​The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that the materials present disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts in a way that is scientifically accurate. Across the series, the teacher materials, student materials, and assessments accurately represent the three dimensions.

​The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that the materials do not inappropriately include scientific content and ideas outside of the grade-band disciplinary core ideas. Across the series, the materials consistently incorporate student learning opportunities to learn and use the DCIs appropriate to the 6-8 grade band.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-band disciplinary core ideas for physical sciences.

Across the series, the materials incorporate all physical science DCI components and associated grade-band elements, with nearly all elements found within the six physical science units. Some physical science DCIs are present in units outside the physical science units; for example, PS3.D-M1 and PS3.D-M2 are present within the life science unit From Cells to Organisms when students learn about the chemistry behind cellular respiration. 

Examples of grade-band physical science DCI elements present in the materials:

• PS1.A-M1. In Unit: Chemical Reactions, Activity 1: Producing a Circuit Board, students design a circuit board and etch the design with acidified copper chloride using a masking technique. They consider the trade-offs of a product that produces hazardous waste. Students work to conceptualize properties of matter and chemical change as they test their circuit boards and observe the changes that occur in the solution of copper chloride before and after its use as they consider its disposal. Students gather evidence of chemical change in the solution.

• PS1.A-M2. In Unit: Chemistry of Materials, Activities 11-13, students gather and share information from a reading about the nature and use of different polymers and the impacts of plastics. In a short speech, they explain which proposals for reducing plastic use in their community they support and provide evidence to support their reasoning.

• PS1.A-M3. In Unit: Chemistry of Materials, Lesson 8: What's in a State?, students discuss three states of matter and identify characteristics of each. Students examine syringes filled with materials in each state and predict if the syringes can be compressed. A computer simulation is then used to investigate the particles of each state.

• PS1.A-M4. In Unit: Chemistry of Materials, Activities 8-10, students develop a model showing water molecules in all three states and the relationship between these states. Students develop and use a model to depict particle movement, temperature, and state, including the role of thermal energy.

• PS1.A-M5. In Unit: Chemistry of Materials, Activity 7: Structure and Properties of Materials, students read passages describing the molecular structure of a variety of substances and relate the structure with the properties of the substances. They build understanding by drawing models of different substances.

• PS1.A-M6. In Unit: Chemistry of Materials, Activity 10: Modeling State Changes, students conduct an investigation and collect data to determine the relationships between temperature and state changes. Students analyze and interpret data to construct explanations about what happens to the particles and temperature of substances when changes in state occur.

• PS1.B-M1. In Unit: Chemical Reactions, Activity 1: Producing a Circuit Board, students design a circuit board and etch the design with acidified copper chloride using a masking technique. They consider the trade-offs of a product producing hazardous waste. Students work to conceptualize properties of matter and chemical change as they test their circuit boards and observe the changes that occur in the solution of copper chloride before and after its use as they consider its disposal. Students gather evidence of chemical change in the solution.

• PS1.B-M2. In Unit: Chemical Reactions, Activity 4: Chemical Reactions at the Molecular Scale, students build molecular models to demonstrate chemical reactions. Students draw diagrams of the reactants and products. Students observe patterns in the reactions being modeled, demonstrating the Law of Conservation of Matter.  

• PS1.B-M3. In Chemical Reactions, Activity 2, Evidence of Chemical Change, students conduct an investigation and analyze results to identify evidence that a chemical change has taken place.

• PS2.A-M1. In Unit: Force & Motion, Activity 10: Interacting Objects, students investigate how interacting objects apply forces to each other by observing the forces when two marbles collide or when a rope placed around a door handle is pulled. Students use these investigations to start to develop the understanding of Newton’s third law: for any pair of interacting objects, the force exerted by the first object on the second object is equal in strength to the force that the second object exerts on the first, but in the opposite direction.

• PS2.A-M2. In Unit: Force and Motion, Activity 8: Force, Mass, and Acceleration, students review acceleration and create their own motion graphs to show changes in motion. Students perform an experiment to investigate the relationship between distance, speed, and acceleration then graph results and then determine an equation that relates force, acceleration, and mass. They use this equation to determine missing values in a chart of given values of effect of force on acceleration of blocks with different masses. In their analysis they explain how a moving object continues its motion.

• PS2.A-M3. In Unit: Force & Motion, Activity 6: Changing Direction, students explore movement of marble(s) on curved track collecting data including positioning and pathway of moving marble.

• PS2.B-M1. In Unit: Fields and Interactions, Activities 8-11, students design a transport system using magnetic fields and static electricity. Throughout the activities, students investigate factors surrounding magnetic and electric forces and their interactions. Students take measurements and evaluate forces and interactions such as repulsion and attraction in magnets.

• PS2.B-M2. In Unit: Fields and Interactions, Activities 6 and 7, students investigate how gravity can be used in designed systems. Throughout the activities students investigate factors surrounding gravitational forces and interactions and evaluating forces and interactions to determine how gravity affects objects at a distance.

• PS2.B-M3. In Unit: Fields and Interactions, Activity 4: Gravitational Forces, students graph the gravitational force between the Moon and the fictional satellites. Students determine how different distances and masses between the Moon and the satellites impact the gravitational force. This activity helps students develop an understanding that gravitational forces that act at a distance can be explained by fields extending through space and can be mapped by their effect on a test object.

• PS3.A-M2. In Unit: Fields and Interactions, Activity 3: Gravitational Transporter, students investigate how energy is transferred with the gyrosphere set in motion by gravity to observe how a system of objects may contain stored (potential) energy, depending on their relative positions. 

• PS3.A-M3. In Unit: Energy, Activity 10: Energy Transfer Challenge, students engage in a learning sequence to determine relative energy efficiency of different devices and how to increase energy efficiency in a home. Students work toward the concept of heat flow. 

• PS3.A-M4. In Unit: Energy, Activity 1: Home Energy Use, students compare the energy using devices and structural features with those that are found in the two homes. After deciding which home they believe uses the least amount of energy, they analyze the effect of weather conditions, climate, and lifestyle on energy use and describe ways to reduce energy use in both homes.

• PS3.B-M1. In Unit: Energy, Activity 4: Shake the Shot, students analyze and interpret their experimental data to explain energy transformation and energy transfer.

• PS3.B-M2. In Unit: Energy,  Activity 14: Hot Bulbs, students track the transfer of energy. They determine and compare the amount of energy needed to change the temperature of water using an incandescent and LED bulb. They use the change in the temperature of water to calculate the efficiency of the light bulbs, and determine the energy “wasted” in producing thermal energy.

• PS3.B-M3. In Unit: Energy, Activity 10: Energy Transfer Challenge, students determine relative energy efficiency of different devices and how to increase energy efficiency in a home. Students track energy flows through different insulation materials.

• PS3.C-M1. In Unit: Force and Motion, Activity 10: Investigating Interacting Objects, students investigate Newton's third law of motion.  Students discover how interacting objects exert forces on each other by developing a model to predict the forces that will occur when objects collide.

• PS3.D-M1. In Unit: Cells to Organisms, Activity 13: Plant's Source of Energy, students collect evidence that plants break down sugars. They investigate the roles of carbon dioxide and light in photosynthesis.

• PS3.D-M2. In Unit: Cells to Organisms, Activity 13: Plant's Source of Energy, students investigate the role of carbon dioxide in the process of photosynthesis in an activity using bromothymol blue as an indicator of dissolved carbon dioxide to show that energy input from the Sun is needed for this reaction.

• PS4.A-M1. In Unit: Waves, Activity 7: Another Kind of Wave, students deduce the inverse relationship between wavelength and frequency and the direct relationship between amplitude and energy.

• PS4.A-M2. In Unit Waves, Activity 12: The Electromagnetic Spectrum, students complete a reading using scientists' investigations to extend their understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum. Students read a passage comparing sound waves and light waves explaining how electromagnetic waves are different from sound waves because they can be transmitted through the vacuum of space, while sound needs a medium to be transmitted.

• PS4.B-M1. In Unit: Waves, Activity 13: Where Does the Light Go?, students collect and analyze data for how ultraviolet and infrared light is absorbed or reflected. Students determine how certain situations can be influenced by non-visible light.

• PS4.B-M2. In Unit: Waves, Activity 9: Refraction of Light, students experiment with the transmission of light rays by planning and carrying out an investigation of the refraction of light through water. Students work toward finding a relationship between the angle of incidence, angle of refraction, and total internal reflection.

• PS4.B-M3. In Unit: Waves, Activity 10: Comparing Colors, students collect evidence indicating different colors of light carry different amounts of energy.  

• PS4.B-M4. In Unit: Waves, Activity 12: The Electromagnetic Spectrum, students complete a reading using scientists’ investigations to extend their understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum. Students read a passage about sound waves and light waves explaining that light energy does not require atoms or molecules to be transmitted and thus is not considered a matter wave.

• PS4.C-M1. In Unit: Waves, Activity 5: Telephone Model, students model how noise interference affects the transmission and reception of analog and digitized signals, sent as wave pulses. They find that the structure of digitized signals, sent as wave pulses, are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-band disciplinary core ideas for life sciences.

