MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE 

Middle school science at Innovation Academy meets nine hours per week, most days for a  two hour project-based class, which meets every other quarter. Students work in mixed age groups, and over two years, they experience four unique units of study. These long blocks allow students to engage with material in depth in each class, using a variety of methods of learning including hands-on activities and labs, group work and discussion, and independent practice.



OVERVIEW

Project-Based Learning
The science curriculum is organized around major projects which incorporate the content and skills students learn into fun, hands-on challenges. Past projects have included designing and building water bottle rockets and gliders to study the forces of flight,  using miniature roller coasters to understand potential and kinetic energy, collecting and identifying life forms from the pond on our campus, creating Rube Goldberg devices to understand simple machines, and keeping a diary of astronomical observations.


Two-Year Curriculum

Over the two year cycle students will study the following curriculum, which is closely aligned with state standards.

Fifth and Sixth Grades
Creative Contraptions. 
Environmental Systems
Astronomy
Earth Science

Seventh and Eighth Grades
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Engineering