1. Mr. Robert Ferrell E-mail: robert.ferrell@appo.k12.de.us 8 th Grade Science Teacher BA University of Delaware M.Ed Wilmington University Room # 200

2. Class Structure  Units:  Lab Safety/Scientific Method  Transformation of Energy  Weather  Space  Ecosystems

3. Lab Safety/Scientific Method  This introduction to the year covers the safety requirements of the district and reviews important practices in the science classes.

4. Transformation of Energy  The Transformation of Energy unit covers all aspects of energy as it flows from the sun to the Earth and its interactions with all aspects of our lives. This unit contains many hands-on activities which are completed in class.  Graphing  Energy transformations  Energy transfers  Radiation

5. Weather  This unit covers the dynamics created by energy transfers within the Earth’s atmosphere. Students are engaged in hands-on demonstrations that model conditions that interact to create weather phenomena.  Graphing  Data collection  Forecasting  Predicting

6. Planetary Science  The space unit deals with introducing students to the dynamics of our solar system. Students record and track changes of the moon phases and interact in hands-on activities to model the features and motions of our moon and planets. They also create their own scale models which emphasize the major points often misunderstood about our solar system.

7. Ecosystems  The ecosystems unit investigates Delaware ecosystems and the organisms within it. This unit ties together many of the important aspects of the other units and contains more advanced activities for the students to investigate. There are also extended projects in the classroom that develop over several weeks as well as outdoor activities to model the interaction of the organisms. The horseshoe crab is one of the primary organisms used to investigate the interactions of organisms within our ecosystem.

8. Class Requirements Classwork Lab Activities Notebook Quizzes Tests Homework

9. Class Atmosphere Group Work Independent Work Computers Smart Board Technology

10. Thank you for coming!