Sixth Grade Science – Course Expectations

OVERVIEW

Welcome to 6^th grade Science. Are you ready to become effective scientific investigators by discovering answers to questions like: Why isn’t your towel safe from the water when you leave it sitting on the beach all day? Why can’t we visit the T. Rex in the 20^th century? Why might crabs disappear from restaurant menus? How do roller coasters stay on their tracks? Throughout the year you will use inquiry skills inquiry skills to discover the answers to these questions and much more through our theme “Living in the Natural World.”

UNITS OF STUDY

Unit	Title	Summary Statement
1	Ecosystems and the Chesapeake Bay	Understanding ecosystems (populations, abiotic factors, connection to human populations) using the Chesapeake Bay as a model
2	Diversity and Adaptations	Explore similarities and differences among organisms and investigate how species change over time
3	Motion, Forces, and Energy	Investigate energy, and examine the basic concepts that describe motion including Newton's Laws of Motion
4	Celestial Patterns and Time	Interactions of the Sun, Moon and Earth and how these patterns are used to measure time and change

Types of Assessments

Pre-assessments, Formative assessments, Summative assessments and Final assessments may include some of the following:

Materials:

In addition to the supplies listed in the Back-To-School letter from FOMS, each student will need a composition book.

Teacher email addresses:

Pauline_E_Hall@mcpsmd.org
Laura_M_Lee@mcpsmd.org

Forest Oak Middle School Grading & Reporting; 2005-06

Academic Grades:

Ø Grades will reflect individual achievement of the MCPS course standards and objectives for a specific marking period, using a variety of assessment forms.

Ø Grades will be reported on the report card as A, B, C, D, E.

Ø Grades will be based on summative assessments (90%) and homework completion (10%).

Learning Skills:

Ø Learning Skills will be divided into two categories: Participation (asking questions, giving ideas, using feedback, engaging in learning) and assignment completion (completing homework and classwork).

Ø Learning skills will be reported separately on the report card as being consistent, often, sometimes, rarely, and not enough information.

Late work and Missing Work:

Ø Each assignment will have a due date. This is the date by which the assignment expected to be submitted to the teacher.

Ø The deadline is the last day an assignment will be accepted for a grade. Work not turned in by the deadline will be considered missing and recorded as a 0.

Reteaching and Reassessment of student work:

Ø Selected summative assessments may be reassessed once, before the end of a lesson sequence, in order to receive a higher grade.

Ø When a task/assessment is reassessed, regardless of grade on the original task/assessment, students must meet the following requirements: Complete the original task/assessment, complete the required assignments, and complete the reteaching/relearning activities, as determined by the teacher.

Ø The end-of-lesson sequence assessments, the end-of-unit assessments and final assessments cannot be retaken. (Exception: Math A, B, and C Unit Assessments may be reassessed.)

Ø The original student work, along with the teacher comments and or rubric, must accompany the revised work in order to be graded.

Ø The reassessment grade replaces original grade.

Extra Credit:

Ø There will be no extra credit assignments.

Communication:

Ø Character Counts! Book “CCB” (daily)

Ø Progress reports (twice per quarter)

Ø Interim reports (midpoint of quarter)

Ø Report Cards (quarterly)

Ø PTA newsletter (quarterly)

Ø Dear Parents “Blue Letter” (weekly)

Ø Email (as needed)

Ø Phone call (as needed)

Ø Conferences (as needed)