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Earth Science CR (Semester 1)

Course Description:

Earth Science is the branch of science devoted to studying the planet Earth and all the objects in the universe. This course begins with an introduction to the processes, methods, and tools of scientific inquiry. An understanding of the geology of Earth is built through units that discuss topics such as rocks and minerals, plate tectonics, and Earth’s natural resources. The structure and function of the atmosphere as well as situations that cause changes in the atmosphere build student’s understanding of Earth’s atmosphere. The study of oceanography is introduced with such topics as seafloor features and ocean currents. Weather, climate, and climate change are topics that begin to develop an understanding of meteorology. Throughout the course students develop an understanding of how Earth’s systems and cycles work together to make life on Earth possible. The students also take a tour of the universe as they discuss its formation, the characteristics of the objects in our solar system, and the universe beyond our solar system. Throughout the course, they see examples of how individuals have built our knowledge of Earth and the universe through invention, innovation, and discovery.

Course Details:

Course Title (District): Earth Science CR (Semester 1)
Course Title (NCES SCED) : Earth Science
Course Provider : Genesee ISD
Content Provided By : Fuel Education LLC
Online Instructor Provided By : Fuel Education LLC
Standards Addressed : Common Core State Standards
Academic Terms : Open Entry / Open Exit
NCES SCED Code :
Subject Area : Life and Physical Sciences
Course Identifier : Earth Science
Course Level : High School (Secondary)
Available Credit : 0.5
Sequence : 1 of 2

How To Enroll:

Enrollment Website : https://www.gennet.us
Email : [email protected]
Phone : 810-591-4401

Students and Parents: It is important to work closely with your local school counselor or registrar to follow the school's enrollment procedures. By clicking the "Start Registration Request" button below, you will be able to notify the school of your interest in registering for the online course. However, it is the responsibility of the district or school to review the registration request and approve or deny the request. Please make a note to follow up with your school after submitting a registration request.

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Additional Course Information:

Additional Cost: $0.0

Additional Cost Description: Most courses have no additional costs; however some have required books or other materials that are not included in the course. Some required books or other materials may be available for checkout from schools or public libraries. See the provider's course description for required books/materials or call 810-591-4401 for assistance.

• Explain the processes, methods, and tools of scientific inquiry. • Distinguish among beliefs, scientific laws, and scientific theories and between the questions science can answer and those it can’t. • Summarize the impact of science on daily life, society, the environment, and human history. • Describe the formation, structure, composition, distinguishing properties, and classification of minerals and rocks. • Summarize how the location of rocks and minerals around the world affect both economies and politics. • Explain the laws, principles, and methods used to date fossils and other Earth materials, and to put geological events in chronological order. • Analyze the relationship between natural selection and biological diversity over the course of Earth’s history. • Describe the structure of Earth and its uniqueness in the solar system. • Relate how various geological processes are still shaping Earth as a result of plate tectonics. • Describe the structure, composition, features, functions, and global patterns of the atmosphere and the ocean systems of Earth. • Identify the impact of the atmosphere-ocean system on world climate, as well as how this system is affected by pollution and the greenhouse effect. • Compare and contrast physical, chemical, and biological weathering. • Summarize how each type of weathering affects both natural landscapes and man-made structures. • Identify and describe each step in the hydrologic cycle. • Discuss how rivers form, flow, form landscape features, and interact with human settlements. • Identify and describe glacier types and the various landscapes associated with them. • Analyze the role of erosion in the formation of Karst topography, coastlines, deserts, and eolian systems and identify where and how humans can limit this erosion. • Identify the steps in Earth’s carbon cycle and the effect of excess carbon on the land, water, and atmosphere. • Describe the processes, procedures, and environmental impacts associated with the use of nuclear energy, fossil fuels, and renewable energy resources. • Summarize the formation, structure, and composition of the universe and the objects found in it as well as how that knowledge has grown over the course of history. • Describe how man and unmanned missions to the objects in our solar system have added to our understanding of both our solar system and the universe at large.

iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Courses

Academic Content Standards and Assessments Rating Comments
The goals and objectives clearly state what the participants will know or be able to do at the end of the course. The goals and objectives are measurable in multiple ways. Fully Met
The course content and assignments are aligned with the state’s content standards, Common Core curriculum, or other accepted content standards set for Advanced Placement® courses, technology, computer science, or other courses whose content is not included in the state standards. Partially Met
The course content and assignments are of sufficient rigor, depth and breadth to teach the standards being addressed. Fully Met
Information literacy and communication skills are incorporated and taught as an integral part of the curriculum. Fully Met
Multiple learning resources and materials to increase student success are available to students before the course begins. Fully Met
Course Overview and Introduction Rating Comments
Clear, complete course overview and syllabus are included in the course. Fully Met
Course requirements are consistent with course goals, are representative of the scope of the course and are clearly stated. Fully Met
Information is provided to students, parents and mentors on how to communicate with the online instructor and course provider. Fully Met
Legal and Acceptable Use Policies Rating Comments
The course reflects multi-cultural education, and the content is accurate, current and free of bias or advertising. Fully Met
Expectations for academic integrity, use of copyrighted materials, plagiarism and netiquette (Internet etiquette) regarding lesson activities, discussions, and e-mail communications are clearly stated. Fully Met
Privacy policies are clearly stated. Fully Met
Instructor Resources Rating Comments
Online instructor resources and notes are included. Fully Met
Assessment and assignment answers and explanations are included. Fully Met
Instructional and Audience Analysis Rating Comments
Course design reflects a clear understanding of all students’ needs and incorporates varied ways to learn and master the curriculum. Fully Met
Course, Unit and Lesson Design Rating Comments
The course is organized by units and lessons that fall into a logical sequence. Each unit and lesson includes an overview describing objectives, activities, assignments, assessments, and resources to provide multiple learning opportunities for students to master the content. Fully Met
Instructional Strategies and Activities Rating Comments
The course instruction includes activities that engage students in active learning. Fully Met
The course and course instructor provide students with multiple learning paths, based on student needs that engage students in a variety of ways. Fully Met
The course provides opportunities for students to engage in higher-order thinking, critical reasoning activities and thinking in increasingly complex ways. Fully Met
The course provides options for the instructor to adapt learning activities to accommodate students’ needs. Fully Met
Readability levels, written language assignments and mathematical requirements are appropriate for the course content and grade-level expectations. Fully Met
Communication and Interaction Rating Comments
The course design provides opportunities for appropriate instructor-student interaction, including opportunities for timely and frequent feedback about student progress. Fully Met
The course design includes explicit communication/activities (both before and during the first week of the course) that confirms whether students are engaged and are progressing through the course. The instructor will follow program guidelines to address non-responsive students. Fully Met
The course provides opportunities for appropriate instructor-student and student-student interaction to foster mastery and application of the material. Fully Met
Resources and Materials Rating Comments
Students have access to resources that enrich the course content. Fully Met
Accessing Course Effectiveness Rating Comments
The course provider uses multiple ways of assessing course effectiveness. Fully Met
The course is evaluated using a continuous improvement cycle for effectiveness and the findings used as a basis for improvement. Fully Met
Course Updates Rating Comments
The course is updated periodically to ensure that the content is current. Fully Met
Certification Rating Comments
Course instructors, whether faceto-face or virtual, are certificated and “highly qualified.” The online course teacher possesses a teaching credential from a state-licensing agency and is “highly qualified” as defined under ESEA. Fully Met
Instructor and Student Support Rating Comments
Professional development about the online course delivery system is offered by the provider to assure effective use of the courseware and various instructional media available. Fully Met
The course provider offers technical support and course management assistance to students, the course instructor, and the school coordinator. Fully Met
Course instructors, whether face-to-face or virtual, have been provided professional development in the behavioral, social, and when necessary, emotional, aspects of the learning environment. Fully Met
Course instructors, whether face-to-face or virtual, receive instructor professional development, which includes the support and use of a variety of communication modes to stimulate student engagement online. Fully Met
The provider assures that course instructors, whether face-to-face or virtual, are provided support, as needed, to ensure their effectiveness and success in meeting the needs of online students. Fully Met
Students are offered an orientation for taking an online course before starting the coursework. Fully Met
Evaluation Strategies Rating Comments
Student evaluation strategies are consistent with course goals and objectives, are representative of the scope of the course and are clearly stated. Fully Met
The course structure includes adequate and appropriate methods and procedures to assess students’ mastery of content. Fully Met
Feedback Rating Comments
Ongoing, varied, and frequent assessments are conducted throughout the course to inform instruction. Fully Met
Assessment strategies and tools make the student continuously aware of his/her progress in class and mastery of the content. Fully Met
Assessment Resources and Materials Rating Comments
Assessment materials provide the instructor with the flexibility to assess students in a variety of ways. Fully Met
Grading rubrics are provided to the instructor and may be shared with students. Fully Met
The grading policy and practices are easy to understand. Fully Met
Course Architecture Rating Comments
The course architecture permits the online instructor to add content, activities and assessments to extend learning opportunities. Fully Met
The course accommodates multiple school calendars; e.g., block, 4X4 and traditional schedules. Fully Met
User Interface Rating Comments
Clear and consistent navigation is present throughout the course. Fully Met
Rich media are provided in multiple formats for ease of use and access in order to address diverse student needs. Fully Met
Technology Requirements and Interoperability Rating Comments
All technology requirements (including hardware, browser, software, etc...) are specified. Fully Met
Prerequisite skills in the use of technology are identified. Fully Met
The course uses content-specific tools and software appropriately. Fully Met
The course is designed to meet internationally recognized interoperability standards. Fully Met
Copyright and licensing status, including permission to share where applicable, is clearly stated and easily found. Fully Met
Accessibility Rating Comments
Course materials and activities are designed to provide appropriate access to all students. The course, developed with universal design principles in mind, conforms to the U.S. Section 504 and Section 508 provisions for electronic and information technology as well as the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility guidelines (WCAg 2.0). Fully Met
Data Security Rating Comments
Student information remains confidential, as required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Fully Met

