Due to a variety of ways that humans have negatively impacted the natural environment, many plant and animal species continue to become endangered and move towards extinction. Set your kindergarteners on a mission to help shelter an endangered species by creating an animal sanctuary for an animal in need. Students will create a physical model of an animal sanctuary (diorama) for an endangered animal while studying what that animal needs from its habitat in order to survive and thrive. Students will also study the ways that humans can create problems or help solve problems in the world around them This unit focuses on the NGSS Performance Expectations Bundle for Kindergarten Life Science (K-LS1-1, K-ESS2-2, K-ESS3-1, K-ESS3-3).

In this Unit, students embark on a mission to create a campaign which promotes seat belt use for a teenage audience. In the context of this project, students explore NGSS PE’s 3-PS2-2, 3-PS2-1, 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-PS2-3, and 3-PS2-4 while investigating the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces acting on an object. Through a series of collect evidence to write a claim based on evidence for why seatbelts are important.

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Portions of this storyline can be successfully implemented without access to FOSS instructional or lab materials. Specifically, the unit entry event, driving question, supplemental lessons and online resources, etc., can still be used to engage students in learning the addressed NGSS bundle.

For most recent version of this unit, please visit www.stemmaterials.org

This 5th grade STEM Storyline Unit from Washington Educational Service District 112 is focused around Climate Justice, Over five NGSS aligned lessons and using the 5E model, students are presented with the ideas of environmental stewardship and restoration.

In this 5th grade STEM Storyline Unit focused around Climate Justice, we present students with the idea of environmental stewardship and restoration. Students learn from communities and activists who are working to protect the Earth against negative human impacts. We believe that a part of STEM literacy is the ability for students to be aware of and think critically about the ways in which we are protecting or disturbing the natural world. We hope to use this unit to amplify the voices of Youth Activists of Color and support your 5th graders in developing their own voices as leaders in their community. The unit culminates with students presenting their learning to their community in order to expand their community’s understanding of environmental stewardship.

Meaningful STEM learning can happen at home as we use our imagination to solve real problems! This STEM project introduces students to the problem of oil spills around the world. The project culminates with students using their imagination to design a solution to the problem.

In this 3rd grade integrated STEM Storyline focused around the topics of climate and weather, we present students with the challenge of designing and building prototype temporary shelters for people in need. The unit launches with a discussion about the importance of shelter for humans. Then, students explore the significance of local weather conditions, the local climate, and how these may affect us. Students continue by exploring climate conditions around the world and how people have designed housing that shelters them from daily weather and climate. This unit culminates with students engaging in a design thinking process (similar to engineering design) where they design and test a shelter for people to use.

This integrated 3rd grade unit addresses the NGSS Life Science bundles for Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems (3-LS2-1, 3-LS4-3, and 3-LS4-4) and Inheritance and Variation of Traits: Life Cycles and Traits (3-LS1-1, 3-LS3-1, 3-LS3-2, and 3-LS4-2). Students embark on a mission to protect their native plants and animals by devising a plan to regulate and prevent the spread of invasive species in the area. Through a series of FOSS investigations and other OER (open educational
resource) lessons and activities, students learn about how an organism’s traits aid in survival, how parents pass on traits to their offspring, and how the environment influences plant and animal traits and behaviors.

In this Unit, students embark on a mission to create a campaign which promotes seat belt use for a teenage audience. In the context of this project, students explore NGSS PE’s 3-PS2-2, 3-PS2-1, 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-PS2-3, and 3-PS2-4 while investigating the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces acting on an object. Through a series of collect evidence to write a claim based on evidence for why seatbelts are important.

Meaningful STEM learning can happen at home as we problem-solve around the house and make sense of intriguing phenomena around us! Join as we explore the phenomenon of garbage patches in the ocean and think of what we can do at home to help solve the problem!

This unit explores Performance Expectations MS-PS2-1, 2-2, 3-1, 3-5 and ETS1-4 via an engineering challenge to design the most efficient wind turbine. Students are pressed to explain why and how wind surfers are able to catch so much wind!

