Click TEKS Vertical Alignment to download the vertical alignment document. The Physics Vertical Alignment Tables are followed by the K–8 Science Concepts TEKS tables in this resource. You will need both of these tables to complete the actvity.

Locate P (4) on the first high school Physics Vertical Alignment Table on page 4. The P stands for physics and the 4 denotes the fourth section.

Find the header Concept Development by Grade Level and K–8 TEKS in the boxes below it. These K–8 TEKS align to the physics TEKS.

Let's look at one together. Locate P (4)(B) on the Physics Vertical Alignment Table. Which kindergarten TEKS align to P (4)(B)? K (6)(C) and K (6)(D) align to P (4)(B).

Follow the same procedure to highlight the remaining science concepts for grades K–8 that align with physics. Focus only on the K–8 TEKS printed in black. The TEKS printed in gray align to K–8, but not with the Force, Motion, and Energy strand.

What can you conclude from the highlighted TEKS?

Click Vocabulary Vertical Alignment and Vocabulary Focus to download the documents for this activity. You will see one vocabulary table for the Energy strand and another for the Force and Motion strand. The vocabulary words in the tables are listed out of alphabetical order for a reason.

Use the vocabulary focus boxes from each lesson to check off words in each table. Later in the course, you will find the vocabulary focus boxes at the beginning of each lesson. 

What do you observe about the Vocabulary Vertical Alignment Tables? You should see a stairstep effect as you work from kindergarten through fourth grade. A few of the words will be repeated each year, and some grade levels have more new words than others. Overall, though, you should be able to see which words are introduced in each grade level. This knowledge should take away a lot of the anxiety about feeling like you have too many words to teach.

Is vocabulary important and, if so, how? What techniques have you found most efficient and beneficial when teaching vocabulary? 

View the video to see how a ladder compares to a student's educational advancement.