6th+Grade+Earth+Science+Units

= __6th Grade Science __ = = = =Experimental Design= In this unit, students will conduct well designed investigations to discover that relationships always involve interactions, dependencies, and cause-and-effect events. These relationships are “discovered” through controlled experimentation to investigate variables that might affect the outcome of the experiment. Students must be able to describe all the variables in an investigation and be able to identify the independent and dependent variables. Students should be able to record, graph, and interpret data in an accurate manner so as to correctly identify relationships. Students will be able to critique an investigation in order to decide whether it is well designed and accurately describe the relationships in the investigation.

=Earth as a Changing System= This unit examines the layers of the earth, processes within the earth including plate tectonics, the rock cycle, fossil formation and the role of fossils in determining geologic history. Emphasis is on the geologic processes that result form crustal plate movement. Geologic time tables are to be presented as a source of reference and not as the main focus of the unit. Students will recognize that the Earth is a constantly changing system.

=Weather and Climate= Overall, the theme of the 6th grade earth science unit is the circulation of water. Students will discover that water can circulate among the Earth’s atmosphere, the Earth’s surface, and below the Earth’s surface. Students will discover how water vapor is carried in air masses and how those air masses interact. Students will examine the circulation of water throughout the atmosphere and the Earth.

=Astronomy= In this unit, the regular and predictable motions of the Earth and moon are explored and are used to explain various phenomena. The Earth is described as part of a larger starplanet system called the Solar System, which follows similar predictable patterns of motion. The Solar System is a small part of the Milky Way Galaxy, which in turn is a minute part of the universe. Students will explain that the Earth is part of a larger system, the solar system, and that bodies within the system have regular and predictable motions that can be used to explain various phenomena. The solar system, in turn, is part of a galaxy, which is part of the universe.