8th grade assessments for Science Power Standards:
On a test/quiz, explain how science has advanced because of legitimate skepticism.
Use scientific evidence to design and create models/ I know statements that demonstrate
logical inferences or predictions that incorporate scientific method solving.
Analyze how and why changes occur in a system, and the interactions to each other by
creating a model (water, rock, Carbon Nitrogen cycles).
Design, execute, document and report on an experiment. Make sure you use math statistics
to analyze and evaluate quantitative and qualitative data.
Build a scale representation that shows distances within the solar system. Develop and
present supporting information that explains and justifies what has been built. E.g. 3-D
scale model of a constellation
Select a force of nature, create a model that demonstrates the effects of the balanced
and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object, and teach it to your classmates for
interpretation (e.g., convection currents, orbital motion, tides, gravity).
Identify and describe applications of heat transfer in everyday life (conduction,
convection or radiation).
After reading and researching fossil records, explain the significance of finding a large
snail fossil at the top of a mountain range. Interpret what that tells us about the geology
of the land, evolution of the extinct snail.
Investigate how the water cycle occurs in an ecosystem, and explain how pollution can
travel through that cycle.
Students will select one landform, create a presentation that teaches their classmates
how landforms are changed for their interpretation (e.g., crustal deformation, volcanic
eruption, deposition, weathering, erosion).
On a test/quiz explain the changes Earth has undergone over geologic time (e.g., fossil
record, plate tectonics, climate change, glaciation).
Using a model you have created, explain how phenomena on Earth (i.e., day, year,
seasons, lunar phases, eclipses, tides) are related to the position and motion of the
Sun, Moon, and Earth.
Students will select a social issue associated with the interactions of science and
technology arguing their support of a claim/counter claim of their topic. Students will use
valid reasoning with relevance and sufficient evidence to support the interaction of
science and technology with your social issues (e.g., mining, oil-drilling, fracking, natural
disaster).
Upon completion of 8th grade Science I Can…
--organize changes (e.g., patterns, cycles) that occur sequentially in systems (HR
diagram, weather, water, CO2, N2, rock).
-- explain how science advances through legitimate skepticism.
-- use evidence to generate descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models.
--use basic mathematics and statistics ( e.g., operations, mean, median, mode, range,
and estimation) to analyze and interpret quantitative and qualitative data.
-- design, conduct, and communicate a scientific investigation (e.g., make systematic
observations, make accurate measurements, identify and control variables, analyze and
interpret data, draw a conclusion and communicate my results with evidence).
-- interpret the effect of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object
(e.g., convection currents, orbital motion, tides, gravity).
-- identify when heat can be transferred by conduction, convection or radiation.
-- identify the evidence of biological evolution. (e.g. adaptation, radiation, extinction) as
found in the fossil record.
-- explain the water cycle.
-- explain how landforms are changed (e.g., crustal deformation, volcanic eruption,
deposition, weathering, erosion).
-- explain the changes Earth has undergone over geologic time (e.g., fossil record, plate
tectonics, climate change, glaciation).
-- explain how phenomena on Earth (i.e., day, year, seasons, lunar phases, eclipses,
tides) are related to the position and motion of the Sun, Moon, and Earth.
-- identify the composition (e.g., stars. galaxies) and scale of the universe.
-- explain the interaction of science and technology with social issues (e.g., mining,
natural disaster).