Ms.

Clements Earth Science Class

8th Grade Earth Science Syllabus

Welcome to 8th grade Earth Science! This year we will explore the mysteries of our Earth and universepast,
present and future. This syllabus is meant to inform you about what to expect for this class. After reading
this together (parent/guardian and student), please fill-out and sign the bottom slip and return it to class within
one week.

Instructor Information and Communication:

Please feel free to contact me at any point during the school year with any questions or concerns. I am able to
meet with you to answer any questions or give extra help before school; however, please make arrangements
ahead of time to ensure that I am available.
Email: clem2926@vandals.uidaho.edu
Website: http://msclementsteacher.weebly.com

Course Description and Goals:

This year we will be focusing on Earth sciencethe study of the Earth! Throughout the year we will integrate the practice
and nature of science and engineering with our other topics and learn these concepts in an Earth science context.
The following is a summary of what students will come to understand.
Practice and Nature of Science and Engineering: students will understand that science is a way of knowing about
the world through scientific inquiry using multiple skills to design and conduct investigations through current
technology. Students will also understand interactions between science, engineering and technology.
Matter: students will understand the structure of matter and its characteristics, including chemical and physical
changes, elements, particle theory of matter, mixtures and pure substances.
Astronomy: students will understand Earth's position and its interaction in the solar system and its place in the
universe, including the Sun, Moon, rotation and seasons.
Geology: students will understand the patterns of change and constancy in the Earth and its history, including plate
tectonics, weathering and erosion of landforms, minerals, rocks and rock layers.
Meteorology: students will understand the patterns of change and constancy in the Earth's atmosphere and
climate, including composition and structure, wind systems and ocean currents, energy transfer, moisture content,
weather patterns and predictions.

Materials for Each Class:

One notebook and folder exclusive to science
Pencils/pens
School planner
Completed assignments

Grading Policy:
I have high expectations for all students and expect everyones personal best, and I believe all students can
reach their desired grade through hard work! The grading scale is as follows:
A: 100-90% B: 89-80% C: 79-70% D: 69-60% F: 59% and below

Assessments:
Ms. Clements Earth Science Class

Assessments include all quizzes, tests, some labs, and some projects. Some assessments will be projects where
students can show their knowledge in a different format other than a paper/pencil test. After quizzes, retakes
will be available (based on teacher discretion) after students have shown to re-learn the material. The reason
for this is students need to learn the material, regardless how long it takes.

Retakes:
Each quiz retake is allowed by teacher discretion. In order to retake a quiz or test, students are required to
show that they have relearned the material. Students must complete a retake form; this includes answering
specific questions, reading the book, study time, etc. During this remediation/relearning time, students are
also encouraged to come to me with any questions or for one-on-one tutoring. Last, students need to schedule a
retake time (before school, during Pathways, during study hall) and turn in their retake
(remediation/relearning) form, which will show me what they have done to re-learn the material. There will
be no quiz retakes available the last two weeks of each trimester.

Make-up Policy:
Work that was assigned before you were absent should be ready to be turned in upon arrival back to school.
You will be given two days to make up any work that was assigned when you were absent. When you return from
being absent, you will need to check your We Missed You pink sheet and with a peer for explanations or to get
any missed notes. Once you complete this process, I will be happy to help you with any questions that you have.
It is the students responsibility to check on any missed work and to make-up all learning and assignments on
time.

Classroom Expectations:
Be kind and respectful to all others and equipment.
Always do your personal best.
Be prepared for class: ready to learn, on-time, with materials and completed assignments.
Abide by all school and classroom policies and procedures.

Discipline Policy:
Students are expected to follow by all school and classroom expectations. The first violation will result in a
reminder and continuing offenses can result in a visit to the planning center, a meeting with the teacher, a
phone call home, and/or a referral.
Ms. Clements Earth Science Class

ESS: Earth and Space Sciences

ESS1-MS Earths Place in the Universe

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Performance Standards
Students who demonstrate understanding can:

ESS1-MS-1. Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases,
eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons.