Across the series, the materials incorporate all life science DCI components and associated grade-band elements, with nearly all elements found within the six life science units. Some life science DCIs are present in units outside the life science units; for example, LS4.C-M1 is present within the Weather and Climate unit relating changes in species over time to changing climate conditions. Also, LS2.A-M1 and LS2.C-M1 are present within the Land, Water, and Human Interactions unit when students investigate human impacts on different aquatic macroinvertebrates. 

Examples of grade-band life science DCI elements present in the materials:

• LS1.A-M1. In Unit: From Cells to Organisms, Activities 1- 3, students investigate that all living things are made up of cells and that microscopes and other evidence can be used to establish and confirm their existence.

• LS1.A-M2. In Unit: From Cells to Organisms, Activity 8: Modeling Cell Structure and Function, students create an animal and plant cell, and compare/contrast cell structures and functions. Students then discuss similarities in some organelle and structure functions with those of organs in the body, then answer questions to reflect on their knowledge and review their understanding of cells. Student pairs construct a model of a plant or animal cell, including information related to the function of each structure/organelle.

• LS1.A-M3. In Unit: Body Systems, Activity 9: Heartily Fit, students collect data on their heart and respiratory rates by measuring their pulses and breathing rates before and after exercise. Students analyze data from their experiment on the effects of exercise on the body to establish a relationship between the circulatory and respiratory systems as an example of how it is important for body systems to work together.

• LS1.B-M1. In Unit: Reproduction, Activity 5: Gene Squares, students explain the possible offspring of a parent with a genetic disease. When the inheritance of parental alleles is random, students use the resulting patterns of genetic crosses to identify the cause of the inheritance of the genetic disease.

• LS1.B-M2. In Unit: Reproduction, Activity 10: Animal Behavior, students create an argument explaining how a specific trait increases the probability of an organism successfully reproducing.

• LS1.B-M3. In Unit: Reproduction, Activity 11: Plant-Animal Interactions, students develop an argument about which animal pollinator would pollinate a specific flower. This builds towards analyzing both specialized plant structures and animal pollinator behaviors as it relates to plant reproduction and demonstrating how certain traits can influence reproductive success in an organism.

• LS1.B-M4. In Unit: Reproduction, Activity 7: Do Genes Determine Everything?, students test the effect of an environmental factor on the color trait of Nicotiana seeds. Data is analyzed to determine the effect of a chosen environmental factor on the phenotype of the seeds.

• LS1.C-M1. In Unit: From Cells to Organisms, Activity 13: A Plant’s Source of Energy, students investigate the role of carbon dioxide in photosynthesis by placing elodea in a vial containing an indicator for the presence of carbon dioxide. After a student blows into the vial, students predict what may happen in the vial and collect evidence by comparing the vial with elodea containing carbon dioxide with a vial with elodea and the indicator. Students then design an experiment to investigate the role of light in photosynthesis, using the materials from the first investigation and altering the light source.

• LS1.C-M2. In Unit: From Cells to Organisms, Activity 11: Energy and Matter in Cells, students read a passage of text, construct a protein model and a carbohydrate model, and draw each model in their notebook. After reading the second passage, they model what happens to the protein and carbohydrate when each enters the digestive system by diagraming what happens to a hamburger and the bun as it moves from the mouth to stomach and small intestine. Finally, students read a third passage and model how sugars and amino acids are changed to carbohydrates and proteins.

• LS1.D-M1. In Unit: Body Systems, Activity 6: Observing Organisms, students consider how they would respond if they stepped on a sharp stone barefoot, what they already know about the nervous system, and how the nervous system helps the body respond to stimuli. Students then brush and touch blackworms, record observations, and make inferences of how the blackworms respond to the stimulus. 

• LS2.A-M1. In Unit: Ecology, Activity 5: A Suitable Habitat, students create an argument regarding the type of environment needed for blackworms to live, explaining the relationship between changing the features in the blackworm environment and the blackworm’s survival. 

• LS2.A-M2. In Unit: Ecology, Activity 2: Introduced Species, students conduct research on the effects on an ecosystem, interactions that occur with other species, how the flow of energy is affected, and the impact on human activity when invasive species are introduced. 

• LS2.A-M3. In Unit: Ecology, Activity 9: Population Growth, students predict how populations of paramecium will differ with varying amounts of food, then observe two different populations of paramecium. Students describe the transfer of energy in the ecosystem, the effects of the availability of food as observed during the lab, and predict how the population will change over time based on the amount of food provided. 

• LS2.A-M4. In Unit: Ecology, Activity 10: Interactions in Ecosystems, students read six different scenarios describing abiotic and biotic factors. Students then match each scenario with the appropriate graph on a student sheet. Lastly, if a scenario is considered biotic, students determine if the scenario is helpful, harmful, or neutral to one or both species.

• LS2.B-M1. In Unit: Ecology, Activity 12: Modeling the Introduction of a New Species, students use food web cards to create a simple food chain, then a food web to identify the role of organisms and how matter is cycled and energy flows in an ecosystem. After a new species is introduced, students must explain how the new component affects the flow of energy and the cycling of matter.

• LS2.C-M1. In Unit: Ecology, Activity 1: The Miracle Fish?, students determine how changing a factor in an environment can impact all other factors within that same environment. Students read about the outcome of introducing the Nile perch from different points of view. They examine trade-offs and make predictions using population data graphs.

• LS2.C-M2. In Unit: Ecology, Activity 13: Abiotic Impacts on Ecosystems, students determine the impacts of a large-scale disruption to an ecosystem and the changes caused by fire. Students explain how energy changes in a forest ecosystem.

• LS3.A-M1. In Unit: Reproduction, Activity 12: How Do Genes Produce Traits?, students develop a model of the protein fibrillin by learning how a DNA sequence codes to a protein sequence. Students fold the protein to understand how subunits interact (hydrophilic vs hydrophobic).

• LS3.A-M2. In Unit: Reproduction, Activity 4: Gene Combo, students calculate the ratios of inheritance (dominant vs. recessive) and look for patterns to help understand second generation breeding and variation of traits.

• LS3.B-M1. In Unit: Reproduction, Activity 2: Creature Features, students develop understanding of heredity and genes, and use models to identify patterns in traits found within generations of “critters”. 

• LS3.B-M2. In Unit: Evolution, Activity 5: Mutations: Good or Bad?, students model how a mutation will move from parent to offspring. Once offspring are produced, the community is exposed to malaria. Students track the individuals who do and do not survive the outbreak and relate that to those who have the sickle cell mutation. This builds towards understanding as they look for how mutations can be beneficial, harmful, or neutral.

• LS4.A-M1. In Unit: Evolution, Activity 9: Fossil Evidence, students examine sets of fossils and identify unique features of each. They read a passage that describes how scientists find and date fossils before examining four simulated drill cores to detect patterns in the fossil record. They use evidence from the drill cores to list the fossils that they examined in chronological order and determine the relative ages of the fossils.

• LS4.A-M2. In Unit: Evolution, Activity 8: History and Diversity of Life, students read text related to the history and diversity of life to learn how life forms have evolved over time with all organisms sharing a common ancestor. They build on their understanding of speciation and evolutionary trees, and are introduced to the process of extinction. 

• LS4.A-M3. In Unit: Evolution, Activity 13: Embryology, students use images of embryonic limbs, embryos, and vertebrate forelimbs to identify patterns of similarities and differences across species to infer evolutionary relationships.

• LS4.B-M1. In Unit: Evolution, Activity 1: The Full Course, students build knowledge of how humans have changed the way species look or behave. Students use a simulation to model antibiotic resistance in bacteria to understand natural selection. They use colored disks to represent levels of antibiotic resistance, and construct an explanation for how bacteria can differ and what happens to the bacterial population after exposure to antibiotics.

• LS4.B-M2. In Unit: Evolution, Activity 16: Manipulating Genes, students research technologies that are being used to change the traits of organisms to make them more useful or desirable. They consider the impact of these technologies on society and other organisms. 

• LS4.C-M1. In Unit: Evolution: Activity 1: The Full Course, students engage in an activity modeling how antibiotics affect the size and resistance of bacteria over time. Students collect and graph data of bacteria response to the antibiotic either taken as prescribed or not taken as prescribed. Finally, students reflect on their activity and its connection to evolution. This phenomenon is becoming a health risk for many people across the world. 

• LS4.D-M1. In Unit: Ecology, Activity 1: The Miracle Fish?, students read a passage about the introduction of Nile perch to Lake Victoria. They construct arguments to predict how the introduction of the fish will affect the ecosystem in which it was introduced, examine tradeoffs, and decide if the Nile perch should have been introduced into the environment.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-band disciplinary core ideas for earth and space sciences.

Across the series, the materials incorporate all earth and space science DCI components and associated grade-band elements, with nearly all elements found within the five earth and space science units. Some earth and space science DCIs present in units outside the earth and space science units. For example, ESS3.C-M1 is present in the life science unit Ecology when students investigate how humans have impacted environments by introducing non-native species. Also ESS1.C-M1 is present in the life science unit of Evolution; students examine fossils as evidence of diversity of life throughout Earth’s past. 

