Physical Science With Weekly Labs (Semester 1): 17 Weeks

While life science focuses on the study of living systems, physical science turns to the study of non-living systems! It includes four main areas: astronomy, physics, chemistry, and earth science. These are to many, the most interesting topics in science. 

Format: This course is a FLEX Physical Science class for Semester 1. The course is geared for grades 6-12 (but registration dates are flexible). The class will meet state and Next Generation Science standards. If your child is currently on the gifted or honors track, please let me know beforehand so I can tailor lessons, as needed. This course will feature the curriculum needs to meet General Physical Science and Basic Physics. With the new FLEX format, the class will not meet for live sessions but students will log in when ready for lessons on the class wall, group discussions, pdf chapters to read, lab instructions, and/or assignments. 

We use GA Virtual Physical Science and CK-12 Flexbooks as our resources and pdf chapters to review each week. If you would like to view a sample of the class wall, visit https://www.loom.com/share/55cd871dceb849c8b41f9633082353e0

The full Physical Science curriculum covers:
Sports: Matter and Energy	
Sports: Force	
Food and Cooking: Matter	
Food and Cooking: Transformations	
Energy in our Life: Forms of Energy	
Energy in our Life: Electricity and Magnetism
Light and Sound Show: Energy and Sound	
Light and Sound Show: Energy and Light	
Science and Toys: Energy
Science and Toys: Force	
We cover the first 5 units in semester 1 and the other 5 units in semester 2.

Each Sunday the week's lesson, lab and assignments will be uploaded so students can begin each Monday.

Students will post each week on the Outschool discussion board, their lab assignment so that other students can engage and post positive feedback. I will provide samples of how to respond to classmates to teach the group how to respond scientifically but kindly each week. Students will be provided joint projects, if interested, to improve critical thinking but also for the social aspect of the course.  

The class does not meet for live sessions. Students may join after the deadline too, we will follow a flexible format.

Requirements (Recommended): Students registering for the class should have completed a minimum of 1 middle school level science courses, have a 6th grade reading level, be able to use a calculator, have some experience solving math equations, be willing to designate 2 days a week to log into the classroom to work for a minimum of 30 minutes each day, know how to access the class and upload assignments, and have interest in performing over 12 labs during the semester at home. 

Physical  Science and Chemistry are two of the most difficult science classes, so please keep this in mind when registering. The course will involve independent learning, discipline to complete weekly tasks, devoting 1.5 hours or more a week to the class, and uploading tasks using written response/video/images. 

Parents: We ask that parents log into the Outschool classroom once a week to look for assignments and to see the pace the student is following, so no one will get behind. All students will use a spiral notebook to add diagrams, notes, lab reports, etc. Each student will need to work the first week with a parent on the practice assignments learning how to find the inbox, how to find work, practice uploading an image/video/pdf, and setting up the spiral. 

Students will be provided test, using a program called Quizlet or Quizizz. Both programs grade immediately so the student can write down their scores for the parent to see.