Linden
Community Schools
Content Standard 2: All students will describe
the characteristics of water and demonstrate where water is found on Earth;
describe how water moves; and analyze the interaction of human activities with
the hydrosphere. (Hydrosphere)
Grade Level: 8th Grade
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Benchmark |
Performance Description |
Recommended Activities |
Recommends Assessments |
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SCI.V2.HS.2 Identify and describe
regional watersheds. |
Students will:
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Instructional
Example Benchmark Question: What are the
characteristics of the watershed in which you live? Focus Question: On a map of your
county, what are the major watershed(s)? The teacher will
provide each student with a map of their county. The class will identify the
surface streams (rivers, creeks, etc.), lakes, and ponds. Students will:
Suggestion: Consider using |
Assessment
Example Provided with a map of
your county emphasizing the surface streams (rivers, creeks, etc.), lakes,
and ponds, each student will complete the four tasks listed below:
Note: A stream is a
general name for all rivers, creeks, runs, tributaries, etc. A tributary
is a stream that flows into another stream. |
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SCI.V.2.HS.2 Describe how human
activities affect the quality of water in the hydrosphere. |
Students will:
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Instructional
Example Benchmark Question: How does water
quality change as a stream flows from its headwaters through its watershed? Focus Question: How does the water
quality at the source of a stream compare to the water quality at the mouth
of the stream? The teacher will review
with students the standard techniques of water quality sampling and the
meaning of each test. The teacher will choose a local stream that can be
easily sampled in two or more places as far apart as possible. Students will collect
water samples and analyze them using standard water sampling techniques
(water quality testing kits are commonly available). Students will compare
and contrast water quality data between sampling sites and develop reasonable
hypotheses to account for their differences. Note: Students need to
know the difference between point and non point pollution (point pollution is
a discernable source of water pollution like a pipe versus non point
pollution which is a diffuse source of pollution where contaminants enter
water bodies from thousands of different points. Examples of non-point
pollution would be agricultural fields, building sites, and aerial deposition
of contaminants) Environmental clean up efforts have been more successful
with point sources of pollution because these sources are easily identified.
It is more of a challenge to control agricultural runoff or stop an adjacent
state from creating air pollution that will fall as acid rain. Acid deposition
includes rain as well as snow, sleet, dust, and hail, which are significant sources
of acids in the environment Extension: Students could also
identify the human activities on the stream located between the sampling
sites that could affect water quality changes. |
Assessment
Example The teacher will
provide each small group with a map of an unfamiliar watershed that notes
industries, farms, and any other point sources of pollution. The students
will be given the following scenario: Imagine that a large
concentration of a single pollutant (e.g., DDT, mercury, liquid agricultural
waste, etc.) is released into the environment at a single point in the
watershed. What effects will the
pollutant have? Each group will trace
the flow of pollutants, predict concentration levels, and describe the impact
the pollutant might have on living things at different locations in the
watershed. Each group will present this information to the class. |
Linden
Community Schools
Content Standard 1: All students will measure and describe the
things around us; explain what the world around us is made of; identify and
describe forms of energy; and explain how electricity and magnetism interact
with matter
Grade Level: 8th Grade
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Benchmark |
Performance Description |
Recommended Activities |
Recommended Assessments |
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SCI.IV.1.HS.1 Analyze properties of
common household and agricultural materials in terms of risk/benefit balance. |
Students will:
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Instructional
Example Benchmark Question: How do we describe
the things around us? Focus Question: What are the risks
and benefits of using an everyday household product? After a classroom
discussion of risk/benefit analysis clarifying the criteria of safety, human
health, environment, politics, and economics, students will work in small
groups to research a common household product. Once they have completed their
research, they will conduct a risk/benefit analysis to determine whether or
not the product should be used. Each group will justify their position in a
classroom presentation. |
Assessment
Example Students will produce
a written risk/benefit analysis of a product selected by the teacher using
each of the five established criteria: safety, human health, environment,
politics, and economics. |
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SCI.IV.1.HS.2 Identify properties of
common families of elements. |
Students will:
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Instructional
Example Benchmark Question: How do we describe
the things around us? Focus Question: How are elements
