SCIENCE CURRICULUM

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The CMS science curriculum includes standard middle school topics drawn from the two basic science content areas: physical science and life science.  Several topics from each content area are taught each year, so that the students will cover a broad variety of science content at each grade level.  A short introduction to Chemistry is also included.

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Hands-on experiments are a crucial part of the science investigations and are carried out in all subject areas.  CMS uses the middle school textbook series from Savvas Pearson, Science Explorer.  In addition to the texts, the science instructors develop some of their own teaching materials and add more investigations and projects to the material in the text.  Tests are given at the end of every unit to assess each girl’s comprehension of the material.  We make use of the University and community for short field trips, lab visits, and guest speakers.

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Science Topics

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6th Grade:

Biology:  Introduction to Cells, Cell Processes and Energy, Genetics and Human Genetics, DNA, Changes Over TIme 

Physics:  Forces, Motion, Velocity and Acceleration, Newton’s Laws of Motion, Work, Simple Machines, Energy, Astronomy

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7th Grade:

Physics:  Characteristics of Waves, Sound, Electromagnetic Spectrum, Light, Electricity, Simple Circuits, Magnetism

Biology:  Introduction to Living Things, Virus, Bacteria, Protist, Fungi, Plants, Animals, Animal Behaviors and Adaptations

 

8th Grade:

Chemistry:  Introduction to Matter, Solids, Liquids, and Gases, Elements and the Periodic Table, Atoms and Bonding, Chemical Reactions, Acids, Bases, and Solutions

Introduction to Geology, Ecology and Environmental Science