6th to 8th Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that materials provide opportunities for students to fully learn and develop nearly all associated elements of the grade-band Physical Science Disciplinary Core Ideas.

Across the program, the materials include nearly all associated elements of the grade-band Physical Science DCIs. Physical Science DCI elements are distributed throughout Grades 6-8, providing students with multiple opportunities to develop grade-band understanding. Learning opportunities also build on prior learning as students revisit and apply related physical science concepts across units and grade levels. One grade-band Physical Science DCI element is not present in the materials. 

Examples of Physical Science DCI elements associated with the grade-band performance expectations that are present in the materials:

• PS1.A-M3: In Grade 6, Unit 6.2, Lesson 6: How can we explain the effect of a lid on what happens to the liquid in the cup over time?, students explore the arrangement of molecules in water and water vapor in the cup system. At the end of the lesson, students update their Progress Trackers to represent their understanding of the arrangement of molecules.

• PS1.A-M4: In Grade 6, Unit 6.2, Lesson 6: How can we explain the effect of a lid on what happens to the liquid in the cup over time?, students update their Progress Trackers to show that liquids, gases, and solids are made of particles of matter. Students represent that particles in a gas have a lot of space between them, while particles in liquids and solids do not, and that particles in liquids and gases can move around freely while particles in solids cannot.

• PS1.B-M1: In Grade 7, Unit 7.1, Lesson 12: How can a new substance (a gas) be produced and the total mass of the closed system not change?, students update the class consensus model to show that all atoms in the reactants are also present in the products after a chemical reaction. Students connect the chemical reaction and rearrangement of atoms to changes in properties.

• PS3.D-M1: In Grade 7, Unit 7.4, Lesson 9: Where do the food molecules in the maple tree come from?, students use a model showing the inputs and outputs of photosynthesis to develop an initial explanation for why sugar is found in maple trees.

• PS3.A-M2: In Grade 8, Unit 8.1, Lesson 8: Why do things sometimes get damaged when they hit each other?, students annotate a model to identify where stored potential energy and kinetic energy are present in a launcher, cart, box, and track system.

Physical Science DCI elements associated with the grade-band performance expectations that are not present in the materials:

• PS4.B-M3: In Grade 8, Unit 8.4: Earth in Space, students do not have an opportunity to use a wave model to explain brightness, color, and the frequency-dependent bending of light at a surface between media.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that materials provide opportunities for students to fully learn and develop all associated elements of the grade-band Life Science Disciplinary Core Ideas.

Across the program, the materials include all associated elements of the grade-band Life Science DCIs. Opportunities to develop the Life Science DCI elements are distributed across the grade band, including one life science unit in Grade 6, three units in Grade 7, and two units in Grade 8.

Examples of Life Science DCI elements associated with the grade-band performance expectations that are present in the materials:

• LS1.A-M1: In Grade 6, Unit 6.6, Lesson 6: What will we see if we look at skin, bone, and muscle with the microscope, too?, students view slides of human skin, bone, and muscle. Students participate in a consensus discussion about how the structures of cells that make up different parts of the body support functions in the body.

• LS1.A-M2: In Grade 6, Unit 6.6, Lesson 11: How do cells get what they need to grow?, students plan an investigation to determine how substances can move into and out of cells. Students observe onion cells using microscopes, add salt water and plain water to the onion skin, and observe changes in the cells. Students use their observations to construct an explanation about changes to the onion cells in the presence of salt water and plain water.

• LS1.D-M1: In Grade 7, Unit 7.1, Lesson 13: Why do different substances have different odors and how do we detect them?, students carry out an investigation using the scents of different substances to determine whether the substances can be identified by their odors. Students gather information from a text about how sensory receptors inside the nose send signals to the brain and use evidence from the investigation and text to explain why different substances have different odors and how they are detected.

• LS2.A-M1, LS2.A-M2, LS2.A-M3, LS2.A-M4: In Grade 7, Unit 7.5, Lesson 11: How does planting oil palm affect other populations?, students develop models of the oil palm system and rainforest system and discuss similarities and differences. Students use the models to discuss how populations compete for living and nonliving resources and how changes in resource availability and population sizes can affect other populations of organisms.

