DRIVING QUESTION: How wide is the scale of living beings that we encounter, even if we can’t see them? LEARNING GOALS: To prepare and empower students to undertake a more formal study of exponents and logarithms by creating and solving math problems involving changes on a logarithmic base-ten scale. To give students an intuitive sense and appreciation of how large changes by orders of magnitude are. STEM INTEGRATION: Science: Students will learn about animals and viruses that are usually too small and fragile to see and manipulate through 3D printed models of these organisms and information

DRIVING QUESTION: If you find a fossilized skull, what clues tell you if it is a mammal or reptile? LEARNING GOALS: Learning goals are for students to collect, analyze and interpret data found in 3D printed fossil skulls. Students will be able to understand what type of information fossils can provide, including the environment where animals lived and the type of food they ate. In addition, they will have a better understanding of how much information can be found from past events regardless of size and or/time periods. COLLABORATIONS: Students will be placed in groups of 4. Each member of the

Earth Partnership offers tools for teachers learning how to guide their students, colleagues and community members through schoolyard restorations. Ten steps form the backbone of the Earth Partnership curriculum: Earth Partnership has innovative curriculum guides that direct interdisciplinary explorations in ecology and restoration. Guides are aligned to Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core and encourage growth in science, math, literacy, art, social studies, and more. The Restoration Education Guide contains more than 100 lessons keyed to Common Core Standards and Next Generation

Students will learn vocabulary about storytelling and through this storytelling vocabulary learn about the most challenging aspect of making a video: Creating an engaging story that is short and effectively conveys a message. Students will watch a short video, identify aspects of it that support their understanding of storytelling vocabulary (video, story, setting, characters, plot, conflict, theme, and solution) and the environment (environment, invasive species, cargo ship, ballast water). They will practice using these words and thinking about these concepts by reading a short story, using

The Philly Scientists project is dedicated to developing innovative science curriculum for in-school and out-of-school programs for middle school students in the West Philadelphia Promise Zone. The website contains insight on curriculum development and an example lesson. The Philly Scientists mobile app was modified from a safari animal tracking tool and walks students through identifying and cataloging neighborhood plants and animals. Local scientists visit the school sites to engage students in discussions about how scientists make good observations and aid in data collection of neighborhood

Green Ninja is a San Jose State educational initiative that develops engaging middle school science curriculum using research-based approaches. Adventures of the Green Ninja – a superhero – are told in a youth-oriented and humorous way, but grounded in science and data. Green Ninja videos are popular on YouTube with a current viewership of over 2 million. Green Ninja curriculum is designed from the ground up using the Next Generation Science Standards, and teacher professional development videos and workshops aim to support teachers with content knowledge and teaching practice. Members of the