classified? In this strategy,
students will classify elements according to their physical and chemical
properties. Students will
construct a table using columns with the following headings: name of element,
state, luster, conductivity, reaction with water, and reaction with acid. The teacher will give
groups of two to four students eight to ten samples of the same identified
elements. Students will examine each sample for the listed properties and
will record their observations in the table. Small groups will conduct tests
for conductivity, reaction with water, and reaction with acid. Students will
respond with “high,” “ low,” or “no.” Groups will
compare their results to the element’s position on the periodic table and
identify any patterns of organization. They will conclude by answering the
question, “How is the periodic table organized?” They will share their
findings with the class. Note: Use a battery powered
conductivity tester from a science supply catalog. |
Assessment
Example Given an element and a
periodic table, students will predict the properties they would expect the
element to have and explain why. Possible properties include the following:
reactivity, state, metal, nonmetal, conductivity. |
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SCI.IV.1.HS.3 Explain how elements
differ in terms of the structural parts and electrical charges of atoms. |
Students will:
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Instructional
Example Benchmark Question: What makes up the
world around us? Focus Question: How do the atoms in
one element differ from those in another element? After a classroom
discussion about atomic numbers and mass numbers and their relationship to
subatomic particles, the teacher will guide students in creating a model of
an element. The teacher will use students as protons, neutrons, and
electrons. “Neutrons,” labeled
with zeros, sit on the floor in the middle of the room. “Protons,” labeled
with a positive symbol, stand among the neutrons in the middle of the room.
“Electrons,” labeled with a negative symbol, walk in a random pattern around
the nucleus (protons and neutrons). Students will relate
the number of protons to the number of electrons in a neutral atom and will
explain how the elements differ (different numbers of protons). After the modeling,
students will write a summary of atomic numbers and mass numbers and their
relationship to subatomic particles. |
Assessment
Example Students will use
diagrams to explain the subatomic structure of an atom of a given element. |
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SCI.IV.1.HS.4 Explain how current is
controlled in simple series and parallel circuits. |
Students will
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Instructional
Example Benchmark Question: How do electricity
and magnetism interact with matter? Focus Question: How is current
controlled in simple series and parallel circuits? As an introduction to
parallel and series circuits, the teacher will give students bulbs, some
wire, switches, strings of Christmas lights, and dry cells (batteries). Students
will design and construct two circuits: one circuit has switches that turn
off all lights when open and one circuit has switches that control individual
lights. During a class discussion, students will draw conclusions from what
they have observed and will explain how the circuits work. Students will
distinguish between series and parallel circuits and will draw diagrams in
their journals. |
Assessment
Example Students
will use diagrams to label a simple series circuit and a parallel circuit and
explain how they work. |
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SCI.IV.1.HS.5 Describe how electric
currents can be produced by interacting wires and magnets, and explain
applications of this principle. |
Students will:
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Instructional Example Benchmark
Question:
How do electricity and magnetism interact with matter? Focus
Question:
How can electric currents be produced by interacting
wires and magnets? Following a
class discussion about how an electrical current is produced, the teacher
will perform the following demonstration and introduce the concept of a
magnetic field producing an electric current: Procedure: 1. Wrap 0.5 m
of wire around a compass (top to bottom). 2. Attach the
loose ends of the wire to a dry cell (battery) and observe the needle in the
compass. 3. Discuss
that the needle moves because electricity is moving through the wire and
creates a magnetic field that interacts with the needle. 4. Make a
coil of wire by wrapping approximately two m of wire several times around a
plastic bottle with the top and bottom removed. 5. Remove the
dry cell from the ends of the wire around the compass, then
twist these ends together with each of the exposed ends of the two m of wire
coil around the bottle. See Compass
Galvanometer Diagram below:
6. Place this
setup on an overhead projector to project onto a screen. 7. Take a bar
magnet and quickly pass it back and forth through the center of the bottle
with the coil; observe the compass needle. 8. Have
students pair up, discuss, and then create a written description of what they
think is happening. 9. Have
students share their ideas with the class and debate which pairs have the
most accurate ideas. |
Assessment
Example Students will label
the Compass Galvanometer Assessment Diagram below and list the sequence of
events in the process shown. Students may include the following steps: 1. Magnetic field from
bar magnet causes current to flow in wire. 2. Current flow
produces a magnetic field. 3. Generated magnetic
field moves the compass needle.
