The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 partially meet expectations that they are consistently designed to integrate the science and engineering practices (SEPs), crosscutting concepts (CCCs), and disciplinary core ideas (DCIs) into student learning.

Across the series, the materials integrate the three dimensions in student learning opportunities at the lesson level in approximately half of all learning sequences. Discovery Education Science Techbooks are organized by unit (four per grade level) and then by supporting concepts (four to five per unit). Each learning sequence (concept) is designed to follow the 5E (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate) format of instruction and is typically completed over 10-15 instructional periods (45 minutes each).

When the three dimensions are present, they are most frequently within the Explore or Elaborate sections, but may be found within select Engage and Explain portions of concepts. Within each concept, the Elaborate with STEM section contains two to four STEM Project Starters. The minimum suggested time estimate in the Model Lesson PDF corresponds to the minimum suggested time associated with the STEM in Action assignment, labeled as core interactive text (CIT), and interpreted to be the required component of this section. The maximum suggested time estimate allows for students to additionally complete one or more STEM Project Starters. For example, in Grade 8, Unit 3: Life’s Unity and Diversity, Concept 3.2: Evolution and Natural Selection, the Model Lesson PDF recommends 90-180 minutes of instructional time to complete the Elaborate with STEM section. The suggested time for the STEM in Action section is 90 minutes. Additionally, this section includes three STEM Project Starters: What Did Darwin Do? (45 minutes), Helicopters and Hummingbirds (45 minutes), and Traits over Time (90 minutes). The total recommended time to complete all four activities within the Elaborate with STEM section is 270 minutes, yet the suggested range for the entire Elaborate with STEM section is only 90-180 minutes. Insufficient guidance is provided to support students in selecting and teachers assigning these project starters; it cannot be assumed that all students will complete every option within the series. As such, any individual STEM Project Starter is considered to be optional within the materials and is not considered as a factor in scoring. Additionally, the Evaluate portion of each lesson assesses, rather than engages students in new learning, and is not considered a factor in the scoring of this indicator.  

Examples of student learning opportunities that integrate the three dimensions:

• In Grade 6, Unit 2: Causes of Weather, Concept 2.1: Energy Transfer in the Water Cycle, Explore 1, students collect and analyze temperature data of ice as it is melted and heated to boiling, and subsequently relate changes in temperature to changes in energy states. Students engage in a teacher-led discussion identifying the relationship between water temperature and its state, and then modify a changes in state diagram incorporating prior collected evidence. Within the instructional sequence, students use observed data (SEP-DATA-M4) to identify cause and effect relationships (CCC-CE-M2) between temperature, energy state, and material phase (DCI-PS1.A-M6) as they modify a model to reflect identified relationships (SEP-MOD-M2).
• In Grade 7, Unit 3: Shaping Earth’s Resources and Ecosystems, Concept 3.2: Earth’s Natural Resources, Explore 4, students investigate how groundwater travels through rock and sand, participate in small group and whole class discussions on the effects of human populations on groundwater resources, and describe the consequences of groundwater depletion in an extended response question. Within the instructional sequence, students conduct an investigation to produce data (SEP-INV-M2) that describe the uneven distribution of groundwater as a resource (DCI-ESS3.A-M1), and then describe the negative effects (CCC-CE-M1) of groundwater depletion by human populations.
• In Grade 8, Unit 1: Objects Move and Collide, Concept 1.2: Energy for Launch, Engage, students design an investigation to identify a fuel mixture that will propel a small rocket to an altitude of ten meters; create and modify a model to demonstrate the forces acting on a rocket as it launches, climbs, and descends; and identify evidence to explain how mass and energy affect the acceleration of a rocket. Within the instructional sequence, students develop and modify a model to represent a system (CCC-SYS-M2) to include interactions observed in a designed investigation (SEP-INV-M1) to evaluate the sum of forces acting on an object (DCI-PS2.A-M2).

