North Bethesda School

Unit

Title

Content Focus

1

Matter and Its Interactions

Students will discover that matter is composed of atoms and molecules that are attracted to each other and in constant motion. Students will apply the concepts of molecular motion to investigations that explore the heating and cooling of solids, liquids, and gases.  Students will develop an understanding of density through investigations that test the variables of mass and volume of objects.  Students will discover that the relationship between temperature and thermal energy depends on the types, states, and amounts of matter and will use this evidence to develop and understanding of heat.  Students will explore simple chemical reactions that release and absorb energy and will discover that the breaking of certain bonds between atoms in the reactants create new products that conserve mass.  Students will apply their understanding of chemistry to a real-life situation and design a solution. 

2

Ecosystems Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Students will explore the biodiversity and essential factors of different ecosystems and learn that a population consists of all species that occur together at a given place and time.  Students will investigate populations within food webs and categorize those populations as producers, consumers, and decomposers.  Students will learn that organisms compete for limited resources and that the number of organisms an
ecosystem can support depends on the resources available.  Students will explore how competition may limit or generate the growth of populations in specific niches in the ecosystems.  They will use models to demonstrate the flow of matter and energy in an ecosystem.  Students will use this information to create and maintain a habitat for a local species. 

3

Human Impacts on the Environment

Students will discover that natural resources are used by living things in a variety of ways, but how much and in what ways we use those resources affects the footprint of our planet.  Students will learn that our use of fossil fuels has consequences on the environment.  Students will investigate how human activity and use of resources impacts the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere and consider alternative solutions for the products we make and the resources we use.  They will model a solution to a variety of environmental problems created from natural resource use.

4

Energy and Waves

Students will discover how alternative energy sources can be used to solve real world problems and design a solution.  They must consider the ideas of electricity, magnetism, electrical energy production, and conversions of different types of energy, in order to debate and choose the best source of alternative energy.  Students will explore the concepts of electricity and magnetism and the relationship between them. They will also investigate electrical energy and conclude it can be generated from a variety of sources and transferred into almost any form of energy.  Students will discover that energy travels in waves and explore how light and sound behave.  Students will use their design-folio to design a solution.

Unit

Title

Content Focus

1

Cellular Structure and Processes

Students will research a process for growing plants without the use of soil called hydroponics. Students will investigate a variety of different systems and growing mediums for raising plants and will analyze such variables as growth rate and food production. Students will learn that plants grown using this method take in oxygen and nutrients at a quicker pace and use less energy to absorb them.  Plants will be used to introduce the structure and function of living organisms, and students will learn about the characteristics of living things, parts of the cell, and cellular processes.  Students will also learn what materials are required by living things, how the materials are delivered, and how these materials sustain life.

2

Matter and Energy Flow in Organism

Students will study the body systems of organisms and explore how the interactions of those systems affect overall functions.  Students will learn about the levels of organization within an organism and the contribution cells provide a system as the basic building blocks of life. Students will explore how matter and energy are processed by organisms to build, maintain, and repair themselves.  Students will relate structure and function of body systems to nutritional requirements and disease prevention.

3

Inheritance and Variation of Traits

Students will study the principles of heredity and genetics.  They will learn how organisms reproduce and transfer their genetic information to their offspring. Students will study how characteristics get passed on from generation to generation and research several genetic disorders that affect human offspring.  Students will use biotechnical processes to explore the genetic characteristics of organisms.  Students will conduct a DNA extraction and a microarray will be performed as a way of checking the genotypes of the offspring.

4

Earth’s History and Evolution

Students will study Earth’s history, geological time, and explore how organisms have evolved.  Students will examine the fossil record and construct explanations from mass extinctions.  Students will explore the concepts of natural selection and adaption and will learn that traits of an organism can change as a result of environmental conditions or a need for survival.  Student will explore the similarities between organisms and use biotechnical processes, such as DNA fingerprinting, as means of identification.

Unit

Title

Content Focus

1

Forces, Motion, and Interactions

Students will learn about kinetic and potential energy, describing motion, forces, and Newton’s Laws.  Students will apply their understanding to design and create a model rocket.

2

Earth, the Solar System, and the Universe

Students will learn about Earth’s motions, the reasons for seasons, gravity, and characteristics of the solar system, galaxy, and universe.  Students will apply their understanding to evaluate the potential for life on other planets.

3

Weather and Climate

Students will learn about geographical influences on climate, the water cycle, oceanic and atmospheric circulation, and climate change. Students will apply their understanding of these concepts to design and create “Green Homes” for different locations around the globe.

4

Earth’s Materials and Systems

Students will learn about Earth’s structure, continental drift, plate tectonics, minerals, types of rocks, weathering and erosion.  Students will apply their understanding of these concepts to design and create Earthquake resistant structures.