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Linden
Community Schools
Content
Grade Level: 8th Grade
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Benchmark |
Performance Description |
Recommended Activities |
Recommended Assessments |
|
SCI.IV.2.HS.1
Explain chemical changes in terms of the breaking of bonds and
the rearrangement of atoms to form new substances. |
Students
will:
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Instructional
Example Benchmark Question: How does matter change? Focus Question: How does matter change in chemical changes? After the teacher demonstrates, describes,
and models a chemical change, students will perform a chemical change in
small lab groups. The groups will model the chemical change using colored
mini marshmallows and toothpicks. The following is a suggestion of an
appropriate chemical change investigation for students: The Rusting of Iron (Oxidation)
Small groups will describe the chemical
change in writing and will share this writing with other groups and classes. |
Assessment
Example Students will illustrate and explain the rearrangement of atoms in the formation of new substances in one or more of the following chemical changes: NaOH + HCl |
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SCI.IV.2.HS.2
Explain why mass is conserved in physical and chemical changes. |
Students
will:
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Instructional
Example Benchmark Question: How does matter change? Focus Question: How does matter change in chemical changes? After the teacher demonstrates, describes,
and models a chemical change, students will perform a chemical change in
small lab groups. The groups will model the chemical change using colored
mini marshmallows and toothpicks. The following is a suggestion of an
appropriate chemical change investigation for students: The Rusting of Iron (Oxidation)
Small groups will describe the chemical
change in writing and will share this writing with other groups and classes. |
Assessment
Example Given the mass data of reactants, students will predict the total mass of the products and explain the prediction by using the concept of conservation of mass. |
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SCI.IV.2.HS.3
Contrast nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, and natural
radioactivity. |
Students
will:
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Instructional
Example Benchmark Question: How does matter change? Focus Question: How are nuclear fusion, nuclear fission, and
radioactivity different? Students will take notes from a teacher-led
presentation of characteristics unique to nuclear fusion, nuclear fission,
and radioactivity. Working in small groups, students will use their notes,
text, and other resources such as library books and the internet to create a
Venn diagram. The diagram will show how these three processes are similar as
well as different. Students will draw diagrams to explain how one of the
three processes occurs from beginning to end. Students will share their diagrams with
others in a small group. They will evaluate the accuracy of each diagram and
present the most accurate diagram to the class. As a follow-up, students will research the
following scientists and place them into the proper sections of the Venn
diagram based upon their contributions to key concepts in nuclear fusion,
nuclear fission, and radioactivity: Lise Meitner,
Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, Marie Curie, Chien Shiung
Wu and Shirley Ann Jackson. |
Assessment
Example Students will write essays contrasting the three processes of nuclear fusion, nuclear fission, and natural radioactivity over time. In their essays, students will describe the contributions of each of the following scientists to our understanding of nuclear fusion, nuclear fission, and natural radioactivity: Lise Meitner, Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, Marie Curie, Chien Shiung Wu, and Shirley Ann Jackson. |
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SCI.IV.2.HS.4
Describe energy transformations involved in physical, chemical,
and nuclear changes, and contrast their relative magnitudes. |
Students
will:
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Instructional
Example Benchmark Question: How does matter change? Focus Question: How does energy get transformed in a chemical
change? Working in small lab groups, students will
observe photosynthesis in green plants by performing the following steps: 1. Place a sprig of a submerged aquatic
plant (e.g., Elodea anacharis) in a small
test tube. 2. Fill the test tube with water and place
inverted into a beaker filled with water. The test tube should still be
completely filled with water. 3. Repeat steps one and two for a second
test tube. 4. Shine a bright light source on one set-up
(e.g., lamp, sunlight) and place the other in a dark location. Let both stand
for at least half an hour. Observe the plants in both test tubes.
Small bubbles of oxygen (from photosynthesis in the plant) should be filling
the top of the test tube under the bright light, while the one in the dark
has few or no bubbles. Students will analyze the results of the experiment
and discuss the source of energy required to produce the gas. Using
references, each student will diagram the energy transformation in photosynthesis.
