| LP# | Class | Theme | Hands on activities and experiments | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LP1 | 1 | 09/01 Scientific method. Chemical mixture vs chemical reaction | Balloons with Acid/base reaction | |
| Phisical science 4 Energy |
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| 2 | 09/08 Acid and base. Definition of pH. | pH measuring of common household solutions. Acid reflux experiment. | ||
| 3 | 09/15 Intro to chemical reactions | Eggs in different acids. Spherification reaction (string slime). Oscillation reaction demo. | ||
| 4 | 09/22 Chemical mixture. Solutions. Going over the basic terminology with a few experiments (solute, solvent, dilution, saturated, dissolving etc.) | Making varies solutions. | ||
| LP2 | 5 | 09/29 Chemical mixture. Heterogenous mixtures. Colloids. | Using laser pointer to identify colloids. Pearls as solid sol. Making foam. | |
| 6 | 10/06 Mixture separation. Going over different methods and devices. | Separate mixtures creatively. How to use a centrifuge? Marble in the spinning glass. | ||
| 7 | 10/13 Oil and Water. Are they friends? | Water/oil separation. Hydrophobic coating. Milk experiments. Making cheese and whipped cream. | ||
| 8 | 10/20 Definition of Density. | Float or sink? Check items in fresh, salty and Dead Sea salinity water. Build density tower using liquids with different density. | ||
| LP3 | 9 | 10/27 Convection currents. | Experiments to demonstrate gas expansion with heat and convection. | |
| 10 | 11/03 States of matter and Layers of Earth. | Melting soap, making oobleck, Earth density model/column. Olivine. | ||
| 11 | 11/10 Plate tectonic theory. | Model of the seafloor spreading. Continental drift puzzle. Oreo cookie demo. Ring of fire song. Hot cocoa on the pan – tectonics demo. | Earth science | |
| 4 Earth's Systems:Processes that Shape the Earth. | ||||
| 12 | 11/17 Volcanos. Class 1 Hot spots, structure, explosivity index, hazards: lava, pyroclastic flows, properties of volcanic ash |
Hot spot demo. Volcano models: elephant toothpaste, chocolate explosion and eruption with ash. Analise 2 types of real ash. Preserving a balloon in the volcanic ash | ||
| LP4 | 13 | 12/01 Volcanos. Class 2 hazards: lahars and landslide. Mt St Helens. Volcanic gases. Acid rains. Carbon cycle. | Working with rock collection: sulfur containing rocks. Gas to acid reaction, detection with indicator. | |
| 14 | 12/08 Volcanos. Class 3 Classification. Caldera. Underwater volcanos. Igneous rocks. | Underwater volcano model. Caldera model. Working with rock collection: igneous rocks. Compare properties of pumice and scoria. Making bracelet from vesicular basalt. | ||
| 15 | 12/15 Weathering, Erosion and Deposition. Class 1 Water and Temperature. | Frozen egg. Hatch and grow “erosion”. Acid test. Exfoliation of rock and glass. Working with rock collection: limestones. | ||
| LP5 | 16 | 01/05 Weathering, Erosion and Deposition. Class 2 Wind and waves. Sedimentary rocks. | Weathering sugar cube. Working with rock collection: chert, conglomerate. Tumbled rocks. Creating sedimentary rock with plaster. | Earth science |
| 4 Earth’s Systems: Processes that Shape the Earth | ||||
| 17 | 01/12 Paleontology. Fossil types. Relative dating. | Crack rocks with hammer to find carbonized fossil. Working with rock collection: fossilized rocks. Make a carbonized fossil model. Make a fossil magnet. Polish amber. Sort fossils. | ||
| 18 | 01/26 Metamorphic rocks. Rock cycle. | Play dough model. Working with rock collection: metamorphic rocks and minerals. Marble/quartzite test. | ||
| LP6 | 19 | 02/02 Learn how sand forms. Different sand types and their forming minerals. | Analise sand sample under the microscope. Looks at the different sand samples (green, purple, white, black). | |