Examples of grade-band earth and space science DCI elements present in the materials:

• ESS1.A-M1. In Unit: Solar System and Beyond, Activities 2 and 3, students order phases of the Moon picture cards in the sequence they believe to be correct. Then they model the phases with a light source and ball. Students look for patterns as they try to sequence the phases of the Moon. They model the motion of the Moon in relation to the Sun and Earth. Students predict patterns of the apparent motion of the Moon, describe them and explain with the model.

• ESS1.A-M2. In Unit: Solar System and Beyond, Activity 10: Observing Objects in Space, students extend their knowledge of patterns of objects in the sky to better understand how objects in space that are farther away are more difficult to observe. Students use telescopic images to observe space objects such as planets, stars, asteroids, comets, and moons. Students compare distances between objects with mathematical computation and analysis.

• ESS1.B-M1. In Unit: Solar System and Beyond, Activity 13: Identifying Planets, students read transmission information from four spacecrafts and compare it with descriptions of the planets. They list the evidence from each transmission that helped them decide from which planet each transmission originated. Students write their own transmission from a planet not used, compare properties of dwarf planet Pluto with the other planets, and use their knowledge to reflect upon how the work of engineers supported the Mars Exploration Rover mission to Mars.

• ESS1.B-M2. In Unit: Solar System and Beyond, Activity 7: A Year Viewed From Space, students use a computer simulation to model Earth’s orbit around the Sun in order to explain why we have seasons. Students make observations of the position of the Earth and the Sun from two locations, and record data to compare changes in daylight and temperature at four times of the year, as well as, the distance between the Earth and the Sun. They answer questions using their data to explain the relationship between the motion and distance between the Earth, Sun, and seasons.

• ESS1.B-M3. In Unit: Solar System and Beyond, Activity 15: The Effects of Gravity, students read informational text describing how the solar system was formed by gravity pulling the sides of a cloud of gas and dust to form a disk.

• ESS1.C-M1. In Unit: Earth's Resources, Activity 9: Modeling Rock Layers, students engage in an activity using a model of rock strata layers, and connect to understanding of the layering and age of rocks from the Grand Canyon.

• ESS1.C-M2. In Unit: Geological Processes, Activities 12-14, students engage in a series of activities to understand Earth’s plates have moved over time and continue to move. Students look at how energy and gravity play a role in plate motion and develop an understanding of how tectonic processes continually generate new ocean seafloor at ridges and destroy old seafloor at trenches.

• ESS2.A-M1. In Unit: Geological Processes, Activity 8: Beneath Earth's Surface, students make predictions about the Earth’s interior including initial drawings of their understanding. They read and analyze informational text focusing on layers of the Earth noting differences in properties and temperature, and how these processes are the result of energy flowing and matter cycling from the Earth’s hot interior. Students create a scaled drawing/model of layers to help analyze and predict the best location for storing nuclear waste.

• ESS2.A-M2.In Unit: Land, Water, and Human Interactions, Activity 14: Building on the Mississippi, students explain how geological processes have changed the land and water using the example of the Mississippi River. They incorporate time scales as they use evidence from the past and present to demonstrate gradual changes versus sudden changes.

• ESS2.B-M1. In Unit: Geological Processes, Activity 12: The Continent Puzzle, students are asked to use evidence (including fossil and rock information) to put together a world puzzle map while analyzing and constructing explanations as they create a model indicating Earth’s surface and continental positional changes over time. 

• ESS2.C-M1. In Unit: Land, Water and Human Interaction, Activity 1: Where Should We Build?, students observe photographs of undeveloped and developed hillside, wetland, and clifftop to explain how each location would be changed by the construction of buildings. The lesson helps students understand how the processes take place as water continually cycles and flows on land.

• ESS2.C-M2. In Unit: Weather and Climate, Activity 7: Ocean Temperatures, students explain the range of latitudes that they would expect most hurricanes to form. Students analyze complex patterns of the changes and the movement of water in the atmosphere, ocean temperatures, and currents and their influence on local weather patterns and hurricane formation.

• ESS2.C-M3. In Unit: Weather & Climate, Activity 9: Oceans and Climate, students participate in a role-play discussion focused on the mapping of ocean currents and identification of the Gulf Stream. This activity leads to discussion and analysis of the relationship between oceans and the climate and how movements of water in ocean currents are propelled by sunlight.

• ESS2.C-M4. In Unit: Weather & Climate, Activity 8: Investigating Water, students collect data and identify patterns while carrying out investigations of temperature and density of water (cold/warm and fresh/salt). Students analyze and interpret data to construct explanations and create models explaining observations of water current movements and changes in salinity of ocean water including polar ice melting and formations.

• ESS2.C-M5. In Unit: Land, Water, and Human Interaction, Activity 1: Where Should We Build?, students observe photographs of undeveloped and developed hillside, wetland, and clifftop to explain how each location, wetland, hillside, and cliff would be changed by the construction of buildings. They identify trade-offs, and make a preliminary decision about where to build the new school in Boomtown. Students develop questions they have about animals, plants, shape of land, and health of water in the area of construction. The lesson-level activities help students gather some evidence for their decision by examining how water movement can cause weathering and erosion, which can change the landscape.

• ESS2.D-M1. In Unit: Weather & Climate: Activity 4: Climate Types and Distribution Patterns, students use their understanding of local weather and regional climate to organize information about different climates. Students identify patterns as they analyze and interpret climate data and how it relates to latitude, altitude, and proximity to oceans.

• ESS2.D-M2. In Unit: Weather and Climate, Activity 2: Investigating Local Weather, students collect five consecutive days of local weather data from a website, record key observations, calculate the mean, median, and mode values for each data set, and discuss the benefits and drawbacks of using each of the three types of averages. Students obtain local monthly averages and compute seasonal data. They graph seasonal and compare their five-day averages to monthly and seasonal data to understand that daily weather data is more accurate for providing data about a particular day, but monthly and seasonal data are more accurate to use when comparing weather patterns to gather evidence for the claim that because of is complexity, weather can only be predicted probabilistically.

• ESS2.D-M3. In Unit: Weather & Climate, Activity 5: Earth's Surface, students use a gridded world map to estimate and calculate the percent of Earth’s surface covered by water. Students consider and analyze how oceans might influence weather and climate.

• ESS3.A-M1. In Unit: Earth’s Resources, Activity 2: World Resource Consumption, students read passages detailing the consumption of copper, petroleum, and freshwater, followed by a passage on consumption and world population growth. Each passage includes images and maps identifying the locations of global deposits for each resource. Various graphs are included illustrating world population growth over time and global consumption of each of the resources. 

• ESS3.B-M1. In Unit: Geological Processes, Activity 3: Modeling Landslides, students access and collect data from a data visualization program. Then they analyze and interpret data in order to look for patterns in the distribution of major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions around the world. Students add data to a world map which acts as the first step in discovering that the Earth’s surface is broken into plates.

• ESS3.C-M1. In Unit: Land, Water and Human Interaction, Activity 4: Living Indicators Investigation, students use macroinvertebrate concentration over time as an indicator for how humans have impacted water quality as evidence to begin to develop an argument for how humans impact environment over time and how those impacts can in turn affect living things.

• ESS3.C-M2. In Unit: Earth’s Resources. Activity 4: Per Capita Consumption, students identify changes in mineral, energy, and groundwater resources over time. Students use population data to calculate the per capita consumption from eight different countries. Students then analyze this data to support an argument about whether increases in human populations and per capita consumption of natural resources lead to negative impacts on Earth.

• ESS3.D-M1. In Unit: Weather & Climate, Activity 15: History of Earth's Atmosphere, students chronologically arrange atmosphere data cards, discuss reasoning, and build understandings and explanations of stability and changes in Earth’s atmosphere over geologic time. Students analyze/reflect and predict the effect of living organisms, including humans, on changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide gases over time.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-band disciplinary core ideas for engineering, technology, and the application of science (ETS).

Across the series, the materials incorporate all ETS DCI components and associated grade-band elements. The ETS DCI components and associated grade-band elements are integrated within units in physical science, life science, and earth and space science. In most units, students engage with the ETS DCIs as they also work with DCIs in physical, life, and earth and space science; one exception is the Biomedical Engineering unit, where students often engage in the ETS DCI only.

Examples of grade-band engineering, technology, and the application of science DCI elements present in the materials:

• ETS1.A-M1. In Unit: Land, Water, and Human Interactions, Activity 12: Modeling Cliff Erosion, students design an erosion-mitigation structure for a cliff using relevant scientific principles that might limit solutions. They design, test, and redesign structures to prevent cliff erosion. Students then use design criteria to develop a solution that is evaluated by others to determine how well they met specific criteria and constraints.

• ETS1.B-M1. In Unit: Energy,  Activity 10: Energy Transfer Challenge, students engage in a learning sequence to determine relative energy efficiency of different devices and how to increase energy efficiency in a home. Students test a solution to melt the most ice in a given amount of time and keep the most ice from melting in a given amount of time. They modify and improve their solution based on the results of their tests, taking into account the insulation properties of the materials and energy transfers within their design. 

