Since most of the concepts that we will be dealing with in 8^th grade science are very abstract, I will try to provide experiences, either by experimentation or by demonstration, that will make these ideas a little more meaningful. Student’s notebooks will be used for notes, labs, and assignments. All of their work should be either in their notebook or on worksheets in a folder.

I am trying to use the idea of a concept map to help the students organize and better understand the information that is presented.  I will provide assistance at the start of the year to help students understand how the concept map is organized in relation to the text. The concept maps may be used in most cases on quizzes and/or tests. However, a certain degree of memorization of vocabulary terms and other important information is an integral and necessary part of the learning experience.

Students will be allowed to use calculators to do calculations for any work in this class as well as on tests and quizzes. It is my goal to have students have students perform some experiments at home. You are more than welcome to try to assist them in the process.

Grades:

Daily work, Quiz, Labs, Tests – each calculated by taking total points earned divided by total points

possible x 100

Daily work x 1 + Quiz & Labs x 2 + Tests x 3 = total score

Total score / 6 = average %

100 – 93%  A      92 – 83%     B     83 – 74%     C     73 – 64%     D <63%         F

Homework will be occasional. Sometimes students will be expected to complete a lab or worksheet started in class. Students should prepare for tests by developing good study habits and skills as well as making sure they have the necessary tools (ie: concept maps, notes, labs and other activities) that they may use on the test. The only other homework will be a project, maybe one, for which they will have an adequate period of time to complete.

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