| 20 | 02/09 Minerals – building blocks of rocks. Identification technics. | Working with rock collection: minerals. Identify a mineral using acid, streak, fracture and cleavage, and fluorescence tests. | ||
| 21 | 02/23 Soil | Compare different types of soil, change soil pH. | ||
| LP7 | 22 | 03/02 Atom structure. Static electricity | Atom demo, static electricity with PVC and balloons, electrostatic generator | Physical science |
| 3–5 Engineering Design | ||||
| 23 | 03/09 Electric circuits 1. Elements: batteries. Multimeter. | How to use multimeter, experiments with batteries and LEDs. | ||
| 24 | 03/16 Electric circuits 2. Elements: load, conductor, and switch. Series and parallel circuits. | Test lamps and resistors. Work with wires, test energy wand. | ||
| 25 | 03/23 Magnetism. Electromagnetism. | Create a device to separate different materials. Tricks with magnets. | ||
| LP8 | 26 | 04/06 Food chain and energy pyramid. | LIFE animals. Making food chain collages. | Biology (ecology) |
| 4 Structure, Function, and Information Processing. | ||||
| 27 | 04/13 Human impact on biosphere. Orangutan project. Learn about animals facing extinction. Rain forest. | Taste orangutan’s food, draw like orangutan (holding brush in your feet) | ||
| 28 | 04/20 Dessert definition. Camel vs Polar bear. Adaptation. | Build a dessert biome. Fat as a mechanism against cold. Real camel hair vs synthetic. Taste camel milk. | ||
| LP9 | 29 | 04/27 Oak woodland, Chapparal, grassland. Possible Mt Diablo Foothill field trip. | Mt Diablo habitats. Signs of landslides erosion, sedimentary rocks, sulfur springs. | |
| 30 | 05/04 Intro to microscopy. Protists. | Looking under the microscope at the water samples from different sources | ||
| 31 | 05/11 Ecosystems and adaptations. Possible field trip to Salt marsh ecosystem, Martinez | McNabney Marsh: key species and adaptations, vertisol, biocrust, human influence, water tests. | ||
| 32 | 05/18 Diversity of organisms. Systematics. Using keys to identify. Possible Markham Arboretum field trip. | Tree Walk will introduce you to forty-five different species of trees. | ||
| LP10 | 33 | 05/25 Th Possible half day ocean trip (ecology, geology, Earth’s interaction with celestial objects). Pescadero. Low tide -1’8” (very rare) at 7.45 am | Comparing 2 types of intertidal zones (sandy and rocky), reviewing rock types. Algae and animals of the intertidal zone. Crab identification using keys. Algae buffet. | |
| LP# | Class | Theme | Hands on activities and experiments | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LP1 | 1 | 09/04 Scientific method. Variables. | Popcorn experiment. Samples of popcorn (dried, soaked in water and control) will pop differently. |
Biology |
| 5-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics 5-LS1 From Molecules to Organisms:Structures and Processes |
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| 2 | 09/11 Species. Systematics. Protists. | Looking under the microscope at the water samples from different sources. | 3–5-ETS1 Engineering Design |
|
| 3 | 09/18 Ecosystems and adaptations. Field trip to Salt marsh ecosystem, Martinez | McNabney Marsh: key species and adaptations, vertisol, biocrust, human influence, water tests. | ||
| 4 | 09/25 Cell structure. Organelles. | Animal and plant cells under the microscope | ||
| LP2 | 5 | 10/02 Plant tissues and organ system | Match produce and plant organs. Flower dissection. | |
| 6 | 10/09 Animal organ systems | Fish dissection. Japanese fish printing art. | ||
| 7 | 10/16 Fungi | Making kombucha and yogurt, looking at mold on the bread and cheese. Dissecting mushrooms, making spore print. | ||
| LP3 | 8 | 10/23 Earth systems. Oceans. | Water distribution on Earth model. Salinity experiments (evaporate water from different sources and compare salt concentration). Save the ocean demo. | |
