Self-Paced Science

After students learn about human population impacts, let them dig deeper into sustainability with this extension project.  First, students choose a location and structure for their sustainable home.  Maybe a treehouse, a houseboat or hut?  Kids determine how they will provide food, water, electricity and wastewater disposal as they live off the land.  Then, they create a model or drawing of their sustainable home. Extension activities… are an excellent option for early finishers.can be used as a

After students learn about human population impacts on the environment, let them show what they know with this summative assessment.  First, students design a menu that lessens the impact on natural resources.  Then, they calculate the total miles their ingredients traveled to make a meal and reflect on challenges and solutions of an increasing population.  We highly recommend using this project after students work through our Human Population Impacts - Student Packet and Slides. Student proje

This product is an excellent introduction to MS-ESS3-4 and includes editable  slides and a student packet as well as content vocabulary posters.  Topics covered include total human population, the impacts of growing and transporting food, and the distance food travels to get to you! As students work through Google Slides and a packet at their own pace, they describe their favorite meal and ask questions about a world population graph.  Then, to connect these topics, students trace the impact of

After students learn about natural hazards, let them dig deeper into earthquakes with this extension project.   Using clay and stir sticks, students design two structures and then test them on the earthquake shaker.  This is an excellent way to incorporate engineering into Earth science! *Detailed directions to build an earthquake shaker out of a 15 gallon plastic bin, a piece of wood and bungee cords are included. Extension activities… are an excellent option for early finishers.can be used as

After students learn about natural hazards, let them show what they know with this summative assessment.  Students choose one hazard to learn more about (tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, droughts, forest fires, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis).  Then, they create a safety poster about their hazard. This is a great way to combine science and art! We highly recommend using this project after students work through our Natural Hazards - Student Packet and Slides. Student projects… include

This product is an excellent introduction to MS-ESS3-2 and includes editable  slides and a student packet as well as content vocabulary posters.  Topics covered include tornados, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and more! As students work through Google Slides and a packet at their own pace, they dive deeper into natural hazards that significantly impact humans (severe storms, blizzards, landslides, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, droughts, forest fires, earthquakes, volcanic er

After students learn about moon phases, eclipses and seasons let them dig deeper into the cultural significance of these events with this extension project.  First, kids research how cultural groups (Lakota people, Ancient Egyptians or others) use observations of the sun, moon phases and stars, eclipses and seasons to guide their lives and activities.  Then, they create a poster to share what they learned.  This is a great way to combine social studies and science! Extension activities… are an e

After students learn about Earth’s tilt, rotation and revolution, let them show what they know with this summative assessment.  Students analyze data of daylight hours at three different latitudes.  Then, they write a claim, evidence and reasoning to answer the question, “How does the length of daylight vary  between summer and winter in different latitudes?”  This is an excellent activity to help kids practice analyzing data and making evidence-based claims. We highly recommend using this proje

This product is an excellent introduction to MS-ESS1-1 and includes editable  slides and a student packet as well as content vocabulary posters.  Topics covered include moon phases, eclipses, seasons and more! As students work through Google Slides and a packet at their own pace, they develop models of moon phases, eclipses and seasons with flashlights, tennis balls, globes and their heads!  This packet skips memorization and lets students construct their own understanding through modeling.   O

After students learn about gravity and motion in the solar system, let them apply their knowledge to a movie with this fun extension project.  First, students watch a space movie like Star Wars, Wall-E or the Martian.  Then, kids analyze three scenes and describe what is scientifically accurate and inaccurate in the movie.  This is a fun way to incorporate a movie day in science! Extension activities… are an excellent option for early finishers.can be used as a whole class or individual project.

After students learn about gravity and motion in the solar system, let them show what they know with this summative assessment.  Students create an original video to answer the question:  What role does gravity play in the motions of the solar system?  Kids love the creativity of this project!  Students can use a ball and string model or the Gravity and Orbits PhET simulation to help explain their thinking.  We highly recommend using this project after students work through our Gravity and Mo

This product is an excellent introduction to MS-ESS1-2 and includes editable  slides and a student packet as well as content vocabulary posters.  Topics covered include inertia, forces, gravity, motion and more!    As students work through Google Slides and a packet at their own pace, they play with magnets and swing a ball on a string to learn about gravity and motion in the solar system.  Then, kids  work through the Gravity and Orbits PhET simulation to see what happens if gravity is turned

After students learn about our solar system, let them dig deeper into constellations with this extension project.  Students choose a constellation to learn more about and explain the story behind their constellation.  This is a great way to touch on Greek mythology in science and kids love learning the stories behind the stars! Extension activities… are an excellent option for early finishers.can be used as a whole class or individual project.encourage independent learning.How much time will thi

After students learn about the vastness of our solar system, let them show what they know with this summative assessment.  With Earth represented as one basketball, students create a scale model of other objects in the solar system.  We provide the data tables, explanations of calculations and paper basketballs to cut out.  This is an excellent way to combine math and space science! **We highly recommend using this project after students work through our Scale Model of the Solar System - Student

This product is an excellent introduction to MS-ESS1-3 and includes editable  slides and a student packet as well as content vocabulary posters.  Topics covered include circumference vs. diameter, astronomical units, scale models and more! As students work through Google Slides and a packet at their own pace, they measure the diameter of a basketball and calculate its circumference to determine if it would qualify for the NBA!  Then, students compare the diameters of the sun and planets with th

Can humans live on Mars?  What would a Mars colony look like?  What would we eat?  How would we breathe?  Students use good online resources and their imagination to answer these questions.  Then, they create a map of a sustainable human community on Mars.  This is a highly engaging project you can use anytime during your astronomy unit. Extension activities… are an excellent option for early finishers.can be used as a whole class or individual project.encourage independent learning.How much tim

After students learn about our solar system, let them show what they know with this summative assessment.  Students choose two or three solar system objects (planets, moons, asteroids, comets) to learn more about and then compare their objects in a giant Venn diagram.  This is a great independent project! We highly recommend using this project after students work through our Solar System - Student Packet and Slides.Student projects… include a detailed, editable rubric.are differentiated with m

This product is an excellent introduction to astronomy and MS-ESS1-3 and includes editable  slides and a student packet as well as content vocabulary posters.  Topics covered include features of our solar system’s planets, asteroids and comets and more!   As students work through Google Slides and a packet at their own pace, they learn how to navigate the immense amount of  information online using the three Rs:  Relevant, Reliable, Reasonable.  Then, they find good online information about the

After students learn about our solar system, let them dig deeper into other life forms with this extension project.  First, students research the environment of one planet in our solar system.  Then, they create an alien specifically adapted to living in that environment.   This is a fun, creative extension project that can be used anytime during your middle school astronomy unit.  It’s also a great way to combine life science and astronomy! Extension activities… are an excellent option for earl

After students learn about plate boundaries, continental drift and seafloor spreading, let them dig deeper into the movement of Earth’s plates with this extension project.  First, kids figure out which direction Earth’s plates are moving and the types of boundaries that exist between them.  Then, they make a model (drawing, clay, digital sketch) predicting what Earth will look like in 200 million years.  Students love the creative challenge of this project! Extension activities… are an excellent