Further Explanation: Examples of models can be physical, graphical, or conceptual.

ESS1-MS-2. Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar
system.

Further Explanation: Emphasis for the model is on gravity as the force that holds together the solar system and Milky
Way galaxy and controls orbital motions within them. Examples of models can be physical (such as the analogy of distance
along a football field or computer visualizations of elliptical orbits) or conceptual (such as mathematical proportions relative
to the size of familiar objects such as students school or state).
Content Limit: Assessment does not include Keplers Laws of orbital motion or the apparent retrograde motion of the
planets as viewed from Earth.

ESS1-MS-3. Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.

o Further Explanation: Emphasis is on the analysis of data from Earth-based instruments, space-based
telescopes, and spacecraft to determine similarities and differences

among solar system objects. Examples of scale properties include the sizes of an objects layers (such as crust
and atmosphere), surface features (such as volcanoes),

and orbital radius. Examples of data include statistical information, drawings and photographs, and models.

o Content Limit: Assessment does not include recalling facts about properties of the planets and other solar
system bodies.

ESS1-MS-4. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the
geologic time scale is used to organize Earths history.

o Further Explanation: Emphasis is on how analyses of rock formations and the fossils they contain are used to
establish relative ages of major events in Earths history. Examples of Earths major events could range from
being very recent (such as the last Ice Age or the earliest fossils of homo sapiens) to very old (such as the
formation of Earth or the earliest evidence of life). Examples can include the formation of mountain chains and
ocean basins, the evolution or extinction of particular living organisms, or large volcanic eruptions.
o Content Limit: Assessment does not include recalling the names of specific periods or epochs and events within
them.

Supporting Content
Ms. Clements Earth Science Class

ESS1.A: The Universe and Its Stars

Patterns of the apparent motion of the sun, the moon, and stars in the sky can be observed, described, predicted, and
explained with models. (ESS1-MS-1)
Earth and its solar system are part of the Milky Way galaxy, which is one of many galaxies in the universe. (ESS1-MS-2)
ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System

The solar system consists of the sun and a collection of objects, including planets, their moons, and asteroids that are
held in orbit around the sun by its gravitational pull on them. (ESS1-MS-2, ESS1-MS-3)
This model of the solar system can explain eclipses of the sun and the moon. Earths spin axis is fixed in direction over
the short-term but tilted relative to its orbit around the sun. The seasons are a result of that tilt and are caused by the
differential intensity of sunlight on different areas of Earth across the year. (ESS1-MS-1)
The solar system appears to have formed from a disk of dust and gas, drawn together by gravity. (ESS1-MS-2) ESS1.C:
The History of Planet Earth

ESS2-MS Earths Systems

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The geologic time scale interpreted from rock strata provides a way to organize Earths history. Analyses of rock strata and the
fossil record provide only relative dates, not an absolute scale. (ESS1-MS-4)

Performance Standards
Students who demonstrate understanding can:

ESS2-MS-1. Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earths materials and the flow of energy that drives this
process.

Further Explanation: Emphasis is on the processes of melting, crystallization, weathering, deformation, and
sedimentation, which act together to form minerals and rocks through the cycling of Earths materials.
Content Limit: Assessment does not include the identification and naming of minerals.

ESS2-MS-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed
Earths surface at varying time and spatial scales.

Further Explanation: Emphasis is on how processes change Earths surface at time and spatial scales that can be large (such as
slow plate motions or the uplift of large mountain ranges) or small (such as rapid landslides or microscopic geochemical reactions),
and how many geoscience processes (such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and meteor impacts) usually behave gradually but are
punctuated by catastrophic events. Examples of geoscience processes include surface weathering and deposition by the movements
of water, ice, and wind. Emphasis is on geoscience processes that shape local geographic features, where appropriate.

ESS2-MS-3. Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor
structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions.