| 5-ESS2 Earth`s Systems | ||||
| 9 | 10/30 Earth systems. Water states and water cycle. | Evaporation, condensation and melting experiments. Cobalt chloride test. Problem solving: how to get fresh water? | ||
| 10 | 11/06 Earth systems. Water class 3. Usage, saving and purification. | Water purification column, coagulation methods, water distillation. | ||
| 11 | 11/13 The Los Vaqueros Reservoir field trip. | Follow the path of the drinking water in our area. Mallard Slough, Reservoir, Contra Costa Canal, Bollman Water Treatment Plant | ||
| 12 | 11/20 Oil and Water interaction | Experiments with milk. | ||
| 5-PS1 Matter and Its Interactions | ||||
| LP4 | 13 | 12/04 Space. Class 1. Planets. Sun. | Sun/earth model, sun experiments (filters, box viewer, sun paper, energy beads), painting project (one stroke method) | Space |
| 5-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the Universe 3–5-ETS1 Engineering Design |
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| 14 | 12/11 Space. Class 2. Comets, meteorites, stars. | Make a crater. Play with light to explore stars. Use phone app to view sky objects, make a constellation. | ||
| 15 | 12/18 Space. Class 3. Exploration by humans. Rockets, telescope, and International Space station. | Make a rocket. Life on space station, Infrared demo. | ||
| LP5 | 16 | 01/08 Human circulatory system. | Blood under the microscope. Lamb heart dissection. | Anatomy |
| 5-LS1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes |
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| 17 | 01/15 Human muscle-skeletal system. | Mark bones on the small skeleton. Muscle tissue under the scope. Mitochondria in the flying muscle. Arm X-ray to detect age. | ||
| 18 | 01/22 Human digestive system | Test for protein, carbohydrates, and fat in the egg. Science of antacids. | ||
| 19 | 01/29 Human respiratory system | Identify your lung’s volume. Insect trachea under the microscope. | ||
| LP6 | 20 | 02/05 Solutions. Review. Crystallization. | Making saturated solutions to grow crystals. Looking at the crystal collection with UV lamp | Physical science |
| 5-PS1 Matter and Its Interactions 5-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity 5-PS1 Matter and Its Interaction |
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| 21 | 02/12 Chemical mixture. Alloys. US penny as an example of alloy. Gas in liquid solutions (sparkly drinks). Liquid in liquid solutions (water/ethanol). | Turning a penny green. Penny in acid – separating layers. Malachite chemical reaction. Factors effecting gas solubility in water (coke-cola and Pepsi at different temperature and pressure). | ||
| 22 | 02/26 Chemical mixture. Heterogenous mixtures. Types of colloids. | Making suspensions and colloids. Using laser to identify colloids. Pearls as solid sol. Making foam. Elephant toothpaste. | ||
| LP7 | 23 | 03/05 Mixture separation. Going over different methods and devices. Centrifugation theory. Inertia and centripetal force. | Separate 5 solid mixtures creatively Learning how to use centrifuge. Move marble in the spinning glass. | |
| 24 | 03/12 Density and pressure review. | Experiments showing change of density and pressure with changing temperature. | ||
| LP8 | 25 | 03/19 STEAM Grapefruit project. Class 1. Genetics of citrus fruit.Fruit anatomy. | Tasting variety of citrus fruits. Experiment with citrus oil (flammable), oil glands under microscope,parasites from the tree under microscope | Biology |
| 3–5-ETS1 Engineering Design 5-LS1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes |
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| 26 | 04/09 STEAM Grapefruit project. Class 2. Technology, engeneering, and art activities. | Picking grapefruits from the tree and building a battery and a tower. | ||