• LS3.A-M1: In Grade 8, Unit 8.5, Lesson 12: Do plants have genetic material?, students watch a video of someone isolating genetic material from animal cells and plan an investigation to determine whether they can isolate the same material from strawberry cells. Students carry out the investigation and discuss the results, identifying patterns in the data and determining that plants, like animals, have genetic material within their cells.

• LS4.C-M1: In Grade 8, Unit 8.6, Lesson 12: Can our model explain changes over really long periods of time?, students read about changes in the environment and update their model to account for changes in horses' toes over time. Students also read about the body structures of horseshoe crabs and use the model to explain why their body structures have remained the same over time.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that materials provide opportunities for students to fully learn and develop nearly all associated elements of the grade-band Earth and Space Science Disciplinary Core Ideas.

Across the program, the materials include nearly all associated elements of the grade-band Earth and Space Science DCIs. Opportunities to develop the Earth and Space Science DCI elements are distributed across the grade band, including three units in Grade 6, two units in Grade 7, and one unit in Grade 8. One grade-band Earth and Space Science DCI element is not present in the materials.

Examples of Earth and Space Science DCI elements associated with the grade-band performance expectations that are present in the materials:

• ESS1.A-M2: In Grade 8, Unit 8.4, Lesson 16: What patterns and phenomena are beyond our solar system that we cannot see with just our eyes?, students analyze images and video of the solar system and universe. Students analyze evidence showing that the solar system is part of the Milky Way Galaxy.

• ESS1.B-M2: In Grade 8, Unit 8.4, Lesson 5: How can we explain phenomena like Manhattanhenge?, students observe the phenomenon of the Sun aligning with streets in New York City. Students create a model that includes Earth's motion over the course of a year, its tilt, and its rotation.

• ESS2.C-M1: In Grade 6, Unit 6.3, Lesson 9: Why don't we see clouds everywhere in the air, and what is a cloud made of?, students conduct an investigation about the formation of frost. Students construct an explanation about the motion of molecules at the surface of a cold pack and relate their observations to the formation of ice crystals in clouds.

• ESS2.D-M1: In Grade 6, Unit 6.3, Lesson 10: Why do clouds or storms form at some times but not others?, students use a simulation to manipulate variables such as temperature and humidity and observe the type and size of storms that form as the variables change. Students create a model and construct an argument to explain how weather and storms can form and change when variables on the planet change.

• ESS3.C-M1: In Grade 7, Unit 7.5, Lesson 2: Can we replace palm oil with something else?, students watch a video describing the use of palm oil in products that humans need or want. Students discuss alternatives and the need for farming to produce these products and describe effects on the planet and species when areas are farmed.

• ESS3.D-M1: In Grade 7, Unit 7.6, Lesson 11: Why could burning fossil fuels create a problem for CO2 in the atmosphere?, students use and modify a carbon system model to justify why burning fossil fuels increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Earth and Space Science DCI elements associated with the grade-band performance expectations that are not present in the materials:

• ESS2.C-M4: Students do not have an opportunity to develop the understanding that variations in density due to variations in temperature and salinity drive a global pattern of interconnected ocean currents.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that materials provide opportunities for students to fully learn and develop all associated elements of the grade-band Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science Disciplinary Core Ideas.

Across the program, the materials include all associated elements of the grade-band Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science DCIs. Opportunities to develop these DCI elements occur primarily in units that include engineering design activities and are present in at least one unit in each grade level. In some instances, students develop the full DCI element across multiple lessons.

Examples of Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science DCI elements associated with the grade-band performance expectations that are present in the materials:

• ETS1.A-M1: In Grade 8, Unit 8.1, Lesson 11: What can we design to better protect objects in a collision?, students develop a list of criteria and constraints for a device designed to protect an object from damage. Students gather feedback on their proposed designs and discuss as a class criteria and constraints that could apply across designs.

