Mansfield Middle School Storrs, Connecticut
	> HOMEPAGE	MMS Science Use the links below to explore science content for each of our four grade levels: 5th Grade Science 6th Grade Science 7th Grade Science 8th Grade Science 5th Grade Science Units Weather Unit: Students will become aware of the conditions and factors that create weather, the changes that occur in weather and how those change affect our daily lives.  Students will be able to interpret various weather instruments and predict upcoming weather patterns. This will include an emphasis on the predictable movement of the Earth and the moon relative to the sun in order to explain cycles such as day/night, years, moon phases and eclipses. Cell Unit: Students will engage in many action-oriented activities including the use of the microscope and the construction of a model cell to understand how cells work together as part of any organism.  Students will also understand that cells carry on certain activities that keep organisms alive.  They will explore the role of genes in determining traits of an organism. Sound Unit: The main objective of this unit is to help students understand that sound waves are produced by vibrations and vary in amplitude, frequency and wave length and that they travel through matter. Students will understand and describe the structure of the human ear and the role it plays when interpreting sound. Light Unit: Students will engage in observations, labs and demonstrations to distinguish the properties of light and its uses. Students will compare and contrast the structures of the human eye with those of a camera. Using periscopes, telescopes, eyeglasses and magnifiers students will understand that light travels in a straight line and can be reflected by a mirror, refracted by a lens, or absorbed by objects. Classification Unit:  The main objectives of this unit are to help students understand the system of classification and to facilitate their appreciation and understanding of the fascinating variety of animals in the animal kingdom.  Students will research, identify and classify many life forms from animals in their backyards to animals found around the world. 6^th Grade Science The sixth grade science program stresses the development of critical thinking skills and reinforces the scientific method through "hands-on activities." Students participate in a variety of activities from learning how to read expository texts and critically take notes to participating in labs and discovering the process of science, all while enhancing their curiosity. The sixth grade science program also provides opportunities for students to complete integrated research projects throughout the year. This enables students to synthesize information learned about the subject and communicate their understanding in terms that express the individual knowledge they have gained about the subject. Students acquire many problem solving skills while learning about the following topics: astronomy, geology, energy (mechanical, electrical, light), human body systems, nutrition and trees. These units are presented in an interdisciplinary fashion to ensure that the student’s experience is enjoyable, meaningful and connected to the real world and other subject areas. These science topics and classroom practices meet Mansfield curricular standards, the standards and practices established by the National Council of Teachers of Science and the science requirement set in place by the State of Connecticut. Students have many enrichment opportunities to expand their scientific thinking and problem solving skills as well as their understanding of natural and man-made phenomenon. Challenge activities are options offered to students who wish to delve further into any of the science units that are covered in the sixth grade. These activities are presented at the beginning of each unit to extend students thinking and stimulate creativity in each particular subject area. Students also have an option to participate in the Science Fair Expo/ Invention Convention. This event offers students experiences in exploring beyond the classroom to spark their interest, be inventive and to learn more about conducting scientific research. Students are also taken outdoors on the school grounds on a regular basis to connect the leaning from the classroom to their own environment. 6th Grade Science Units: Process Skills, Simple Machines, Geology, Ecology, and Pollution. Please visit the 6^th grade science teacher homepages to learn more about what 6^th grade students are doing in science! 7^th Grade Science Click here to view this information. 8th Grade Science Eighth grade science is a world of mind-boggling, attention-grabbing laboratory experiences. Students develop scientific thinking skills by observing, hypothesizing, predicting and experimenting. Extra credit and challenging alternative assignments are available for every unit. Units include: Laws of motion: Students have a lot of fun in this unit! Kids have a blast building roller coasters in the classroom and determining how they work. They also examine the physics of water rockets, gyroscopes, car crashes, and falling objects. Students use equations to quantify their observations. The major themes are: Newton's laws, gravity, momentum, rotational dynamics, centripetal force, potential and kinetic energy, and equations. Students are able to answer questions like: Why does your body lean to the left when the car makes a right-hand turn? How does a roller coaster car stay on the track while it runs around a loop? How does the mass of water affect the height to which a water rocket can fly? Flight: This is also a lot of fun for students! Every kid builds his/her own balsa wood rubber powered airplane. Experiments are designed to enhance students' understanding of the science process. The planes are used to learn the physics of flight. For instance, students learn how Bernoulli's Principle and Newton's third law work together to create lift. Students also build soda-straw gliders (equipped with ailerons, rudders and elevators) and determine how planes are controlled. A heavy emphasis is placed on experimentation and observation. Students are able to answer questions like: How can you get your plane to bank to the left? How can you get your plane to fly in a loop? How does drag affect the flight time of your plane? Immune system: With the onset of the flu season, this unit is relevant and interesting to students. Although the unit has a biological focus, it is still hands-on and engaging for kids. Students model how the flu is transmitted. Students create their own representations of lymphocytes and phagocytes. The history of diseases and medical advancements are discussed. The end result is that students have a better understanding of immunity. Students are able to answer questions like: How does the AIDS virus affect your immune system? How does a vaccination work? Are we winning the war on infectious diseases? Heat and temperature: This unit allows kids to experiment, solve problems and develop theories to explain what they observe. For instance, as students play with radiometers to learn about radiation, they also struggle to explain how they work. Students also develop theories to explain diffusion, convection and expansion and contraction. While doing experiments, students learn the difference between heat and temperature. A lot of the experiments help answer every day questions such as: Why do we salt the roads in winter? After performing experiments, students are able to explain why we humidify our homes in winter and why we dehumidify our homes in the summer. Students are able to answer questions like: Why is it cold on the top of mountains? Why does metal at 70 degrees Fahrenheit feel colder than wood at the same temperature? How do refrigerators work? Genetics: Human genetics, pedigrees and disease, Mendelian genetics, punnet squares, protein synthesis, and genetic engineering. Scientific Method: Hypothesizing, experimenting, observing etc. Chemistry: Periodic table, atomic structure, covalent bonding, ionic bonding, chemical reactivity, chemical reactions, and nanotechnology. Reproduction: The basic structure and function of the male and female reproductive systems and sexually transmitted diseases. Return to HOMEPAGE
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