Examples from learning sequences where student learning opportunities do not integrate the three dimensions:

• In Grade 6, Unit 1: Systems on Earth, Concept 1.1: Body Systems, students read a passage and watch several videos describing the functions of the central and peripheral nervous systems, interact with an animation that describes which parts of the brain control several bodily functions, sort activities by nervous subsystem, and complete a paragraph by selecting vocabulary terms from drop down menus within a diagram. Within the instructional sequence, students do not engage in an SEP as they evaluate the differences between the subsystems of a larger complex system (CCC-SYS-M1) composed of tissues and organs specialized for particular body functions (DCI-LS1.A-M3).
• In Grade 7, Unit 2: Matter Cycles and Energy Flows, Concept 2.2: Matter and Energy in Living Systems, Explore 3, students read a passage comparing cellular respiration and photosynthesis, watch an animation and several videos about the cycling of matter and the flow of energy, and make posters to explain how matter cycles and energy flows through organisms. Within the instructional sequence, students do not engage in an SEP as they represent how energy and matter flow (CCC-SYS-M2) as plants use sunlight and carbon dioxide to make and store food (DCI-LS1.C-M1).
• In Grade 8, Unit 3: Life’s Unity and Diversity, Concept 3.1: Earth’s History and the Fossil Record, Explore 4, students examine a table of extinction event data, watch several videos, read multiple passages about fossil records, and perform an optional physical measurement activity. Within the instructional sequence, students do not engage in an SEP or CCC as they read and hear about how the fossil record documents the history of life on earth (DCI-LS4.A-M1).

​The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 partially meet expectations that they are consistently designed to support meaningful student sensemaking with the three dimensions. The materials are designed for SEPs to meaningfully support student sensemaking with the other dimensions in nearly all learning sequences.

In instances where the materials include all three dimensions within an instructional sequence, students do not consistently use both the SEPs and the CCCs to make sense of and with the other dimensions. The materials contain some instances where SEPs or CCCs meaningfully support student sensemaking with the other dimensions. Where CCCs are included, the relationships illustrated by the CCCs are often stated in the student text or explicitly scripted for the teacher to identify during discussion. Student use of SEPs to meaningfully make sense of DCIs occurs in nearly all learning sequences and typically occurs within the Hands-on Activities.

While students engage in multiple SEPs across the series, the materials rely heavily on the practice of the students constructing explanations from evidence. In most instances, students explain using evidence from text and/or video segments and less frequently from direct observation and hands-on-activities.

Examples of student learning opportunities where students make sense with the three dimensions:

• In Grade 6, Unit 2: Causes of Weather, Concept 2.1: Energy Transfer in the Water Cycle, Explore 1, students make sense of how changes in temperature relate to changes in energy states (DCI-PS1.A-M6) with the other dimensions. Students utilize the practice of identifying appropriate evidence to support an explanation (SEP-DATA-M4) as they analyze and interpret data from a laboratory exercise and teacher demonstration to build understanding of changes in state (DCI-PS1.A-M6). Students utilize the concepts of cause and effect (CCC-CE-M2) and energy transfers (CCC-EM-M4) to build understanding of the relationships between temperature, energy state, and material phase (DCI-PS1.A-M6).
• In Grade 8, Unit 1: Objects Move and Collide, Concept 1.2: Energy for Launch, Engage, students make sense of the forces acting on a rocket (DCI-PS2.A-M2) with other dimensions. Students utilize the practices of designing an investigation (SEP-INV-M1) and testing solutions (SEP-INV-M5) as they build understanding of how the motion of an object is determined by the forces acting on it (DCI-PS2.A-M2). Students utilize the concept of using models to represent systems and their interactions (CCC-SYS-M2) to build understanding of total and net force (DCI-PS2.A-M2).

