Mr. Carrington's Cyberlab

Class Description – This class is designed to encourage students to appreciate all forms of language literacy through reading, writing, speaking and multi-media expression.

Textbook : Prentice Hall Literature Series, The Janet Allen Plugged into Reading Series, Our wonderful library!

Grading:

25 %  Class Participation 

25 %  Daily Written Work

25 %  Quizzes and Tests

25 %  Projects

District Grading Scale :

A+ 99-100%

A   96-98%

A-  94-95% 

B+  92-93 %

B    88-91%

B-   86-87%  

C+  84-85%

C     77-83% 

C-    75-76%

D+   73-74%  

D    67-72%

D-    65-66%

F      64% – Below 

Course Of Study:                                  

The following units of discovery will be targetted

for student mastery during this year's instruction:

Fiction and Non-Fiction

Short Stories

Types of Writing : Persuasive, Expository, Narrative, Descriptive

Poetry

Drama

Themes in American Stories

Our studies will include the Janet Allen Series designed to improve our students' reading strategies and appreciation.

The Janet Allen reading selections can be viewed at: http://www.pluggedintononfiction.com/about/the-titles/

Syllabus: 8^th Grade Science

 Class Description – This class is designed to encourage students to learn and apply the strategies of critical thinking as we question the scientific principals of nature, utilize forensic techniques of investigation, and apply an appreciation for literacy through reading, writing, speaking and multi-media expression.

Textbook : Glencoe Science Series and Teacher Resources

Grading:

25 %  Class Participation 

25 %  Daily Written Work

25 %  Quizzes and Tests

25 %  Projects

District Grading Scale :

A+ 99-100%

A   96-98%

A-  94-95% 

B+  92-93 %

B    88-91%

B-   86-87%  

C+  84-85%

C     77-83% 

C-    75-76%

D+   73-74%  

D    67-72%

D-    65-66%

F      64% – Below 

August: 

Experimental Safety - Flinn Safety Lab.

The Scientific Method - Pendulum Lab.

Discovery Labs - Explore the senses! Sight, Touch, Sound and Smell Labs.

Brain Works - Hemisphere Dominance, Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, Myers-Briggs Personality Traits,  Piaget's Cognitive Theory, Bloom's Taxonomy and Levels of Thinking.

September:

Crime Scene Investigation - Fingerprint Lab, Microscope Lab, Forensic Methods, Madison CSI Court Trial, Field Trip to Madison County Court House for mock trial.

Measurement Challenges - Metric March, Velocity Lab, Raindrop Challenge, SketchUp Challenge.

October:

The Global Crisis of Weather and Climate - Instrumentation, Measuring and Forecasting Lab.

Our Place on Earth -  Landfills and Civic Responsibility, Field Trip to Madison County Landfill and Cahokia Mounds.

November:

Astronomy 101 - Sky Observations, Field calculation and  mapping, Rocketry and Space Exploration, Field Trip to St Louis Science Center

December:

Physical Science- Sound & Light Waves - GREEN GROUP Project!

January:

Chemistry and Color - Chemical Changes, Acids and Bases

 Chemistry Labs -  Elements, Compounds and Mixtures. Food Analysis, Chromatography, Soda Pop Science, Aspirin, Food Chemistry and Nutrition, Disinfectants on Bacteria and Germs. 

February:

Newton; Motion, Forces, and Energy - Drop, Acceleration, Bridge Building, Simple Machines, Compound Machine Design Project.

March:

Electricity and Magnetism and Alternative Energy - Circuit Boards,  Static Electricity, Crystal Radios, and Technology Toys - Solar and Wind Power.

April:

Biology -  Cells and Heredity -  Microscope exploration, DNA extraction, Human Genome Project Research.

The Structure of Life: Bacteria to Plants -Field and microscope observations and classifications. Garden Project!

May:

The Structure of Life: Animals - Field observations; including the Human organism. Stem cell research.

Human Biology and Health - Human Organ System Modeling. Worm and Frog dissection.