Environmental Science Curriculum
Family-facing version of the Environmental Science curriculum
Goals
This course includes embedded scientific skills and processes. Students focus on data collection and analysis through laboratory experiences and field work, including descriptive and comparative studies. Students gain foundational scientific process skills through a variety of learning experiences of the environmental science content.
Students will:
- Identify and investigate problems scientifically and will communicate information clearly in writing, discussions, and debates.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of science and scientific reasoning and logic as it applies to environmental science.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the use of mathematical reasoning and processes in environmental science.
- Analyze current environmental issues and apply the process of engineering design in order to propose feasible solutions.
Quarterly Overview of Environmental Science
The objectives and outcomes for each unit are common across FCPS and based on the Virginia Standards of Learning. The pacing by quarter and by week provides an example of how the curriculum can be organized throughout the year. Teacher teams may adjust the pacing or order of units to best meet the needs of students.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Quarter 2
Quarter 4
- Unit 7: Pollution and Human Impact (continued) (cont.)
- Unit 8: Global Climate Change
- Culminating Labs and Skill Review
Units and Details
Students will:
- Be introduced to the scientific basis for understanding Earth’s major systems:
- the biosphere,
- lithosphere,
- atmosphere,
- hydrosphere.
- Learn how all of the systems are connected and the importance of keeping all of the systems in balance.
- Learn that humans influence all of Earth’s systems and how their own actions contribute to the Earth’s Systems.
- Understand that scientific inquiry is critical to understanding how to keep Earth’s systems in balance.
Students will:
- Investigate the unique properties of water and the chemical reasons that these properties occur.
- Understand the importance of these properties in the environment and the organisms living in these environments.
- Understand how water cycles through the environment in its different phases through the water cycle.
- Learn the role that water plays in the interconnectedness of Earth’s systems.
- Learn how the interactions between Earth’s spheres influence the weather and climate of a particular area.
Students will:
- Learn about the transformation of the Earth’s lithosphere.
- Investigate the natural processes that shape Earth’s surface into distinctive landforms (weathering, erosion, rock cycle, plate tectonics, etc.).
- Compare natural and manmade causes of change to Earth’s solid surface.
- Examine the evidence for plate tectonics and learn about some of the results of this process, such as the distribution of continents.
- Learn about the rock cycle.
Students will:
- Explore the characteristics of each terrestrial and aquatic biome.
- Learn about biotic and abiotic factors in the environment.
- Explore how energy is transferred in the environment by building and interpreting food webs, food chains, and energy pyramids.
- Predict the effect of factors on the stability of ecosystems.
- Explore how each organism has a unique environmental niche and the effect that invasive species have on these niches.
Students will:
- Explore the concept of biodiversity and investigate factors affecting the biodiversity in an ecosystem.
- Understand that variation in genetics and environmental factors can cause a population to change over time.
- Describe the steps of succession and explain how organisms interact through symbiosis.
- Investigate human impacts on the environment, as well as how the environment affects humans.
- Explore limiting factors and analyze population growth curves for evidence-based trends.
Students will:
- Learn about Earth’s resources and investigate various methods of resource conservation.
- Investigate the different types of renewable energy sources and understand the pros and cons of each.
- Discuss what types of energy they use in their daily lives and describe the advantages and disadvantages of both renewable and nonrenewable energy sources.
- Research Virginia’s energy issues and suggest how individuals can alter their own behavior to reduce their environmental impact.
- Draw connections between local, national, and global energy issues
Students will:
- Consider how natural and human-caused activities could influence an ecologically sustainable community.
- Investigate the types of pollution to the land, air, and water.
- Analyze data to infer pollutions’ effects on land use, biodiversity, and human populations.
- Learn about how waste and pollution are managed by local communities.
- Learn the benefits and limitations of different waste remediation methods.
- Consider changes to their own behavior that potentially impact the generation of both waste and pollution.
Students will:
- Explore how human impacts and land usage are the major drivers of changes to the Earth’s climate.
- Understand how carbon is cycled through the environment.
- Understand how increased levels of certain greenhouse gases can contribute to changes in the ozone layer.
- Understand how these changes are reflected in average global temperatures, area of arctic and sea ice, as well as in temperature changes and acidification of the oceans.
- Examine how changes in the climate can increase incidences of extreme weather.
- Use and analyze models that predict future changes in global climate.
- Explore how changes to human activities could reduce their environmental impact regarding climate change.
Assessments
Student assessments are part of the teaching and learning process.
- Teachers give assessments to students on an ongoing basis to
- Check for understanding.
- Gather information about students' knowledge or skills.
- Assessments provide information about a child's development of knowledge and skills that can help families and teachers better plan for the next steps in instruction.
For testing questions or additional information about how schools and teachers use test results to support student success, families can contact their children's schools.
In Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), seventh grade tests focus on measuring content knowledge and skill development.