• ETS1.B-M2. In Unit: Fields and Interactions, Activity 1: Save the Astronaut, students are challenged to find a way to return a stranded gyrosphere to its base on the Moon. Students identify the task’s criteria and constraints, then develop a small-scale model for which to investigate how gravity, magnetism, and electricity can be used to return the stranded gyrosphere to its base. Students use a systematic process to evaluate and test their solution, accounting for how well their design meets the criteria and constraints of the problem.

• ETS1.B-M3. In Unit: Chemical Reactions, Activity 10: Developing a Prototype, students brainstorm designs for an improved prototype hand warmer. As they build, test, and evaluate their designs, students review the design criteria and constraints, considering that parts of different solutions can be combined to create a better solution. As students discuss the decisions made in determining their design and compare characteristics of other designs, they reflect on their knowledge of the functionality of hand warmers.

• ETS1.B-M4. In Unit: Fields and Interactions, Activity 1: Save the Astronaut, students use materials to model the gyrosphere of the stranded astronaut, the abandoned rover, and the moon base. They read a scenario and work with a partner to brainstorm ways to solve the problem of returning the stranded astronaut to the moon base, and record their plan, process, and ideas that worked. Students exchange procedures with another group, and attempt to save the astronaut using the other group’s directions. Successful strategies are shared with the class and students describe similarities and differences in their model and how it was important for testing their solutions.

• ETS1.C-M1. In Unit: Biomedical Engineering, Activity 4: Artificial Bone Model, students create a prototype of an artificial bone with specific criteria and constraints that include light weight, strength, and specified materials. Students determine that while one design might not perform the best across all tests, it is important to identify the characteristics of the design that performed the best in each test, and incorporate them into the new design.

• ETS1.C-M2. In Unit: Weather and Climate, Activity 12: Measuring Wind Speed and Direction, students use the engineering design process to design, build, and test instruments for measuring wind speed and direction. Students use an iterative process to select the most promising solutions and improve and retest their designs.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-band science and engineering practices for asking questions and defining problems.

Across the series, the materials incorporate all grade-band elements of this SEP. When the materials include elements of this SEP from above or below the grade band, they connect to the grade-band elements of this SEP.

Examples of grade-band elements of Asking Questions and Defining Problems present in the materials:

• AQDP-M1. In Unit: Body Systems, Activity 2: Modeling: Parts of a Whole, students draw a life-size model of the human body on a large sheet of paper and label its internal organs and their functions.  After drawing the model, students write questions they have about the human body around the outside of the body tracing. They visit other groups’ drawings and record all of the unique questions in their science notebooks. In Analysis Item 2, students revisit these questions in their groups, answering all of the questions that they can and discussing those that they are still unable to answer.

• AQDP-M2. In Unit: Land, Water, and Human Interactions, Activity 1: Where Should We Build?, students view aerial photographs taken before and after construction of buildings has occurred. Students ask questions to clarify evidence. The evidence obtained from the observations is used to make a claim about the human impact of building. 

• AQDP-M3. In Unit: Ecology, Activity 14: Effects of an Introduced Species, students develop a testable question and use an online database and graphing tool to investigate it. Students ask questions about biotic and abiotic factors and use collected data to determine relationships.  The materials direct the teacher to support students in ensuring their questions ask how an independent variable affects a dependent variable.

• AQDP-M4. In Unit: Reproduction, Activity 1: View and Reflect: Joe’s Situation, students consider information presented about Joe’s medical condition and determine questions that he should ask his doctor. Students then review a video about Marfan syndrome and consider which questions have already been answered and identify new questions they have as they consider whether Joe should be genetically tested for Marfan syndrome.

• AQDP-M5. In Unit: Ecology, Activity 4: Taking a Look Outside, students conduct a field study of a local environment using the transect method.  While planning the study, students discuss questions they have about the environment, and how they would test those questions.  During evidence collection, students are able to answer their questions.

• AQDP-M6. In Unit: Fields and Interactions, Activity 8: Static Electricity, students manipulate the location of objects and observe how particles change location in relation to the location of the object. They review observations from their static electricity explorations, identify evidence that supports the idea that electrical forces attract and repel, and ask questions about the cause of the strength of forces between positive and negative particles based on their observations.

• AQDP-M7. In Unit: Chemistry of Materials, Activity 5: Evaluating Properties of Materials, students participate in a Walking Debate. To prepare for the debate, students determine their best choice of materials for a reusable drink container.  During the activity, students defend their claim of the best material. Students prepare questions that can be used to challenge the claim of other students who argued that a different material was better for making a reusable drink container.

• AQDP-M8. In Unit: Fields and Interactions, Activity 1: Save the Astronaut, students use materials to model the gyrosphere of the stranded astronaut, the abandoned rover, and the moon base. They read a scenario and work with a partner to brainstorm ways to solve the problem of returning the stranded astronaut to the moon base and record their plan, process, and ideas that worked.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that they incorporate the science and engineering practices for developing and using models.

Across the series, the materials incorporate all grade-band elements of this SEP. When the materials include elements of this SEP from above or below the grade band, they connect to the grade-band elements of this SEP. The materials include numerous opportunities for students to develop or use models across the series, but students mostly model with the intent to describe or make predictions about phenomena.

Examples of grade-band elements of Developing and Using Models across the series present in the materials:

• MOD-M1. In Unit: Biomedical Engineering, Activity 9: Get a Grip, students design, test, evaluate, and redesign a mechanical gripping device. During this activity, students determine the limitations of their grabber model.

• MOD-M2. In Unit: Ecology, Activity 12: Modeling the Introduction of a New Species, students use Food Web Cards to model a food web in one of four different ecosystems. Students introduce a new species into the ecosystem to see what happens. Students revise their models to explain changes in how energy flows and matter cycles through the ecosystem as a result of the change caused by the new species.

• MOD-M3. In Unit: Weather and Climate, Activity 13: Forecasting Weather, students are assigned one of eight different weather maps to analyze; each map represents one date in the range August 24 to August 31. After analyzing their weather map, pairs of students write a weather report that summarizes their assigned map then compare reports; they note similarities and differences and make revisions. Students share their weather reports with the rest of the class and then use the whole class information to predict the weather in Cleveland on September 1.

• MOD-M4. In Unit: Geological Processes, Activity 17: Enough Resources for All, students connect previous knowledge from a groundwater aquifers activity to a modeled aquifer game scenario in which students are provided real aquifer data. Students use this model to analyze and interpret the data as they construct explanations using graphs they create based on given data. Students construct their explanations after identifying patterns and cause and effect relationships. 

• MOD-M5. In Unit Solar System and Beyond, Activity 3: Explaining the Moon’s Phases, students model the motion of the Moon in relation to the Sun and the Earth. Students predict patterns of the apparent motion of the Moon, describe them and explain with the model.

• MOD-M6. In Unit: From Cells to Organisms, Activity 11: Energy and Matter in Cells, students read a passage of text, construct a protein model and a carbohydrate model, and draw each model in their notebook. After reading the second passage, they model what happens to the protein and carbohydrate when each enters the digestive system.

• MOD-M7. In Unit: Land, Water, and Human Interactions, Activity 12: Modeling Cliff Erosion, students apply previous knowledge of erosion and deposition as they model cliff erosion. Students develop and test an erosion-mitigation structure for a cliff. Students follow criteria and constraints for the structure, and then present their structure to the class.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that they incorporate the science and engineering practices for planning and carrying out investigations.

Across the series, the materials incorporate all grade-band elements of this SEP. When the materials include elements of this SEP from above or below the grade band, they connect to the grade-band elements of this SEP. The materials include numerous opportunities for students to plan and carry out investigations, completing a wide range of investigations ranging from planning, as well as, conducting investigations, and collecting different forms of data in the process.

Examples of grade-band elements of Planning and Carrying Out Investigations across the series present in the materials:

• INV-M1. In Unit: Waves, Activity 14: Blocking Out Ultraviolet, students design and conduct an investigation determining variables and controls, number of trials, and what data to record to test whether sunscreen blocks the ultraviolet light by absorbing or reflecting the light.

• INV-M2. In Unit: Ecology, Activity 9: Population Growth, Students conduct a laboratory investigation, using Paramecium caudatum to explore how the availability of food affects the growth of a population. Wet mounts are made and initial observations of the organisms are made using a microscope. Students predict how populations of paramecium will differ with varying amounts of food, then observe two different populations of paramecium, and recording their observations.

• INV-M3. In Unit: From Cells to Organisms, Activity 3: Evidence of Microscopic Organisms, students determine which tool or tools would be best for a scientist investigating bacteria. Students choose from four choices: magnifying glass, classroom compound microscope, oil immersion microscope, and transmission electron microscope.  Students explain their thinking behind their choice and how it would be best for investigating bacteria.

• INV-M4.  In Unit: Force and Motion, Activity 13: Laboratory: Braking Distance, students conduct an investigation using a system model to provide evidence that the change in the vehicles speed results in a change of braking distance. Then students plan and carry out their own investigation with the system model. They use evidence to determine that a change in the object's mass results in a change in braking distance. Students use their evidence to support or refute explanations of the factors affecting braking distance.

• INV-M5. In Unit: Energy, Activity 14: Hot Bulbs, students investigate and use the change in the temperature of water to calculate the efficiency of the light bulbs, and determine the energy “wasted” in producing thermal energy.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that they incorporate the science and engineering practices for analyzing and interpreting data.

