7th Grade Science

Section 6000

Location Online 

Please review the CWCS Master Class Syllabus that will be used in the Parent/Student Orientation course. 

Instructor: Lanette Lanchester

Email: llanchester@cwcharter.org

Phone: (903)747-2597

Office Hours: Monday 1-2PM

 

Class Information:

#6000 Online Class Time:

• Semester 1 - First Class Online Meeting Tuesday Aug 17, 202110:15-11:15 AM

Last Day to Add or Drop is 9/3/21 (Students will be charged the full price of the course if dropping the class after this deadline.)

• Semester 2 - First Class Meeting  Tuesday January 4, 2022 10:15-11:15 AM

Last Day to Add or Drop is 1/14/22 (Students will be charged the full price of the course if dropping the class after this deadline.)

CWCS’s 7th Grade Science  online course offers students the opportunity to study at home while employing technology as a learning tool, meeting with other students in a virtual classroom, and receiving live instruction from a teacher. 

Course Overview: 7th Grade Science is a two semester course. 

• Semester 1

• Ecosystem Interactions
• Living Things in the Biosphere
• Ecosystems
• Populations, Communities, and Ecosystems
• Cell and Body Systems
• The Cell System
• Cell Processes

• Semester 2

• Cell and Body Systems (Continued)

• Human Body Systems

• Inheritance and Genetics

• Reproduction and Growth

• Genes and Heredity

• Biological Evolution

• Natural Selection and Change Over Time

All tests and assignments will be posted in the course calendar in Canvas.  This course requires that students study every day.

 

Please note: The pacing guide is subject to change.  Any change will be posted in the Canvas calendar.  Students enrolled in the course should be checking the Canvas homepage for up-to-date and detailed assignments.

 

Curriculum:  Required curriculum may be available at the Learning Center on a first come basis.  If needed, ESs can order curriculum using the OPS catalog which will have the most up-to-date pricing. Students will need:

 

California Life Elevate Science Teacher’s Edition

California Life Elevate Science Segments 1-4

California Life Elevate Science Engineering Design Notebook

Materials: 

• Working external headset with mic (computer speakers do not work successfully with the Canvas setup). Plug-in headsets (rather than Bluetooth) work best with Jigsaw. After the third week of class and no headset, students may begin to lose participation points for the class. Class is much more engaging if all students can talk in class using their mic. Suggested:  Office Depot Logitech Clear-Chat 
• Binder Paper
• 1" Binder
• Pencils & Erasers
• Colored pencils
• Composition Notebook

 

Requirements: 

• Class textbook/workbook
• Gmail Account and ability to open/create word documents and pdfs (Adobe Acrobat Reader)
• Reliable Internet access
• Canvas Login link: https://cwcs.instructure.com/login/canvas 

Grading:  Students will be graded on attendance, daily homework assignments, and module progress quizzes and summative tests.

. 

Overall course grade:

25% Attendance/Participation

25% Daily Homework 

25% Tests & Quizzes

25% Final Exam

 

Grading Scale:  :

90% and above A

80%-89% B

70%-79% C

60%-69% D

below 60% F

Attendance: Attendance is required.  The Truancy Policy applies to Canvas courses. An unexcused absence may be counted as a truancy.

• Excused Absence is defined as:
  The parent shall notify the teacher by phone of the absence at least 24 hours* prior to the time the class meets.
• Unexcused Absence is defined as:
  An absence that does not accompany a parent phone call to the instructor at least 24 hours* prior to the time the class meets.

*If there are extenuating circumstances that do not allow for at least 24 hours, then the teacher must still be notified prior to the start of class; allowances may be made depending on the circumstances. Examples of extenuating circumstances: car accident, sudden illness, etc. Students should arrange a "back up plan" in case of unexpected computer problems the day of the class (i.e. make pre-arrangements to go to a neighbor, friend, relative, library, etc.)  

When students are absent, they must contact the instructor via email or contact another classmate to obtain the homework assignment.

Absent/Late Work: Late work will not be accepted after the assignment due date, unless I am notified of a special circumstance.

