Why does the sidewalk change over time?

Status: Piloting

This kindergarten unit addresses life science and earth and space science content areas, including the needs of living things, by answering the question Why does the sidewalk change over time?. Students engage with tree roots breaking through a sidewalk as a phenomenon and will learn how to develop questioning and modeling skills with their students.

Interested in being a pilot teacher?

Why is the sky full of mayflies?

Status: Piloting

This 3rd grade unit addresses life science content areas, including the unique and diverse life cycles of organisms, by answering the question Why is the sky full of mayflies?. Students will engage with the mass emergence of mayflies as a phenomenon and will learn how to develop data analysis and modeling skills.

Interested in being a pilot teacher?

How do eggs become chickens or other living things?

Status: Published

This unit focuses on the role that food, blood, cells, and tissues play in the development of embryos and growth in different animals. Starting off with a series of news reports about the growing prevalence of backyard chicken coops across the country, the unit begins by sparking student questions and ideas for investigations geared toward trying to figure out where babies of chickens come from. Across the unit, students investigate why some chicken eggs hatch while others do not, developing competing models about what goes on inside an egg before it hatches. The investigations students pursue help them figure out answers to their questions and construct explanations regarding how an organism grows and builds new body structures, as well as how the structure of the circulatory system and individual cells support the movement of water, food, and gas molecules needed in these processes.

Standards covered in unit: MS-LS1-1, MS-LS1-2, MS-LS1-3, MS-LS4-3 (partial)

Why are dogs getting sick?

Status: Public Release Pending (June 2021)

Students investigate a small town mystery: an unknown dog illness is increasing occurrence in a fictional small town. As "veterinary assistants," students try to uncover the source of the problem and find a solution for the community.

This unit exposes students to the local impacts of climate change on populations and ecosystems. Students prepare to make connections at the global climate level through scaffolded activities. Analysis activities start at the local scale and increase in scope, until students uncover the origins of the illness at the global scale. Students then return to the local scale with new knowledge and propose solutions to the fictional town. Throughout, students contribute to the learning progression by asking questions and making observations of the phenomena.

Standards covered in unit: MS-LS2-2, MS-LS2-4

Unit length: 5-6 weeks