Base camp1 wk
Week of Welcome
How this class works: what we'll build, what we expect, and the rules of the trail. Syllabus day, but make it interesting.
Not published yet7th & 8th grade science · course map
The trail
ahead.
One map, both grades. Seventh year: from Newton's laws to the rocks under your feet. Eighth year: from atoms to DNA. Every stop mapped, so you always know where we are — and what's next.
7th grade · chapter one
First Semester — foundations in motion
ELEV 1,400 FT · DUNE ZONE01
10
Base camp review
Midterm
Pause, look back at the trail so far, and show what you know. You've climbed more than you think.
7th grade · chapter two
Second Semester — earth science
ELEV 2,900 FT · CANYON ZONEMore stops ahead — this chapter of the map is still being drawn.
15
Summit
The Final
The whole year in one climb. Look down from the top — you can see every stop from here.
Year two
8th Grade
New trail. Same beetle.
8th grade · chapter one
First Semester — matter & chemistry
ELEV 4,100 FT · CRYSTAL MESA01
Base camp1 wk
Week of Welcome
Veterans of the trail: same rules, bigger mountains. Here's what changes this year.
Not published yet07
Matter & chemistry
States of Matter & Particle Movement
Solid, liquid, gas — same particles, different energy. Melting is a jailbreak.
08
Matter & chemistry
Compounds, Elements & Mixtures
Pure substances vs. everything in your kitchen. Sorting the material world.
09
Matter & chemistry
Meet the Periodic Table
The greatest cheat sheet ever made — if you know how to read it. You'll know how to read it.
10
Matter & chemistry
Physical & Chemical Changes
What changes form, and what changes identity. The difference matters more than you think.
11
Matter & chemistry
Intro to Chemical Reactions
Bonds break, bonds form, nothing is lost. The conservation of mass is a beautiful thing.
13
Bridge to biology
Chemistry in Nature
Rocks, air, and oceans run reactions too — and they set the stage for life itself.
14
Base camp review
Midterm
From atoms to reactions: show what you know. The biology ahead is worth the climb.
8th grade · chapter two
Second Semester — life science
ELEV 6,000 FT · THE SUMMIT15
Life science
Cells
Every living thing is made of them — including you, including the beetle. The unit of life.
16
Life science
Parts of a Cell
Nucleus, mitochondria, membrane — a guided tour of the smallest factory on Earth.
17
Life science
DNA
Four letters, three billion base pairs, one instruction manual for every living thing.
18
Life science
Traits
Why you have your grandmother's laugh and the beetle has exactly six legs. Genes at work.
19
Life science
Heredity
Punnett squares and probability — predicting the traits of the next generation.
20
Life science
Natural Selection & Fossils
One curious Victorian named Darwin connects fossils, finches, and family trees into the biggest idea in biology.
21
Life science
Artificial Selection
Humans doing the selecting: from wolves to wiener dogs, wild cabbage to kale.
22
Life science
Genetic Engineering
Editing the instruction manual itself. Powerful, promising, and worth arguing about.
23
Summit
The Final
Atoms to DNA, the whole year in one climb. High school science starts here — you're ready.
…and then high school:
a whole new range.
Questions about the route? Bring them to Room 303.
Back to trailhead↑