Description
Ask a middle schooler what science is and you often get a list of facts. Ask again in May, after a year of keeping a real science notebook, and you get a way of looking at things.
That is the aim of this live online middle school science class. First semester, students investigate Earth as a system through its four spheres: the lithosphere and its rocks, minerals, soils, and plate tectonics; the hydrosphere of oceans, rivers, and the water cycle; the biosphere of living systems and habitats; and the atmosphere, with its weather and climate.
Second semester the class turns upward to astronomy, tracking lunar phases and seasonal constellations, journaling sky observations, and finishing with a term astronomy project.
Sunny Hummel builds each week around discussion, hands-on experiments done at home with household materials, interactive games, and real-world connections, with the science notebook as the spine of the course. Students run the experiment themselves, write down what actually happened, and learn to observe carefully rather than guess well.
It is a good year for a student who is curious about the world and ready to be taken seriously about it.
Sunshyne Hummel brings a geology degree, a master’s in geochemistry and years as an environmental consultant to her junior high and high school science classes.
A look inside this class
Class details
– Teacher: Sunny Hummel
– Day and time: Wednesdays, 12:45-1:45 p.m. CST
– Term: full year, 2027-28 school year
– Grades: junior high
– Materials: Rocks, Rivers, and the Changing Earth by Herman and Nina Schneider; The Stars: A New Way to See Them by H.A. Rey (2016 revised edition); composition notebook or binder; pencils and colored pencils; household lab supplies from the list sent before class; working camera and microphone; printer; access to the night sky or the Stellarium app
– Live, small-group class on Zoom
Reserve a seat for your middle schooler. The class is Cognia-accredited, and grading and transcripts are handled here.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.