| 27 | 04/16 Possible field trip to the newt pond (Old Briones road trail, Martinez) | Newts, frogs, insects. | ||
| 28 | 04/23 Life cycle plants and animals. Embryogenesis. Seeds and germination. | Looking at the seeds and seedlings germinating at different conditions. Silk moth cycle. Frog cycle. | ||
| LP9 | 29 | 04/30 Photosynthesis | Pigment extraction from “light” and “dark” seedlings, chromatography, starch detection in leaves. | |
| 30 | 05/07 Biomes. Dessert definition. Camel vs Polar bear. Adaptation. | Build a dessert biome. Fat as a mechanism against cold. Real camel hair vs synthetic. Taste camel milk. | Ecology | |
| 5-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity 5-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics |
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| 31 | 05/14 Human impact on biosphere. Orangutan project. Learn about animals facing extinction. Rain forest biome. | Taste orangutan’s food, draw like orangutan (holding brush in your feet) | ||
| 32 | 5/21 Water biomes. Getting ready for the field trip. Invertebrate animals of the intertidal zone. | Save the whale project. Crab identification with dichotomous keys. Dry animals and shell collection. | ||
| LP10 | 33 | 5/30 (Su) Possible ocean trip (ecology, geology, Earth’s interaction with celestial objects). Pescadero, half day trip. Low tide -1’8” (very rare) at 7.45 | Comparing 2 types of intertidal zones (sandy and rocky), reviewing rock types. Algae and animals of the intertidal zone. Algae buffet. | |
| LP# | Class | Theme | Hands on activities and experiments | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LP1 | 1 | 08/31 Scientific method. Variables. | Popcorn experiment. Samples of popcorn (super dried, soaked in water and control) will pop differently. | |
| MS-ETS1 Engineering Design | ||||
| 2 | 09/07 Properties of matter. Mass, volume, weight, density, and pressure. Review. | Separations based on density. Can you walk on eggs? | ||
| 3 | 09/14 Energy. States of matter. Heat flow. Review. | TBA (usually liquid nitrogen and dry ice demo, we will see...) | ||
| 6-PS3-3 6-PS3-4 |
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| 4 | 09/21 Energy. Heat transfer. Thermal conductivity. Conductors and insulators. | Test materials with different conductivity. Thermometers. Gas thermal expansion experiment | ||
| 6-PS3-5 MS Energy |
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| LP2 | 5 | 09/28 Energy. Combustion reaction 1 | Candle in a jar experiment. Boiling water in the paper cup. Colorful flames. | |
| 6 | 10/05 Energy. Combustion reaction 2 | How to use a stove, ferro rod and a fire extinguisher. Flammable materials, matches. | ||
| 7 | 10/12 Energy. Renewable and nonrenewable resources. Fossil fuels. | Oil spill project. Use variety of purification methods to clean the oil spill in a container filled with water. | ||
| MS-ESS3-3 MS Human Impacts |
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| 8 | 10/19 Test on Energy. Convection currents. | Experiments to demonstrate convection and Eddy currents. | ||
| LP3 | 9 | 10/26 Earth layers. | Earth density model/column. Olivine. Earth’s mantle – Pollack-style painting on canvas. Pizza model of Earth. | |
| MS-ESS2 Earth’s Systems MS-ETS1 Engineering Design |
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| 10 | 11/2 Plate tectonic theory. | Model of the seafloor spreading. Continental drift puzzle. Oreo cookie demo. Ring of fire song. Hot cocoa on the pan – tectonics demo. | ||
| 11 | 11/09 San Andreas, Mt. Diablo and other faults around us. | Interactive computer maps. Multiple plate movement demo. | ||
| 12 | 11/16 Test on tectonics. Mechanical waves. Simple harmonic oscillator. Transverse and longitudinal waves. | Create a pendulum, measure oscillation, plot it on the graph. Use rope and rice to demonstrate wave movement. | ||
