Science

The Middle School science curriculum is a guided-discovery, hands-on approach to learning. Students collect and analyze data to develop an understanding of the nature and processes of scientific inquiry. This also leads them to appreciate both the power and the limitations of science. Content is selected to lead students to a foundational knowledge of science concepts and to an understanding of real issues of interest to them and their community.

Approximately 60 to 80 percent of class time is spent on laboratory, field studies or individual projects. With all labs, time is devoted to analysis of data and small-group and class discussion. Numerical relationships within data are studied extensively using graphs and analytical writing.

Science 6

Science 6 starts with students learning to use the scientific method to find answers to questions. Significant class time is devoted to learning experimental techniques, experimental design and basic laboratory skills. Students learn how to effectively communicate their findings by creating written laboratory reports that incorporate tables and graphs of their quantitative data. Through a cooperative program with Austin Energy, students learn about the basics of energy and the role that it plays in the natural and human world. This program also intersects with their work in Global Connections using the novel “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.” Students learn about renewable and non-renewable energy sources and the positives and negatives of each. Science 6 then shifts to answer the question, “What is life?” Students develop an understanding of the organization of living things and the requirements for a macroscopic organism to live. Mastering the use of a compound microscope allows them to learn about plants and animals at the cellular level. Various dissection activities enable students to better understand the function of cells, tissues, organs, etc. in a microscopic organism. Woven throughout the course is the exploration of planetary habitability. Students learn that Earth is a unique place for life and investigate the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe.
Ecological Literacy

This course has as its goals to: help students develop lifelong literacy in ecology; observe and foster nature’s patterns; create and foster diverse habitats; and recycle nutrients. This course will guide students to the realization that nature can heal itself at the local and global level. They will work to create habitats for all living things from bacteria to bees to humans. The container gardens developed by the students provide a source of food for the dining hall. There is also a cooking component for this course to demonstrate how to use the food grown in our gardens. Since it is important to preserve the web of life that humans rely on for survival, humans must allow nature’s nutrient cycling and move toward a zero waste lifestyle both as individuals and in communities; students will be engaged in activities that give them means to reach this end. This is a required course for all 6th grade students and meets once a rotation. It is a pass/fail class.
Ecological Literacy

This course has as its goals to: help students develop lifelong literacy in ecology; observe and foster nature’s patterns; create and foster diverse habitats; and recycle nutrients. This course will guide students to the realization that nature can heal itself at the local and global level. They will work to create habitats for all living things from bacteria to bees to humans. The container gardens developed by the students provide a source of food for the dining hall. There is also a cooking component for this course to demonstrate how to use the food grown in our gardens. Since it is important to preserve the web of life that humans rely on for survival, humans must allow nature’s nutrient cycling and move toward a zero-waste lifestyle both as individuals and in communities. Students will be engaged in activities that give them means to reach this end. This is a required course for all 6th-grade students and meets once a rotation. It is a pass/fail class.
Science 7

Science 7 focuses on the principles of physical science, which include general studies in chemistry and physics. Students study physical and chemical properties, atoms, the periodic table, atomic bonding, forces and motion, machines, and energy. Within each topic, there are multiple laboratory experiments or activities that allow students to engage with the material being discussed. Labs are followed by analysis and class discussion. In addition to the labs, topics are presented using multiple methods, including graphic organizers, foldables, lectures, visuals, class discussions, guided notes and hands-on models. This course also focuses on the continued learning of fundamental science skills and practices that were introduced in Science 6 and will be used in each grade throughout all science classes. Emphasis is on providing students with a better understanding of the physics and chemistry disciplines of science and how they can be used to explain the world around them.
Science 7 Coding and Robotics

In this lab-based course, students learn to see the world through the lens of computational thinking, which enables them to decompose problems, recognize patterns and understand abstract concepts. Students are introduced to block coding and JavaScript and use their skills to program robotic interfaces to solve problems and perform tasks. This is a required course for all 7th-grade students that meets once a rotation. It is a pass/fail class.
Science 8

Science 8 examines the largest contexts of space and time. It is a course of big ideas that invite critical thinking about humanity’s place in creation. Using many laboratory experiments and other hands-on activities, students study physical processes that have enabled us to understand our universe. These studies include the ongoing continuation of the Big Bang, stellar nucleosynthesis of atoms that we are all composed of and that form all of our natural resources, solar system formation, geological processes, earth materials, weather and climate. Special emphasis is given to the study of climate change with each student researching an aspect of current changes in climate, expected changes, options for energy alternatives and how choices made today may affect realities within their lifetimes. The climate unit culminates with a roundtable discussion in which students share what they have learned. This course is well-suited for students who are already contemplating big questions in their lives and complements their studies in the Cultures and Governance course in the History curriculum.

Middle School Courses

Academic Departments

Science

Science 6

Ecological Literacy

Ecological Literacy

Science 7

Science 7 Coding and Robotics

Science 8

Middle School Faculty