Review Conducted By: Fuel Education LLC
Date of Review: 07/08/2014

Module I: Introduction to Earth Science
• Lesson 1 – Scientific Inquiry
• Lesson 2 – The Process of Inquiry
• Lesson 3 – The Limits of Science
• Lesson 4 – Science and Society
• Lesson 5 – Investigating Your World
• Lesson 6 – Scientific Models
• Lesson 7 – Studying Earth
• Lesson 8 – The Right Tools
• Lesson 9 – Earth’s Systems

Module II: Rocks and Minerals
• Lesson 1 – Minerals
• Lesson 2 – Classifying Minerals
• Lesson 3 – Classifying Minerals Lab
• Lesson 4 – Igneous Rocks
• Lesson 5 – Sedimentary Rocks
• Lesson 6 – Metamorphic Rocks
• Lesson 7 – The Rock Cycle
• Lesson 8 – Rock Structures and Deformation
• Lesson 9 – Uses of Rocks and Minerals
• Lesson 10 – Rock Identification Lab

Module III: Geologic History
• Lesson 1 – Minerals
• Lesson 2 – The Chemistry of Dating
• Lesson 3 – The Laws of Layers
• Lesson 4 – Relative Dating
• Lesson 5 – Absolute Dating
• Lesson 6 – The Fossil Record
• Lesson 7 – Geologic Time Scale
• Lesson 8 – Natural Selection and Evolution
• Lesson 9 – The History of Life

Module IV: Plate Tectonics
• Lesson 1 – Earth's Structure


• Lesson 2 – Plate Tectonics
• Lesson 3 – Plate Boundaries
• Lesson 4 – Earthquakes and Tsunamis
• Lesson 5 – Volcanoes
• Lesson 6 – Plate Tectonics and the Landscape
• Lesson 7 – Seafloor Features
• Lesson 8 – Be Prepared

Module V: The Atmosphere-Ocean System
• Lesson 1 – The Atmosphere
• Lesson 2 – The Greenhouse Effect
• Lesson 3 – Wind
• Lesson 4 – The Ocean
• Lesson 5 – Currents
• Lesson 6 – Climate
• Lesson 7 – Weather
• Lesson 8 – Pollution
• Lesson 9 – Climate Change
• Lesson 10 – Oxygen in the Atmosphere Lab
Term Type Enrollment Opens Enrollment Ends Random Draw Date Enrollment Drop Date Course Starts Course Ends # of Seats Course Fee Potential Additional Costs
Open Entry / Open Exit 07/01/2023 06/30/2024 100 $200 $0
Open Entry / Open Exit 07/01/2023 06/30/2024 100 $275 $0
Open Entry / Open Exit 07/01/2023 06/30/2024 100 $300 $0
Drop Policy Completion Policy Term Type Enrollment Opens Enrollment Ends
Enrollments earning 60% or more of the total course points are considered course completions and will be charged the final 20% payment. Open Entry / Open Exit 07/01/2023 06/30/2024
Open Entry / Open Exit 07/01/2023 06/30/2024
K-5: Extensions are not available. 6-12: 4-week extensions are available for $50 per enrollment (maximum 2 extensions per 18-week enrollment). 6-12: 2-week extensions are available for $25 per enrollment (maximum 2 extensions per 9-week enrollment). Open Entry / Open Exit 07/01/2023 06/30/2024
Students can contact their online instructor as needed. Online instructors have posted office hours, and provide contact information.
School Year Enrollment Count Pass Count Completion Rate Notes
19-20 3 2 66.67%
14-15 16 14 87.5%
13-14 7 4 57.14% Enrollment data include all enrollments (21f and non-21f) for the Spring and Summer 2013-14 school year.
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