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

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 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.

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 model the path of digestion using household items.

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.

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

Students will work in groups to complete an escape room challenge that replicates the process of gene expression.

Students will explore biodiversity concepts through several activities including a video, a card sort, think-pair-shares, food webs, and four corners.

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

Students will investigate balanced and unbalanced forces through a series of lab stations.