Physical Science: Which topics?

 In addition to Biology and Chemistry, I taught Physical Science classes at private schools and Co-op classes.  Generally Physical Science is taught at eighth or ninth grade (12-14).  The Physical Science textbooks have a mix of Physics and Chemistry; Apologia’s Physical Science textbook has some Earth Science, too.  In one private school, the upper school teachers influenced the curriculum.  The Physics teacher, Charles, and I laid out the topics.  Charles wanted the kids to have the basics of classic Newtonian Physics, included in Apologia’s  Physical Science textbooks.  (I added Electricity and Magnetism to the Physics content in case the kids hadn’t had much in the way of instruction in elementary school or lower school.). For Chemistry, I wanted the kids to have some understanding of the atoms, Periodic Table, naming compounds, and balance equations.  Additionally, the kids tackle density, metric measurements, and conversions.  Most Physical Science textbooks, such as Apologia’s have very little Chemistry.  Use Middle School Chemistry to supplement the existing material.  Kent Chemistry has lessons about naming ionic compounds and covalent molecules. I made a video introduction about how to balance equations.