• ETS1.B-M1: In Grade 6, Unit 6.2: Thermal Energy, Lessons 16 and 17, students test their cup systems. Each design group shares its data with the class, and students discuss how well each design meets the criteria and constraints. Design groups then modify their designs and explain how the changes should improve performance.

• ETS1.B-M2: In Grade 6, Unit 6.5, Lesson 5: How can we reduce damage from a tsunami wave?, students watch videos of various solutions for protecting the community of Ryoshi from a tsunami and evaluate and rank the solutions based on criteria and constraints. As a class, students discuss disagreements and determine which criteria and constraints to prioritize when selecting a solution.

• ETS1.B-M3: In Grade 8, Unit 8.1, Lesson 14: How can we use our science ideas and other societal wants and needs to refine our designs?, students design and test a protective device. Students conduct additional tests of different protective materials and how they reduce peak forces, reevaluate the criteria and constraints, and collect stakeholder feedback. Teams use the information to design a solution that better meets stakeholder needs.

• ETS1.B-M4: In Grade 7, Unit 7.2, Lesson 6: How can we redesign our homemade flameless heater?, students use data collected over several lessons to draw and describe plans for their flameless heater. Students then build and test a prototype.

• ETS1.C-M1: In Grade 7, Unit 7.2, Lesson 7: How did our design compare to others in the class?, teams share their flameless heater designs and give and receive feedback. Students use a design testing matrix to record promising design ideas and how each design performed in relation to the criteria and constraints.

The materials reviewed for Grades 6–8 meet expectations that materials provide opportunities for students to fully learn and develop all grade-band Science and Engineering Practices.

Across the program, the materials incorporate all eight Science and Engineering Practices and nearly all associated grade-band elements. For each practice, students have multiple and repeated opportunities to engage with the elements across grade levels and contexts. In some instances, students use multiple elements together and develop aspects of each. Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions is incorporated throughout the series, with CEDS-M4 appearing most frequently. Within Developing and Using Models, MOD-M5 is the most common element and is present in every unit. DATA-M4 and ARG-M3 also appear multiple times across all grade levels. Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking occurs less frequently than the other Science and Engineering Practices. One grade-band element, MATH-M3, is not present in the materials.

Examples of claimed grade-band SEP elements present in the materials:

• AQDP-M3: In Grade 7, Unit 7.6, Lesson 13: Why is solving the climate change problem so challenging?, students observe data about carbon in the atmosphere and generate questions about what could be causing some of the variables to exist and change.

• MOD-M5: In Grade 8, Unit 8.6, Lesson 13: Can we apply the General Model for Natural Selection over millions of years to explain how all the ancient and modern penguins are connected?, students develop a model of the common ancestry of penguins based on differences in body structures. Students expand their model to incorporate more modern penguins and then create a simplified version by replacing the dots with lines to construct a branching diagram.

• INV-M5: In Grade 6, Unit 6.2, Lesson 4: How does a lid affect what happens to the liquid in the cup?, students plan and carry out two investigations to determine the effect of a lid on the temperature and mass of hot liquid in a cup. Students make changes to their procedures based on how the lid affects the variables of temperature and mass.

• DATA-M4: In Grade 7, Unit 7.4, Lesson 10: Why don’t plants die at night?, students analyze data about changes in the levels of gases around plant leaves in the dark. Students monitor changes in carbon dioxide and relative humidity around spinach leaves in a closed system and then analyze and interpret a data set showing changes in the levels of oxygen, water, and carbon dioxide around dandelion leaves in the dark.

• MATH-M2: In Grade 8, Unit 8.2, Lesson 4: How do the vibrations of the sound source compare for louder versus softer sounds?, students use a motion detector to create graphs representing soft and loud sounds. Students also use a simulation to graph the motion of a speaker as it produces sounds and identify patterns among four graphs to determine the characteristics of waves.