Each student will write an explanation of the energy transformation in
photosynthesis, including the fact that light energy is absorbed and used by
photosynthesis to produce the bubbles of oxygen. |
Assessment Example Students will create a
storyboard illustrating the energy transformation and the chemical reactions
of photosynthesis. They will begin with sunlight and end with stored energy
in the new chemical bonds of products. |
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SCI.IV.2.HS.5 Explain
changes in matter and energy involving heat transfer. |
Students
will:
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Instructional
Example Benchmark
Question: How are
changes in matter related to changes in energy? Focus
Question: How do
matter and energy change as a result of heat transfer? Following a teacher-led discussion of the
three methods of heat transfer, students will work in small lab groups and
will investigate the three methods of heat transfer by designing and
constructing a “box” that minimizes the loss of thermal energy by conduction,
convection, and radiation. 1. Using materials of their choice, groups
of students will construct boxes of given dimensions (30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm).
Each box must hold an aluminum soda can that in turn holds 100 ml of hot
water. 2. Groups will write predictions of how
their boxes will minimize thermal energy loss due to conduction, convection,
and radiation. 3. The teacher will place 100 ml of hot
water into each can. 4. Each group will measure and record its
temperature. 5. Groups will place their can of hot water
into their box. 6. The boxes should be left standing for
thirty minutes. 7. Groups will open their boxes and measure
and record the new temperature of the water. 8. Each group will evaluate the success of
their project by comparing the heat loss in their box to that of others’
boxes. 9. Groups will list three ways they would
improve their design based on the results of the tests. 10. Groups will explain the loss of heat in
their box by applying the three different methods of heat transfer through
writing and drawing. |
Assessment Example Students will explain
the three methods of heat transfer and describe an example of each method
from daily life. |
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Linden
Community Schools
Content Standard 4: All students will describe sounds and sound
waves; explain shadows, color, and other light phenomena; measure and describe
vibrations and waves; and explain how waves and vibrations transfer energy.
(Waves and Vibrations)
Grade Level: 8th Grade
|
Benchmark |
Performance Description |
Recommended Activities |
Recommended Assessments |
|
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SCI.IV.4.HS.1 Relate characteristics
of sounds that we hear to properties of sound waves. |
Students will:
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Instructional
Example Benchmark Question: How can we describe
sound? Focus Question: How are the
properties of sound waves related to the characteristics of sound? Students will listen
to a musician (or musicians) produce sounds on various instruments. The teacher will use a
ruler to demonstrate variations in frequency (pitch). Placing a ruler flat on
a desk so a portion of the ruler extends past the edge of the desktop, the
teacher will use a finger to depress and release the end of the ruler while
students listen for the effect. The teacher then will increase and/or decrease
the amount by which the ruler extends past the edge of the desktop and repeat
the demonstration. After a teacher-led
class discussion, students will explain the characteristics of sound waves:
frequency, amplitude, velocity, pitch, and volume. Students then will
construct a musical instrument in small groups or individually. Each
instrument will be demonstrated and students will discuss/share
characteristics of sound waves. |
Assessment
Example Students will perform
a variety of pitches and volumes to an audience with a constructed
instrument. Students will present an explanation of how these sounds are
produced in terms of the characteristics of sound (frequency, amplitude, and
velocity). |
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SCI.IV.4.HS.2 Explain how we see
colors of objects. |
Students will:
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Instructional
Example Benchmark Question: How can we describe
light? Focus Question: How do we see colors
of objects? After a discussion of
what produces colors of objects, students will perform a small group lab
investigation. In groups, students will place various colored objects in a
box and predict what color the objects will be when a color filter is placed
in a hole on top of the box. Students then will put the color filter over the
box, observe what they see, and record the color of the objects. After
classroom discussion, each group will write an explanation of how they see
colors of objects using the following terms: absorption, reflection,
transmission, and scattering. Students also will explain the relationship
between wavelength and color.
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Assessment
Example Each student will
write an explanation of how we see the colors of objects. The explanation will
include the key terms absorption, reflection, transmission and scattering. The explanation will
include the relationship between wavelength and color. |
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SCI.IV.4.HS.3 Describe waves in
terms of their properties. |
Students will:
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Instructional
Example Benchmark Question: How can we describe
and measure vibrations and waves? Focus Question: What are the prop |
