The University of Iowa Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research and College of Education teamed up to develop free eighth grade science curricula on land use and climate science, in response to Iowa’s grade level alignment of the middle school Next Generation Science Standards.

Primary author Dr. Ted Neal, clinical associate professor of science education, led a team of graduate and pre-service teaching students and CGRER scientists to develop the material. They grouped standards, resources and lesson material into six bundles, each designed to engage Iowa’s middle schoolers with local data and information on relevant topics like athletic concussions and agriculture.

These lessons are built on NGSS principles and put learning in the students’ hands with hands-on activities for groups and individuals. Kids will have ample opportunity to get curious, generate questions and lead themselves to answers.

A team of middle school teachers developed an integrated unit spanning math, social studies and ELA, and focused the unit centering on the life of Galileo, including some of his investigations, his beliefs based on evidence, and his conflicts with the Catholic church.

In this lesson, students will view a plant-based meat commercial that makes claims about being healthier for our planet.  Students will then find evidence from reliable sources that either supports or refutes those claims.  Does raising plants or cattle for meat make a healthier planet?  The students will then write a claim, evidence, and reasoning argument that supports their claim for this question.

The purpose of the resource is to investigate changes in the major land cover types of Study Sites by examining Landsat satellite images acquired years apart.

This lesson provides teachers with support for using text-dependent questions and Common Core literacy strategies to help students derive big ideas and key understandings while developing vocabulary using the text, "The Last Dragon." A young boy, Peter, is hesitant to spend the summer with his great aunt in Chinatown. Peter finds an aging parade dragon in a store and, in restoring it, learns to connect with the dragon and the Chinese community.

This part of the Student Observation Network allows you to make observations to answer the question, "Have auroras been seen within the last 24 hours due to a solar storm?"

The Student Observation Network provides guided inquiry. While participating in the Auroral Friends program your students may think of other questions that they wish to investigate. For instance, they may wish to know; "What causes the aurora?", "What affect does a solar storm have on aurora?", and "What conditions enhance auroras?". These open inquiries may reveal to them that coronal holes may energize auroras even when solar storms have not occurred.

You are part of the NASA design crew and your task is to design a suit to keep the human body safe from the hazards of deep space. Are you up to the challenge? This is an ADA compliant document.

While living in space can seem like nothing but exciting, astronauts encounter many physical, biological, and psychological hazards. Use this guide to explore more about living and working in space.

In this easy-to-do activity you will simulate the fluid shift felt by astronauts upon entering space.

The purpose of the resource is to produce a land cover type map from hard copies of Landsat satellite images.

This lesson provides teachers with support for using text-dependent questions and Common Core literacy strategies to help students derive big ideas and key understandings while developing vocabulary using the text, "Marven of the Great North Woods." To keep their only son, Marven, safe from the influenza epidemic, Marven's parents decide to send their ten year old Jewish son far away to a logging camp filled with French Canadian lumberjacks. He copes with language and cultural differences while he learns his bookkeeping job and makes a wonderful friend.

Meiosis is the process by which gametes (eggs and sperm) are made. Gametes have only one set of chromosomes. Therefore, meiosis involves a reduction in the amount of genetic material. Each gamete has only half the chromosomes of the original germ cell. Explore meiosis with a computer model of dragons. Run meiosis, inspect the chromosomes, then choose gametes to fertilize. Predict the results of the dragon offspring and try to make a dragon without legs. Learn why all siblings do not look alike.

This resource was created by Michelle Kuhlman, in collaboration with Dawn DeTurk, Hannah Blomstedt, and Julie Albrecht, as part of ESU2's Integrating the Arts project. This project is a four year initiative focused on integrating arts into the core curriculum through teacher education, practice, and coaching.

