Earth Science (Blue) (Period 1 Tue)

Course Description:

Earth Science is the name for a group of sciences that includes Astronomy, Meteorology, and Geology. Earth Scientists study the Earth’s processes responsible for the phenomena that we see and experience as humans on Earth. The main focus of this course is to use scientific resources to answer big-picture questions about why Earth appears the way it does. We will cite evidence to support different theories regarding Earth processes, make our own observations and draw conclusions about natural processes. This will be accomplished by using a variety of hands-on, collaborative, as well as independent learning strategies. This course culminates in a Regents examination which will be administered on Thursday, June 20, 2019 at 1:15PM.

Mandatory Lab Requirement

Students MUST have a minimum of 1200 minutes of laboratory time with completed lab assignments to take the Regents exam. Students who do not fulfill the laboratory requirements will not be able to take the Regents exam.

Students should frequently check their lab minutes status on the course website to ensure they are on track. Students must attend tutoring before or after school to complete any incomplete or missing labs.

Additional Course Resources:

• Tutoring in Room 514: Schedule TBD
• Earth Science Google Classroom
• Castle Learning: www.castlelearning.com (Regents questions practice)

Course Overview

Unit 1 - Origin of the Universe and Our Solar System

Unit 2 - Earth's Interior and Plate Tectonics

Unit 3 - Landscapes and Surface Processes

Unit 4 - Geologic History and Evolution of Life

Unit 5 - The Earth-Sun-Moon System

Unit 6 - Weather

Unit 7 - Geography, Climate, and Human Cities

Unit 8 - Regents Review

Year-long Mastery Skills

MS #0: I can explain key content vocabulary in order to answer multiple-choice questions.

MS #1: I can identify, interpret, synthesize, and apply relevant information presented visually.

MS #2: I can report all quantities with appropriate units and precision.

MS #3: I can write a claim that answers a scientific question and provide relevant and sufficient scientific evidence to support that claim.

MS #4: I can use scientific concepts, reasoning, and logic statements to link scientific evidence to support a claim.

MS #6: I can locate the epicenter of an earthquake.

Additional Fall Semester Mastery Skills

MS #5: I can describe and interpret a celestial object's orbit using eccentricity.

Additional Spring Semester Mastery Skills

MS #7: I can construct and analyze the elliptical orbit of a celestial object.

MS #8: I can identify the characteristics of rocks and minerals.

Materials:

• Dedicated notebook for Earth Science or a separate section within a notebook/binder
• Pens, pencils, erasers
• Earth Science Reference Table (first copy provided by teacher)

Optional:

• Highlighter
• Metric ruler
• Calculator