Further Explanation: Examples of data include similarities of rock and fossil types on different continents, the shapes of
the continents (including continental shelves), and the locations of ocean structures (such as ridges, fracture zones, and
trenches).
Content Limit: Paleomagnetic anomalies in oceanic and continental crust are not assessed.

ESS2-MS-4. Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earths systems driven by energy
from the sun and the force of gravity.
Ms. Clements Earth Science Class

o Further Explanation: Emphasis is on the ways water changes its state as it moves through the multiple
pathways of the hydrologic cycle. Examples of models can be conceptual or physical.
o Content Limit: A quantitative understanding of the latent heats of vaporization and fusion is not assessed.

ESS2-MS-5. Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air
masses results in changes in weather conditions.

o Further Explanation: Emphasis is on how air masses flow from regions of high pressure to low pressure,
causing weather (defined by temperature, pressure, humidity, precipitation, and wind) at a fixed location to
change over time, and how sudden changes in weather can result when different air masses collide. Emphasis is
on how weather can be predicted within probabilistic ranges. Examples of data can be provided to students (such
as weather maps, diagrams, and visualizations) or obtained through laboratory experiments (such as
withcondensation).
o Content Limit: Assessment does not include recalling the names of cloud types or weather symbols used on
weather maps or the reported diagrams from weather stations.

ESS2-MS-6. Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth
cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates.

Further Explanation: Emphasis is on how patterns vary by latitude, altitude, and geographic land distribution. Emphasis of
atmospheric circulation is on the sunlight- driven latitudinal banding, the Coriolis effect, and resulting prevailing winds; emphasis of
ocean circulation is on the transfer of heat by the global ocean convection

ESS3-MS Earth and Human Activity

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cycle, which is constrained by the Coriolis effect and the outlines of continents. Examples of models can be diagrams, maps and
globes, or digital representations. Content Limit: Assessment does not include the dynamics of the Corioliseffect.

Supporting Content
ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth

Tectonic processes continually generate new ocean sea floor at ridges and destroy old sea floor at trenches. (ESS2-MS-3)
ESS2.A: Earths Materials and Systems

All Earth processes are the result of energy flowing and matter cycling within and among the planets systems. This
energy is derived from the sun and Earths hot interior. The energy that flows and matter that cycles produce chemical
and physical changes in Earths materials and living organisms.(ESS2-MS-1)
The planets systems interact over scales that range from microscopic to global in size, and they operate over fractions
of a second to billions of years. These interactions have shaped Earths history and will determine its future. (ESS2-MS-2)

ESS2.B: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions

Maps of ancient land and water patterns, based on investigations of rocks and fossils, make clear how Earths plates have moved
great distances, collided, and spread apart. (ESS2-MS-3)

ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earths Surface Processes

Water continually cycles among land, ocean, and atmosphere via transpiration, evaporation, condensation and
crystallization, and precipitation, as well as downhill flows on land. (ESS2-MS-4)
The complex patterns of the changes and the movement of water in the atmosphere, determined by winds, landforms,
and ocean temperatures and currents, are major determinants of local weather patterns. (ESS2-MS-5)
Global movements of water and its changes in form are propelled by sunlight and gravity. (ESS2-MS-4)
Ms. Clements Earth Science Class

Variations in density due to variations in temperature and salinity drive a global pattern of interconnected ocean
currents. (ESS2-MS-6)
Waters movementsboth on the land and undergroundcause weathering and erosion, which change the lands
surface features and create underground formations.

(ESS2-MS-2)

ESS2.D: Weather and Climate

Weather and climate are influenced by interactions involving sunlight, the ocean, the atmosphere, ice, landforms, and
living things. These interactions vary with latitude, altitude, and local and regional geography, all of which can affect
oceanic and atmospheric flow patterns. (ESS2-MS-6)
Because these patterns are so complex, weathercan only be predicted using probability. (ESS2-MS-5)
The ocean exerts a major influence on weather and climate by absorbing energy from the sun, releasing it over time,
and globally redistributing it through ocean currents.

