Distance Learning High School Science - Patterns Sequence

Welcome! In light of the COVID 19 pandemic and school closures, Portland Metro STEM Partnership has worked with thier partnering districts to create and curate distance learning resources for students.The following resources were developed by district science TOSA teams and the Portland Metro STEM Partnership (PMSP) Physics, Chemistry, and Biology Councils. These Councils represent curriculum development leads and master HS teachers from Beaverton, Hillsboro, and Portland Public. Thank you, district science leaders and PMSP Content Council leaders, for developing this set of distance learning resources for high school students!

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Authors: Jamie Rumage, Vanessa Clark, Portland Metro STEM Partnership

Astronomy OpenStax-Public Lab Alignment

This is a list of 175+ publically available astronomy labs, aligned with chapters from Astronomy by Fraknoi, Morrison, and Wolff (from OpenStax). Alignment determined by list curators, not the lab authors.Resource developed as part of Lane Community College's Astronomy OER project. Resource is not affiliated with OpenStax.Image modified from public domain image "Mount Saitn John Observatory" by Bernard Stagg.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Author: Richard Wagner

Biology: Glycolysis

This 13-minute video lesson provides an overview of glycolysis. [Biology playlist: Lesson 24 of 71].

Material Type: Lecture

Author: Salman Khan

Biology: Viruses

This 23-minute video provides an introduction to viruses. [Biology playlist: Lesson 19 of 71].

Material Type: Lecture

Author: Salman Khan

Simple Nature

This is a calculus-based physics textbook meant for the type of freshman survey course taken by engineering and physical science majors, or for AP Physics C. It uses a nontraditional order of topics, with energy coming before force. For instructors who prefer the traditional sequence, there is a drop-in replacement for ch. 0-4, Mechanics, that covers force before energy. My text for the type of course usually taken by biology majors is Light and Matter.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Benjamin Crowell, Fullerton College

Biology for AP® Courses

Biology for AP® Courses covers the scope and sequence requirements of a typical two-semester Advanced Placement® biology course. The text provides comprehensive coverage of foundational research and core biology concepts through an evolutionary lens. Biology for AP® Courses was designed to meet and exceed the requirements of the College Board’s AP® Biology framework while allowing significant flexibility for instructors. Each section of the book includes an introduction based on the AP® curriculum and includes rich features that engage students in scientific practice and AP® test preparation; it also highlights careers and research opportunities in biological sciences.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: John Eggebrecht, Julianne Zedalis

Bending the Curve: Mitigating Climate Change

The goal of this unit is for students to gain an awareness of several potential ways to mitigate climate change. Many climate solutions exist, are in use, and can be expanded in scale. Students will examine solutions from Bending the Curve, explore carbon sequestration by trees, coastal wetland restoration, and food waste reduction in more detail. They will propose three (3) realistic solutions that could happen at an individual, school, or community scale that would assist in mitigating climate change.

Material Type: Unit of Study

Ocean Warming: Climate Change & Marine Ecosystem Impacts & Solutions Unit Plan

In this unit, students will explore how global climate change impacts marine ecosystems (especially kelp forests and coral reefs) and the survival and migration patterns of species within marine ecosystems. Students will examine how marine resources and fisheries upon which humans depend (especially marginalized and vulnerable human populations) are being affected by ocean warming and what we can learn from Indigenous peoples on how to mitigate the effects of ocean warming. Lastly, students will learn about innovative solutions to addressing the impacts of ocean warming and propose their own solution to the problem.

Material Type: Unit of Study

Ocean Warming - Extreme Weather

Students will understand how ocean warming can cause certain weather patterns, as well as an increase in frequency and intensity of weather phenomena.

Material Type: Unit of Study

Sea Level Rise

In this unit, students will explore the causes of sea level rise and will examine short and long-term trends using sea level rise data. In addition, they will learn about the impacts to low-lying coastal communities and they will explore mitigation strategies. Finally, students will deepen their understanding of sea level rise by writing arguments focused on impacted communities and possible solutions.