Daily Homework:  

Weekly assignments will include:

• Weekly Reading & Notes
• Class attendance & participation
• Weekly Assignment - Please read Notes on the weekly assignment. 
• Weekly Progress Quiz
• Weekly learning Journal Submission

Weekly modules will guide students through their class requirements and these will be submitted through Canvas. You can submit a Word document, PDF or Google Doc (download as a PDF and upload to Canvas).  Emailed assignments will not be accepted.  All communication will be made through Canvas’ email feature.

 

Overall course grade:

25% Attendance/Participation

25% Homework 

25% Tests & Quizzes

25% Final Exam

 

Attendance & Participation

You are expected to attend class and participate in group discussions and activities weekly.  This will be 12.5% of your final grade. The other 12.5% of your participation grade will be based on your weekly Learning Journal.  Every week you will submit a journal entry about something you learned, found interesting, surprised you, enjoyed, disliked.  Then you will comment on at least one other classmate’s journal entry.  

Homework overseen by the Parent Educator 

The weekly reading and weekly assignments will be overseen and graded by the parent educator. This will make up 25% of the student’s course grade.  Students will complete their assignments right in their Elevate Science Textbook that is designed for your student to write in, take notes in and complete weekly comprehension and vocabulary assignments. The Parent Educator will grade these assignments and  will submit these assignments through your ES twice each semester.  However, it is the Parent Educator’s job to make sure your student does not fall behind on his/her reading and assignments.  The results will show up in weekly quizzes and tests. 

Weekly Progress Quizzes

Did you know that it has been scientifically proven that we learn more from our wrong answers than our correct answers?  With this in mind, the weekly progress quizzes are a tool to help you test your understanding, and help you get an easy 100.  You may take weekly quizzes as many times as you need until you get a 100!  Quizzes will be open for 1 week.  Wrong answers will give you feedback and extra videos or articles to help deepen your understanding.  When the assignments closes, I will post your last grade. 

Summative Tests - open notes

Tests must be completed within a 48 hour time frame.  This is NOT a group project. Summative tests are testing your own learning development.  You may not work with anyone else.  You may not search the internet.  BUT a good scientist keeps a good, organized notebook.  So you may use your notes.  Be sure to take excellent notes with a few examples.  As you take your progress quizzes and find areas that you need to deepen your learning, use your notebook.  Organize your notes according to topic.  Be sure to include all vocabulary. 

Final Exam 

The final exam is held on the last day of class.  I have not decided on what this should be, but projects are my favorite way of demonstrating learning.  I will involve the students in this decision making process as well as watch what opportunities are available both for the winter and spring semesters. 

Additional Resources: 

Important Dates 2021 - 2022: 

Aug. 11: First day of school for fall semester (Wed.)

Sept. 6: NO CLASS: Labor Day (Mon.)

Nov. 11: NO CLASS: Veteran’s Day (Thurs.)

Nov. 19 - 26: NO CLASS: Thanksgiving Break 

Dec.  7 & 9: a-g Finals

Nov 29 - Dec 3: Last Class session this week

Jan. 3: First day of school for spring semester (Mon.) - Classes start

Jan. 17: NO CLASS: MLK Holiday

Feb. 18 - 21: NO CLASS: President’s Day Observance

March 18-25: NO CLASSES THIS WEEK: SPRING BREAK

May 2 - 6: Last class session this week

May 10 & 12: a-g Finals

May 20: Last day of school

 