Middle School Water Quality Curriculum SynopsisDesign your own wetland science field trip or have WREN staff visit your classroom.Programs address Oregon State Science Standards and Common Core State Learning Standards. Purpose of the Water Quality Curriculum: •    For students to model the scientific method, engineering, math, and social studies practices. •    To explore and solve problems along the Long Tom River Watershed. •    To use tools and technology to collect data and use that data to answer questions.•    To engineer solutions to real-life problems and learn how to resolve water quality disputes in real-life scenarios.  Each lesson can be integrated into our 2-hour tour of the West Eugene Wetlands (WEW). How much time is required for the lesson, the best season, and where the lesson is best experienced is indicated next to the lesson tile._______________________________________________________________________________________________What is a Watershed? Activity/ 50 minutes (Class or WEW):It’s recommended that all classes begin their wetland field study with this fun and interactive, whole-body activity that investigates how vegetation affects the movement of water over land surfaces and identifies best management practices to reduce erosion. Science Standards: MS-ESS2; MS-ESS2-4.    Earth’s Systems: Develop a model to describe cycling of water through earth’s systems driven by energy from the sun and force of gravity._______________________________________________________________________________________________Wetland Soil Study/ 90 minutes (WEW- Fall or Spring):Students will learn the history behind the unique composition of soil in the southern Willamette Valley, discover how wetland soils have an important role in filtering and cleaning the water that runs through them, explore and record the physical characteristics of wetland soil using a Munsell Chart, measure the hydric capacity of different types of soil, and make the connection between soils and water in a wet prairie. Science Standards: MS-ESS2-2.    Earth’s Systems: Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth's surface at varying time and spatial scales.Common Core Standards:Mathematics7.EE.B.4.     Use variables to represent quantities in a real-world of mathematical problem, and construct simple equations and inequalities to solve problems by reasoning about quantities.______________________________________________________________________________________________           Water Quality of Amazon Creek/ 90 minutes (WEW- Fall and Spring):Through experimentation and a simulation, students will learn how increases in water acidity have endangered the quality of life for water-based organisms in parts of Eugene. Students will model water molecules under different circumstances, test water samples from Amazon creek for dissolved oxygen, PH, and temperature and learn how these variables impact the quality of life in our waterways.  Science Standards: MS-PS1-1.          Matter and Its Interactions: Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules  and extended structures.Common Core Standards:Mathematics 6.SP.B.4.            Display numerical data in plots on a number line, including dot plots, histograms, and box plots.7.EE.3.               Solve multiple real-life & mathematical problems posed with positive and negative rational numbers in any form using tools strategically. Apply properties of operations to calculate with numbers in any form. _______________________________________________________________________________________________Flood-Plan Engineering Design/ 90 minutes (WEW or Class- Fall, Winter, Spring):Students will learn about historic floods in the Willamette Valley, and explore flood dynamics by building models of riverbeds and testing their holding capacity. Students will use engineering to design systems that will help prevent flood damage and learn about how human modifications to a river or wetland can alter the floodplain.Science Standards:MS-ESS3-3.     Earth’s & Human Activity: Apply Scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.MS-ESS3-2.    Earth’s & Human Activity: Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their efforts.MS-ETS1-1; 1-4. Engineering Design: Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a  proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.  Common Core Standards:MathematicsMP.2.        Reason abstractly and quantitatively._______________________________________________________________________________________________Water Quality Debate/ 60 minutes (Class- Fall, Winter, Spring):Students will demonstrate how disputes regarding water quality and quantity can be settled through mediation by playing character roles in a mock Town Hall Meeting. They will develop and engage in an evidence supporting argument surrounding a local water-related issue, evaluate arguments presented by others of different viewpoints, and decide on a resolution.Science Standards:MS-LS2-5.    Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy and Dynamics: Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem servicesCommon Core Standards:ELA/LiteracyMS-LS-2-2.    Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one on one, in groups, and teacher led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on other’s ideas and expressing their own clearly. MS-LS2-2.    Present claims or findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning and adequate well-chosen details, use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and other pronunciation. 

The Miss Indian America Pageant was launched by Sheridan residents in the 1950's to combat discrimination. In the accompanying lesson plan (found in the Support Materials) students will view the story told through the eyes of Miss Indian America title holders who held a reunion in 2013, serving as grand marshals in the Sheridan, WY Rodeo parade and commemorating a legacy of bridging cultures.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students will identify the reason why the town of Sheridan, WY started the Miss Indian America Pageant.
Students will define the given vocabulary words.

Humans have been on a mission to learn more about the red planet. Use this content guide to learn more about the challenges facing robotic explorers of Mars.

The lessons in this unit were developed by teachers at Souhegan High School for junior/senior level Physics classes, to be taught during the first trimester of the 2016-17 school year. It includes 5-10 lessons that culminate in students demonstrating their ability to find meaning in complex text and incorporate key ideas of modern physics by completing the final creative writing project.

Modern physics is a very broad topic. We will be focusing on three of the main pillars of modern physics — special relativity, general relativity, and quantum theory. The goal of the unit it to have students use the concepts of modern physics accurately in a creative way and increase their willingness and confidence to learn more about the subjects beyond high school. Modern physics is intimidating to the general public. We hope to spark students interest and have students realize that they can make sense out of the counter intuitive model of reality.

Each topic will be broken into several phases of understanding:

Limitations of classical physics
Key principle that led to modern physics
Models for describing modern physics
Predictions and experiments that support and provide evidence for modern physics theories

The students will explore the phases by using inquiry-based reading. They will explore an anchor text for meaning while looking for where it addresses the four phases above. Students will then perform additional research and apply what they have learned in class to create their final project.

This activity is about the study of planetary samples. Learners will use samples of crustal material to sort, classify, and make observations about an unknown planet. From their observations, students will interpret the geologic history of their mystery planet and make inferences about past life or the potential for life on the "Mystery" planet. The lesson models scientific inquiry using the 5E instructional model and includes teacher notes and vocabulary.

The original Native American story component lesson was developed as part of an Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and Washington State Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform (LASER) project funded through an EPA Region 10 grant. The stories were told by Roger Fernandes of the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe. Mr. Fernandes has been given permission by the tribes to tell these stories.As these lessons and stories were shared prior to the adoption of the Washington State Science Learning Standards in 2013, there was a need to align these stories with the current science standards. This resource provides a current alignment and possible lesson suggestions on how these stories can be incorporated into the classroom. This alignment work has been funded by the NGSS & Climate Science Proviso of the Washington State Legislature as a part of North Central Educational Service District's award.

As part of our continued commitment to education, the team at The Bee Cause Project has created this companion document, Educator’s Curriculum Guide, to supplement the Nature’s Partners curriculum.Our Tips from the Hive are designed to add layers of concept extensions, optional digital methods of delivering content, and support to educators that are either brand new or experienced environmental educators. The Buzz Worthy Resource Materials are video links, notable articles, and more printable resources, while the Bee Cause Book Club highlights recommended readings for students of all ages. Several titles have quality read-aloud links as well.