Middle School.       

ALL students are required to take a daily Science class which meets all year.  

6th Grade- Students in middle school continue to develop an understanding of the three main branches of science by building.  Students develop knowledge to explain real world phenomena in the physical, biological, and earth and space sciences.

The topics and big ideas for sixth grade science:

• Light and Matter: Why do we sometimes see different things when looking at the same object?
• Thermal Energy: How can containers keep stuff from warming up or cooling down?
• Weather, Climate, and Water Cycling: Why does a lot of hail, rain, and snow fall at some times and not others?
• Plate Tectonics and Rock Cycling: What causes Earth's surface to change?
• Natural Hazards: Where do natural hazards happen and how do we prepare for them?
• Cells and Systems: How do living things heal?

Middle School Science Scope and Sequence

7th Grade- Students in middle school continue to develop an understanding of the three main branches of science by building.  Students develop knowledge to explain real world phenomena in the physical, biological, and earth and space sciences.

The topics and big ideas for seventh grade science:

• Chemical Reactions and Matter: How can we make something new that was not there before?
• Chemical Reactions and Energy: How can we use chemical reactions to design a solution to a problem?
• Metabolic Reactions: How do things inside our bodies work together to make us feel the way we do?
• Matter Cycling and Photosynthesis: Where does food come from and where does it go next?
• Ecosystem Dynamics: How does changing an ecosystem affect what lives there?
• Earth Resources and Human Impact: How do changes in the Earth's system impact our communities and what can we do about it?

Middle School Science Scope and Sequence

8th Grade- Students in middle school continue to develop an understanding of the three main branches of science by building.  Students develop knowledge to explain real world phenomena in the physical, biological, and earth and space sciences. The topics and big ideas for eighth grade science:

• Contact Forces: Why do things sometimes get damaged when they hit each other?
• Sound Waves: How can a sound make something move?
• Forces at a Distance: How can a magnet move another object without touching it?
• Earth in Space: How are we connected to the patterns we see in the sky and space? 
• Genetics: Why are living things different from one another?
• Natural Section and Common Ancestry: How could things living today be connected to the things that lived long ago?

Middle School Science Scope and Sequence

For a description of our middle school courses, please visit the USD 497 Middle School Course Descriptions

High School

It is required that all 9th, 10th and 11th grade students be enrolled in a science course.

The curriculum in science centers around the core courses of biology, chemistry and physics.  Students interested in science-related careers should include these core courses in order to obtain a proper background in science for future studies and to meet the requirements of the college and career ready curriculum. For a description of our high school science courses, please visit the USD 497 High School Course Descriptions.  For course description, standards review below. 

Biology Scope and Sequence

Chemistry Scope and Sequence

Physics