Examples of students using an SEP for sensemaking with a DCI:

• In Grade 6, Unit 1: Systems on Earth, Concept 1.3: Earth’s Interacting Systems, Explore 1: students are asked the question, “What causes sea levels to rise?” To answer this question, students watch videos and read text to build background knowledge on earth’s water sources (DCI-ESS2.C-E1). In the Hands-on Activity, students create a physical model (SEP-MOD-M5) to compare sea level rise from melting glaciers to melting sea ice to explain rising sea levels.
• In Grade 7, Unit 3: Shaping Earth’s Resources and Ecosystems, Concept 3.1: Earth’s Moving Surface, Explain, students are asked the question, “Why do so many earthquakes occur along the west coast of the United States?” Students look at maps showing global earthquake distribution then read text, and watch videos that provide information about plate movements. Students engage in a Hands-on Activity to create a paper reconstruction of Pangea. Students restate explanations provided in the text to build understanding of the movement of Earth’s plates (DCI-ESS2.B-M1). Students make a claim and support it with evidence from the text, maps, and videos (SEP-CEDS-M3) to make sense of how mapping the historical occurrences of earthquakes can help forecast future events (DCI-ESS2.B-M1, DCI-ESS3.B-M1).
• In Grade 7, Unit 3: Shaping Earth’s Resources and Ecosystems, Concept 3.2: Earth’s Natural Resources, Explore 4, students conduct an investigation (SEP-INV-M2) to test the porosity of sand and permeability of different types of rocks to help them determine which components make a good aquifer. Students read additional text and watch several videos to learn about sources of groundwater, movement and storage of groundwater, and depletion of groundwater. Students are provided with a list of consequences of groundwater depletion to build understanding of the mechanisms affecting groundwater depletion (DCI-ESS3.A-M1) as they make sense of geologic conditions that determine the availability of groundwater as a natural resource.
• In Grade 8, Unit 1: Objects Move and Collide, Concept 1.3: Colliding Objects, Explore 1, students make sense of Newton’s third law (DCI-PS2.A-M1) with scientific practices, but not with the crosscutting concepts.  Students utilize the practice of analyzing data (SEP-DATA-M4) to make sense of how force is transferred from one object to another as objects collide (DCI-PS2.A-M1).

​The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 partially meet expectations that phenomena and/or problems in the series are presented to students as directly as possible. Within the materials, investigative phenomena are presented in either the Engage or the Explore sections of concepts or, in the case of anchoring phenomena, the opening of each unit. Both anchoring and investigative phenomena are present throughout most of the series and are introduced to students through a brief reading passage and a video segment or image. Problem solving scenarios in the materials are presented as optional extensions, thus they are not considered for scoring.

Throughout the materials, when phenomena are present, they are presented as directly as possible approximately half of the time. In multiple instances, the phenomena are introduced via video or still photo, which is appropriate due to issues of scale, geographical access, or in consideration of student safety. In some instances, passages engage students in phenomena via a crosscutting concept, which provides access points for students who may lack contextual background knowledge of phenomena. However, the materials contain many instances in which videos and images are employed to introduce phenomena and where first-hand observation is feasible. Across the series, phenomena are not consistently presented to students as directly as possible.

Examples of phenomena that are presented as directly as possible:

• In Grade 6, Unit 2: Causes of Weather, Concept 2.1: Energy Transfer in the Water Cycle, Engage: Where Did the Water Go?, the investigative phenomenon of water evaporating from Lake Mead is presented to students via the passage “Where Did the Water Go?", a video segment “Lake Mead”, and through whole class observations of changing water levels in two beakers of water. These resources provide students with geographical and first-hand conceptual context with which to engage in the phenomenon.
• In Grade 6, Unit 3: Causes and Effects of Regional Climates, the anchoring phenomenon of the causes of different climate regions across the globe is presented to students via a world map of average annual temperatures and a brief passage which directs students to identify visible patterns on the map. These resources provide students with a scale-appropriate context with which to engage in the phenomenon. Additionally, the crosscutting concept of patterns provides an access point for students who may lack background knowledge.
• Grade 6 Unit 3: Causes and Effects of Regional Climate, Concept 3.2: Environmental and Genetic Influences, Engage: Engaging With Earth’s Environments, the investigative phenomenon of how loss of sea ice affects the migration of caribou is presented to students via the passage “Engaging with Earth’s Environments” and several video segments including; “Caribou on Thin Ice”. These resources provide students with scalar and geographical contexts with which to engage in the phenomenon.
• In Grade 7, Unit 1: Matter all Around, Concept 1.2: Energy and changing States, Engage: Liquid Nitrogen - Very Strange Stuff, the investigative phenomenon of phase changes of nitrogen is presented to students through the passage “Liquid Nitrogen - Very Strange Stuff”, and several video segments, including “Liquid Nitrogen”, in which a presenter makes ice cream with the supercooled liquid. These resources provide students a safe environment in which to engage in the phenomenon.
• In Grade 7, Unit 3: Shaping Earth’s Resources and Ecosystems, Concept 3.1: Earth’s Moving Surface, Engage: The 1989 San Francisco Earthquake, the investigative phenomenon of the frequency of earthquakes in California is presented to students via a video and passage, both titled “The San Francisco Earthquake of 1989”. Included in the passage are two images: the first, a map showing worldwide distribution of earthquakes and the second, a relief map of the ocean floor. Language within the passage tasks students with identifying patterns between the two maps. These resources provide students with an historical and geographical context with which to engage in the phenomenon. Additionally, the crosscutting concept of patterns provides an access point for students who lack background knowledge.
• In Grade 8, Unit 2: Moving Planets, Concept 2.2: Planetary Forces, Engage: Life on Mars, the investigative phenomenon that life might have existed on Mars is presented to students through a video that explores the presence of water as necessary to support life on Mars. These resources provide students with a scalar and geographical context with which to engage in the phenomenon.