Embark on a journey with your students to answer the driving question: How are animals affected by changes in the sky? This NGSS-aligned integrated storyline unit strives to help students explore the 1st grade NGSS standards bundle Space Systems: Patterns in the Sky (1ESS1-1 and 1-ESS1-2). Students explore changing patterns in the sky through a series of investigations which are interwoven with the storyline of exploring animal behavior and how it changes as the sun, moon and stars appear to change. Help students understand these daily astronomical phenomenon while using a variety of picture books and expository texts to create an experience that cultivates literacy in both English Language Arts and STEM! The unit ends in an art gallery showcase where students create pieces of art to educate others about how a particular animal behaves as the sky changes.

Embark on a journey with your students to answer the driving question: How can we design a solution to help Shanelle’s blueberries grow? This NGSS-aligned integrated storyline unit strives to help students explore the 2nd grade NGSS standards bundle Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems (2-LS2-1, 2-LS2-2, 2-LS-4-1) and K-2 Engineering Design (K-2-ETS1-1). Students investigate why the blueberry plants on Shanelle’s farm are not producing fruit and create a model of what a blueberry plant needs in order to thrive. By studying what plants need, and the unique relationship between pollinators and flowering plants, students determine why the plants are not fruiting. The unit culminates with students creating a tool to help Shanelle pollinate her blueberry flowers so that they produce fruit.

Embark on a journey with your students to answer the driving question: How can we design a solution to prevent Washington’s coast from eroding? This NGSS-aligned integrated storyline unit strives to help students explore the 2nd grade NGSS standards bundle Earth’s Systems: Processes that Shape the Earth (2-ESS1-1, 2-ESS2-1, 2-ESS2-2, & 2-ESS2-3). Students explore earth’s processes that cause change slowly and quickly. Students also explore a variety of earth materials and their resistance to erosion while designing a plan to help the people of Washaway beach with their serious beach erosion problem. The unit culminates in students designing a blockade to help prevent erosion in Washaway Beach (North Cove, WA).

This integrated OER unit focuses on the 4th grade NGSS bundle addressing Structure, Function, and Information Processing (Performance expectations 4-PS4-2, 4-LS1-1, and 4-LS1-2). Students are engaged in a storyline which presents them with the problem of preserving the pika population who live in the Columbia River Gorge, a species which has recently been threatened in this region due to climate change. Through a series of activities, labs, and field STEM experiences, students engage in scientific modeling and investigation, while building their understanding of how an organism’s internal and external structures enable survival, growth and reproduction. The unit culminates with the development of a product that can be shared with a public audience to instigate positive change in the community and help protect the pika.

This unit helps students understand the concept of biomimicry and how humans can use the traits and behaviors of plants and animals to create solutions to many human-related problems. The unit starts by highlighting the practice of biomimicry by helping students make connections to everyday objects that have been inspired by the natural world. Then, each lesson helps students dig deeper into the traits and patterns of behavior that organisms exhibit in nature. The structure of the unit includes a combination of hands-on FOSS investigations, engineering tasks, and other lessons that help students deepen their understanding of plant and animal traits.

How can we use solar energy to improve the lives of people living “off-the-grid” in Kenya? This unit explores the NGSS Middle School bundle for Engineering Design (MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2, MS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-4) by engaging students in a Project-Based engineering task where students develop and apply their understanding of solar energy to create a solar device which can generate electricity for people who have lost power due to a natural disaster.

This Unit for the 4th Grade Kit, Waves and Energy, weaves together the various FOSS investigations in the context of an authentic and engaging storyline. Through an imaginary correspondence with a 4th grader who lives in the village of Ghaghara, India, students use a series of investigations to build their skills and content knowledge in order to solve larger problems being faced by their friend, Parvathi. Students engage in project-based learning while using science and engineering practices to help solve everyday problems in the context of Parvathi’s life. Students also use online research and evidence from investigations to construct claims based on evidence which inform and drive their practice of engineering.

Meaningful STEM learning can happen at home as we problem-solve around the house and make sense of intriguing phenomena around us! Join us as we explore plants and animals in nature and use them as inspiration to solve an everyday problem for our family!

This unit explores Performance Expectations MS- LS2-4, LS2-5 by having students collect local ecosystems data with a variety of computational tools: pH sensors, turbidity, oxygen levels and temperature – and to develop a presentation to communicate how and why their stream is a healthy habitat, or not!

This unit explores Performance Expectations MS- ESS3-2, ESS2-3 and ETS1-4 by engaging students in Project-Based learning to develop a community presentation that examines whether your community is ready to respond to a major tectonic event.