Pacing Guide

Week	Section	Attendance Participation 25%	Homework 25%	Quizzes &  Tests 25%	Final Exam  25 %
Topic 1 Living Things in the Biosphere
Week 1 Aug 11-13 3 days	Module 1 -Explore it -California Floristic Province -Asking Questions	*Meeting Attendance *Weekly Learning Journal Entry What questions did you ask? Why are Questions Important in Science?	Read Pg 1-9 Assignment	Progress Quiz
Week 2 August 16-20 5 days	Module 2 -Lesson 1 Living Things	*Meeting Attendance *Weekly Learning Journal Entry & Discussion	Pages 10-20	Progress Quiz
Week 3 August 23-27 5 days	Module 3 -Viruses, Bacteria, Protists, and Fungi	*Meeting Attendance *Weekly Learning Journal Entry & Discussion	Pages 22-31	Summative Test
Week 4 August 30-Sept 3 5 days	Module 4 -Plants and Animals	*Meeting Attendance *Weekly Learning Journal Entry & Discussion	Pg 34-44	Progress Quiz
Topic 2 Ecosystems
Week 5 Sept 7-10 4 days	Module 5  -The Living Things and the Environment			Progress Quiz
Week 6 Sep 13-17 5 days	Module 6 -Energy Flow in Ecosystems			Progress Quiz
Week 7 Sep 20-24 5 days	Module 7 -Cycles of Matter			Summative Test
Topic 3 Populations, Communities, and Ecosystems
Week 8 Sep 27-Oct 1 5 days	Module 8 -Interactions in Ecosystems			Progress Quiz
Week 9 Oct 4-8 5 days	Module 9 -Dynamic and Resilient Ecosystems			Progress Quiz
Week 10 Oct 11-15 5 days	Module 10 -Biodiversity			Summative Test
Week 11 Oct 18-22 5 days	Module 11 -Ecosystem Services			Progress Quiz
Topic 4 The Cell System
Week 12 Oct 25-29 5 days	Module 12 -Structure and Function of Cells			Summative Test
Week 13 Nov 1-5 5 days	Module 13 -Cell Structures			Progress Quiz
Week 14 Nov 8-12 (Veterans’ Day) 4 days	Module 14 -Obtaining and Removing Materials			Progress Quiz
Topic 5 Cell Processes
Week 15 Nov15-18 4 days	Module 15 -Photosynthesis			Summative Test
Week 16 Nov 29-Dec 3 5 days	Module 16 -Cellular Respiration			Semester Review Quiz
Week 17	Midterm Exam Tuesday December 7th				Semester 1 Final Exam
Week 18 Dec 13-17 5 days	Module 18
Winter Break
Topic 6: Human Body Systems
Week 19 Jan 3-7 5 days	Module 19 -Body Organization			Progress Quiz
Week 20 Jan 10-14 5 days	Module 20 - Systems Interacting			Progress Quiz
Week 21 Jan 18-21 4 days	Module 21 -Supplying Energy			Summative Test
Week 22 Jan 24-28 5 days	Module 22 -Managing Materials			Progress Quiz
Week 23 Jan 31-Feb 4 5 days	Module 23 -Controlling Processes			Progress Quiz
Topic 7 Reproduction and Growth
Week 24 Feb 7-11 5 days	Module 24 -Patterns of Reproduction			Summative Test
Week 25 Feb 14-17 4 days	Module 25 -Patterns of Inheritance			Progress Quiz
Week 26 Feb 22-25 4 days	Module 26 -Plant Structures for Reproduction			Progress Quiz
Week 27 Feb 28-Mar 4 5 days	Module 27 -Animal Behaviors for Reproduction			Summative Test
Week 28 Mar 7 - 11 5 days	Module 28 -Factors Influencing Growth			Progress Quiz
Topic 8 Genes and Heredity
Week 29 Mar 14-17  4 days	Module 29 -Chromosomes and Inheritance			Progress Quiz
Week 30 Mar 28-Apr 1 5 days	Module 30 -Trait Variations			Summative Test
Week 31 April 4-7 5 days	Module 31 -Genetic Technologies			Progress Quiz
Topic 9 Natural Selection and Change Over Time
Week 32 April 11-14 4 days	Module 32 -Early Study of Evolution			Progress Quiz
Week 33 April 18-22 5 days	Module 33 -Natural Selection			Summative Test
Week 34 April 25-29 5 days	Module 34 -The Process of Evolution			Progress Quiz
Week 35 May 2-6 5 days	Module 35 -Evidence in the Fossil Record			Semester Review Quiz
Week 36 May 9-13 5 days a-g finals 5/10 & 5/12	Module 36 -Other Evidence of Evolution				Semester 2 Final Exam
Last Week of School