| LP4 | 13 | 11/30 Heat transfer - Radiation. Sun radiation. Electromagnetic waves. Properties of light | Flashlight, laser, and lens experiments. Test materials and figure out which one can block radio waves. Find out what happens with cellphone if you wrap it in foil. | MS-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the Universe |
| MS-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the Universe | ||||
| 14 | 12/07 Electromagnetic spectrum. | Experiments with lasers, infrared light, UV (black light). Observe different types of luminescence. | ||
| 15 | 12/14 Seismic waves. Mercalli Scale, Richter, and Moment magnitude earthquake scales. | Waves demo. Making seismograph and earthquake alarm with pendulum. Seismogram analysis (identifying epicenter simulation). Pasta demo. Making an Isoseismal map. | MS-ESS2 Earth’s Systems | |
| LP5 | 16 | EQ 1/4 Test on waves. Elastic-rebound theory of earthquakes. Elasticity. Different types of stress. | Comparing elasticity of different materials. 3 types of stress demo. | |
| MS-ESS2 Earth’s Systems MS-ETS1 Engineering Design MS-ESS2 Earth’s Systems |
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| 17 | EQ 01/11 Soil effects on Earthquake. Liquefaction. Engineering solutions. | Detect seismic wave traveling through the different grounds. Sinking house model. | ||
| 18 | EQ 01/25 Earthquake hazards. Land slides | Three friends in a valley simulation. | ||
| LP6 | 19 | EQ 02/01 Earthquake hazards. Tsunamis | Tsunami generator experiment. Working with sources: survivors’ interview and video footage. | |
| 20 | EQ 02/08 Earthquakes. Structural hazards. Engeneering solutions. Idea of resonance. | Shake table. Engineer a safe building – “wall” model. Simplified BOSS model. | ||
| 21 | EQ 02/22 Test on Earthquakes.Earthquakes forecasting. Preparedness. | Identified hazards in the room. Learn how to turn off electricity, gas, and water. | ||
| LP7 | 22 | 03/01 Volcanos. Class 1 Hot spots, structure, explosivity index, hazards: lava, pyroclastic flows, properties of volcanic ash |
Hot spot demo. Volcano models: elephant toothpaste, chocolate explosion and eruption with ash. Analise 2 types of real ash. Preserving a balloon in the volcanic ash | |
| 23 | 03/08 Volcanos. Class 2 hazards: lahars and landslide. Mt St Helens. Volcanic gases. Acid rains. Carbon cycle. |
Working with rock collection: sulfur containing rocks. Gas to acid reaction, detection with indicator. | ||
| 24 | 03/15 Volcanos. Class 3 Classification. Caldera. Underwater volcanos. Igneous rocks. |
Underwater volcano model. Caldera model. Working with rock collection: igneous rocks. Compare properties of pumice and scoria. Making bracelet from vesicular basalt. | ||
| 25 | 03/22 Test on Volcanos. Weathering, Erosion and Deposition. Class 1 Water and Temperature. | Frozen egg. Hatch and grow “erosion”. Acid test. Exfoliation of rock and glass. Working with rock collection: limestones. | ||
| LP8 | 26 | 04/05 Weathering, Erosion and Deposition. Class 2 Wind and waves. Sedimentary rocks. | Weathering sugar cube. Working with rock collection: chert, conglomerate. Tumbled rocks. Creating sedimentary rock with plaster. | |
| 27 | 04/12 Paleontology. Fossil types. Relative dating. | Crack rocks with hammer to find carbonized fossil. Working with rock collection: fossilized rocks. Make a carbonized fossil model. Make a fossil magnet. Polish amber. Sort fossils. | ||
| 28 | 04/19 Metamorphic rocks. Rock cycle. | Play dough model. Working with rock collection: metamorphic rocks and minerals Marble/quartzite test. Soapstone carving project. Lapis lazuli painting. | ||