(ESS2-MS-6)

Performance Standards
Students who demonstrate understanding can:

ESS3-MS-1. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earths
mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes.

Further Explanation: Emphasis is on how these resources are limited and typically non-renewable, and how their distributions are
changing as a result of removal by humans. Examples of uneven distributions of resources as a result of past processes include but
are not limited to petroleum (locations of the burial of organic marine sediments and subsequent geologic traps), metal ores
(locations of past volcanic and hydrothermal activity associated with subduction zones), and soil (locations of active weathering
and/or deposition of rock).

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ESS3-MS-2. Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the
development of technologies to mitigate their effects.

Further Explanation: Emphasis is on how some natural hazards, such as volcanic eruptions and severe weather, are preceded by
phenomena that allow for reliable predictions, but others, such as earthquakes, occur suddenly and with no notice, and thus are
not yet predictable. Examples of natural hazards can be taken from interior processes (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions),
surface processes (such as mass wasting and tsunamis), or severe weather events (such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods).
Examples of data can include the locations, magnitudes, and frequencies of the natural hazards. Examples of technologies can be
global (such as satellite systems to monitor hurricanes or forest fires) or local (such as building basements in tornado-prone regions
or reservoirs to mitigate droughts).

ESS3-MS-3. Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the
environment.

Further Explanation: Examples of the design process include examining human environmental impacts, assessing the kinds of
solutions that are feasible, and designing and evaluating solutions that could reduce that impact. Examples of human impacts can
include water usage (such as the withdrawal of water from streams and aquifers or the construction of dams and levees), land
usage (such as urban development, agriculture, or the removal of wetlands), and pollution (such as of the air, water, or land).

ESS3-MS-4. Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita
consumption of natural resources impact Earths systems.

Further Explanation: Examples of evidence include grade-appropriate databases on human populations and the rates of
Ms. Clements Earth Science Class

consumption of food and natural resources (such as freshwater, mineral, and energy). Examples of impacts can include changes to
the appearance, composition, and structure of Earths systems as well as the rates at which they change. The consequences of
increases in human populations and consumption of natural resources are described by science, but science does not make the
decisions for the actions society takes.

ESS3-MS-5. Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over
the past century.

Further Explanation: Examples of factors include human activities (such as fossil fuel combustion, cement production, and
agricultural activity) and natural processes (such as changes in incoming solar radiation or volcanic activity). Examples of evidence
can include tables, graphs, and maps of global and regional temperatures, atmospheric levels of gases such as carbon dioxide and
methane, and the rates of human activities. Emphasis is on the major role that human activities play in causing the rise in global
temperatures.

Supporting Content
ESS3.A: Natural Resources

Humans depend on Earths land, ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere for many different resources. Minerals, fresh water, and
biosphere resources are limited, and many are not renewable or replaceable over human lifetimes. These resources are distributed
unevenly around the planet as a result of past geologic processes. (ESS3-MS-1)

ESS3.B: Natural Hazards

Mapping the history of natural hazards in a region, combined with an understanding of related geologic forces can help forecast
the locations and likelihoods of future events. (ESS3-MS-2)

ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems

Human activities have altered the biosphere, sometimes damaging or destroying natural habitats and causing the
extinction of other species. But changes to Earths environments can have different impacts (negative and positive) for
different living things. (ESS3-MS-3)
Typically, as human populations and per-capita consumption of natural resources increase, so do the negative impacts
on Earth unless the activities and technologies involved are engineered otherwise. (ESS3-MS-3, ESS3-MS-4)
Human activities (such as the release of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuel combustion) are major factors
in the current rise in Earths mean surface temperature. Other natural activities (such as volcanic activity) are also
contributors to changing global temperatures. Reducing the level of climate change and reducing human vulnerability to
whatever climate changes do occur depend on the understanding of climate science, engineering capabilities, and other
kinds of knowledge, such as understanding of human behavior and on applying that knowledge wisely in decisions and
activities. (ESS3-MS-5)