Let It Rip!

Energy

​The Let it Rip: Energy Systems unit is about the complex concept of energy and the following fundamentals:

​1.) Faster objects possess more energy

2.) Energy can move from place to place through sound, light, or electrical circuits

3.) Energy is present whenever there are moving objects

4.) When objects collide, energy can be transferred from one object to another

5.) Some resources are renewable over time, and some are not

There are three learning cycles in this unit. In the first cycle, students use the phenomenon of a runaway truck to construct an explanation relating the motion of objects and the presence of energy in a system. In Cycle 2, students build on their understanding of energy and motion from Cycle 1 to figure out how energy is transferred in a system. Students engineer a device that uses a form of energy (heat, light, sound or electrical energy) to solve a problem. In Cycle 3, students shift into thinking about the demand of energy resources and the impact of that demand on the environment. Students use evidence from all three learning cycles to develop a recommendation and justify the best energy resource for a town.

Built for Survival

Plants & Animals

The Built for Survival: Structure, Function and Information Processing unit is about how living organisms depend on internal and external structures for their survival.

​1.) Plants and animals have internal and external structures for various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction

2.) Animals have different ways to send and receive information

3.) An object can be seen when light reflected from its surface enters the eyes

​There are two learning cycles within the unit. In Cycle 1, students observe a recovering wilted plant and generate questions to investigate in order to better understand how structures of living things support chances for survival and growth. Students investigate the transport of life-supporting water in a plant stem and in animal blood vessels. Observations and prior knowledge about plant and animal transport systems are used as evidence to support an argument that living things have internal structures and external structures that support life. Cycle 2 focuses on information processing. Students use an optical illusion to begin an investigation of how the brain and senses interact in order to process environmental information and produce a response. Students learn how the properties of light affect the way internal and external parts of the eye enable animals to see objects. Models are constructed to explain how specialized structures of various animal senses work in partnership with the brain in order for organisms to process and respond to information from the environment. Students demonstrate mastery of the unit by recommending a tip for improving video games performance based on correct scientific principles.

Surf's Up

​Waves & Info Transfer

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The Surf’s Up: Waves unit is about how simple wave patterns can be used to transfer information.

​1.) Waves of the same type may have different amplitude and/or wavelength

2.) Waves are a pattern of motion

3.) Digitized information can be transmitted over distances

​4.) Technology can decode the information to receive a message

​There are two cycles in this unit. In the first cycle students use develop a model explaining how digitized code systems can be used to transfer various types of information over long distances. In the second cycle students build on their understanding of codes to describe how frequency and wavelength patterns in waves can be used to solve communication problems. Students combine their understanding of codes and wave patterns to compare a digital communication system they have designed with the deep space wave property based system designed by NASA engineers.

Big Blue Marble

​Earth Systems

The Big Blue Marble: Processes that Shape the Earth unit is about using evidence to support claims about how landscapes have changed in the past and how to prepare for the possibility of future natural disasters.

1.) Rocks reveal changes in the earth over time

2.) The location of fossils geographically and in rock layers tell a story

3.) Water, ice, wind, living organisms, and gravity break rocks; water shapes the land

4.) Land forms are often on the boundary between continents and oceans

5.) Humans cannot stop natural hazards but can take steps to reduce the impacts

There are three cycles in this unit. In the first cycle, students use fossil evidence along with rock layers to explain changes that have happened to the landscape at Picture Rocks National Park. In the second cycle students expand their explanations to include changes caused by weathering and erosion observed in our road conditions. In cycle 3 students will focus on ways to reduce the human impact of future changes to the Earth’s landscape.