This is the third course in a series for middle school science. These courses are designed for small communities of learners and are a hybrid of individualized tutoring and traditional classes. Each section has no more than six learners which provides a foundation for strong relationships, social-emotional learning, and truly individualized instruction during this critical developmental period. These classes are specifically designed for the inclusion of neurodivergent learners including dyslexia-friendly font, explicit executive functioning skills inclusion, and support for AAC users.
This series is designed according to the Next Generation Science Standards organized by subject area. In year one, students cover the earth science settings including astronomy. This curriculum is designed to allow students to develop skills to help them in traditional academic settings including high school or colleges such as note-taking and self-led learning. The class meets for two days a week and homework reading and activities are completed on two additional weekdays. Students will complete a science notebook which is a hybrid of a Waldorf-style main-lesson book and more traditional note-taking strategies.	
This course extends upon an understanding of plate tectonics to discuss volcanoes as a geothermal event. We discuss Volcanoes extensively including their formation, types of volcanoes, and how volcanoes impact the Earth in the past and present. This course incorporates weekly reading and review of relevant scientific research edited for audience and reading level. 
In week one, students are introduced to volcanoes and the study of volcanoes as well as the relationship between volcanoes and plate boundaries. We will learn about volcanic hot spots and different types of magma composition.
In week two, we learn how magma composition impacts types of explosions. We will compare and contrast different types of explosions. We also will learn more about types of volcanoes as they relate to magma composition. 
In week three, we learn about how volcanoes change the Earth including volcanic landforms, hot springs, and geysers. We also learn about “supervolcanoes”.