Comprehensive 8th Grade Science Quarter 4 - Teacher of The Year Instructor (Sections can be taken in any order)

In eighth grade science Mastery Badges 13-16 we will be studying the final four units of eighth grade science.  The goal for students is to earn each of the mastery badges by getting a 3 or 4 (out of 4) on each of the mastery badge quizzes.  

4 = Exceeds Expectations
3 = Mastery
2 = Approaching Mastery
1 = Beginning Your Journey

Think of these scores as a loading bar.  No one starts their learning journey knowing everything.  All of us must "load" more knowledge into our minds.  I very much dislike the term "failing" in education.  It is not possible to fail learning, as long as you are still trying.  As long as you are still loading knowledge into your head, then you have not failed.  If you take a mastery badge quiz and get a 1 or a 2, that is not a failure.  That just tells us that you need more time to load more learning into your mind, and that is perfectly okay.  

To help you earn each of the Mastery Badges, we will spend two weeks together doing a variety of activities.  These include hands on experiments, reading assignments, writing assignments, notes, and discussion.  

Science And Engineering Practices:
Each mastery badge focuses on more than just a content or topic.  They also focus on helping you become proficient with the 8 science and engineering practices.  The content is important, but let's be honest, you are probably never going to need to know what the  job of the mitochondria is in your daily life.  However, the science and engineering practices that we learn will impact you forever.  They will make you a smarter thinker.  We will not just learn about a topic.  We will use that topic to practice and develop our skills as intelligent scientists and engineers.

Mastery Badges 13-16 Cover The Following Topics:
Weeks 1 - 2 
Structures of Plants

Weeks 3 - 4
Mitosis 

Weeks 5 - 6
DNA

Weeks 7 - 8
Proteins