• CEDS-M2: In Grade 6, Unit 6.1, Lesson 5: How do light and one-way mirrors interact to cause the one-way mirror phenomenon?, students create individual models to explain how the teacher can see the music student while the music student cannot see the teacher. Students use evidence from previous lessons to support what they represent in their models.

• ARG-M4: In Grade 7, Unit 7.2, Lesson 7: How did our design compare to others in the class?, students compare their instructions and designs with those of two other teams to provide and receive feedback. Students annotate the feedback and use it to inform revisions to their designs.

• INFO-M2: In Grade 8, Unit 8.5, Lesson 2: How do extra-big muscles compare to typical ones up close?, students integrate information from pictures, videos, and an article to describe and explain the reasons for muscle variations in animals.

A grade-band element of Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking not present in the materials:

• MATH-M3: Create algorithms, or a series of ordered steps, to solve a problem.

The materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that materials provide opportunities for students to fully learn and develop all claimed grade-band Crosscutting Concepts.

Across the program, the materials incorporate all Crosscutting Concepts across the grade band. For each concept, students have multiple and repeated opportunities to engage with grade-band elements across units and contexts. Elements of Patterns occur frequently across all three grade levels, with PAT-M3 and PAT-M4 used most frequently. All grade-band elements of Cause and Effect are present across all three grade levels. These opportunities support students in developing and using the Crosscutting Concepts throughout the program, consistent with the indicator expectation that students repeatedly use grade-band CCCs across various contexts.

Examples of claimed grade-band CCC elements present in the materials:

• PAT-M2. In Grade 8, Unit 8.4, Lesson 4: How do these changes in sunlight impact us here on Earth?, students use data collected during an investigation to create a numerical relationship using an energy graph to explain seasonal temperature differences as a result of Earth's tilt and solar elevation.

• CE-M1. In Grade 7, Unit 7.6, Lesson 10: What is happening in the world to cause the sharp rise in CO2?, students identify a correlation between rising populations, increased fossil fuel use, and rising CO2 levels. Students further explore the causal relationship between fossil fuel use and CO2 emissions by burning a fuel source and tracing the products that are given off.

• SPQ-M3. In Grade 6, Unit 6.4, Lesson 12: Where did mountains that aren't at plate boundaries today, like the Appalachians and Urals, come from?, students use ideas of proportional relationships as they describe the formation of mountain ranges and volcanoes over time.

• SYS-M1. In Grade 6, Unit 6.6, Lesson 12: How do structures and systems work together to heal the injury?, students develop explanations for how healing works in the human body. Students share their explanations with partners and participate in a consensus discussion about healing, including how the body's systems work together to heal injuries.

• EM-M2. In Grade 7, Unit 7.3: Metabolic Reactions, Lessons 10 and 11, students conduct an investigation in which they observe a wick burning in oil and update their progress trackers with information about the reduction in matter as a result of a chemical reaction. Students continue the investigation to determine that when food is burned, a chemical reaction takes place that releases energy and produces CO2 and H2O vapor.

• SF-M2. In Grade 8, Unit 8.1, Lesson 13: How (and why) does the structure of a cushioning material affect the peak forces produced in a collision?, students share descriptions of cross-sections of structures of the top force-reducing materials investigated in a previous lesson. Students then make scaled-up versions of some structures using rectangles of plastic formed into rings and test various structures to determine how their structures affect cushioning ability.

• SC-M1. In Grade 8, Unit 8.6: Natural Selection & Common Ancestry, Lessons 7 and 8, students examine structures of an assigned organism and analyze trait variations. Students investigate what caused the population of their organism to change over time and share their findings with the class. The class co-constructs a model showing how environmental interactions can provide a competitive advantage for some traits, how those traits are passed to future generations, and how these changes result in different trait distributions in subsequent generations.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that materials present Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs), Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), and Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) in a way that is scientifically accurate. Across the program, the teacher materials, student materials, and assessments accurately represent the three dimensions and are free from scientific inaccuracies.