| LP9 | 29 | 04/26 Learn how sand forms. Different sand types and their forming minerals. | Analise Purple sand sample under the microscope. Looks at the different sand samples (green, white, black). | |
| 30 | 05/03 Minerals – building blocks of rocks. Identification technics. | Working with rock collection: minerals. Identify a mineral using acid, streak, fracture and cleavage, and fluorescence tests. | ||
| 31 | 05/10 Soil. Seeds and germination. | Compare different types of soil, change soil pH. Looking at the seeds and seedlings germinating at different conditions. | ||
| 32 | 05/17 Mt. Diablo Foothill field trip (Borges ranch-Sulfur Springs- Castle Rock). | Signs of landslides erosion, sedimentary rocks, sulfur springs, Mt Diablo habitats. | ||
| LP10 | 33 | 05/29 (Sat) Ocean trip (ecology, geology, Earth’s interaction with celestial objects). Pescadero, day trip. Low tide (very rare) -1’8” at 7.45 | Comparing 2 types of intertidal zones (sandy and rocky), reviewing rock types. Algae and animals of the intertidal zone. | MS-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the Universe |
| EQ – adopted from ParsQuake program (affiliated with Teachers without Borders). ParsQuake provides earthquake education in the Central Asia zones with high geohazards (seismic, volcanos, landslides, tsunami etc.). This program connects science with real life situations helping students to make decisions in critical situations which may save their life. | ||||
| LP# | Class | Theme | Hands on activities and experiments | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 09/03 Scientific method 1. Diffusion. | Skittles diffusion. Raisin imbibition experiment. Capillary effect demo. Capillary/Diffusion comparison experiment. Ink in gelatin experiment. | MS-PS1 Matter and its Interactions. | |
| LP1 | 2 | 09/10 Scientific method 2. Osmosis. | Gummy bears in different solutions. Instant snow. Dialysis bag. Osmosis visualization with glucose. Desalination by osmosis. | |
| 3 | 09/17 Intro to microscopy. Cell structure - Semipermeable membrane. Osmosis in the living cell. | Osmosis in the Elodea cells. Egg experiment. Smelly balloons. Soap film as a membrane model. | ||
| MS-ETS1 Engineering Design MS-LS1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes |
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| 4 | 09/24 Cell structure. Organelles. | Looking under the light scope at the cell organelles (plastids, vacuoles). Electron microscope photos (ER, ribosomes, mitochondria). | ||
| LP2 | 5 | 10/01 Cell structure - Nucleus: DNA, replication, gene, chromosomes, genetic code, sequencing, prokaryotes vs eukaryotes | Build a DNA model. Working with sequences. Microscope: nuclear staining. | |
| 6 | 10/8 Chromosomes. Cell cycle. Mitosis. HeLa cells and ethics in science. | Mitosis in onion roots. Candy worm model. Plant and Animal cell cultures (photos). Fluorescent microscope (photos) | ||
| 7 | 10/15 Types of reproduction. Meiosis | Meiosis in plant and animal cells. Candy worm model. Flower dissection. | ||
| 8 | 10/22 Intro to genetics | Counting dry peas. Pedigree for earlobe attachment. Human face survey. | ||
| LP3 | 9 | 10/29 Protein synthesis and classification. Part 1 | Alcohol dehydrogenase translation, working with DNA, mRNA, and protein sequences. | |
| 10 | 11/5 Protein synthesis and classification. Part 2 | Experiments with enzymes (catalase, lactase) and protein denaturation. | ||
| 11 | 11/12 Mutations. Classification, examples. | Working with DNA sequences. Phenylthiourea (PTC) strip test. | ||
| 12 | 11/19 Mutations and evolution. | Mutation examples (slides). Bottle neck effect demo. Stain your tong with blue dye and count taste buds. | ||
| LP4 | 13 | 12/03 Genetic methods. Cloning, PCR, bacterial transformation, protein methods | DNA isolation from strawberries. Build a mice computer game. Fingerprinting in criminalistics. | |
