Course Syllabus

8th Grade Science

Online 6001C

Online and in person CWEB



Instructor: Michelle Liotsakis

Email: mliotsakis@cwcharter.org

Office Hours: Fridays 12-1

 

Class Information:

Class Time: Online: Tuesdays 2:15-3:15  In person: Wednesdays CWEB 2-3

  • Semester 1 - First Class Meeting (Week of August 16)

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  (Week of January 3)       

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 COURSE TITLE  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. In person class offers students the opportunity to meet and work with other students and receive live instruction from a teacher. 

 

Course OverviewThis class meets 1 x per week online or 2x per week for CWEB Bridge students.  Daily assignments will be expected.    Each class period will focus on questions regarding the previous assignments, instruction of new topics, activities and in-person students will have in person hand on experiments.    

Prerequisites: 

Curriculum:  Required curriculum may be available at the Learning Center on a first come basis.  Please look for the ELEVATE curriculum which consists of four workbooks and one small engineering design notebook bundled together. If needed, ESs can order curriculum using the OPS catalog under Savaas. You will order the online bundle which gives the student online access and the workbooks which will be sent to the ES. 

 

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 
  • mouse ( tracking pads do not work as well with interactive classes)
  • Binder Paper
  • Basic Colored Pencils ( purchase through office depot) 
  • Pencils & Erasers
  • Composition Notebook
  • Sketch pad ( purchase throughAmazon)



Requirements: 



GradingStudents will be graded on attendance, daily homework assignments, module assessments, and projects.

Overall course grade: List the grading criteria you use

25% Attendance/Participation

25% Daily Homework 

25% Tests & Quizzes

25% Final Exam & Projects

 

Grading ScaleList the grading criteria you use                                                                                     TK - 7:

E

S

N

Excellent = Mastery

Satisfactory = Progressing Towards Mastery

Needs Improvement

Consistently meets or exceeds expectations of grade level standards.

Meeting expectations of grade level standards.

Unable to, or with prompting and support, progressing towards meeting expectations of grade level standards.

 

Grade 8 through High School:

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: Work is accepted through out the Topic Study. One the Topic study has closed, assignments and tests are closed as well. The time frame is usually 3-4 weeks per Topic. 

Daily Homework: . All homework 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.

Test & Quizzes: The instructor will collect and grade several tests throughout the semester.  The tests will be posted in Canvas for the students to download or will be assigned online.  Specific instructions for the quizzes and tests will be given in class, including procedures for submission and due dates.  Tests will not be accepted more than one week past the due date. Due dates and cut-off dates will be posted for each test on the Canvas assignment page. 

Projects:    projects, will determine 25% of the overall grade.

  • Please note if your class is doing a final project instead of a final exam.
  • General classes: final exams will be given on the last scheduled day of class for the semester.  
  • a-g Finals are scheduled at proctored test sites                                                               Dec.  7 & 9: Fall Semester a-g Finals                                                                 May 10 & 12: Spring Semester a-g Finals

Additional Resources:

Important Dates 2021 - 2022: (OR this can go up above with Class Information or on your pacing guide)

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

Science 8 Michelle Liotsakis

 

Tentative Pacing Guide

(daily assignments subject to change - check Canvas regularly)

 

LP

Week 0 8/11 - 8/13

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Wednesday

School begins on Wednesday 8/11/21

To-Do Before You Begin

  • Make sure you have your headset,mouse, four Elevate Science segments 1-4, sketch pad and colored pencils. 
  • Enroll in our Canvas course
  • Watch orientation video
  • Test your computer for Jigsaw, our online classroom.
  • Read the Syllabus and complete the Policies and Procedures Quiz.
  • Register for online ebook access: (Username: 12345cwcs Password: Cw54321! but use YOUR student ID# instead of 12345).  
  • Create a Peardeck account
  • Complete “Canvas at Connecting Waters” Student Training Course

Thursday

Friday

Week 1 8/16 - 8/20

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Monday

Class Sessions begin Tuesday, 8/17

  • Check Canvas daily for activities and Grades

Tuesday

Welcome, Overview of Canvas, PearDeck and Online Book, 

Lesson 1 Describing Motion and Force

Wednesday

Bridge experiment Day For and Motion

Thursday

Friday

Week 2 8/23 - 2/27

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Monday

Tuesday

Lesson 2 Speed, Velocity and Acceleration

Wednesday

Lesson 2 Speed Velocity and Acceleration experiment day

Thursday

Friday

Week 3  8/30 - 9/3

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Monday

Tuesday

Online and Bridge Lesson 3 Newton’s Laws of Motion

Wednesday

Bridge- Lesson 3 Newton’s Laws of Motion Experiment Day

Thursday

Friday

Add/Drop Date: Last day to add or drop classes

Week 4  9/6 - 9/10

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Monday

No School: Labor Day

Tuesday

Lesson 4 Friction and Gravitational Interactions

Wednesday

Bridge- Lesson 4 Friction and Gravitational Interactions Experiment Day

Thursday

Friday

Week 5 9/13 - 9/17

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Monday

Tuesday

Topic 2 Energy Lesson 1 Energy Motion and Force

Wednesday

Bridge- Energy Motion and Force Experiment Day

Thursday

Friday

Week 6  9/20 - 9/24

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Monday

Tuesday

Lesson 3 Energy Change and Conservation

Wednesday

Bridge Lesson 3 Energy Change and Conservation experiment day

Thursday

Friday

Week 7 9/27 - 10/1

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Monday

Tuesday

Investigation

Wednesday

Investigation

Thursday

Friday

Week 8 10/4 - 10/8

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Monday

Tuesday

Topic 3 Waves Lesson 1 wave Properties

Wednesday

Bridge Topic 3 Wave Properties Experiment Day

Thursday

Friday

Week 9 10/11 - 10/15

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Monday

Tuesday

Lesson 2 Wave Interactions

Wednesday

Bridge Wave Interactions Investigation Day 

Thursday

Friday

Week 10 10/19 - 10/22

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Monday

Tuesday

Lesson 3 Sound Waves

Wednesday

Bridge Sound Waves Experiment/Investigation Day

Thursday

Friday

Week 11 10/25 - 10/29

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Monday

Tuesday

Lesson 4 Light

Wednesday

Bridge Light experiment day

Thursday

Friday

Week 12 11/1 - 11/5

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Monday

Tuesday

Topic 4 Electricity and Magnetism Lesson 1 Electric Force

Wednesday

Bridge Electricity and Magnetism Experiment Day

Thursday

Friday

Week 13 11/8 - 11/12

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Monday

Tuesday

Lesson 3 Electromagnetic Force

Wednesday

Bridge Electromagetic Force Experiment Day

Thursday

No School: Veteran’s Day

Friday

Week 14 11/15 - 11/19

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Monday

Tuesday

Lesson 4 Electric and Magnetic Interactions

Wednesday

Bridge Electric and magnetic investigations day

Thursday

Friday

No School: Thanksgiving Break

11/22 - 11/28

Thanksgiving Break

No online class sessions this week

Week 15 11/29 - 12/3

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Monday

Tuesday

Intro Final Project

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Week 16 12/6 - 12/10

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Monday

Tuesday

Final project rough draft due

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Week 17 12/13 - 12/17

Lessons, Topics & Standards

Instructional Activities

Monday

Tuesday

Final project presentation

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Last Day of School: 12/17

Course Summary:

Date Details Due