Instructional Materials - OpenSciEd

Image for 6.1 Light & Matter

6.1 Light & Matter

Why do we sometimes see different things when looking at the same object?

Released

Image for 6.2 Thermal Energy

6.2 Thermal Energy

How can containers keep stuff from warming up or cooling down?

Released

Image for 6.3 Weather, Climate & Water Cycling

6.3 Weather, Climate & Water Cycling

Why does a lot of hail, rain, or snow fall at some times and not others?

Released

Image for 6.3 Weather, Climate & Water Cycling + Computer Science

6.3 Weather, Climate & Water Cycling + Computer Science

Why does a lot of hail, rain, or snow fall at some times and in some places and not others?

Winter 2026

Image for 6.4 Plate Tectonics & Rock Cycling

6.4 Plate Tectonics & Rock Cycling

What causes Earth’s surface to change?

Released

Image for 6.5 Natural Hazards

6.5 Natural Hazards

Where do natural hazards happen and how do we prepare for them?

Released

Image for 6.5 Natural Hazards + Computer Science

6.5 Natural Hazards + Computer Science

Where do natural hazards happen and how can we use science, technology and engineering to detect, warn, or protect people from them?

Winter 2026

Image for 6.6 Cells & Systems

6.6 Cells & Systems

How do living things heal?

Released

Image for 7.1 Chemical Reactions & Matter

7.1 Chemical Reactions & Matter

How can we make something new that was not there before?

Released

Image for 7.2 Chemical Reactions & Energy

7.2 Chemical Reactions & Energy

How can we use chemical reactions to design a solution to a problem?

Released

Image for 7.3 Metabolic Reactions

7.3 Metabolic Reactions

How do things inside our bodies work together to make us feel the way we do?

Released

Image for 7.4 Matter Cycling & Photosynthesis

7.4 Matter Cycling & Photosynthesis

Where does food come from and where does it go next?

Released

Image for 7.5 Ecosystem Dynamics

7.5 Ecosystem Dynamics

How does changing an ecosystem affect what lives there?

Released

Image for 7.6 Earth’s Resources & Human Impact

7.6 Earth’s Resources & Human Impact

How do changes in the Earth’s system impact our communities and what can we do about it?

Released

Image for 7.6 Earth’s Resources & Human Impact + Computer Science

7.6 Earth’s Resources & Human Impact + Computer Science

How can we design solutions to help our communities be more resilient to changes in Earth’s system

Winter 2026

Image for 8.1 Contact Forces

8.1 Contact Forces

Why do things sometimes get damaged when they hit each other?

Released

Image for 8.1 Contact Forces + Computer Science

8.1 Contact Forces + Computer Science

Why does contact between objects sometimes cause damage, and how can we protect against it?

Released

Image for 8.2 Sound Waves

8.2 Sound Waves

How can a sound make something move?

Released

Image for 8.2 Sound Waves + Computer Science

8.2 Sound Waves + Computer Science

How can sound make something move and how can we produce and detect it?

Released

Image for 8.3 Forces at a Distance

8.3 Forces at a Distance

How can a magnet move another object without touching it?

Released

Image for 8.4 Earth in Space

8.4 Earth in Space

How are we connected to the patterns we see in the sky and space?

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Image for 8.5 Genetics

8.5 Genetics

Why are living things different from one another?

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Image for 8.6 Natural Selection & Common Ancestry

8.6 Natural Selection & Common Ancestry

How could things living today be connected to the things that lived long ago?

Released

Image for B.1 Ecosystem Interactions & Dynamics

B.1 Ecosystem Interactions & Dynamics

How do ecosystems work, and how can understanding them help us protect them?

Released

Image for B.2 Ecosystems: Matter & Energy

B.2 Ecosystems: Matter & Energy

What causes fires in ecosystems to burn, and how should we manage them?

Released

Image for B.3 Inheritance & Variation of Traits

B.3 Inheritance & Variation of Traits

Who gets cancer and why? What can we do about it?

Released

Image for B.4 Natural Selection & Evolution of Populations

B.4 Natural Selection & Evolution of Populations

How does urbanization affect nonhuman populations, and how can we minimize harmful effects?

Released

Image for B.5 Common Ancestry & Speciation

B.5 Common Ancestry & Speciation

What will happen to Arctic bear populations as their environment changes?

Released

Image for C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth’s Systems

C.1 Thermodynamics in Earth’s Systems

How can we slow the flow of energy on Earth to protect vulnerable coastal communities?

Released

Image for C.2 Structure & Properties of Matter

C.2 Structure & Properties of Matter

What causes lightning and why are some places safer than others when it strikes?

Released

Image for C.3 Molecular Processes in Earth Systems

C.3 Molecular Processes in Earth Systems

How can we find, make, and recycle the substances we need to live on and beyond Earth?

Released

Image for C.4 Chemical Reactions in our World

C.4 Chemical Reactions in our World

Why are oysters dying, and how can we use chemistry to protect them?

Released

Image for C.5 Energy from Chemical & Nuclear Processes

C.5 Energy from Chemical & Nuclear Processes

How can chemistry help us evaluate fuels and transportation options to benefit the Earth and our communities?