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 (DCIs). Across the program, the materials consistently incorporate student learning opportunities to learn and use the DCIs appropriate to the Grades 6-8 grade-band.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that materials incorporate NGSS Connections to Nature of Science and Engineering. Across the program, grade-band NGSS Connections to Nature of Science and Engineering are included within learning opportunities from all three categories: Nature of Science elements associated with Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), Nature of Science elements associated with Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs), and Engineering elements associated with CCCs.

Across the series, these connections occur throughout the grade levels and across multiple units. Some connections are limited to certain grades or occur infrequently. The materials include all elements of Human Endeavor (HE), although these are predominantly present in Grades 7 and 8. The materials include one of the three Addressing Questions About the Natural and Material World (AQAW) elements, with the element present primarily in Grades 7 and 8.

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

• NOS-VOM-M2. In Grade 7, Unit 7.3: Metabolic Reactions, Lessons 2-4, students investigate the digestive systems of a healthy individual and a sick individual to determine what is happening in the sick individual. Students make observations of endoscopy images, analyze graphs showing food molecules as they travel through different portions of the small intestine, and use dialysis tubing to model the small intestine. Students gather additional information throughout the unit and use the evidence to refine their ideas about why one individual is sick.

• NOS-BEE-M1. In Grade 6, Unit 6.5, Lesson 2: Where do tsunamis happen and what causes them?, students analyze patterns in global tsunami data and compare the locations of earthquakes with those that cause tsunamis. Students use the evidence to connect tsunamis to earthquakes in specific locations and explain what causes most tsunamis.

• NOS-OTR-M1. In Grade 7, Unit 7.1: Chemical Reactions and Matter, Lessons 1-4, students observe store-bought and homemade bath bombs in water and develop initial models and explanations of their observations. Students plan and carry out investigations in open and closed systems and test individual bath bomb components. Students then discuss and revise their explanations based on the new evidence they gather.

• NOS-ENP-M4. In Grade 8, Unit 8.3, Lesson 7: How does changing the distance between two magnets affect the amount of energy transferred out of the field?, students write a hypothesis to guide an investigation of changes in energy transfer when a cart is moved various distances from a magnet. Students identify a mechanism to test and a cause-and-effect relationship that can be observed.

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

• NOS-WOK-M3. In Grade 7, Unit 7.5, Lesson 14: Are there ways people can grow food without harming the tropical rainforest?, students read about ways farmers grow crops while limiting harm to local ecosystems. Students identify differences between these approaches and large-scale monocropping and consider how the approaches can benefit different parts of an ecosystem, including insects, birds, and mammals.

• NOS-AOC-M2. In Grade 6, Unit 6.2, Lesson 14: Does our evidence support that cold is leaving the system or that heat is entering the system?, students use evidence from prior investigations to determine what they have learned and support or refute prior findings. Students identify anomalies in the data and revise and retest conditions.

• NOS-HE-M1. In Grade 8, Unit 8.6, Lesson 1: How could penguins and other things living today be connected to the things that lived long ago?, students are introduced to scientists from different backgrounds, including researcher Ali Altamirano and paleontologist Julia Clarke. Students use the information from a podcast and its transcript to learn how they figured out where ancient penguins and other organisms went and how they’re connected to species living today.

• NOS-AQAW-M1. In Grade 8, Unit 8.4, Lesson 16: What patterns and phenomena are beyond our solar system that we cannot see with just our eyes?, students build on observations of the solar system from earlier lessons by viewing images from the Hubble Telescope and the Tour of the Universe video. Students gather information and make connections among objects in space at different scales.

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

• ENG-INTER-M2. In Grade 7, Unit 7.2, Lesson 6: How can we redesign our homemade flameless heater?, students revise models of their flameless heaters to represent energy transfer and use their understanding of energy transfer to inform improvements to their designs.

• ENG-INFLU-M2. In Grade 8, Unit 8.5, Lesson 9: How do farmers control the variation in their animals?, students analyze information about technologies used in genetic breeding to predetermine certain traits. Students consider and discuss reasons these technologies may be useful.

The materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that materials support understanding of how the dimensions connect across contexts.

