• Practice 1: Asking Questions and Defining Problems

• • Ask questions that can be investigated and predict reasonable outcomes based on patterns, such as cause-and-effect relationships. 

• • Define a simple design problem that can be solved through the development of an object, tool, process, or system and includes several criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost. 

• Practice 2: Developing and Using Models. Students engage in these elements for grades 3-5:
  • Collaboratively develop and/or revise a model based on evidence that shows the relationships among variables for frequent and regular occurring events.  
  • Develop and/or use models to describe and/or predict phenomena. 

• Practice 3: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations. Students engage in these elements for grades 3-5:

• • Plan and conduct an investigation collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence, using fair tests in which variables are controlled and the number of trials considered. 

• • Evaluate appropriate methods and/or tools for collecting data. 

• • Test two different models of the same proposed object, tool, or process to determine which better meets criteria for success. 

• Practice 4: Analyzing and Interpreting Data. Students engage in these elements for grades 3-5:

• • Represent data in tables and/or various graphical displays (bar graphs, pictographs, and/or pie charts) to reveal patterns that indicate relationships. 

• • Analyze and interpret data to make sense of phenomena, using logical reasoning, mathematics, and/or computation. 

• Practice 6: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions. Students engage in these elements for grades 3-5:
  • Use evidence (e.g., measurements, observations, patterns) to construct or support an explanation or design a solution to a problem. 
  • Identify the evidence that supports particular points in an explanation. 
  • Generate and compare multiple solutions to a problem based on how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the design solution. 
• Practice 7: Engaging in Argument from Evidence. Students engage in these elements for grades 3-5:
  • Compare and refine arguments based on an evaluation of the evidence presented. 
  • Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in an explanation. 
  • Construct and/or support an argument with evidence, data, and/or a model. 
  • Respectfully provide and receive critiques from peers about a proposed procedure, explanation, or model by citing relevant evidence and posing specific questions. 
  • Construct and/or support an argument with evidence, data, and/or a model. 

• Practice 8: Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information. Students engage in these elements for grades 3-5:

• • Read and comprehend grade-appropriate complex texts and/or other reliable media to summarize and obtain scientific and technical ideas and describe how they are supported by evidence. 

• • Compare and/or combine across complex texts and/or other reliable media to support the engagement in other scientific and/or engineering practices. 

• • Combine information in written text with that contained in corresponding tables, diagrams, and/or charts to support the engagement in other scientific and/or engineering practices. 

• • Obtain and combine information from books and/or other reliable media to explain phenomena or solutions to a design problem. 

• CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP4 Model with mathematics. 
• CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP5 Use appropriate tools strategically. 
• CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP7 Look for and make use of structure. 

• Speaking and Listening:

• • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.1 Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas, and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. 
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.2 Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally. 

• Reading:

• • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. 
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2 Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. 
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.4 Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. 
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.6 Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. 
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.7 Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. 
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.8 Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning, as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. 
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.9 Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. 
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.10 Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. 

• Language:

• • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.L.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. 

• Determining Helpful Sources: 
  • D1.5.3-5. Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration the different opinions people have about how to answer the questions. 
• Processes, Rules, and Laws: 
  • D2.Civ.11.3-5. Compare procedures for making decisions in a variety of settings, including classroom, school, government, and/or society. 
• Gathering and Evaluating Sources: 
  • D3.2.3-5. Use distinctions among fact and opinion to determine the credibility of multiple sources. 
• Developing Claims and Using Evidence:
  • D3.3.3-5. Identify evidence that draws information from multiple sources in response to compelling questions. 
  • D3.4.3-5. Use evidence to develop claims in response to compelling questions. 
• Communicating Conclusions: 
  • D4.1.3-5. Construct arguments using claims and evidence from multiple sources. 
• Taking Informed Action: 
  • D4.6.3-5. Draw on disciplinary concepts to explain the challenges people have faced and opportunities they have created, in addressing local, regional, and global problems at various times and places. 
  • D4.7.3-5. Explain different strategies and approaches that students and others could take in working alone and together to address local, regional, and global problems, and predict possible results of their actions. 

• Self-awareness: The ability to accurately recognize one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior.
  • Identifying Emotions (1, 3, 4)
• Social Awareness: The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The ability to understand social and ethical norms for behavior and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports. 
  • Perspective-Taking (6)
• Responsible Decision-Making: The ability to make constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on ethical standards, safety concerns, and social norms. The realistic evaluation of consequences of various actions, and a consideration of the wellbeing of oneself and others. 
  • Identifying Problems (5)
  • Analyzing Situations (5, 6)
  • Solving Problems (6)
  • Evaluating (2, 6)
  • Reflecting (2, 6)
  • Ethical Responsibility (6)

This unit was designed for teachers in grades 3, 4, or 5 by providing the following supports:

