8th Grade Science Overview

In WiloStar3D Academy 8th grade science, students continue to expand their range of inquiry skills and achieve proficiency with those skills for understanding scientific principles. The nature of science is developed and reinforced for students through planning and conducting investigations.  Research methods are used to investigate practical problems and questions and valid conclusions are made after analyzing experimental data.

Students will investigate and understand:

• The basic nature of matter.
• The modern and historical models of atomic structure.
• The organization and use of the periodic table of elements to obtain information.
• Law of Conservation of Matter and Energy.
• States and forms of energy and how energy is transferred and transformed.
• Temperature scales, heat, and heat transfer.
• Characteristics of sound and technological applications of sound waves.
• The nature and technological applications of light.
•  Scientific principles and technological applications of work, force, and motion.
• Basic principles of electricity and magnetism.

Industrial Revolution Module

The industrial revolution that took place between 1870 and 1920, brought many changes to the United States, including the mass production of consumer goods; large-scale migration from all parts of the world; and patterns of social change that reshaped workplace. Students will explore the impact this revolution had on the developing areas of the United States.

Objectives

• Understand the consequences of the expansion of industry that took place after Reconstruction, including the influx of new workers from both abroad and rural areas into the nation’s cities.
• Explore the reasons why various immigrant groups came to the United States, including both economic opportunity and political and religious freedoms.
• Understand how poor industrial working conditions led to nationwide labor unrest, and how a rising feminist consciousness contributed to major movements for social change.

Big Ideas to this module include:

1.) What was the most important invention to emerge from the Industrial Revolution?
2.) Was the Industrial Revolution a blessing or a curse for European and American societies?
3.) Did the Industrial Revolution doom Africa and Asia to slave status?

Science Fiction Module

This module is an introduction to science fiction as well as a unit designed to start students thinking about the future and their roles in it. Students will learn that science fiction concepts can be future-oriented, based on real scientific knowledge and predictions. The issues of family relationships, nuclear war, death, overpopulation, and others that appear to provide ample subject matter for a variety of creative activities. Students read a science fiction novel and are exposed to many possibilities for life in the future. More importantly, they become aware of the present, and how what we are doing right now will affect the future.

For the science aspect of this module, students conduct research on space exploration. After completing their research, students  create a 3D space colony world centered around their science fiction stories and real science facts. Students’ stories will incorporate elements of fact and fiction that they gather during their research.

By the end of this module, students will be able to:

• Understand the concepts of future and change.
• Understand how their own future effects of change upon their lives.
• Predict possible alternatives for the future.
• Examine themes of adventure, family, relationships, and technology and our responsibility to technology and change.
• Develop organizational skills through record keeping.
• Examine the impact of technology on the space program, in the past, and at present.
• Speculate on the direction that space exploration could (or should) take in the future.
•  Create a 3D Future World and society.

Robotics Module

In this module, students will explore basic concepts of robotics and build their own working bot for Wiloworlds as well as a real robotic arm. Students will learn how to program and command their bot and understand the basics of programming for bots. Students will learn that they have the power to create and build new ideas; that invention is not something somebody else does, but something they can do.

Students will use specified materials to design and build a working robot arm. The robot arm must be at least 18 inches in length and be able to pick up an empty Styrofoam cup. Students will draw a sketch of their design prior to construction. Resulting robot arms are then tested and checked for range of motion and satisfaction of the given criteria.
Objectives

• Build knowledge on basic robotics and  movement commands.
• Program their Wiloworlds bot to do a 1 or 2 minute dance routine in a specified area inside Wiloworlds.
• Have the opportunity to attempt a range of extension tasks.

Volcano Module

WiloStar3D’s online homeschooling Volcano World will address two key questions:

1. How do volcanoes affect human life?

2.  How do volcanoes form?

Objectives:

• The students will identify and compare local rocks.
• The students will explore volcanoes, volcanic activity, and the effect on the environment.
• The students will form conclusions about the level of danger to people and property posed by different eruptions.
• The students will be able to explain the theory of plate tectonics.
• The students will explore the types of volcanoes.
• The students will become aware of the dangers of a volcano.

Online homeschooling students create a 3D Volcano world that answers the questions below:

(1) How does science fiction present volcanoes?

(2) What are the layers of the Earth?

(3) How do plate tectonics affect volcanic activity?

(4) What is the historical significance of the eruption of Mount Saint Helens, Mount Pelee, and Mount Pinatubo?