Across the program, explicit descriptions of how the dimensions connect across contexts are present. Learning builds within units from lesson to lesson as students work to explain an Anchoring Phenomenon or solve a Design Challenge. The teacher materials provide a Unit Overview that shows how each unit connects to other units within the series in the scope and sequence. Additionally, the Unit Overviews provide a Storyline that shows how lessons build and connect across the unit. Within each lesson, the Teacher Edition addresses what was covered in the previous lesson, except for the first lesson of each unit, as well as the current and next lessons. The lesson-level Teacher Edition also includes a Where We Are Going and Where We Are NOT Going section that provides the intentions for the lesson in the context of the Storyline, as well as boundaries and connections to other learning in the series. Teachers are frequently prompted to refer to the Anchoring Phenomenon or Design Challenge throughout the lessons as they follow the Storyline for each unit. Teachers support students in making connections between lessons through reminders and task directions related to the unit-level phenomenon or problem.

Examples of student learning experiences that demonstrate how the dimensions connect across contexts and are made explicit:

• In Grade 6, Unit 6.4: Plate Tectonics & Rock Cycling, the phenomenon is that Mt. Everest is getting taller and moving yearly to the northeast. In Lessons 1-9, students read an article about the growth and movement of Mt. Everest. Students develop a model to explain colliding plates and plates that spread apart (DCI-ESS1.C-M2, SEP-MOD-M5). Students build a causal chain (CCC-CE-M3) of the processes occurring that are related to the surface of the Earth changing. In Lessons 10-14, students look at various forms of data from the past, including fossil evidence and plate movement, to explain the change to the Earth’s surface over time (SEP-DATA-M4, SEP-CEDS-M3, CCC-SC-M3, DCI-ESS2.B-M1, and DCI-ESS2.C-M2). Throughout the unit, each lesson builds to the next, with the teacher supporting students in making connections between lessons through reminders and task directions related to the unit-level phenomenon.

• In Grade 7, Unit 7.1: Chemical Reactions and Matter, the phenomenon is that gas is released when a bath bomb is dropped into water. In Lessons 1-6, students observe the chemical reaction of a bath bomb. Students create initial models and plan and conduct investigations (SEP-INV-M1, SEP-INV-M2) to determine ingredients and possible substances in bath bombs (SEP-DATA-M1, DCI-PS1.B-M1, DCI-PS1.B-M2, and CCC-EM-M1). Students continue to revise models and add particle motion to models. Students conduct investigations to determine how new substances are created and the process of energy moving into and out of the system. Students read about early models of atoms and molecules (SEP-ARG-M2, CCC-SPQ-M1). In Lessons 7-14, students revisit the Anchoring Phenomenon and explain what is happening with the bath bomb using products and reactants (DCI-PS1.B-M2, CCC-CE-M1). Students investigate odors and how different odors can be detected due to molecules. Students apply their chemical reactions model to construct an argument about what is happening to the Taj Mahal chemically (DCI-PS1.B-M1, SEP-CEDS-M2). Throughout the unit, each lesson builds to the next, with the teacher supporting students in making connections between lessons through reminders and task directions related to the unit-level phenomenon.

• In Grade 8, Unit 8.5: Genetics, Lessons 1-10, students develop initial models (SEP-MOD-M5) to explain the causes of some animals having extra-big muscles while others have normal-sized muscles. Students figure out how muscles typically develop as a result of environmental factors such as exercise and diet (DCI-LS1.B-M4, CCC-CE-M2). Students discover patterns (CCC-PAT-M4) in pedigrees and chromosomes that determine the physical traits of living things. In Lessons 11-17, students obtain and evaluate information from farmers, breeders, and research scientists (SEP-INFO-M1). Students observe the role humans often have in selecting for certain trait variations (DCI-LS4.B-M2) and explain how environmental and genetic factors affect organisms’ growth depending on the trait. Students investigate plant reproduction and how traits are passed on through asexual reproduction (CCC-SF-M2, DCI-LS1.B-M3, and SEP-INV-M2). Throughout the unit, each lesson builds to the next, with the teacher supporting students in making connections between lessons through reminders and task directions related to the phenomena.

The materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 meet expectations that materials are designed for student tasks related to explaining phenomena and/or solving problems to increase in sophistication.

Across the program, student tasks related to explaining phenomena and solving problems increase in sophistication in a number of ways. Students develop and use increasingly complex models to explain phenomena, use and analyze data from investigations in increasingly sophisticated ways, and demonstrate greater independence when obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information. In Grade 6, students are often provided with teacher guidance and scaffolds as they engage with practices and concepts. In Grade 7, students learn additional strategies that they begin to use more independently. By Grade 8, students engage with content and practices with less teacher support and demonstrate greater independence in applying their learning.

Examples where student tasks related to explaining phenomena and/or solving problems increase in sophistication across the program:

• Across the grade band, as students engage in explaining phenomena, their development and use of models become more sophisticated and complex. In Grade 6, Unit 6.1: Light and Matter, students use a box model of a two-way mirror to test different interactions of light (SEP-INV-M2). Students use the data they gather to create a visual model of what happens to light rays as they interact with the two-way mirror, developing initial models and then working together to create a consensus model for how a two-way mirror works (SEP-MOD-M7). In Grade 7, Unit 7.1: Chemical Reactions & Matter, students draw an initial model of what happens when a bath bomb is added to water. Students conduct several investigations (SEP-INV-M4) and build upon and refine their model (SEP-MOD-M6) to describe what cannot be seen during a chemical reaction. This extends their modeling from what is happening to particles that cannot be seen to what is happening to the atoms that make up molecules when chemicals are mixed. In Grade 8, Unit 8.4: Earth in Space, students use physical models to investigate interactions between large objects in the solar system (SEP-MOD-M5). Students also develop and refine visual models to explain how interactions between the moon, Earth, and sun impact what is seen on Earth. Their final model integrates information from their investigations and models to explain multiple phenomena (SEP-MOD-M5).

• Across the grade band, as students plan and conduct investigations to explain phenomena and/or solve problems, expectations for how students use and analyze the data collected during investigations increase in sophistication. In Grade 6, Unit 6.2: Thermal Energy, students work to explain the phenomenon of a double-walled plastic cup. Students plan and carry out investigations to determine what features of the cup system keep the liquid inside the cup cool (SEP-INV-M1). In Grade 7, Unit 7.2: Chemical Reactions & Energy, students plan and carry out flameless heater investigations to confirm that a chemical reaction is taking place when the temperature increases inside the device (SEP-INV-M1). A building understanding discussion supports students in identifying evidence of a chemical reaction. In Grade 8, Unit 8.3: Forces at a Distance, students use their hypotheses to plan and carry out investigations to determine how to make the forces between two magnets stronger (SEP-INV-M1). Students graph and analyze data from these investigations to determine that greater force can be achieved with a larger magnet (SEP-DATA-M1). The activity is also used to assess students' understanding of the investigations they conducted.

• Across the grade band, as students obtain, evaluate, and communicate information from various sources, including text, data, maps, graphs, images, and podcasts, they use guided reading and listening strategies with increasing independence. In Grade 6, Unit 6.5: Natural Hazards, students collect information from multiple data sources about tsunamis and earthquakes to determine cause-and-effect relationships (SEP-INFO-M1, CCC-CE-M2). In Grade 7, Unit 7.6: Earth’s Resources & Human Impact, students use reading strategies learned in previous Grade 7 units to answer their own questions about Earth’s water system and changes in temperature (SEP-INFO-M1). Students add new learning gained from the readings to a consensus model of Earth’s water system (SEP-MOD-M5). In Grade 8, Unit 8.4: Earth in Space, students use a close listening protocol and take on different roles in small groups to gather information from podcasts about different cultures and their connections to the sky and solar system (SEP-INFO-M1). Students share their understanding from their assigned podcast during a class discussion and use individual ideas and connections to contribute to an initial model of sky patterns (SEP-MOD-M5).