Across the series, the materials fully meet grade-band endpoints for all elements of this SEP. While students have frequent opportunities to analyze and interpret data across the series, students mostly analyze and interpret data in conjunction with graphical representations or charts to look for linear and nonlinear relationships. They also frequently use the data to provide evidence for phenomena and to find similarities or differences within their data. When the materials include elements of this SEP from above or below the grade band, they connect to the grade-band elements of this SEP.

Examples of grade-band elements of Analyzing and Interpreting Data present in the materials:

• DATA-M1. In Unit: Force and Motion, Activity 3: Speed and Kinetic Energy and Activity 4: Mass and Kinetic Energy, students collect and analyze data about the impact of mass and speed on an object’s kinetic energy in order to determine the mathematical relationships between kinetic energy, mass, and speed. Students construct graphs to show these relationships.

• DATA-M2. In Unit: Land, Water, and Human Interactions, Activity 11: Boomtown's Topography, students analyze data from topographic maps that display temporal and spatial information about a particular area. They construct explanations based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth's surface over time.

• DATA-M3. In Unit: Land, Water, and Human Interactions, Activity 3: Water Quality, students analyze 100 years of water-quality data from Boomtown River to determine if the increase of Boomtown's population affects its water quality. During the activity, students review the definitions of correlation and causation, and then respond to the question, "Is there enough evidence in the graphs to determine that the population increase in Boomtown caused a decline in the water quality? Explain." The expected student response includes demonstrating an understanding of correlation and causation.

• DATA-M4.  In Unit: Geological Processes, Activity 6: Mapping Locations of Earthquakes and Volcanoes, students access and collect data from a data visualization program. Students then analyze and interpret data in order to look for patterns in the distribution of major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions around the world. Students add data to a world map which acts as the first step in discovering that the Earth’s surface is broken into plates.

• DATA-M5. In Unit: Weather and Climate, Activity 2: Investigating Local Weather, students collect weather data for their location including temperature, pressure, precipitation, and wind. After collecting data for five days, students then determine the mean, median, and mode for different measurements such as temperature, air pressure, and top wind speed and compare their recorded data with provided monthly weather averages to better understand and predict seasonal variations in weather.

• DATA-M6. In Unit: Body Systems, Activity 7: Laboratory: Can you feel the Difference?, during an investigation about touch sensitivity, the teacher starts a discussion about how to account for unusual cases and asks students to suggest ways to address this (retest, conduct more trials, etc). The teacher then explains the importance of one-point touches as the control and how students should consider omitting data that does not meet the threshold. Students collect data on touch sensitivity to determine the closest distance between two points using the touch sensor. They determine which data points are valid and which ones are inconsistent and what to do if a result is not consistent.

• DATA-M7. In Unit: Fields and Interactions, Activity 3: Gravitational Transporter, students create a system model to collect and analyze data regarding the impact of release height and mass of a cart to the kinetic energy transfer during a collision. Students optimize their solutions through a process of testing and redesigning to eventually control the amount of gravitational potential energy in their system to achieve the best results with their transporter.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that they incorporate the science and engineering practices for using mathematical and computational thinking.

Across the series, the materials incorporate all grade-band elements of this SEP. While students have opportunities to use this SEP across the series, students mostly use digital tools to analyze large data sets, use mathematical representations to design or support conclusions or solutions, and apply certain mathematical concepts to science and engineering problems. When the materials include elements of this SEP from above or below the grade band, they connect to the grade-band elements of this SEP.

Examples of grade-band elements of Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking present in the materials:

• MATH-M1. In Unit: Ecology, Activity 14: Effects of an Introduced Species, students use a Web-based graphing tool to graph and analyze a large data set regarding biotic and abiotic factors that the zebra mussel might affect.

• MATH-M2. In Unit: Weather and Climate, Activity 17: People, Weather, Climate (Is the growth of Sunbeam City affecting its weather, atmosphere, and water availability?), students engage in a jigsaw role play. They summarize strategies and analyze data to make conclusions about the relationship between population growth and changes in the environment. Students brainstorm recommendations to reduce the human impact on weather, atmosphere, and water availability, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each, using their prior knowledge of the human impact on the weather, the atmosphere, and water.

• MATH-M3. In Unit: Fields and Interactions, Activity 1: Save the Astronaut!, students record the detailed procedure they used to save an astronaut who needs to return to the moon base. Students then trade their procedure with others to determine if the other student’s procedures can be followed to save the astronaut.

• MATH-M4.  In Unit: Force and Motion, Activity 8: Force, Mass, and Acceleration, students perform an experiment to investigate the relationships among distance, speed, and acceleration. They graph results and determine an equation that relates force, acceleration, and mass.

• MATH-M5: In Unit: Biomedical Engineering, Activity 4: Artificial Bone Model, students calculate the strength-to-mass ratio for each of four prototypes to identify which prototype has the best strength-to-mass ratio. Based on the calculations, students choose one prototype to redesign, retest, and re-evaluate.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that they incorporate the science and engineering practices for engaging in argument from evidence.

Across the series, the materials incorporate all grade-band elements of this SEP. When students engage in this practice across the series, they most often create arguments supported by evidence to support or refute explanations, or to evaluate competing design solutions. When the materials include elements of this SEP from above or below the grade band, they connect to the grade-band elements of this SEP.

Examples of grade-band elements of Engaging in Argument from Evidence present in the materials:

• ARG-M1. In Unit: Evolution, Activity 3: A Meeting of Minds, students compare similarities and differences between Lamarck’s and Darwin’s claims about how species change over time, then explain why current scientists find Darwin’s theory more convincing. 

• ARG-M2. In Unit: Evolution, Activity 14: The Sixth Extinction?, students  construct a claim as to whether Earth is experiencing a sixth extinction. Students use evidence from the previous five extinctions to support their arguments and challenge opposing arguments during a class Walking Debate.

• ARG-M3. In Unit: Ecology, Activity 5: A Suitable Habitat, students create an argument to explain the relationship between changing the features in the blackworm environment and the blackworm’s survival. The arguments include specific examples from their investigation to demonstrate an understanding of how organisms interact with living and nonliving factors within their environment.

• ARG-M4. In Unit: Waves, Activity 4: Noise-Induced Hearing Loss, students analyze data showing how much a pair of headphones reduce noise at various frequencies. Students use this data to support a claim about whether the headphone provides adequate protection for a firefighter exposed to a siren at 1,500 hertz and 120 decibels.

• ARG-M5. In Unit: Ecology, Activity 15: Too Many Mussels, students brainstorm initial criteria and constraints for solutions to the zebra mussel problem. They read about six different control options for zebra mussels and identify advantages and disadvantages of each one. Students revisit and revise their criteria and constraints based on new considerations. Students ultimately choose the best control option and provide evidence to support why it is the solution that should be selected for further testing.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that they incorporate the science and engineering practices for obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.

Across the series, the materials incorporate all grade-band elements of this SEP. While students have multiple opportunities to use this SEP across the series, opportunities for students to engage in this SEP are limited to four of the five elements for this practice. When students engage in this practice across the series, they most often gather and interpret information from a variety of sources. When the materials include elements of this SEP from above or below the grade band, they connect to the grade-band elements of this SEP.

Examples of grade-band elements of Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information present in the materials:

• INFO-M1. In Unit: Evolution, Activity 15: Bacteria and Bugs, students build knowledge of how humans influence evolution through natural selection when they obtain information through a reading about four types of organisms that have evolved resistance to chemical control methods. They identify cause and effect relationships between human activity and the evolution of resistance. They conclude with using principles of natural selection to explain bacterial antibiotic resistance.

• INFO-M2. In Unit: Land, Water, and Human Interactions, Activity 14: Building on the Mississippi, students explore the challenges faced by the city of New Orleans due to its location on the Mississippi River Delta. Students participate in a role-play activity involving stakeholders in geoscience and engineering who present their knowledge of the effect of human impact in New Orleans on the geological processes that occur on the Mississippi River Delta. Students integrate the stakeholder information to clarify their claims and findings.

• INFO-M3. In Unit: Chemistry of Materials, Activities 1-5, students determine which material is best for making a single-use drink container. Students evaluate reviews of each type of drink container for bias and then compare product life cycle diagrams to determine which of three different types of water bottles is the most useful, based on the physical and chemical properties of the materials used to make each container.

• INFO-M4. In Unit: Chemistry of Materials, Activity 5: Talking it Over Evaluating Properties of Materials, students gather information from text and other resources on different materials including aluminum, glass and plastic. They evaluate the sources of information for each material (aluminum, glass and plastic) by reviewing text and other resources and then evaluate the sources of competing information for point of view and bias. Students use this information to inform a debate about which material is the best choice for a reusable drink container. 

• INFO-M5. In Unit: Ecology, Activity 16: Projects: Presenting the Facts, students complete their introduced species project to show how abiotic changes in the environment can impact ecosystems. Students deliver an oral presentation to communicate the results of their research, including impacts of the species and options for controlling the introduced species.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that they incorporate the crosscutting concept of patterns.