Released

Image for COVID-19 & Health Equity, Grades 3-5

COVID-19 & Health Equity, Grades 3-5

How can we make decisions to care for ourselves, our families, and our communities?

Released

Image for COVID-19 & Health Equity, Grades K-2

COVID-19 & Health Equity, Grades K-2

What can we do to keep our community healthy?

Released

Image for COVID-19 & Health Equity, High School Science

COVID-19 & Health Equity, High School Science

What can we learn from the spread of the COVID-19 virus to protect our communities?

Released

Image for COVID-19 & Health Equity, Middle School Science

COVID-19 & Health Equity, Middle School Science

How can people help end pandemics?

Released

Image for P.1 Energy Flow from Earth’s Systems

P.1 Energy Flow from Earth’s Systems

How can we design more reliable systems to meet our communities’ energy needs?

Released

Image for P.2 Energy, Forces, & Earth’s Crust

P.2 Energy, Forces, & Earth’s Crust

How do forces in Earth’s interior determine what will happen to the surface we see?

Released

Image for P.3 Collisions & Momentum

P.3 Collisions & Momentum

What can we do to make driving safer for everyone?

Released

Image for P.4 Meteors, Orbits, & Gravity

P.4 Meteors, Orbits, & Gravity

How have collisions with objects from space changed Earth in the past, and how could they affect our future?

Released

Image for P.5 Electromagnetic Radiation

P.5 Electromagnetic Radiation

How do we use radiation in our lives, and is it safe for humans?

Released

Image for P.6 Stars & the Big Bang

P.6 Stars & the Big Bang

Why do stars shine and will they shine forever?

Released

Image for Unit 1.1 Waves: Light

Unit 1.1 Waves: Light

How can we read under covers when it is dark?

Released

Image for Unit 1.2 Waves: Sound

Unit 1.2 Waves: Sound

How can we communicate using objects that make sound?

Released

Image for Unit 1.3 Space: Sky Patterns

Unit 1.3 Space: Sky Patterns

What patterns of the Sun, Moon, and stars can we observe, describe, and predict?

Released

Image for Unit 1.4 Animal & Plant Traits

Unit 1.4 Animal & Plant Traits

How do animals and plants use their parts to survive?

Winter 2026

Image for Unit 2.1 Earth: Land Changing Shape

Unit 2.1 Earth: Land Changing Shape

How do wind and water change the shape of the land and what can we do about it?

Released

Image for Unit 2.2 Structure & Properties of Matter

Unit 2.2 Structure & Properties of Matter

How can we design a new toy?

Released

Image for Unit 2.3 Habitats & Biodiversity

Unit 2.3 Habitats & Biodiversity

What lives where?

Released

Image for Unit 2.4 Plants

Unit 2.4 Plants

How is that growing there?

Winter 2026

Image for Unit 3.1 Forces & Interactions

Unit 3.1 Forces & Interactions

How can we design objects to balance and move in different ways?

Released

Image for Unit 3.2 Weather & Hazards

Unit 3.2 Weather & Hazards

Why do plants only grow well in certain places, and how can we protect them?

Released

Image for Unit 3.3 Trait Variations

Unit 3.3 Trait Variations

Why do animals look and act the way they do?

Released

Image for Unit 3.4 Ecosystem Change & Survival

Unit 3.4 Ecosystem Change & Survival

How do changes to ecosystems affect what lives there?

Winter 2026

Image for Unit 4.1 Energy Transfer: Collisions

Unit 4.1 Energy Transfer: Collisions

Why does an object’s motion change?

Released

Image for Unit 4.2 Energy Transfer: Electricity

Unit 4.2 Energy Transfer: Electricity

How do we power clocks and other devices?

Released

Image for Unit 4.3 Earth Processes

Unit 4.3 Earth Processes

What causes land and things on it to change? How can we reduce the impacts on humans?

Late Fall 2025

Image for Unit 4.4 Structure & Function

Unit 4.4 Structure & Function

How do the structure and function of traits of living things benefit them?

Winter 2026

Image for Unit 5.1 Ecosystems & Matter Cycling

Unit 5.1 Ecosystems & Matter Cycling

How does a nurse log help other things live and grow?

Released

Image for Unit 5.2 Matter Properties

Unit 5.2 Matter Properties

How can we make water healthy for all living things?

Released

Image for Unit 5.3 Earth Systems

Unit 5.3 Earth Systems

How does changing the flow of water impact Earth’s systems, and how can humans help?

Winter 2026

Image for Unit 5.4 Earth in the Universe

Unit 5.4 Earth in the Universe

How and why does what I see in the sky change?

Winter 2026

Image for Unit K.1 Energy: Sunlight

Unit K.1 Energy: Sunlight

Why do some surfaces get hot and how can we make them less hot?

Released

Image for Unit K.2 Weather

Unit K.2 Weather

How can we be prepared for the weather?

Released

Image for Unit K.3 Forces & Motion

Unit K.3 Forces & Motion

How can we move things to where we want them to go?

Released

Image for Unit K.4 Ecosystems: Plants, Animals, and their Environment

Unit K.4 Ecosystems: Plants, Animals, and their Environment

What do plants and animals need and should we help them?

Winter 2026