In this lesson series, students will design and conduct an experiment using microwaves to measure either the speed of light or the wavelength of the microwaves emitted by the appliance. Essential questions include: What are the types of light? How is the speed of light measured? Why do all types of light travel at the same speed?

This resource was created by Terresa Greenleaf, in collaboration with Dawn DeTurk, Hannah Blomstedt, and Julie Albrecht, as part of ESU2's Integrating the Arts project. This project is a four year initiative focused on integrating arts into the core curriculum through teacher education, practice, and coaching.

Organisms interact with the living and nonliving features within their environment which creates a cause and
effect relationship among populations in the ecosystem. Individual survival and population sizes depend on
factors, such as predation, availability of resources, and parameters of the physical environment (light,
temperature, space for shelter and reproduction). Additionally, organism interaction serves the purpose to
obtain matter and energy. Organisms obtain energy through photosynthesis or consuming other organisms in a
complex set of relationships within a particular food web. These complex food webs serve as a basis for
understanding the dynamic interdependence among organisms and the physical environment.

A realistic mass and spring laboratory. Hang masses from springs and adjust the spring stiffness and damping. You can even slow time. Transport the lab to different planets. A chart shows the kinetic, potential, and thermal energy for each spring.

Rating: Examples of High Quality NGSS Design if Improved

Science Discipline: Life Science

Length: Unit

This middle school unit was designed to support the middle school NGSS related to Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics integrated with elements of related Earth science NGSS (Human Impact). The unit includes five chapters, each focused on a specific phenomenon related to ecosystem disruption, including questions around the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone and the invasion of zebra mussels in the Great Lakes and the Hudson River. © Regents of the University of California

Rating: Example of High Quality NGSS Design if Improved

Science Discipline: Earth & Space Sciences, Physical Sciences

Length: Unit

In Investigating Life on the Third Rock, middle school students work to generate and explore the overarching question of “How does the solar system and its objects affect life on Earth?” Students use modeling and argumentation to explore the lesson-level questions: “What properties of the solar system and its objects help explain why Earth can sustain life?” “Does the Moon affect life on Earth?” and “Why do the solar system and its objects move like they do?”

Rating: Example of High Quality NGSS Design

Awarded the NGSS Design Badge

Science Discipline: Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Physical Science

Length: Unit

Numerous reports suggest an increase in white shark encounters in the United States in recent years and the public is worried. In this integrated middle school unit, students engage in three-dimensional learning that enables them to explain the phenomenon. White sharks in the coastal waters of Southern California serve as a case study for students to ask questions and build understanding. Students initially question if white shark encounters are in fact increasing and investigate reports of sightings. They wonder if we know whether or not the population is on the rise, leading students to next explore past evidence from fossils and data from historic fishers logs. Students then question how scientists today are monitoring white sharks, setting the stage to explore the use of modern tracking devices (digging deep into waves and signals) and what researchers know about white sharks because of the application of this technology. This opens up the opportunity for students to question and consider what the science community has learned about white shark life history, how humans have impacted the white shark population off Southern California, and to devise a way to address public concerns.

This module is centered on the driving question, “How can we as engineers design a concert experience for others to enjoy?” In order to answer this question, students will consider what a wave is, and how waves are modeled. They will explore sound and light waves, and how these waves interact with various media. The culminating performance task requires students to synthesize this information, and apply it to the design of a concert experience.

The materials below are shared via a google drive folder and can be viewed and downloaded for use.

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)* call for students to use the practices, concepts and content of science and engineering to understand phenomena and solve problems that are relevant to their lives. Starting from a student’s own experiences and community makes the science meaningful and increases engagement while helping students understand how global issues like climate change are present and addressable in their lives. In this series we examine how you can use the new science standards and your community to understand and address real world environmental problems and explore together how to integrate NGSS into your district’s classroom science units.Mapping neighborhood assets, opportunities, and problems can engage students more deeply in science and engineering. In this workshop you’ll learn how system models, looking for patterns, and observing change over time can help students investigate and map their community. Local ecosystems, water flow, and community assets are some of many possible areas for your mapping efforts. By the end of this workshop you’ll have strategies to use in mapping your community and ideas for how you can use the information gathered.

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)* call for students to use the practices, concepts and content of science and engineering to understand phenomena and solve problems that are relevant to their lives. Starting from a student’s own experiences and community makes the science meaningful and increases engagement while helping students understand how global issues like climate change are present and addressable in their lives. In this series (NGSS in Action: Science and Engineering in your Schoolyard) we examine how you can use the new science standards and your community to understand and address real world environmental problems and explore together how to integrate NGSS into your district’s classroom science units.Workshop 1: Science in Action Description: "Venture outside the walls of the classroom to find local environmental phenomena that can anchor your classroom science unit. Explore with us the big picture of Next Generation Science Standards’ “three dimensional” science learning and then get hands on with the Science and Engineering Practices as you use them to build an understanding of an example phenomenon in our 'schoolyard.' You’ll leave this workshop with ideas and examples you can use in your own classroom science curriculum."

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)* call for students to use the practices, concepts and content of science and engineering to understand phenomena and solve problems that are relevant to their lives. Starting from a student’s own experiences and community makes the science meaningful and increases engagement while helping students understand how global issues like climate change are present and addressable in their lives. In this series we examine how you can use the new science standards and your community to understand and address real world environmental problems and explore together how to integrate NGSS into your district’s classroom science units.Would you like to learn more about how urban water systems actually work? Are you curious how water systems, the impacts of climate change, and related conservation issues can interest your students and integrate with NGSS? Join us to learn about wastewater and stormwater systems (may include tours of facilities, depending on the site) and then workshop how you might use this content in your classroom. Appropriate for all 4th-12th grade teachers.

Nebraska 8th Grade Science Standards Unwrapped - This document will provide Nebraska Science teachers links to the Unwrapping documentation for each of the Nebraska Science Standards by grade level.

Nebraska 2ndGrade Science Standards Unwrapped - This document will provide Nebraska Science teachers links to the Unwrapping documentation for each of the Nebraska Science Standards by grade level.

Nebraska 1st Grade Science Standards Unwrapped - This document will provide Nebraska Science teachers links to the Unwrapping documentation for each of the Nebraska Science Standards by grade level.

Nebraska 2ndGrade Science Standards Unwrapped - This document will provide Nebraska Science teachers links to the Unwrapping documentation for each of the Nebraska Science Standards by grade level.

Nebraska 3rd Grade Science Standards Unwrapped - This document will provide Nebraska Science teachers links to the Unwrapping documentation for each of the Nebraska Science Standards by grade level.

Nebraska 4th Grade Science Standards Unwrapped - This document will provide Nebraska Science teachers links to the Unwrapping documentation for each of the Nebraska Science Standards by grade level.

Nebraska 5thGrade Science Standards Unwrapped - This document will provide Nebraska Science teachers links to the Unwrapping documentation for each of the Nebraska Science Standards by grade level.

Nebraska 6th Grade Science Standards Unwrapped - This document will provide Nebraska Science teachers links to the Unwrapping documentation for each of the Nebraska Science Standards by grade level.