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 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 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 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 use prior knowledge of body systems as they make connections to systems in plants. Students learn that some plant systems have similar functions as the respective animal systems. The lesson highlights the following systems in plants: root system, shoot system, vascular system, and reproductive system.

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 conduct an experiment to demonstrate force such as pushes and pulls.

Students will review the steps of the scientific method and conduct an investigation that involves sorting magnetic and nonmagnetic objects.

Students will rotate through lab stations equipped with objects and videos as they explore the uses and conversion of five different types of energy.

Students observe how dunes and canyons are created through agents of erosion by weathering and erosion.

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.

The students will review related vocabulary, watch the teacher model a dihybrid cross, and then perform a dihybrid cross and answer questions about the outcomes with a partner.

In collaborative groups, the students investigate the transport of water within potato cells placed in various tonicity solutions.

All matter contains energy. Energy can be transferred from one object to another. Energy transformation can occur through the conversion of energy from one form to another. Energy is never created nor destroyed; it is always transferred and/or transformed. Students will demonstrate how energy is transformed and transferred in an ecosystem. To do this, students will create energy pyramids by stacking cups that represent organisms and available amounts of energy. Students will graph and analyze the data.

Students will explore sound energy by creating their own drums using a variety of materials. Then, students will listen for the loud and soft sounds that each of the drums creates.

Students will design a foil boat and add mass to test relative density.

Students will investigate the possible effects of herbicide drift on grape production by making inferences from an article about a local vineyard and using various experimental materials.

Students will model real-world formulas and chemical reactions to investigate the meaning of limiting reactants.