Mystery Science
Spaceship Earth
Sun, Moon, Stars, & Planets
This astronomy unit helps students develop a new perspective on the world they’re standing on. They will be given evidence that the Earth beneath our feet is actually moving through space, both spinning on its axis, and traveling in a great orbit around the Sun. They will see how these movements account for the patterns we see in our sky (the paths of our Sun across the sky, the changing seasons, and the changing constellations). Accompanying us on this journey are the Moon and planets, which the students will observe have their own patterns of movement in the sky. Throughout this investigation students will engage in actual and simulated observations of the sky, and they will engage in the process of inquiry: beginning with observations, debating a range of possible causes, and reasoning to possible conclusions.
Web of Life
Ecosystems & the Food Chain
This unit on ecology helps students develop the idea that plants, animals, and fungi form a system of interdependent parts, with each part dependent on the other parts for its material nourishment. By the end of the unit, teachers will be able to guide their students to the conclusion that organic matter is cycling through the living world.
Chemical Magic
Chemical Reactions & Properties of Matter
This unit helps students develop the concepts of “substances” and “chemical reactions.” Students see that chemical reactions enable us to make new materials by transforming the ones we have. The results of these reactions are interesting and sometimes profoundly useful.
Watery Planet
Water Cycle, Resources, & Systems
This unit helps students develop the idea that water is a profoundly important natural resource, but one which requires surprising ingenuity to find and maintain.