Curriculum

The Deep Structure Modeling (DSM) project addresses the pressing need to more effectively organize science teaching and learning around “big ideas” that run through disciplines. Big ideas are important tools for learning because they enable students to organize and link information within a consistent knowledge framework. The project includes a freely available two-week unit on teaching cellular respiration by modeling the big idea of energy.

Third-grade students’ use model-based reasoning about geospheric components of the hydrologic cycle (i.e., groundwater) and how elementary teachers scaffold students’ model-based reasoning. Instructional resources developed through this project include supplemental teacher materials, a student packet, and student assessment (with answer key).

Three short (4-5 session) curriculum units and an engineering design challenge include firsthand, guided explorations of energy in everyday phenomena. Beginning with easily observable phenomena, such as ball collisions, students look for signs of energy, create and use a variety of representations including "energy cubes," and discuss questions and findings. They develop the practice of asking, "Where does the energy come from?" and "Where does the energy go?" and learn to track the flow of energy in increasingly complex scenarios.

Three short (4-5 session) curriculum units and an engineering design challenge include firsthand, guided explorations of energy in everyday phenomena. Beginning with easily observable phenomena, such as ball collisions, students look for signs of energy, create and use a variety of representations including "energy cubes," and discuss questions and findings. They develop the practice of asking, "Where does the energy come from?" and "Where does the energy go?" and learn to track the flow of energy in increasingly complex scenarios.

School, home, and neighborhoods make large amounts of garbage every day. In answering the driving question of the unit, “What happens to our garbage?”, students investigate a series of subquestions (e.g., “What is that smell?” and “What causes changes in the properties of garbage materials?”) that address a targeted set of physical science and life science performance expectations. This unit was developed with a specific focus on English learners by using an engaging, local phenomenon and design principles that capitalize on the mutually supportive nature of science and language learning.

School, home, and neighborhoods make large amounts of garbage every day. In answering the driving question of the unit, “What happens to our garbage?”, students investigate a series of subquestions (e.g., “What is that smell?” and “What causes changes in the properties of garbage materials?”) that address a targeted set of physical science and life science performance expectations. This unit was developed with a specific focus on English learners by using an engaging, local phenomenon and design principles that capitalize on the mutually supportive nature of science and language learning.

Design Technology and Engineering Education (DTEEL) for bilingual English Learner Students is a K-5th grade curriculum focused on language development through engineering design and problem solving. Each grade level includes a series of units focused on different aspects of engineering: Materials, Structures, Mechanisms, and Work & Energy. The last two grade levels add units that synthesize these engineering components with a Systems focus on Systems. Each lesson includes instructional strategies to strategically integrate language use and engineering content.

The Journey to El Yunque curriculum introduces students to disturbance ecology, with a focus on both ecosystem resilience and ecosystem change. Each page is beautifully illustrated by Puerto Rican artist Robert Casilla to connect students with Puerto Rican culture as well as help generate curiosity and interest as students move through the curriculum. Students use interactive models to explore how limiting factors, such as the availability of food or shelter, impact the population dynamics of different species following a hurricane. Students engage with interactive models of population dynamics that are based on real-world data gathered by our partners at the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research program in Puerto Rico. The data from these models serve as evidence for students’ scientific arguments about the impact of hurricanes on specific species in the rainforest. (Teacher materials can be requested from demo@elyunque.net)

Fun and easy to use math games designed for children ages 3 to 6-years-old. Some games are quick and use everyday materials; others use a game board for more extended play. All of the games can be played multiple times and their difficulty can be increased or decreased to target a “just right” level of challenge for children as they gain proficiency.

Sensing Science has created several free educational apps for iPads to build conceptual understanding of matter and its changes in kindergarten students. Related resources and support materials are available.