What we're learning
Seventh graders have just finished their unit on ecosystems and are ready to start a new unit. My plan was to start on plate tectonics, however, through discussion and assessments, it was shown that seventh graders have covered this topic pretty thoroughly last year. Because they seemed to have a well-rounded understanding, I've decided to start a different topic. Though, plate tectonics are still part of the seventh grade standards, I will touch on this subject later on in the year, but will give a different approach, based on their prior knowledge. I would like to have project-based learning to further their knowledge of plate tectonics, but this will come at another time.
Currently, we are beginning our chemistry unit. This will be a very basic, introductory level into atoms, molecules, and the elements. We will spend a lot of time on this unit and begin with atoms. In our section on atoms, students will learn:
- what an atom is
- parts of an atom
- models of an atom
- the nucleus
- isotopes
- radioactive decay
- half-life