Across the series, the materials incorporate all grade-band elements. Elements of this CCC are not included from above or below the grade-band without connecting to the grade-band elements of this CCC. The materials include numerous opportunities for students to engage in understanding patterns within each grade level and across the series.

Examples of grade-band elements of Patterns present in the materials:

• PAT-M1. In Unit: Chemical Reactions, Activity 13: Another Approach to Recovering Copper, students use a chemical reaction to precipitate, filter, and recover the copper from the waste solution as they consider its disposal. Students investigate the products and reactants of two types of chemical reactions at the macroscopic level, observing patterns in the precipitate to use as evidence of atomic rearrangement resulting in chemical change. 

• PAT-M2. In Unit: Energy, Lesson 11: Energy in Light, students conduct an investigation and compare how light interacts in three different materials. Data is graphed and students analyze patterns in rates of change as the temperature of the material increases over time.

• PAT-M3. In Unit: Solar System and Beyond, Activities 2-5, students work towards explaining the Moon’s orbit around Earth, and also explaining why there is not a lunar or solar eclipse every lunar cycle. Students develop and use a model to show how the orbital plane of the Moon-Earth and the Earth-Sun are not the same. Students analyze data about the shape of the Moon and look for patterns at each phase to prove that the cause of an eclipse is not because the Earth is blocking light to the Moon.

• PAT-M4. In Unit: Geological Processes, Activities 4-11, students access and collect data from a data visualization program. Then they analyze and interpret data within charts in order to look for patterns in the distribution of major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions around the world. Students add data to a world map which acts as the first step in discovering that the Earth’s surface consists of plates.

​The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that they incorporate the crosscutting concept of cause and effect.

Across the series, the materials incorporate all grade-band elements. Elements of this CCC are not included from above or below the grade-band without connecting to the grade-band elements of this CCC. The materials include numerous opportunities for students to engage in understanding cause and effect within each grade level and across the series.

Examples of grade-band elements of Cause and Effect present in the materials:

• CE-M1. In Unit: Land, Water, and Human Interactions, Activity 3: Water Quality, students analyze water quality and population data from the fictional town of Boomtown to determine whether the relationship between the data is causal or correlational. To help students make sense of this data, the lesson includes a learning opportunity where students look at other data sets that are strongly correlated, weakly correlated, and causal to learn how to differentiate between causal and correlational data.

• CE-M2. In Unit: Fields and Interactions, Activity 8: Static Electricity, students determine the effects of static electricity by investigating how static charge causes attraction and repulsion in objects. Students model the distribution of charges during a simulation. Students manipulate the location of the objects and observe how particles change location in relation to the location of the object. They use these observations to predict how electrical forces will attract and repel, and determine the strength of forces between positive and negative particles. 

• CE-M3. In Unit: Evolution, Activity 6: Mutations and Evolution, students collect data using a computer simulation allowing them to create percentages and/or rates for the frequency of the sickle cell trait over time as different variables are manipulated, such as the relationship between getting malaria and access to health care. Students use the information to construct an explanation about the causal relationship for why the rate of sickle cell disease varies around the world, and how some cause and effect relationships can only be described using probability.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that they incorporate the crosscutting concept of systems and system models. 

Across the series, the materials incorporate all grade-band elements of this CCC. When the materials include elements of this CCC from above or below the grade band, they connect to the grade-band elements of this CCC. The materials include numerous opportunities for students to engage in understanding systems and system models across the series.

Examples of grade-band elements of Systems and System Models present in the materials:

• SYS-M1. In Unit: Body Systems, Activities 2-3, students learn about the different systems within the human body and the organs that comprise each system. They identify each organ, the organ’s function, and then relate how each organ is part of a larger system. For example, one diagram students use in this activity shows the digestive system, the stomach as an organ in the system, tissues of the stomach lining, and stomach cells. These activities help students develop the understanding how different systems in the human body interact with each other and how each system is made up of smaller parts or subsystems.

• SYS-M2. In Unit: Fields and Interactions, Activities 3-4, students create a system model to collect and analyze data regarding the impact of release height and mass of a cart to the kinetic energy transfer during a collision. Students use their model to understand the interactions within the system and track the energy flows within the system. Students optimize their solutions through a process of testing and redesigning to eventually control the amount of gravitational potential energy in their system to achieve the best results with their transporter.

• SYS-M3. In Unit: Solar System and Beyond, Activity 8: Earth’s Tilt, students use multiple types of models to understand how Earth’s tilt causes the seasons. Students answer a reflection question about how the different models represent components of the system and why it was important to use multiple models to fully understand the system.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that they incorporate the crosscutting concept of energy and matter.

Across the series, the materials incorporate all grade-band elements. Elements of this CCC are not included from above or below the grade-band without connecting to the grade-band elements of this CCC. The materials include numerous opportunities for students to engage in understanding energy and matter within each grade level and across the series.

Examples of grade-band elements of Energy and Matter present in the materials:

• EM-M1. In Unit: Chemical Reactions, Activity 12: Recovering Copper, students compare metals to determine which is most effective in removing copper from a used solution of copper chloride. They use their evidence to prepare a recommendation for the use of the metal that was most effective. Students develop an understanding that metals can be recovered from waste solutions because the matter (atoms) during the etching reaction is conserved in chemical reactions.

• EM-M2. In Unit: Weather and Climate, Activities 9-10, students engage in a sequence of activities to develop an understanding of the role of the ocean in climate. Students engage in a role-play activity to demonstrate how energy from the Sun drives the motion and cycling of water and impacts oceans, currents, and air flow.

• EM-M3. In Unit: Energy, Activity 3: Roller Coaster Energy, students investigate energy transformations between gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy. Students also consider how energy can take different forms as they consider how energy is transformed into thermal energy and sound energy as the roller coaster moves.

• EM-M4. In Unit: Energy, Activity 14: Hot Bulbs, students track the transfer of energy. Students determine and compare the amount of energy needed to change the temperature of water using an incandescent and LED bulb. They use the change in the temperature of water to calculate the efficiency of the light bulbs, and determine the energy “wasted” in producing thermal energy.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that they incorporate the crosscutting concept of structure and function.

Across the series, the materials incorporate all grade-band elements. Elements of this CCC are not included from above or below the grade-band without connecting to the grade-band elements of this CCC. The materials include numerous opportunities for students to engage in understanding structure and function within each grade level and across the series.

Examples of grade-band elements of Structure and Function present in the materials:

• SF-M1. In Unit: Biomedical Engineering, Activities 2-5 and 7, students read background information about the heart, and problems that can occur when structures within the heart fail. Students design a prototype for a heart valve taking into consideration that the function of complex structures and systems depends on the composition and relationships among its parts. Students test and refine their prototypes.

• SF-M2. In Unit: Biomedical Engineering, Activities 2-5 and 7, students read background information about the heart, and problems that can occur when structures within the heart fail. Students design a prototype for a heart valve, and as students test and refine their prototypes, they consider how properties of different materials can impact how particular structures or designs function.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that the materials incorporate grade-band NGSS connections to Nature of Science (NOS) and Engineering (ENG). Connections are made within individual activities across the series.

Elements from each of the following categories are present:

• grade-band Nature of Science elements associated with SEPs

• grade-band Nature of Science elements associated with CCCs

• grade-band Engineering elements associated with CCCs

The materials incorporate connections to NOS elements associated with SEPs and are addressed in a range of units across the different science disciplines.

Examples of grade-band connections to NOS elements associated with SEPs present in the materials:

• BEE-M1. In Unit: Body Systems, Activity 1: The Pellagra Story, students complete an anticipatory activity identifying ideas about their understanding of experimentation, and view a video about an early physician's study of a disease called "Pellagra". Students distinguish between observation and inference statements about Pellagra, and identify the evidence collected and used by the doctor to make a conclusion about the nature of the disease. Finally, students are asked to reflect upon their willingness to join a clinical trial. This activity helps students understand that science knowledge is based upon logical connections between evidence and explanations when studying disease in people.

• OTR-M1. In Unit: Geologic Processes, Activity 13: The Theory of Plate Tectonics, students watch video segments on the history and development of the modern theory of plate tectonics. This activity demonstrates how scientific explanations may be revised or reinterpreted based on new evidence.

• ENP-M2: In Unit: Geologic Processes, Activity 13: The Theory of Plate Tectonics, students examine fossil and geological evidence used by Alfred Wegener supporting the idea of continental drift. Students consider Wegener’s theory did not account for how continents could have moved and discuss how additional information added to the theory as new technology allowed for scientists to view the bottom of the ocean floor. This helps students understand that science theories are based on the body of evidence that is developed over time. 

The materials incorporate connections to NOS elements associated with CCCs. The materials present these elements across the science disciplines. 

Examples of grade-band connections to NOS elements associated with CCCs present in the materials:

• WOK-M2: In Unit: From Cells to Organisms, Activity 14: Fighting Disease, students watch video segments on the discovery of penicillin. Students then connect the events in the video to other historic events in the unit as they relate the events in the video to the scientists and timelines in the student handout, Contributions to the Cell Theory and the Germ Theory of Disease. Students review how many scientists from different countries contributed to these two theories over a time span of 250 years. This activity helps students develop an understanding that science knowledge is cumulative and many people, from many generations and nations, have contributed to science knowledge.

