The lesson will begin by students accessing their prior knowledge of weather and climates by completing a warm-up writing prompt. Students will then move to reading texts on the subjects of tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and droughts to determine if and how climate affects these weather phenomena. In groups, students will create a half-poster that describes their findings in text and pictures. At the end of the lesson, students will view a graph to extend their learning about tornadoes and hint at a future lesson while also completing an "exit ticket" as a means of summative assessment. This unit was created as part of the ALEX Interdisciplinary Resource Development Summit.

This lesson allows students to construct solar system models showing the comparative sizes of the planets to a scale. The students will also use their models to carry out an investigation to analyze and interpret the distances between planets in the Solar System. This lesson uses common objects easily obtained by teachers. This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

In this lesson, students will explore and construct forest habitats of plants and animals native to Alabama. In the beginning, students will activate their prior knowledge by reviewing the definition of a habitat and discussing what they know about forests to create a KWL chart. Next, the book A Forest Habitat by Bobbie Kalman is used to further the students learning of the components that comprise a forest habitat and how those components interact with one another. The students will demonstrate their learning through animal sorts, habitat construction, and informational writing using the conventions of Standard English such as capitalization and punctuation. For the conclusion, the students will peer edit their writing using the provided writing anchor chart before presenting their learning to others. This lesson was created as part of the ALEX Gap Project.

Waste disposal is a problem for the entire Earth and must be dealt with in a responsible manner to maintain biodiversity in ecosystems. After investigating the amount of waste they produce as an individual, family, class, school, community, and society, students investigate how items decompose in a landfill and develop arguments to support a solution to the problem. Students engage in argument to defend the effectiveness of a design solution on a proposed method of disposing of waste in their school and community. This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

The students will gain a good understanding of the history of Expressionism painting and its use of color and paint application to establish an "emotional feel". They will use this knowledge to create their own expressionistic oil painting.

Throughout this lesson, students will discover how the lens in your eye helps focus light. First, students will discuss the parts of the eye and how these parts work together to allow us to see. Then, students will use a clear plastic bag filled with water to create a model of an eyeball to investigate how the lens in your eye helps focus light. This lesson results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.

In this lesson, students will investigate how light rays reflect from the surface of an object and allow us to see the object by viewing several small items inside a black bag with and without the use of a light source. Students will work collaboratively on an online simulation to control the path of light in order to illuminate objects. Students will construct a model to describe how an object can be seen when light reflected from its surface enters the eye. This lesson results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.

Students will explore how changes in rocks and land formations over time explain the large number of aquatic fossils that can be found across the state of Alabama. They will model volcanic eruptions and fossil formation through a hands-on activity using baking soda, vinegar, and playdough. Then they will read a news article to determine that Alabama was underwater at one time, which explains how aquatic fossils are found across the state. Finally, they will write and illustrate an explanation that shows how layers and fossils found in rock are evidence that these rocks changed over time. This lesson results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.

In this lesson, students investigate photosynthesis through hands-on experiments, videos, and discussion of text. They work in small groups with picture cards to create a chart showing how plants transform carbon dioxide, water, and light energy into carbohydrates and oxygen. After working collaboratively, students will create their own diagrams of photosynthesis. Because plant observations must occur over time, this lesson will take several days to complete. This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

Students will participate in a discussion of the Moon's habitability. The students will create a plan for the design and creation of a self-sustaining ecosystem within a lunar station. This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

Students will be exposed to three different scenarios. The scenarios will require that students hypothesize two solutions, test their hypotheses, document the results, and document the property that proved the effectiveness of the material chosen. An example of a scenario would be, "When provided toilet paper, tissue paper and paper towels, which material would be most effective in cleaning spilled water, and what property makes it so effective?" Students will then present the data collected in a Google Slides presentation. The lesson's total duration is about six days. This unit was created as part of the ALEX Interdisciplinary Resource Development Summit.

Students will work in collaborative groups to analyze and interpret research information from their previous reading assignment on the social, political, and economic impact of the Great Depression on the lives of Alabamians. Next, students will use a graphic organizer to collect information needed to develop and write a five paragraph expository essay on the social, political, and economic impact of the Great Depression on the lives of Alabamians. Finally, students will present their expository essay to the class. This unit was created as part of the ALEX Interdisciplinary Resource Development Summit.

This lesson will include a study of several primary sources that detail the 1918 flu epidemic and how it affected a variety of people in Alabama (ELA2015(6)32). Students will work in small groups to study different primary sources and will complete graphic organizers specific to the type of primary source. Groups will then share their information with the class and discuss how the flu affected different populations of Alabama. The focus and outcomes of this lesson will meet the Social Studies standard (SS2010(6)) by allowing the students to describe civilian roles during WWI and recognizing the military bases in Alabama. This lesson was created in partnership with the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

Students will discover how plants, animals, and fungi are all interconnected in a giant web. They will construct a model of a food chain to explain that energy in animals' food is used to sustain life. They will also acknowledge that all food chains start with energy from the sun. This lesson results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.

This lesson increases student knowledge of severe weather and weather forecasting. It emphasizes the importance of student questioning to obtain information. After the introduction to severe weather is made, students will create their own Tornado in a Bottle, and use this exploration to make further connections. This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

Students investigate the properties of gasses using the gas laws and explore the application to aeronautics. This lesson is adapted from the NASA Education Guide Pushing the Envelope: A NASA Guide to Engines. The activities used include the following: Gas Laws (pg 27-28); Gas Law Problems - Boyle's Law (pg 29-30); Gas Law Problems - Charles's Law (pg 31-32); Gas Law Problems - Gay Lussac's Law (pg 33-34); Air Density (pg 61-62). This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

During this lesson, students will create two line graphs: one that shows how carbon dioxide levels have changed over time, and one that shows how global temperatures have changed over time. Students will read current news article(s) detailing the human activities and natural processes that could change global temperatures. Students will interpret their graphical data, as well as information in the article, to determine if there is any relation between carbon dioxide levels and global temperatures. This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

In this lesson, students will share their background knowledge of gravity and how it affects skydivers. After a brief whole group discussion on gravity, students will work in small groups to explain why the International Space Station does not fall to Earth. Finally, students will create a model helicopter to provide evidence that the gravitational force of earth will cause the helicopter to fall downward toward the center of Earth. This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

During this lesson, students will research the social, political, and economic impact of the Great Depression on the lives of Alabamians. Students will collaborate to create a presentation from the project-based learning activity and present it to the class. This unit was created as part of the ALEX Interdisciplinary Resource Development Summit.

Engage students in testing their knowledge of circuits in this delightful dissection. Students will apply science practices and content knowledge while conducting hands-on and digital/print research and writing. The actual "dissection" does not take very long, but the writing components can be extended if desired. This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.