M/J Comprehensive Science 3 (#2002100)

Version for Academic Year:

Course Standards

General Course Information and Notes

General Notes

Laboratory investigations that include the use of scientific inquiry, research, measurement, problem solving, laboratory apparatus and technologies, experimental procedures, and safety procedures are an integral part of this course. The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) recommends that at the middle school level, all students should have multiple opportunities every week to explore science laboratory investigations (labs). School laboratory investigations are defined by the National Research Council (NRC) as an experience in the laboratory, classroom, or the field that provides students with opportunities to interact directly with natural phenomena or with data collected by others using tools, materials, data collection techniques, and models (NRC, 2006, p. 3). Laboratory investigations in the middle school classroom should help all students develop a growing understanding of the complexity and ambiguity of empirical work, as well as the skills to calibrate and troubleshoot equipment used to make observations. Learners should understand measurement error; and have the skills to aggregate, interpret, and present the resulting data (NRC 2006, p. 77; NSTA, 2007).

Special Notes:

Instructional Practices
Teaching from a range of complex text is optimized when teachers in all subject areas implement the following strategies on a routine basis:

Ensuring wide reading from complex text that varies in length.
Making close reading and rereading of texts central to lessons.
Emphasizing text-specific complex questions, and cognitively complex tasks, reinforce focus on the text and cultivate independence.
Emphasizing students supporting answers based upon evidence from the text.
Providing extensive research and writing opportunities (claims and evidence).
Integration of Florida Standards for Mathematical Practice.

Additional content that may be included in the Grade 8 NAEP Science assessment includes:

Rocks and rock formations bear evidence of the minerals, materials, temperature/pressure conditions, and forces that created them. (SC.4.E.6.1 and SC.4.E.6.2)
Earth as a whole has a magnetic field that is detectable at the surface with a compass, with north and south poles and lines of force. (SC.912.P.10.16)
The Sun is the major source of energy for phenomena on Earth's surface. (SC.3.L.17.2; SC.3.E.5.2; SC.3.E.6.1; SC.4.P.10.4; SC.4.L.17.2)
Water, which covers the majority of Earth's surface, circulates through the crust, oceans, and atmosphere in what is known as the water cycle. (SC.5.E.7.1; SC.5.E.7.2; SC.5.E.7.6)
A tiny fraction of the light energy from the Sun is Earth's primary source of energy, heating Earth surfaces and providing the energy that results in wind, ocean currents, and storms. (SC.2.E.7.2; SC.3.E.6.1)
Following fertilization, cell division produces a small cluster of cells that then differentiate by appearance and function to form the basic tissues of an embryo. (SC.912.L.16.13)
Characteristics of organisms are influenced by heredity and environment. (SC.4.L.16.2 and SC.4.L.16.3)
Nuclear reactions take place in the Sun. (SC.912.P.10.10; SC.912.P.10.11)

The NAEP frameworks for Science may be accessed at http://www.nagb.org/publications/frameworks/science-09.pdf

General Information

Course Number: 2002100

Course Path:

Section: Grades PreK to 12 Education Courses > Grade Group: Grades 6 to 8 Education Courses > Subject: Science > SubSubject: General Sciences >

Abbreviated Title: M/J COMP SCI 3

Course Length: Year (Y)

Course Level: 2

Course Status: Course Approved

Grade Level(s): 6,7,8

Student Resources

Vetted resources students can use to learn the concepts and skills in this course.

Original Student Tutorials

Modelling The Solar System Part 2: Scientific Notation:

Use scientific notation to compare the distances of planets and other objects from the Sun in this interactive tutorial.