Next Generation Science Standards Aligned Resources
OER Commons has worked with some of the most trusted and innovative OER science educators out there to bring you resources aligned and evaluated against the Next Generation Science Standards.
Trademark Notice: "Next Generation Science Standards" and the provided logo is a registered trademark of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.
Earth's climate system is enormously complex, and scientists develop climate models to …
Earth's climate system is enormously complex, and scientists develop climate models to understand how climate change will play out in different parts of the world. Students play a climate resilience game, and then explore the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 5th Assessment Report to learn more about how climate scientists handle uncertainty in models. This guide is an extension of the TILclimate episode "TIL about uncertainty."
This National Weather Service interactive visualization includes outlook maps for different types …
This National Weather Service interactive visualization includes outlook maps for different types weather predictions. The map includes temperature and precipitation predictions for up to 3 months out, as well as predictions for tropical hazards, weather hazards, and drought. Further data is easily accessed.
Grounded in the belief that students need to explore climate change for …
Grounded in the belief that students need to explore climate change for themselves, the high school-level Climate Project course from the OER Project equips students with the knowledge and skills to take action. The course aims to understand the climate crisis by examining facts, impacts, and solutions, fostering civic action, education, and career readiness, and promoting constructive discussion. Through an inquiry-based approach, students interrogate diverse sources, build data and digital literacy skills, and engage with timely materials. Flexible in design, the course can be taught as a comprehensive semester program or through standalone lessons, culminating in projects ranging from climate-focused careers to community civic action.
With funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, The Washington State Department of …
With funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, The Washington State Department of Natural Resources' Aquatic Assessment and Monitoring Team (AAMT) developed three curricula (elementary, middle, and high school) that are designed to bridge the goals of bringing local climate science into Washington state classrooms and local internships by highlighting aspects of the Acidification Nearshore Monitoring Network (ANeMoNe) More specifically, the curricula focus on local climate science issues and incorporate elements of scientific monitoring methods and community science to showcase how climate is being addressed in Washington State and how students can get involved in fighting climate change in their own “backyards”. Youth learn principles of aquatic ecology, environmental and social impacts driven by climate change, government and social response, and issues of environmental justice. These climate resilience curricula are intended to inspire and engage youth throughout Washington to implement climate change adaptations in their local communities.
This is a rich compilation of resources and tools to help decision-makers …
This is a rich compilation of resources and tools to help decision-makers across the US identify their local climate threats and vulnerabilities and reduce their risks from impacts of climate variability and change. As part of President Obama's Climate Action Plan, the toolkit was developed by NOAA in partnership with NASA and other departments and agencies in the U.S. Global Change Research Program.
In this 3rd grade integrated STEM Storyline focused around the topics of …
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.
Earth Systems and Changes from Educational Service District 123, provides professional learning …
Earth Systems and Changes from Educational Service District 123, provides professional learning resources for K-5 teachers around elementary Earth Science and Climate Science related standards content.
It also provides learning to assist in the development of classroom tasks: Claims, Evidence Reasoning, and Models and Explanations, that can be used formatively to elicit student ideas and to support changes in student thinking over time.
License: License: Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY) Except where otherwise noted, this template by Educational Service District 123 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All logos and trademarks are property of their respective owners. Content within template is the copyright of the creator.
The Washington State Legislature has invested $16 million in climate science education …
The Washington State Legislature has invested $16 million in climate science education since 2018. This portal contains links to professional learning resources and instructional materials developed by the ClimeTime network of educational partners who came together as a result of this funding. ClimeTime partners provide climate science professional learning to Washington science teachers, using innovative strategies and effective practices. Many projects also create instructional materials aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards, to support student climate science learning.
Polymers are a vital part of our everyday lives and nearly all …
Polymers are a vital part of our everyday lives and nearly all consumer products have a plastic component of some variation. Students explore the basic characteristics of polymers through the introduction of two polymer categories: thermoplastics and thermosets. During teacher demos, students observe the unique behaviors of thermoplastics. The fundamentals of thermoset polymers are discussed, preparing them to conduct the associated activity in which they create their own thermoset materials and mechanically test them. At the conclusion of this lesson-activity pair, students understand the basics of thermoplastics and thermosets, which may entice their interest in polymer engineering.
Students analyze international oil consumption and production data. They make several graphs …
Students analyze international oil consumption and production data. They make several graphs to organize the data and draw conclusions about the overall use of oil in the world.
How do clouds form? How are clouds affected by (and how do …
How do clouds form? How are clouds affected by (and how do they affect) climate change? Students create a cloud in the classroom, and then investigate climate models and real-time cloud observation data. This guide is an extension of the TILclimate episode "TIL about clouds."
Investigate collisions on an air hockey table. Set up your own experiments: …
Investigate collisions on an air hockey table. Set up your own experiments: vary the number of discs, masses and initial conditions. Is momentum conserved? Is kinetic energy conserved? Vary the elasticity and see what happens.
As a continuation of the theme of potential and kinetic energy, this …
As a continuation of the theme of potential and kinetic energy, this lesson introduces the concepts of momentum, elastic and inelastic collisions. Many sports and games, such as baseball and ping-pong, illustrate the ideas of momentum and collisions. Students explore these concepts by bouncing assorted balls on different surfaces and calculating the momentum for each ball.
Apply science and engineering ideas to design, evaluate, and refine a device …
Apply science and engineering ideas to design, evaluate, and refine a device that minimizes the force on a macroscopic object during a collision. The students are tasked with using their newly discovered physics skills to assess the quality of substances used in Crash Cushions that are used for safety on highways. This Open Inquiry Activity has the students design a ramp to test the speed of a moving object and the collision with four different materials. They are asked to figure out what material was best for the speed that they were going at. This Activity provides a variety of answers based on the angle of the ramp that they make. The fourth module wraps up this unit with a fun and interactive Activity that can either be done at home or at school.
Make a whole rainbow by mixing red, green, and blue light. Change …
Make a whole rainbow by mixing red, green, and blue light. Change the wavelength of a monochromatic beam or filter white light. View the light as a solid beam, or see the individual photons.
This activity addresses climate change impacts that affect all states that are …
This activity addresses climate change impacts that affect all states that are part of the Colorado River Basin and are dependent on its water. Students examine available data, the possible consequences of changes to various user groups, and suggest solutions to adapt to these changes.
This classroom activity for high school students uses a collection of Hubble …
This classroom activity for high school students uses a collection of Hubble Space Telescope images of galaxies in the Coma Cluster. Students study galaxy classification and the evolution of galaxies in dense clustered environments.
Have you ever wondered why it takes such a long period of …
Have you ever wondered why it takes such a long period of time for NASA to build space exploration equipment? What is involved in manufacturing and building a rover for the Red Planet? During this lesson, students will discover the journey that a Mars rover embarks upon after being designed by engineers and before being prepared for launch. Students will investigate the fabrication techniques, tolerance concepts, assembly and field-testing associated with a Mars exploratory rover.
Students continue their exploration of the human senses and their engineering counterparts, …
Students continue their exploration of the human senses and their engineering counterparts, focusing on the auditory sense. Working in small groups, students design, create and run programs to control the motion of LEGO® TaskBots. By doing this, they increase their understanding of the use and function of sound sensors, gain experience writing robot programs, and reinforce their understanding of the sensory process.
Using different texts students learn many ways to communicate with sound. With …
Using different texts students learn many ways to communicate with sound. With this lesson, students will learn also how to communicate with sound over a distance.
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