Material Type: Unit of Study

Grade 10 Interdisciplinary Science and Health Opioid Prevention Lesson

Being able to ask important questions and discover their answers through critical thinking and utilization of available data and information are important and useful skills in health education, science education, and in life. This lesson begins that process with a focus on health topics, particularly substance use/misuse/abuse and mental health, however, the science and engineering practices identified in this lesson transcend into other science disciplines. This lesson focuses on the development of important questions and then analyzing/locating sources of information to help answer those questions.

Material Type: Assessment, Lesson, Lesson Plan

Author: Suzanne Hidde

Climate Science Integration Planning Tools

In their continued support of climate science education, the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) created these resources to support K-12 teachers of all content areas integrate climate science and climate change into their instruction.  

Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy

Authors: Lori Henrickson, Ellen Ebert, Washington OSPI OER Project, Johanna Brown, Kimberley Astle

The Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe Undertakes Innovative Action to Reduce the Causes of Climate Change

The Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe—a federally recognized Native American tribe in California—was one of 16 communities selected as a 2015–2016 Climate Action Champion by the Obama Administration for exceptional work in response to climate change. The Tribe began its strategic climate action planning in 2008 and has become a regional leader in greenhouse gas reductions and community resiliency measures. To date, the Tribe has reduced energy consumption from 2008 levels by 35 percent and has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2018, utilizing a range of approaches—including aggressive energy efficiency upgrades, developing on-site renewable energy (biomass, solar, fuel cells, grid battery storage), and switching to green fuels (electricity and biodiesel).

Material Type: Case Study

Climate Change and the Global Ocean

Video presents a broad overview of what (NASA) satellites can tell us about how climate change is affecting oceans.

Authors: Jennifer A. Shoemaker, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Climate Change and the Oceans

This activity covers the role that the oceans may play in climate change and how climate change may affect the oceans. It is lesson 8 in a nine-lesson module Visualizing and Understanding the Science of Climate Change.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: The King's Centre for Visualization in Science

Climate Change at the Doorstep

This PBS video focuses on sea level rise in Norfolk, Virginia and how the residents are managing the logistical, financial and political implications. Science journalists who have been studying Norfolk's rising sea level problems are interviewed, as well as local residents who are being impacted.

Author: PBS

Climate change: How do we know?

This static graph of changes in CO2 concentrations goes back 400,000 years, showing the dramatic spike in recent years.

Authors: NASA, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

College of Menominee Nation's Sustainable Development Institute Builds Capacity for Tribal Climate Change Adaptation

Climate change poses a threat to the traditional livelihoods and the sustainably managed forestlands of the Menominee Nation. However, climate change also presents an opportunity—a chance to apply indigenous knowledge to adapt and sustain native communities, and for the Menominee Nation to share its understandings with others seeking to address this global issue. 

Material Type: Case Study

Cool Cores Capture Climate Change

This Earth Exploration Toolbook chapter is a detailed computer-based exploration in which students learn how various climatic conditions impact the formations of sediment layers on the ocean floor. They analyze sediment core data from the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica for evidence of climate changes over time. In addition, they interact with various tools and animations throughout the activity, in particular the Paleontological Stratigraphic Interval Construction and Analysis Tool (PSICAT) that is used to construct a climate change model of a sediment core from core images.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: Earth Exploration Toolbook/TERC, Jean Pennycook

Coping With Climate Change: Green Roofs of Chicago

A set of eight photographs compiled into a series of slides explain how urban areas are facing challenges in keeping both their infrastructure and their residents cool as global temperatures rise. Chicago is tackling that problem with a green design makeover. This report is part of PBS's Coping with Climate Change series and could challenge students to consider engineering designs to help their own cities be greener.

Material Type: Simulation

Author: Public Broadcasting System (PBS) Newshour