| 14 | 12/10 Bacteria and viruses. Update on COVID. | Working with COVID DNA sequence. Bacteria under the scope. | ||
| 15 | 12/17 Human circulatory system | Identify your blood group. Blood under the microscope. Lamb heart dissection. Read an electrocardiogram. | ||
| LP5 | 16 | 01/07 Human muscle-skeletal system | Mark bones on the small skeleton. Muscle tissue under the scope. Mitochondria in the flying muscle. Arm X-ray to detect age. | |
| MS-LS1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes. | ||||
| 17 | 01/14 Human digestive system | Test for protein, carbohydrates, and fat in the egg. Science of antacids. | ||
| 18 | 01/28 Human respiratory system | Identify your lung’s volume. Insect trachea under the scope. | ||
| LP6 | 19 | 02/04 Atom structure. Static electricity | Atom demo, static electricity with PVC and balloons, electrostatic generator | |
| MS-PS1 Matter and its Interactions MS-ETS1 Engineering Design | ||||
| 20 | 02/11 Electric circuits 1. Elements: batteries. Multimeter. | How to use multimeter, experiments with batteries and LEDs. Create a Valentine electric card | ||
| 21 | 02/25 Electric circuits 2. Elements: load, conductor, and switch. Series and parallel circuits. | Test lamps and resistors. Work with wire. Build an alarm, test energy wand | ||
| LP7 | 22 | 03/04 Magnetism | Experiments with magnets. Create a device to separate different materials. Make an electromagnetic motor. | |
| 23 | 03/11 Crystallization. | Grow crystals and look at the crystal structure of different rocks, learn the basic methods of rock identification | ||
| MS-ESS2 Earth’s Systems.MS-ETS1 Engineering Design. | ||||
| 24 | 03/18 Minerals – building blocks of rocks. Identification technics. | Working with rock collection: minerals. Identify a mineral using acid, streak, fracture and cleavage, and fluorescence tests. | ||
| 25 | 03/25 Metamorphic rocks. | Play dough model. Working with rock collection: metamorphic rocks and minerals Marble/quartzite test. Soapstone carving project. Lapis lazuli painting. | ||
| LP8 | 26 | 04/08 Three types of rocks. Rock cycle | Mystery rock Identification | |
| 27 | 04/15 Mt Diablo Foothill field trip (Borges ranch-Sulfur Springs- Castle Rock) | Signs of landslides erosion, sedimentary rocks, sulfur springs, Mt Diablo habitats | ||
| 28 | 04/22 Life cycle plants and animals. Embryogenesis. Seeds and germination. | Looking at the seeds and seedlings germinating at different conditions. | MS-LS1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes | |
| LP9 | 29 | 04/29 Photosynthesis | Pigment extraction from “light” and “dark” seedlings, chromatography, starch detection in leaves. Viewing plastids in live plant material. | |
| 30 | 05/06 Species. Systematics. Protists. | Looking under the microscope at the water samples from different sources. | ||
| MS-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity | ||||
| 31 | 05/13 Ecosystems and adaptations. Field trip to Salt marsh ecosystem, Martinez | McNabney Marsh: key species and adaptations, vertisol, biocrust, human influence, water tests. | ||
| 32 | 05/20 Diversity of organisms. Systematics. Using keys to identify. Markham Arboretum field trip. | Tree walk will introduce you to 45 tree species. We will taste carob, open wasp gall, look for araucaria nuts and taste birch sap. | MS-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics | |
| LP10 | 33 | 05/30 (Su) Ocean trip (ecology, geology, Earth’s interaction with celestial objects). Pescadero, day trip. Low tide -1’8” (very rare) at 7.45 | Comparing 2 types of intertidal zones (sandy and rocky), reviewing rock types. Algae and animals of the intertidal zone. Crab identification using keys. Algae buffet. |
Science Standards
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