Classroom resources that are “fully aligned” to the NGSS should meet the rigorous criteria of the EQuIP rubric developed by Achieve and NSTA. Full alignment means that the resources are three-dimensional in nature, have coherence across lessons and units, provide a number of important instructional supports, and provide methods to monitor student progress. Work is currently underway to develop exemplar lessons and resources that meet this vision.

To support teachers now and provide them with guidance on making the shifts called for in the NGSS, NSTA has recruited a group of curators to find and vet existing classroom resources that could be modified to be more in line with the vision of the NGSS. With modifications recommended by the curators, these resources—including book chapters, videos, lesson plans, simulations, and more—show how teachers can adapt the lessons to better build toward the standards. While not considered to be “fully aligned,” the resources and expert recommendations provide teachers with concrete examples and expert guidance for adapting existing resources based on the EQuIP rubric.

With time, as more educators begin implementing the NGSS and as more curriculum developers begin creating new products specifically designed to support three-dimensional instruction, the curators will have to offer fewer adaptations and genuine exemplars will begin to emerge.

Select lab experiments, readings, discussions, lectures, and other learning activities based on what students should learn and explicitly link them together in the unit. One example architecture for designing integrated instructional units is the BSCS 5E model, explained in Translating the NGSS for Classroom Instruction.