How does the Moon influence ocean tides, 

and what impact does this relationship have on the world around us?

Students follow the connection from the night sky to Earth by investigating the Moon, gravity, and ocean tides. We will explore lunar cycles, tidal patterns, ocean systems, marine ecosystems, salinity, currents, microscopic ocean life, and cells. Students will collect and analyze real tidal data to create a detailed Tide Graph Investigation showing how the Moon influences the world around us.

Students study moon phases, the Earth–Moon–Sun system, gravity, tides, waves, currents, ocean zones, salinity, density, marine food webs, coastal ecosystems, microscopes, plankton, algae, single-celled organisms, cells, and the movement of energy and matter.  

How do living things depend on their structures, environments, and one another?

Students move from ocean life to land-based living systems and ecosystems. We will investigate cells, plants, leaves, stomata, soil organisms, isopods, insects, decomposers, habitats, biodiversity, food webs, energy flow, and environmental change. 

Through hands-on investigations, students will explore how living things depend on their structures, environments, and one another. 

Students investigate characteristics of life, cell theory, plant and animal cells, structure and function, tissues and organs, photosynthesis, leaves and stomata, soil life, isopods, insects, decomposers, habitats, adaptations, biodiversity, food webs, matter cycling, energy flow, ecosystem stability, and human impact. 

How does the world around us influence the brain, behavior, and our overall well-being? 

Students finish the year by looking inward. We will explore the human body, nervous system, brain anatomy, neurons, senses, perception, memory, attention, sleep, behavior, mental well-being, and the ways our environment influences us. Students will also examine patterns found in neural networks and the universe as they bring the year back to our essential question: How are we connected to everything around us? 

Students explore body organization, the nervous system, brain anatomy, neurons and signals, senses, sensory processing, perception, attention, memory, sleep, emotion, behavior, environmental influences, stress, coping strategies, brain plasticity, optical illusions, scientific ethics, and patterns across scales.