Chadwick 6th Grade Science -- Year Overview
Scientific Inquiry (on-going)
• Ask meaningful questions
• Design and complete an independent investigation using the scientific method
• Use scientific instruments to collect and analyze data
• Use charts, graphs, and tables to show relationships between variables in an experiment
• Evaluate investigations and draw conclusions
CIMI Trip & Marine Biology Follow-up
• Learn about Toyon Bay habitats, ecology, plant & animal species, producers & consumers, preditors & prey
• Analyze the structure, form, and biology of giant kelp
• Learn about living organisms that inhabit the base, mid-level, and canopy of kelp forests.
• Create a “virtual” kelp forest in the classroom to illustrate learning.
Earth Science
ENERGY IN THE EARTH SYSTEM (topics covered)
• Earth’s heat energy & Geologic time
• Density & boyancy
• Ocean Currents
• Wind and weather
• Earth’s interior
PLATE TECHTONICS & EARTH’S STRUCTURE (topics covered)
• The supercontinent Pangaea
• Sea-floor spreading
• Plate boundaries
• Metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rocks
• Earthquakes & seismic waves
• Volcanoes
SHAPING THE EARTH’S SURFACE (topics covered)
• Weathering & erosion
• Marine environments, waves & beaches
• Ecosystems, Forests in the Ocean
• Food chains & food webs
• Resources & conservation
Enrichment Labs
• Water-powered 2 liter Bottle Rockets (Earth science & physics)
• Dry Ice (frozen CO2) investigations (Earth science & chemistry)
• Physical and Chemical Changes (Earth science & chemistry)
• Podcasting – creating a script, recording it, editing the audio file on a computer, and publishing the final file (CIMI trip follow-up and science news)
• Balloon Poppers – (Experimental Design Project) Students use physics concepts and simple machines to create a Rube Goldberg-style “contraption” that will allow the movement of a marble down a series of ramps and levers to somewhere along the way, pop a balloon.
Explorations Class (Science Olympiad: Mystery Architecture)
• Using simple materials (straws, popsicle sticks, paper, masking tape, cups, etc.) to create a structure that can be tested for strength or performance. Examples: boat, tower, bridge, catapult, trebuchet, helicopter, boomilever cantilever, car,etc.
• Quickly access each new challenge, develop a plan, then execute the plan using the supplied materials.
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