• AOC-M1: In Unit: Geological Processes, Activity 12: The Continent Puzzle, students use a puzzle in the shape of the continents, with rock and fossil evidence, and rearrange the landmasses so that the shapes fit together. The rock and fossil evidence on one of the landmasses lines up with similar evidence on another landmass. Student theorize that the positions of the continents has changed over time and compare their puzzle to three past landmass arrangements. Students realize that their puzzle matches that of Pangea. This activity connects with the assumption that objects and events that occur in the natural world occur in consistent patterns that can be recognized through observation and measurement.

• HE-M4: In Unit: Body Systems, Activity 13: Investigation: Testing Medicines: A Clinical Trial, students simulate a clinical trial to investigate how medicines are tested. They are introduced to the need for a control group (placebo) and collect data to analyze for the success of the medicine. They consider the trade-offs of side-effects and make an argument with evidence about the safety and effectiveness of the "medication". This activity connects with the importance of careful, honest, and minimizing risk when using people in experimentation as well as helps students understand that advances in science influence advances in medicine.

• AQAW-M1: In Unit: Reproduction, Activity 14: Advising Joe, students develop a written email that explains Joe's situation (possibly has the gene for Marfan syndrome) and provide a recommendation for what he might do. Students summarize the information that they have learned about genetics and Marfan syndrome for their writings. The activity demonstrates how scientific knowledge can be used to provide consequences of actions but does not prescribe the decisions that an individual or society will make as a result of the scientific knowledge acquired.

The materials incorporate connections to ENG elements associated with CCCs. These elements are incorporated across all disciplines and are especially concentrated in activities that students solve engineering or design challenges.

Examples of grade-band connections to ENG elements associated with CCCs present in the materials:

• INTER-M3: In Unit: Geological Processes, Activity 7: Problem Solving: Observing Earth's Moving Surface, students learn how to analyze and interpret data from GPS measurements over time. They use this data to determine the rate and direction of tectonic plate movement. This activity does not explain the movements but shows students how technologies extend the measurement, exploration, and computational capacity of scientific investigations.

• INFLU-M2: In Unit: Bioengineering, Activity 3: Bionic Bodies, students read the passage, Bionic Bodies, to learn about different technologies designed to replace various body parts, including a prosthetic foot, an artificial heart, and an artificial pancreas. Students consider how the technology has or has not benefited the individual and also discuss the environmental consequences associated with developing these devices. This activity helps students develop an understanding that technologies are driven by needs and values but have limitations and can have environmental impacts. 

The materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations for providing teacher guidance with useful annotations and suggestions for how to enact the student and ancillary materials, with specific attention to engaging students in figuring out phenomena and solving problems.

The materials provide a comprehensive set of teacher support documentation with detailed instructions for teaching steps through every individual activity. The teaching steps include actions to take with students in facilitating the activities and additional prompts/suggestions for navigating student discourse through each step. In addition to the teaching steps and notes provided, the teaching materials include all appropriate supplemental documents to support instruction for each activity, including student worksheets, supplemental reference materials for student activities, and slide presentations. 

The “Activity Overview” section in the teacher materials for each activity includes a summary of NGSS connections and correlations, a summary of what students do in the activity, a hyperlinked list of instructional materials for the activity (including slides, required physical materials, and student worksheets), and a Teaching Summary identifying actions to be taken to teach the lesson. 

The “Teaching Steps” section of the teacher materials for each activity in the unit includes a more detailed and comprehensive explanation of actions to be taken to support instruction within that activity and includes references to where each step falls within the 5 components of the SEPUP Unit Design (Issue-Oriented Approach, Curriculum Design for NGSS, Active Student Learning, Comprehensive Teacher Support, and Assessment). This section also incorporates possible student misconceptions and suggestions for how to address them, suggestions for guiding conversation with students, general teaching tips for modeling/explaining effective work strategies for the students, and hyperlinked references to both student and curriculum documents that support the individual activities. Examples include:

• In Unit: Chemical Reactions, Activity 6: Comparing the Masses of Reactants and Products, Teaching Step 3e, teachers are provided with explicit suggestions for how to connect the activity to the next activity and to the phenomena. “Point out to students that in this activity, they are observing the conservation of mass on a measurable scale; and in the “Explaining Conservation of Mass” activity, they will investigate this phenomenon on an atomic/molecular scale. Point out the measuring mass before and after a reaction can only be done if the system includes all reactants and products. An open beaker is not a complete reaction system if gaseous reactants or products can enter and/or leave the system.”

• In Unit: Ecology, Activity 7: Coughing Up Clues, Do the Activity, Teaching Step 2c provides a suggestion to help students reconstruct rodent skeletons found in an owl pellet. “Project Visual Aid 7.1, ‘Vole Skeleton’, to help students reconstruct the skeletons. Explain that voles are a species of small rodents. They are sometimes called field mice, but voles have shorter tails and stockier bodies than true mice. Small rodents such as mice and voles are the chief prey of owls.” “Consider distributing Student Sheet 7.1, ‘Owl Pellet Dichotomous Key,’ for students to identify the types of small mammals eaten by the owls. Students may complete this identification in pairs or individually. Explain that dichotomous means divided into two parts, and dichotomous keys always include two choices in each step. The key gives students a series of choices that will lead them to the correct animal skull.”

A “Quick Start” section is also available for every unit and provides a broad overview of both the general teaching steps and resources for the unit and a hyperlinked list of references that summarizes the individual components of instructions and activities that make up the unit as a whole. The “Unit Overview” document within this list provides a comprehensive summary of the individual activities within the unit and a description of each activity, topics covered, a list of items for advance preparation, assignments, and an approximate number of teaching periods the activity should take.

The materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations for containing adult-level explanations and examples of the more complex grade/course-level concepts and concepts beyond the current course so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject.

The materials provide background information for teachers in two locations. On the SEPUP website, each unit has a resource page, sorted by activity, that provides brief descriptions and links to a variety of external resources with background information related to the science content in the activity. Within the Issues and Science Portal, under Activity Resources, there is a section titled Background Information which provides information specific to the activity. These resources do not exist for every activity, but they do exist for many activities and sufficiently support teachers in building their understanding of complex concepts and expected student practices both within the current course and beyond. 

Examples of supports provided for teachers to develop their own understanding of more advanced, grade-level concepts and expected student practices:

• On the Issues and Science Portal page for each unit, within the Quick Start and Quick References Tab, under the Additional Resources heading, there is an “Issues in Science and SEPUP Website: Teacher Link.” This resource provides a variety of additional links to external resources related to the unit, organized by activity, and with a short description of the resource. Some of the resources are student facing, but many are teacher facing and provide information for teachers to build their knowledge both within the current course and beyond the grade-level expectation. 

  • In Unit: From Cells to Organisms, Activity 3: Evidence of Microscopic Organisms, there is a link to a TeacherTube video that is recommended “if it has been awhile since you used a microscope, you may wish to use the video to review the care and use of a microscope.” This helps teachers develop their own understanding of student practices within the current course. 

• Within some activities, under the Activities Resources tab, there is a section labeled “Background Information.” This section provides background information on the science content within the activity and is information teachers can use to build their knowledge both within the current course and beyond the grade-level expectation. 

  • In Unit: Land, Water, and Human Interactions, Activity 2: Does it Dissolve, there is Background Information about solubility and water that is on grade level, as well a information that is beyond grade level, including that “in a water molecule, two atoms of hydrogen are covalently bonded to an oxygen atom at 120-degree angle” and “as liquid water travels through the water cycle, its polar nature is conducive to dissolving the minerals and trace elements it encounters on Earth’s surface.”

Examples of supports provided for teachers to develop their own understanding of concepts beyond the current course:

• In Unit: Body Systems, Activity 10: Gas Exchange, within the Activity Resources tab, there is Background Information that explains the chemistry behind how the bromothymol blue indicator works, as well as providing additional information about cellular respiration.

• In Unit: Earth’s Resources, Activity 4: Per Capita Consumption, within the Additional Resources heading, there is a link to the World Resources Institute Data (https://datasets.wri.org/) where teachers can “Find featured data sets on topics such as water and forests. Download a pdf to read a factsheet and see more detailed maps.” 

• In Unit: Fields and Interactions, Activity 2: The Apollo Missions, within the Additional Resources heading, there is a link to a Youtube video that “shows how the Crawler-Transporter is able to move rockets from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launchpad.”

The materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations for including standards correlation information, including connections to college- and career-ready ELA and mathematics standards, that explains the role of the standards in the context of the overall series.

Standards correlation information for the NGSS and CCSS is provided in several locations within the Teacher Edition materials at both the unit and activity level. Explanations of the role of the standards in the context of the overall series are provided within the Teacher Edition. NGSS-specific context is also provided within the Teaching Steps for activities, as appropriate. This information is indicated with an icon that links directly to the Teacher Resource page providing additional detail about how SEPs and CCCs are integrated within the program. The Teaching Steps themselves also offer support for the teacher to introduce the SEP/CCC to the students at that time in the activity. Explanations of the role of ELA and mathematics standards are also present within the materials. The Teacher Edition of each unit provides a description of how the ELA and mathematics standards are utilized within the unit along with a table that identifies the activities where each standard is addressed.

