Biography

This course asks students to continue to develop a passion for science and to build on the skills they have learned in sixth and seventh grade. Students construct meaning about the chemical and physical world by exploring and testing their current ideas, making new discoveries, and presenting their findings to peers for discussion. In eighth grade students further expand their ability to design and construct a scientific investigation; gather, analyze, and interpret data; communicate scientific processes and explanations; construct scientific models based on data; think critically, logically, and creatively; and establish the relationship between evidence and reasoning. Students strengthen their writing skills and flex their capacity to defend theories with evidence while developing their own concepts of quality work, building communication skills, and improving analyses through the examination of one another’s ideas.

Students build upon the rich content knowledge and skills established in sixth and seventh grade to delve deeper into the world of science. Throughout our studies of chemical reactions and chemistry, mechanical and electromagnetic waves, physics of motion, and forces, students use the scientific method to test their ideas about the world around them. Students then construct theories, which are tested further, analyzed by their peers, and addressed in class discussions. Throughout the course, students will also hone their skills as engineers. They will learn to empathize, ideate, and problem solve through the design thinking process as they create concert venues for their favorite artists or build impact proof contraptions for communities in need.