(5) What are the types of volcanoes?

(6) How are lava types different from one volcano to another?

(7) How can we model volcanoes before and after eruptions?

(8) How are people informed of volcanic eruptions?

(9) What role does persuasive speech play in communicating safety issues surrounding volcanic eruptions?

(10) Why are people concerned about volcanic eruptions?

(11) What effects do volcanoes have on the environment?

Assessment

WiloStar3D online homeschool students complete a variety of written assignments and final projects to assess progress. All work is archived in individual student folders at the WiloStar3D site. Final multimedia projects are showcased at the WiloStar3D site and are archived into personal student portfolio CD’s at the end of the school year to document progress and student grow.

WiloStar3D teachers provide written daily feedback on all student assignments. Students have password protected learning portals where assignment feedback is stored along with their e-Gradebook. Students have access to this area 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

These include:

• Volcano 3D Virtual World
• 3D Volcano Eruption Exhibit
• Journal Writings

Making of Modern America Module

The late 19th century witnessed the birth of modern America. These years saw the advent of new technologies of communication, including the phonograph, the telephone, and radio. They also saw the rise of the mass media: of mass-circulation newspapers and magazines, best-selling novels, million dollar national advertising campaigns. These years witnessed the rise of commercialized entertainment, including the amusement park, the urban nightclub, the dance hall, and first motion pictures. Many modern sports, including basketball, bicycling, football, and golf were introduced to the United States, as were new transportation technologies, such as the automobile, electric trains and trolleys, and, in 1903, the airplane. They also saw the birth of the modern university.

In this module, students will explore these topics in depth and create a 3D “Modern America” virtual world to showcase what they learned.

Assessment

Students complete a variety of written assignments and final projects to assess progress. All work is archived in individual student folders at the WiloStar3D site. Final multimedia projects are showcased at the WiloStar3D site and are archived into personal student portfolio CD’s at the end of the school year to document progress and student grow.

WiloStar3D teachers provide written daily feedback on all student assignments. Students have password protected learning portals where assignment feedback is stored along with their e-Gradebook. Students have access to this area 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

These include:

• Modern America Virtual World
• Early Inventions Exhibit
• New Technologies Essay Test

Virtual World Builders 1

In this fun beginning WiloStar3D virtual world online homeschooling class, students learn how to build and manipulate objects in Wiloworlds, our online 3D learning world. Students learn how to create objects, build simple structures, add commands and execute actions. Students create their own student housing sector to showcase their skills as part of the course completion.
Topics covered in 3D Programming 1 include:

• starting an object
• moving an object
• changing an object
• assigning actions to objects
• simple triggers
• simple commands
• simple animation commands
• simple behavior commands
• simple special commands

Builder’s Academy 101 offers everything kids need to build their own 3D castles and houses. In this 3D course children can embark on a fun-filled adventure that covers these areas:

• The fundamentals of 3D building and combining shapes in a three dimensional environment
• Utilizing tools to build a fantasy world of their own making
• Enjoying hours of fun after camp interacting in Wiloworlds playing with their creations and socializing with new friends

This unique program takes your child on an adventure they’ll never forget! Children not only explore the 3D worlds that already exist within Wiloworlds (castle and house templates), but they can also construct their own unique models from the tools provided. Any objects and buildings children create may be accessed at home as well!

3D building combines fun experimentation and exploration with engaging learning experiences. In addition, children acquire an understanding of the way things are built and learn to follow clear instructions, building good listening skills.

Everyone dreams of building their own fantasy world. Now your dreams can come true!

Transcontinental Module

Considered one of the greatest technological achievements of the nineteenth century, the First Transcontinental Railroad joined together the eastern and western halves of the United States.  The WiloStar3D virtual world Transcontinental Railroad homeschooling unit  is based on the following pieces of literature: Death of the Iron Horse, The Transcontinental Railroad.

In this unit, students will:

• Read an overview of the history of the First Transcontinental Railroad.
• Read a short biography of Theodore Judah.
• Learn about the four famous men that financed the project.
• Recreate a 3D virtual world based on the route of the transcontinental lines by the 1880’s.
• Explore the “Golden Spike”.
•  Look at an early train schedule, hear first-hand accounts of the work and first trip across country.
• Create a 3D interactive account of the railroad.
• Create a 3D virtual world game called  the “Great Railroad Race” and work on a variety of railroad related projects.