Students will work in small groups of two to three on a structured challenge around circuits which includes requirements such as including using a switch or a conductor. They will then use that knowledge to work on a collaborative challenge to solve a relevant problem related to elephant poaching. Students will create a containment system that will have an alarm system, a lighting system, and a way to pass through. Finally, they will review the other projects and discuss similarities and differences in the design.

Students will work in cooperative groups to create an accurate arrangement of mirrors that work together to relay a laser beam from a Mars space station to Earth’s Mission Control, which will model utilizing satellites in space for communication, an accommodation necessary for manned space exploration.

Students will categorize cells as prokaryotic or eukaryotic by identifying the presence or lack of a nucleus.

Students compare and contrast potential and kinetic energy by creating a real-world model through a movie.

Students will work in partners to investigate Newton’s second law by testing a series of experiments with varying conditions.

Students will work with partners to investigate how mass, potential energy, and kinetic energy act on objects dropped from varying heights.

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Students will work collaboratively through a fictitious, real-world scenario to determine the probability of each breeding pair of dogs producing offspring with the desired trait for a fictitious client.

Students collaboratively determine how the characteristics of a real-world job correlate with each of Newton’s Laws and why that is relevant to their own lives.

Students engage in viewing day three of ecosystem changes in lab groups to determine if the ecosystem is healthy or unhealthy based on scientific data and factors.

Students use various surfaces and a weighted car to see how far the car will travel using balanced and unbalanced forces.

Students will work in small collaborative groups to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth as it revolves around the Sun which creates a day and night cycle.

Students will explore the Earth's rotation and its relation to the Sun and the Moon. Then, students will create a visual representation of this relationship and present it to the rest of the class.

In this lesson, students will investigate how gene expression is a regulated process controlled by DNA and the interpretations of codons through translation.

Students will design and test models that will identify crustal features formed by convergent plate boundaries.

Students will use hover pucks to measure speed over a distance of six meters. Once speed has been calculated, students will determine velocity using the same data. Finally, students will be able to label all points of acceleration.

Students will model the effects of human activity on watersheds.

Students will design an experiment to test the outcome of friction in force and motion. The students will create an inclined plane demonstrating their knowledge of mechanical energy and the effects of gravity on an object. Students will use previous knowledge of friction to complete their task of stopping their object. Critical thinking skills will be the focus of the lesson as students will have to utilize their scientific problem-solving skills to make decisions regarding their experiment.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Vertical Alignment

Click below to learn about the TEKS related to the unit and Research Lesson.  The highlighted student expectation(s) is the chosen focus for the Research Lesson.
 

Students will collaborate on a electronic slideshow presentation and observe, record, and describe the role of ecological succession including both primary and secondary succession.