Examples of correlations specific to NGSS:

• In the Teacher Edition, NGSS Overview document for each unit, there is a list of the performance expectations (PEs) addressed in the unit as well as a table listing each activity, a description of each activity, and the connected DCIs, SEPs, and CCCs for that activity. The dimensions are listed at the component, rather than the element, level. 

• In the Teacher Edition, NGSS Correlations document for each unit, there is a table that lists each addressed DCI/SEP/CCC for the unit, along with element language for all addressed elements and the activity numbers where that particular element is addressed. 

• In the Teacher Edition, Activity Overview for each activity, there is an NGSS Correlations document that lists the PEs addressed in the activity (indicating if students are ‘working toward’ or ‘applying’ the PE) and then lists the particular element being addressed in the activity. 

• In the Teacher Edition, NGSS Learning Pathways document for each PE, grouped by unit, connections between the NGSS standards and CCSS standards are shown as related to that particular PE.

Examples of explanations of the role of NGSS standards in correlations in context of the series:

• In Teacher Resources, Issues and Science Designed for 3D learning, is a description of the role SEPs and CCCs play in the program based on the Framework. 

• In the Teacher Edition, the Teaching Steps for each activity contains teacher guidance on how to introduce or embed a particular CCC/SEP within the activity. For example, in Unit: Energy, Activity 2: Drive a Nail, Teaching Step 5, teacher guidance is provided on how to introduce the CCCs of Patterns and Cause and Effect. 

Examples of correlations specific to college-and-career ready standards in ELA and Mathematics:

• In the Teacher Edition, NGSS Overview document for each unit, a table is provided that lists each activity and the connected NGSS and CCSS that are addressed for that activity. This information is also provided in the Teacher Resources, NGSS Overviews, and NGSS Correlation Tables document. 

• In the Teacher Edition, Common Core State Standards Correlations Document for each unit, is a table that lists connected categories for ELA and mathematics, including specific standards language and the activities that address each standard. This information is also provided in the Teacher Resources, Common Core State Standards Correlations document.

• In the Teacher Edition, Activity Overview for each activity, there is an NGSS Correlations document that lists the CCSS language for ELA and mathematics standards that are addressed in the activity.

• In the Teacher Edition, NGSS Learning Pathways document for each PE, grouped by unit, connections between the NGSS standards and CCSS standards are shown as related to that particular PE.

Examples of explanations of the role of the specific grade-level/grade-band ELA and Mathematics:

• In the Teacher Edition, Common Core State Standards: Connections and Correlations document for each unit, a description titled “Making Connections in ELA” or “Making Connections in Mathematics” is provided detailing how students engage with the ELA and mathematics standards present in the unit. For example, in Unit: Chemistry of Materials, part of the description for the ELA standards states, “ Students also collaboratively discuss and come to consensus on the central ideas in the text (RST.6-8.2), relating them to the concept of scale, proportion, and quantity and how this information relates to what they have investigated in previous activities. In the final activity of the unit, students synthesize their understanding of chemistry concepts related to various materials by integrating technical information from text with diagrams in a reading as well as with models, diagrams, and other visual representations from previous activities (RST.6-8.7).”

• In the Teacher Resources, NGSS and Common Core, Common Core State Standards: Connections and Correlations document, explanations and correlation information for ELA and mathematics standards is provided. This information is identical to that provided in the Teacher Edition for each unit. Headings within the document indicate the different units.

The materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations for providing explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research-based strategies.

The materials fully explain the instructional approaches of the program including an overview, individual lesson routines, alignment to CCCs, SEPs, and DCIs, and assessments. All materials are research based and include citation pages in each section of the teacher resources. 

The Teacher Resource Binder, also available digitally within the Issues and Science Portal, is divided into five sections which provide explanations of the instructional approaches of the program. Part 1 explains how the curriculum uses an issue oriented approach with guiding questions to guide learning. Part 2 describes alignment with the NGSS, DCIs, CCCs, and SEPs. Part 3 provides a comprehensive list of student learning routines and protocols used within the curriculum. Lastly, Part 4 outlines comprehensive teacher supports and Part 5 provides assessment overviews. Each section of the Teacher Resources also provides citations and the associated research. For example:

• In Teacher Resources, Curriculum Design for NGSS, within the Issues and Science: Designed for Three-Dimensional Learning section, the materials state “SEPUP strove to align its changes in teacher practice with the vision of the Framework and the NGSS, a process described by DeBarger and colleagues (2017) as bringing ‘existing materials into alignment with new visions for science learning by adding to, adapting, or transforming’ them (p. 4).” A full citation of the reference is included in the Citations section.

In Teacher Resources, Comprehensive Teacher Support, within the Student Sensemaking section about Driving Question Boards, the materials state “In the first few activities of each unit, the teacher works with students to establish a Driving Questions Board, which allows students to connect their own ideas and questions to the anchoring phenomenon and unit issue. Connecting the unit content to students’ interests and experiences engages students and creates a shared sense of purpose (Weizman, Shwartz, & Fortus, 2008, 2010)." A full citation of the reference is included in the Citations section.

The materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations for including a comprehensive list of supplies needed to support instructional activities.

All units contain a materials list at the beginning of each unit and each activity. A comprehensive list of the contents for each materials kit drawer for each unit of the program are found on the Issues and Science Portal, Teacher Content main page. The Teacher Resource Binder and online platform contain Overview Tables for each unit that list several descriptors for each activity including any advanced preparation needed. Specific materials needed for each activity are also provided through a Materials Provided in the Kit document, available in each unit, and in the Activity Overview for each activity.

Examples of lists of supplies needed at the unit and activity level:

• In Unit: Body Systems, the Quick References section includes a link titled Equipment Refill Lists which takes users to the page on the Lab-Aids website where refill kits can be ordered for each unit.

• In Unit: Chemistry of Materials, the Quick Reference section includes a link titled Materials Provided in the Kit. This document lists the materials provided by the kit and the materials not provided by the kit, as well as any solution preparations. The drawer number, quantity, and appropriate activity number for each material is also provided. The online link for this document only lists the materials provided by the kit.

• In Unit: Force and Motion, Activity 6: Changing Direction, the Activity Overview tab includes a section titled Materials and Advanced Preparation where information is provided regarding materials the teacher will need as well as the materials for each group of four students and individual students. This includes any kit materials as well as links to documents like Student Sheets and Visual Aids.

The materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations for embedding clear science safety guidelines for teachers and students across the instructional materials.

Safety information is provided in both the student materials and teacher materials at the activity level where appropriate. A few instances exist where safety guidance is provided in teacher materials but not student materials. Appendix B of the student materials also includes Safety Guidelines and a Safety Contract that teachers may use if they do not have a local version. It is important to note that teachers should always locate and adhere to local policies and regulations related to science safety in the classroom. 

In the Teacher Edition, Activity Overview, Materials and Advanced Preparation Section (per activity as applicable), is a Safety Note. Safety Notes are found in bold, red print and contain activity-specific safety measures to be taken, including appropriate PPE, disposal of materials, and response to hazardous materials exposure. Introductory unit activities requiring a Safety Note also include general guidance to develop a safety plan. “Develop a classroom safety plan. Review any safety materials provided by your district. Select the safety contract and guidelines you will use in this course, either developing your own, using those provided by your district, or using Student Sheet 1.2, ‘Guidelines for Safety in the Science Classroom.’ Copy the materials for each student. Students can find ‘Science Safety Guidelines’ in Appendix B: Science Safety in the Student Book.”

In the Student Book, within the materials section for each activity, SAFETY is found in red, bold letters if the activity contains a safety consideration. This section contains guidance regarding proper PPE and other precautions along with a reminder to report any accidents to the teacher. Appendix B contains Science Safety Guidelines with information regarding proper behavior and procedures before, during, and after an investigation. 

Examples of activity-level science safety guidelines:

• In Unit: Chemical Reactions, Activity 1: Producing Circuit Boards, the student materials advise, “Wear chemical splash goggles at all times during this lab investigation. Do not allow solutions to touch your skin or clothing. Clean up any spills immediately. If accidental contact occurs, inform your teacher and rinse any exposed areas. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after you finish the activity.” 

• In Unit: Ecology, Activity 7: Coughing Up Clues, the Teacher Activity Overview states, “If you haven’t already, develop a classroom safety plan. Review any safety materials provided by your district. Select the safety contract and guidelines that you will use in this course - either developing your own, using those provided by your district, or using Student Sheet 7.2, ‘Guidelines for Safety in the Science Classroom.’ Owl pellets used for classroom dissections have been thoroughly heat treated to eliminate biohazards to students. Even so, instruct students to wash or sanitize their hands after completing the investigation.” The corresponding student materials state, “Wash or sanitize your hands when you finish the investigation.”

• In Unit: Weather and Climate, Activity 8: Investigating Water, the safety notes in the Activity Overview from the Teacher Guide states, “This activity requires water that might be hot enough to cause scalding of the skin and pain to students. Tell students to be especially careful when pouring the warm water.” No safety guidance is provided in the student materials.