1. W ELCOME ! Mrs. Whalen Science Room 107

2. M RS. W HALEN C ONTACT I NFORMATION Phone – 847-357-6050 Email: erinwhalen@sd54.orgerinwhalen@sd54.org Website: http://mead.sd54.org/ewhalen/http://mead.sd54.org/ewhalen/

3. S CIENCE C URRICULUM UnitUnit TitleLengthNGSS - PE 1Structure and Properties of matter 6 weeks MS-PS1-1 2Chemical Reactions6 weeks MS-PS1-2 MS-PS1-4 MS-PS1-5 MS-PS1-6 3Structure and Function of Life – Cells 5 weeks MS-LS1-1 MS-LS1-2 MS-LS1-3 4Genetic Diversity and Heredity 5 weeks MS-LS3-1 MS-LS3-2 MS-LS4-3 5History of the Earth4 weeks MS-LS4-1 MS-ESS1-1 6Natural Selection and Adaptations 6 weeks MS-LS4-2 MS-LS4-3 MS-LS4-4 MS-LS4-6

4. G RADING P OLICY Grades are determined as follows Assessments 60% In-class Activities 40% Each unit will have a common assessment. Students must meet minimum standards on the assessment (70%). If they do not meet, students will be required to attend a re-teaching lesson and retake the assessment until mastery is shown. This will ensure students are leaving with a guaranteed curriculum. Students will also receive a standards mastery grade at the end of each trimester according to the D54 Junior High science descriptors found on the report card.

5. S TANDARD B ASED G RADES 1 Cite specific evidence to support the analysis of science and technical information. 2 Determine the central ideas or conclusion of scientific information; provide an accurate summary distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. 3 Precisely follow or design a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, using computational thinking, or performing technical tasks. 4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms and other domain- specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context. 5 Integrate quantitative or technical information with information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table). 6 Analyze quantitative or technical information gained from experiments, simulations, videos, or multimedia

6. L ESSON P LANNING AND C OMMON C ORE

7. T EXT B OOKS There are three textbooks that we use published by Holt. The text books can be accessed on line at my.hrw.com Username: mmustang12 Password: method

8. G RIT Grit is having the ability to persevere through a challenging problem. It is hard to watch a child struggle, and our natural response is to jump in and help them. However, our children need opportunities to experience productive struggles in a safe environment in order to build their endurance for grit as well as to build confidence in their own abilities. Example of talking about grit with your child – Instead of “how was your day or what did you learn today”, ask “What is something that you struggled with today? How did you deal with it?”