Unit Time Frame: September 9, 2014 to December 22, 2014

Students will begin this unit with the exploration of energy, heat density and buoyancy. They will discover how all are related to the weather, ocean currents plate tectonics, formation of stars and more. They then will discover that the amount of water on Earth has not changed over time, the percentage of water on Earth, and how water moves naturally around the Earth. As the unit progresses, the students will learn about weather and climate, and what factors influence it. Then they will take a look at Earth’s oceans’ characteristics, currents, waves, beaches, and the features of the deep ocean floor. Students will finish this unit with a look at how scientists “read” Earth’s history from layers of rock and fossils through relative and absolute dating.

21^st Century : Global connections

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  Objects will sink or float depending on the relationship of the gravitational pull on the object and the upward force of the liquid it displaces.
  
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  Density of an object in relationship to the density of the liquid that it is placed in will determine how it will sink or float.
  
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  Buoyancy is the upward force of a liquid on an object placed in it.
  
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  Gravity is the attraction of two objects.
  Force is a push or pull.
  
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  Density is mass per volume, Mass is the amount of matter in an object.
  
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  Volume is the amount of space an object occupies.
  
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  Earth has one big ocean with many features.
  
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  The ocean and life in the ocean shape the features of Earth.
  
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  The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate.
  
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  The ocean makes Earth habitable.
  
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  The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems.
  
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  The oceans and humans are inextricably linked.
  
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  The ocean is largely unexplored.
  
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  Develop, communicate and justify an evidence-based scientific explanation to account for Earth’s different climates.
  
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  Research and evaluate direct and indirect evidence to explain how climates vary from one location to another on Earth.
  
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  Examine, evaluate, and question information from a variety of sources and media to investigate how climates vary from one location to another on Earth.
  
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  The amount of water on Earth has remained about the same for millions of years.
  

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  What is matter? What is not?
  
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  Can matter be created or destroyed?
  
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  How do changes in states of matter affect me?
  

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  What happens when water falls from the clouds and lands on the ground? Where does it go?
  
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  How does the climate in one area compare and contrast with another area?
  
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  Why are there different climates on Earth?
  
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  How has Earth’s climate changed over time?
  
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  What evidence supports and/or contradicts human influence on climate change?
  
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  What is the difference between weather and climate?
  

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  That the scientific process is a continuous method of investigation.
  
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  Causes of wind and weather patterns.
  
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  Factors affecting climate.
  
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  Causes of the Coriolis effect.
  
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  How events in one geographical area affect another.
  
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  How climate affects agriculture.
  
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  How these factors affect the long term climate
  
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  Matter is neither created nor destroyed, but can change states.
  
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  State of matter is dependent on energy and density of particles.
  
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  Changes in states of matter causes natural continuous cycles on Earth. (water cycle, rock cycle, convection weather patterns)
  

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  Students will be able to interpret data tables, charts, and graphs allow people to compare and contrast various climates around the globe.
  
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  Students will be able to interpret computer models help people understand past, present, and future climates.
  
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  Measuring temperature, mass, volume
  
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  Calculating density.
  
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  Identifying examples of states of matter.
  

Notebook Investigation Entries

Performance Assessments

My Journal Entries

Student Observation/Anecdotal Notes

Homework

Readorium

Chapter Assessments

Chapter 3 Assessments

Notebook Investigation Entry 4A

Chapter 4 Assessments

My Journal Entries -6.3 Biodiversity

Student Observation/Anecdotal Notes- Chapter 6

Chapter 6 Assessment

Chapter 7 Assessment

Notebook Investigation Entry 9A

Chapter 9 Assessments

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  Water is pushing up on the object
  
• 
  Weight determines if an object will sink or float.
  
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  Heavy objects always sink and light objects always float.
  
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  A larger heavier object will not float as well as a smaller lighter object of the same material.
  
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  The amount of water will cause objects to float or sink better.
  
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  There must be more water for larger objects to float.
  
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  Weight of the water must be more than the weight of the object.
  
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  Objects with holes will always sink.
  
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  Objects with air float.
  
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  Objects float on top of the liquid.
  
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  Fish don’t float unless they are dead.
  
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  Oil sinks because there is more water than oil. If there were more oil, the oil would be on the bottom.
  
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  Water is on the bottom, because it was poured in first.
  
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  Density is the thickness of something.
  
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  Oil is always on top because it repels water, corn syrup has some oil in it and it would be between oil and water, anything mixed with oil separates.
  
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  The more air pockets in something the more it will float. Wax, ice, has lots of air pockets in it and floats.
  
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  Liquids are liquids and will all mix together.
  

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  Expansion of matter is due to the expansion of the particles, rather than the increase of particle spacing.
  
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  Water atoms themselves expand or change when ice melts.
  
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  The water cycle involves freezing and melting of water.
  
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  Water only gets evaporated from the ocean or lakes.
  
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  When water boils and bubbles come up the bubbles are air.
  
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  The bubbles are oxygen or hydrogen.
  
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  Ice molecules are colder than water molecules.
  
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  Condensation on the outside of a container is water that seeped through the container itself.
  
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  The coldness comes through the container and produces water.
  
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  Condensation is when air turns into a liquid.
  
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  Condensation on the outside of a container is water that seeped through the container itself.
  
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  The coldness comes through the container and produces water.
  
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  Condensation is when air turns into a liquid.
  
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  Raindrops look like tear drops.
  
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  Rain falls out of the sky when the clouds evaporate.
  
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  Rain comes from holes in clouds.
  
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  Rain falls from funnels in the clouds.
  
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  Clouds (and rain) are made by God (Piaget as cited in Bar, 1989 & Dove, 1998). 
  