Examples of phenomena that are not presented as directly as possible:

• In Grade 6, Unit 1: Systems on Earth, Concept 1.3: Earth’s interacting systems, Engage: Earth’s Vital Signs, the investigative phenomenon of sea level change is presented to students through a graph of changing sea level over time. A more direct presentation is possible to help students focus their questions on how the increase in sea level impacts plants near the coast.
• In Grade 7, Unit 1: Matter all Around, Concept 1.1: Particles in States of Matter, Engage: Dry Ice a Really Cool Substance, the investigative phenomenon of dry ice is presented to students through a video of dry ice sublimation. A more direct experience is possible to help students experience and observe this phenomenon in greater detail while still maintaining classroom safety.
• In Grade 7, Unit 1:Matter all Around, Concept 1.3:The Composition of Matter, Engage: Matter Changes in a Burning Match, the investigative phenomenon of a burning match is presented to students through a video of a match being burned. A more direct experience is possible to help students experience and observe this phenomenon in greater detail while still maintaining classroom safety.
• In Grade 7, Unit 2: Matter Cycles and Energy Flow. Concept 2.1: How Matter Can Change, Engage: Changing Matter in a Wildfire, the investigative phenomenon of fire and what happens to matter as it burns is presented to students through video of wildfires in California and a discussion on the nature of fire. A more direct experience is possible to help students experience and observe this phenomenon in greater detail while still maintaining classroom safety.
• In Grade 7, Unit 2: Matter Cycles and Energy Flow, Concept 2.2: Matter and Energy in Living System, Engage: The World’s Largest Trees, the investigative phenomenon of giant trees growing from tiny seeds is presented to students through a video of the sequoias along the coast of California. The video provides information about Sequoia National Park that includes information about the distribution, age, weight, and size of sequoia trees in the park but does not provide information about the tree's seeds or different stages of growth. A more direct presentation is possible to help students focus their questions on how the tree gains matter as it grows.
  

​The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 partially meet expectations that materials intentionally leverage students’ prior knowledge and experiences related to phenomena or problems. Across the series, the materials provide opportunities to elicit students’ prior knowledge or experiences of phenomena via Technology Enhanced Items (TEIs) embedded throughout the Engage section or at the close of each Engage section, through one or two Can You Explain? (CYE) questions. The materials generally repeat these items later on in the instructional sequence.

Across the series, Teacher Notes and Model Lessons consistently include commentary detailing what students should already know, along with common alternative conceptions related to phenomena. These sections also contain Connections to Student Lives, a scripted piece used to guide the initial discussion about the phenomenon. Overall, these sections are informational and, while they provide guidance for the elicitation of students’ prior knowledge and experiences, the materials do not provide supports to address the different entry points to learning possible in diverse student populations. Connections to Student Lives also does not provide strategies to connect back to student experiences, to build contextual relevance for students, or to address students’ alternative conceptions. When used as designed, the materials review and elicit, but do not leverage students’ prior knowledge and experience related to phenomena and problems across the series in a way that allows them to make connections between what they are learning and their own knowledge.

