tilted and rotates causing day & night and revolves around the Sun causing differing seasons.  Students will have the understanding of how to demonstrate and predict the sequence of events in the lunar cycle.

  • Global Weather Patterns:  Driven by solar radiation, Earth, ocean, and weather systems work together, transferring energy and matter by convection across Earth’s surface.

  • Universe:  Students will explore the characteristics of components of the universe and their relationships. 

Unit 5:  Organisms and Environments

  • TIMELINE: 4 weeks

  • SUMMARY:  Students investigate and explore how organisms depend on their environment and how 

these environments are constantly changing and how humans often are a cause of 

these changes.

  • Interdependence:  Organisms and populations in an environment depend on each other, but also compete for the biotic and abiotic factors that are available in that location.

  • Environmental Changes:  When an environmental change occurs, the current population of organisms is affected, as well as the traits of subsequent populations. Humans survival is heavily dependent on the health of our ocean systems, and our activities and environmental choices have an impact on the health of that system.