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  Clouds come from somewhere above the sky. 
  
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  Empty clouds are refilled by the sea.
  
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  Clouds are formed by boiling - vapors from kettles or the sun boiling the sea. Clouds are made of cold, heat, fog, snow or night. 
  
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  Clouds are mostly smoke, made of cotton or wool, or they are bags of water.
  
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  Clouds are sponges that hold water. 
  
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  Clouds are water vapor. 
  
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  Clouds are dust particles. 
  
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  Thunder occurs when two clouds collide.
  

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• 
  Oceans shaped like a bowl, deepest in the middle.
  
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  Sea floor is flat.
  
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  Bottom of ocean is a big sandy desert.
  
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  Coasts and coastlines don’t change.
  
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  Ocean is blue because it reflects the color of the sky.
  
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  Earth’s oceans are separate and are not connected,
  
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  Oceans are unrelated to the weather.
  

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• 
  Balloons
  
• 
  Flask
  
• 
  Ice water
  
• 
  Bucket of warm water
  
• 
  Geobox
  
• 
  Candle
  
• 
  Long fireplace matches
  
• 
  Safety goggles
  
• 
  Incense
  
• 
  Aluminum weighing dish
  
• 
  Small piece cardboard
  
• 
  Samples of 1 lb. items i.e. Wooden block, Styrofoam peanuts, copper or metal blocks, cotton balls, clay, paper clips, wax, pennies
  
• 
  Displacement tank, density cubes
  
• 
  Balance, 100 ml graduated cylinder, 250 ml beaker
  
• 
  Water
  
• 
  Paper towels
  
• 
  Disposable cup
  
• 
  Simple calculator
  
• 
  Deep basin
  
• 
  Tub toys
  
• 
  2 soda bottles (12 or 24 oz.)
  
• 
  2 digital thermometers
  
• 
  Light source
  
• 
  Black paper
  
• 
  White paper,
  
• 
  Stopwatch
  
• 
  Tape
  
• 
  Metric ruler
  

• 
  Water (bottled)
  
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  Beaker
  
• 
  Table salt
  
• 
  Balance
  
• 
  2 geoboxes
  
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  2 collection containers (fresh plastic cups or 2 beakers that are shorter than geobox)
  
• 
  Weights
  
• 
  Plastic wrap
  
• 
  Masking tape
  
• 
  Metric ruler
  
• 
  Glass mason jar with lid
  
• 
  Water
  
• 
  Ice
  
• 
  Matches
  
• 
  Black construction paper
  
• 
  flashlight
  
• 
  Sling psychrometer
  
• 
  Relative humidity chart
  
• 
  Stopwatch
  
• 
  Graph paper
  
• 
  Water in wide-mouth container
  
• 
  Vaporizer
  
• 
  Simple calculator
  
• 
  10 oz. glass
  
• 
  20 oz. glass
  
• 
  Potted plant
  
• 
  Clear plastic gallon storage bag
  
• 
  Twist tie
  
• 
  Toothbrush
  
• 
  Toothpaste
  
• 
  Container to fit under faucet
  
• 
  Measuring cup with ml markings
  

• 
  Weather tools set
  
• 
  Cloud chart
  
• 
  Beaufort wind scale
  
• 
  Compass
  
• 
  Graph paper
  
• 
  Blue and pink highlighter pens
  
• 
  Large foam ball
  
• 
  Skewer
  
• 
  Flashlight
  
• 
  Stopwatch
  
• 
  Radar image plates (set of 6)
  
• 
  Metric ruler
  
• 
  Large clear plastic container
  
• 
  Ice cubes dyed blue
  
• 
  Red food coloring
  
• 
  Warm water
  
• 
  Permanent marker
  

• 
  Chilled bottle of oil and vinegar dressing
  
• 
  Clear plastic cup
  
• 
  2 foam coffee cups
  
• 
  Eyedropper
  
• 
  Pipette
  
• 
  Salt
  
• 
  Teaspoon
  
• 
  10 cm square cardboard
  
• 
  Pencil
  
• 
  Scissors
  
• 
  20 staples
  
• 
  newspapers
  
• 
  Cafeteria tray or paper plate
  
• 
  Hot and cold water
  
• 
  Food coloring
  
• 
  Photographs and/or video clips of different beach locations
  
• 
  Magic School Bus On The Ocean Floor book
  
• 
  Index cards
  
• 
  Selection of informational books on t he ocean
  
• 
  Bathymetric map
  
• 
  Colored markers
  
• 
  Tray
  
• 
  Two baby food jars
  
• 
  Water red and blue food coloring
  
• 
  Salt
  
• 
  Large index card
  

• 
  Empty aquarium of large container
  
• 
  Number of dated objects like a coin, stamp, soil, and a number of undated objects
  
• 
  2 plastic soda bottles (1-L capacity)
  
• 
  Scissors
  
• 
  Permanent markers
  
• 
  Soil mixture (1:1 topsoil to sand)
  
• 
  Newspaper
  
• 
  Beaker
  
• 
  Metric ruler
  
• 
  Spoon
  
• 
  Sedimentary rock samples (for t he teacher and a utility knife)
  
• 
  Microscope slide of tree cross-section
  
• 
  Tree cross section
  
• 
  Seven paper strips (set of 4 and set of 3)
  
• 
  2 blank pieces of paper
  
• 
  Graph paper
  
• 
  Scissors
  
• 
  Tape
  
• 
  Colored pencils
  
• 
  Magnifying lens
  
• 
  4 small containers (like film canisters)
  
• 
  30 pennies
  
• 
  Paper plates