Examples that elicit, but do not leverage students’ prior understanding of phenomena:

• In Grade 6, Unit 1: Systems on Earth, Concept 1.2: The Cell as a System, student prior knowledge of the investigative phenomenon, cancerous tumor on a colon, is elicited in the Engage section with a CYE question, “What happens to the body when someone gets cancer?” Cancer is not directly addressed again until an assessment at the end of the Explore 2 lesson, and then the original CYE question is presented again in the Explain section. The associated teacher materials do not provide guidance to the teacher for the purposes of leveraging student responses to the initial or subsequent CYE questions.
• In Grade 6, Unit 2: Causes of Weather, Concept 2.1: Energy Transfer in the Water Cycle, student prior knowledge of the investigative phenomenon, disappearing water from Lake Mead, is elicited in the Engage section by several TEIs about the water cycle and the CYE question, “How does energy transfer cause water levels to drop in Lake Mead?” The original CYE question is presented again in the Explain section. The teacher materials provide some guidance for discussion via a Teacher Note that instructs the teacher on how to engage students in the phenomenon in addition to the general discussion scripting in the Model Lesson. The remaining teacher materials do not provide any further guidance to the teacher for the purposes of leveraging student responses to the initial or subsequent CYE questions.
• In Grade 7, Unit 2: Matter Cycles and Energy Flow, Concept 2.1: How Can Matter Change?, student prior knowledge of the investigative phenomenon and changes that occur in matter during combustion, is elicited in the Engage section by several TEIs describing the combustion of hydrogen and the CYE “How and why does matter change when it burns?” Students respond to the original CYE question again in the Explain section. The Model Lesson suggests that the teacher facilitate a conversation around student ideas; however, the learning activities that follow are not based on or driven by student responses.
• In Grade 7, Unit 3: Shaping Earth’s Resources and Ecosystems, Concept 3.3: Interactions in Ecosystems, student prior knowledge of the investigative phenomenon, organism survival in Death Valley, is elicited in the Engage section by a teacher led discussion, several TEIs about population dynamics and energy flows, and the CYE question, “How do organisms survive in Death Valley, California?” The original CYE question is presented again in the Explain section. Teacher materials provide limited scripting to elicit student background knowledge through class discussion and students’ initial engagement with the phenomenon; however, no guidance is provided to leverage students’ prior knowledge or experiences.
• In Grade 8, Unit 3: Life’s Unity and Diversity: Concept 3.2: Evolution and Natural Selection, Engage: Finches and Famine, student prior knowledge of the investigative phenomenon, the change in beak size among a population of finches, is elicited in the Engage section by several TEIs about evolution and natural selection and the CYE question, “What is natural selection and how does it work?” Students respond to the original CYE question again in the Explain section. The Model Lesson elicits what students already know, but does not provide guidance to adjust further learning to leverage students’ prior knowledge or experiences.

Example of that elicits and leverages students’ prior knowledge and experiences to drive instruction, in few instances:

• In Grade 8, Unit 2: Moving Planets, Concept 2.1: Observing Planetary Objects, students’ prior knowledge of the phenomenon, objects beyond our solar system, is elicited and leveraged in the Engage section as students engage in several TEIs exploring their understanding of the Sun-Earth-Moon system and then respond to the CYE question, “How do we obtain data about the properties of exoplanets and objects in our solar system?” Teacher Notes within the Engage section provide explicit instruction on how the teacher should address several misconceptions pertaining to scale and orbital motion. In Explore 1, the teacher is guided to have students evaluate their prior thinking against new evidence and incorporate the new evidence into a model of their thinking. Within the same section, teachers are guided to include students’ prior experiences in a discussion about modeling systems and to differentiate a graphing exercise based on students’ math skill level. This conceptual subunit provides explicit direction that supplements instruction to leverage the prior knowledge and experiences of students.