AMSTI: Alabama Math Science Technology Initiative

Science this year is very exciting. First Semester, we will be completing an AMSTI unit called Catastrophic Events. It will include a lot of hands-on inquiry investigations. The topics covered in this unit are:

(Earth’s surface, Air Current, Cloud formation, Ocean Currents)

(Changes in the landscape, Rock formation, Effects of Ash fall)

During Second Semester we again will be completing an AMSTI unit called Earth in Space. It will include a lot of hands-on inquiry investigations also. The topics covered in this unit are:

(Earth as a Planet, Tracking shadows, Seasons, Lunar and Solar Phases and Eclipses)

(Designing a Scale Model, Craters, Surface Features and Gravity, Tides, Constellations, and the Live Cycle of a Star)

(Asteroids, Comets, Meteoroids, Fossils, Space Technology)

COURSE OF STUDY ADD INS: BIOMES (Group biome project: land biomes, water biomes, and layers of the ocean water and layers of the ocean floor)

Each student is required to keep a science notebook. We will be using composition notebooks, a new one for each semester. In this notebook are the daily activities. All assignments are to be written in the student planner as well as test dates and grades. Students are usually given time in class to complete most assignments, however, if they do not, it is to be considered homework. All daily work written on the board should be written in the planner.

Daily Assignments, science reading activities and homework assignments are given on a point system. Most all science unit tests will by on a 100 point scale.

Extra credit work will be give on some tests in the form of bonus questions worth a total of 10 points added to the test grade.

Test papers are sent home stapled in the planner for parent signatures. If the grade is signed on the test paper, I add 5 more points to the unit test score. I keep the answer sheet from each test on file for the year. All assessment grades plus the class work/homework grades are added together. This number is divided by the number of grades taken for the 9 weeks.

My science web page will include CLASSWORK, TEST DATES, and CLASS PROJECTS. If you have Internet access, you may see what we plan to do daily. My email address is jlittle@gcboe.net . I usually have assignment posted for the complete unit or lesson, including test dates.

In your child’s notebook will be a Science Lab Safety contract. This is very important to be studied and completed so you child will be allows to use the science lab for investigations and experiments. As one of our first grades, a test will be give on the safety components in a lab setting.

I look forward to having your child in my class. I truly hope Sixth Grade Science will be a great experience.

Jane Little

1. Be Safe—adhere to all Science Safety Rules.
2. Be respectful.
3. Be prepared.
4. Be courteous.

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