This high school Biology unit focuses on the inquiry question, “What is the relationship between changing environments and changing organisms?” This 2 week unit supports students’ engineering/science practices while developing students’ science reading skills. The unit supports the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices of Developing and Using Models and Planning and Carrying out Investigations. This helps students relate photosynthesis and cellular respiration to themselves and understand the importance of the processes. This unit draws on the Reading Apprenticeship instructional framework and classroom routines including partner sharing, Talking to the Text, questioning, and identifying key ideas.

This grade 7 Physical Science unit focuses on the inquiry question, “How do Rockets Work?” In the Mini Martian Rocket Challenge, students follow the Engineering Design Process to make an alka seltzer powered mini rocket. The unit supports the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices of Developing and Using Models and Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions, utilizing the Claims, Evidence, Reasoning framework (CER) which may be used throughout the year. The unit makes explicit use of connections between scientific texts and results of an investigation using a Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) format. The unit draws on the Reading Apprenticeship instructional framework and classroom routines including Think Aloud Checklist, Annotating text, and Social Scaffolds.

This grade 10 Biology unit focuses on the inquiry question, “How is DNA replicated?” Students will learn about macromolecules, DNA investigation, and how it impacts industries such as farming and agriculture. The unit supports the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices of Developing and Using Models and Planning and Carrying out Investigations. This helps students relate photosynthesis and cellular respiration to themselves, differentiate RNA and DNA, and understand the importance of the processes. Students will use Driving Question Boards and the Claims Evidence Reasoning strategy which may be used throughout the year. This unit draws on the Reading Apprenticeship instructional framework and classroom routines including Aloud Checklist, Annotating text, and social scaffolds.

This grade 9 Biology unit focuses on the inquiry question, “How do our activities affect the environment and what can we do to limit our negative effects?”The purpose of this month-long unit is to provide the big picture and roadmap for a more holistic and thematic approach to the traditional NGSS unit of the History of the Atmosphere. By studying what is normal in energy cycling, we can also appreciate what can impact changes. Following this progression will cycle students back to how the unit started with fires, giving students the opportunity to recognize an unfortunate positive feedback loop and its consequences. The students will develop and revise their models as they progress through model-making; reading graphs, charts, and maps; using other texts and internet searches, growing plants; doing an actual and virtual lab; watching videos; performing calculations; and engaging in an article read. This unit supports the NGSS Science and Engineering foci of Cycling of Matter, Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration and History of Earth’s Atmosphere and Geosphere. This helps students relate photosynthesis and cellular respiration to themselves and understand the importance of the processes. This unit draws on the Reading Apprenticeship instructional framework and classroom routines including Thinking Aloud, partner sharing, Talking to the Text, questioning, and identifying key/noteworthy ideas.

This grades 9-12 Physics and Earth Science unit focuses on the inquiry question, “What is Earth’s physical history?” This 3.5 week text-rich unit supports students’ engineering/science practices while developing students’ science reading skills. It helps students develop models based on evidence, relate components within the model, and scientifically reason and defend claims. The unit supports the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices of Developing and Using Models and Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions, utilizing the Claims, Evidence, Reasoning framework (CER) which may be used throughout the year. The unit supports the cross cutting concepts of Energy and Matter, Patterns, and Stability and Change as it delves into the disciplinary core ideas of Nuclear Processes, The History of Planet Earth, and Earth Materials and Systems. The unit makes use of the Reading Apprenticeship instructional framework and classroom routines including partner sharing, Talking to the Text, questioning, and identifying key/noteworthy ideas.

This high school Biology unit focuses on the inquiry question, “What makes us who we are?” Students will learn about the structure and function of DNA. Students will extract DNA from strawberries, analyze DNA’s molecular structure, observe how DNA is stored within cells, and explore how and why DNA is replicated. This unit was designed to be taught virtually. Educators may be interested in modifying the activities/materials for in-person instruction. The unit draws on the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices of asking questions and defining problems and developing and using models, the cross cutting concepts of systems and system models, and many disciplinary core ideas related to structure and function, inheritance, and biodiversity. It also draws on Reading Apprenticeship routines of partner Think Alouds, Talking to the Text, and social scaffolding through independent, partner, and small group work and whole group discussion.