• Specific callouts throughout the teacher guide to suggest when and how to modify activities to meet the needs of students who need more support or students who are ready for more, especially in the areas of literacy, math, and science practices. 
• A variety of texts and videos for obtaining information about the virus, marked to indicate their complexity so that teachers can choose which will best fit their students’ needs.
• Family Tools that invite families to share in conversations and activities that will inform class discussions and provide authentic ways for students to reflect on and share their learning.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how science and society connect. Therefore, the content of this unit includes science, social justice, and social-emotional learning, and students use literacy and math skills to explore these ideas. As such, you may see fit to teach this unit during any of those subject times in your schedule, a combination of them, or during other flexible parts of your day. For example, you might start a lesson by discussing the Family Tool responses during SEL circle time, then continue with a researching-to-learn step during your literacy block or carry out an investigation during science or social studies time. Additionally, if you do not have those subjects every day, the lesson parts could be spread over a series of days. We have included icons in the Lesson Snapshot table for each lesson to suggest subject times you might use other than science (social studies, literacy, math, and SEL). Due to space limitations, we did not suggest multiple disciplinary connections for every step in the lesson sequence, so use your judgement to decide how best to make this lesson work for your class and your schedule. We did not include the science flask icon in the Lesson Snapshot table because science practices are used throughout the lessons – the multidisciplinary connections support and enhance the science practices.

This unit consists of 13 lessons which total 21 “days” of 40 minutes each. Additionally, some lessons include “Going Deeper” parts to provide extensions and enrichments to the ideas and practices in that lesson. These Going Deeper activities are indicated with gray rows on each Lesson Snapshot table and the times suggested for them (in parenthesis) will take your class beyond the 40 minute total for that day. However, we anticipate that teachers will use information provided in the Lesson Snapshot table to adjust the parts of each lesson to fit their schedules. Some teachers will plan to use about 40 minutes of their day several days a week to teach this unit. Other teachers may choose to break the “days” into different pieces and include some or all of the Going Deeper steps to fit the needs and interests of their class. 

Just as teachers may be flexible with the amounts of time they use for these lessons each day and during what parts of their day, some teachers may choose to skip activities and/or lessons based on their students’ prior knowledge and experiences. For example, some schools begin the year practicing effective handwashing; it might make sense for those students to skip parts or all of Lesson 7. Some classes do in-depth work around media literacy and credible sources with a library information specialist or in a different social studies unit; it might make sense for those students to skip parts or all of Lesson 3. Each teacher and class can adjust this unit to meet their needs and their schedule.

• Brian J. Reiser, Project Leader, NextGen Science Storylines, Northwestern University
• Megan Bang, Project Leader, Learning in Places, Northwestern University
• Carrie Tzou, Project Leader, Learning in Places, University of Washington, Bothell
• Gail Housman, Unit Co-Lead, NextGen Science Storylines, Northwestern University
• Blakely Tsurusaki, Unit Co-Lead, Learning in Places, University of Washington, Bothell
• Jamie Deutch Noll, Writer, NextGen Science Storylines, Northwestern University
• Leah Bricker, Writer, Learning in Places, Northwestern University
• Ashley Stanely, Writer, Dewey School, Evanston, IL
• Sara Schneeberg, Writer, Ogden International School of Chicago, Chicago, IL
• Dan Voss, Writer and Reviewer, Dallas Center-Grimes High School, Grimes IA 
• Amy McGreal, Writer, James Ward Elementary School, Chicago, IL
• Ty Scaletta, Writer, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago, IL
• Katy Fatelleh, Reviewer, The Nora Project

• Geoffrey Baird MD, PhD, Professor and Interim Chair, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle
• Rebecca G. Kaplan, PhD, Library Information Specialist, Summit Middle School, Frisco, CO

The development team consulted with the following experts to inform their development of the unit.

• Edward M. Campbell, PhD, Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stritch School of Medicine
• Dennis Chao, Senior Research Scientist, Institute for Disease Modeling
• Natalie R. Davis, PhD, Assistant Professor, Early Childhood, Elementary Education, and Program in Creative & Innovative Education, Georgia State University
• Jessica Elm, MSW, PhD, Assistant Scientist, Johns Hopkins University Center for American Indian Health
• Cristine H. Legare, Professor, Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin
• Kerri Z. Machut, MD, Assistant Professor, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
• Dr. Lauren Ancel Meyers, Executive Director, UT COVID-19 Modeling Consortium, Cooley Centennial Professor of Zoology, Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin
• Ali H. Mokdad, PhD, Chief Strategy Officer, Population Health, University of Washington

• Christina Murzynski, Research Study Coordinator, Northwestern University
• Maria Gonzales, Copy Editor, Independent Contractor
• Natalie Giarratano, Copy Editor, Independent Contractor
• Diane Kraut, Permissions, DK Research, Inc.
• Chris Moraine, Multimedia Graphic Designer, BSCS Science Learning
• Shannon Barrero Watkins, Graphic and Brand Designer, Independent Contractor