Sixth Grade - ELA
• Literacy
1: Environment and Cycles
Unit 1: Weather and Climate
Lesson 1
Weather and Climate
Students are asked to read assigned pages of Weather and Climate and to find one or two sources of local weather data (including AccuWeather and the National Weather Service). Students watch local forecasts, explore those websites, brainstorm five purposes or audiences for forecasts, and choose one audience to rewrite the forecast tailored to that audience.
Lesson 2
Temperature and Seasons
Students read pages 8–15 and watch linked videos, giving them multiple informational sources about temperature and seasons. Students set up and record measurements in a Weather Journal for 14 days, collecting empirical data over time. Students complete hands-on activities (Model the Seasons, Seasons worksheet) that require them to test ideas about Earth's tilt, Sun's rays, and resulting seasonal temperature differences.
Lesson 3
Wind and Air Pressure
Students are directed to read textbook pages and watch multiple videos (Earth's Atmosphere, Solar Radiation, What Are Weather Fronts?) and to use online resources (AccuWeather, barometer explanation) to find current air pressure and wind data. Students carry out short, guided investigations (the "Air on the Move" bottle experiment, the warm/cold water front demonstration, building and using an anemometer) and record observations and measurements in a weather journal. The materials explicitly ask students to use charts (Wind Chill Chart, Beaufort scale) and to compare daily barometric pressure and wind direction to make a forecast, and they reference using a picture or data in a "final project."
Lesson 5
Precipitation
Students are asked to "investigate the water cycle of your local environment," study a provided diagram, read pages 35–45, and fill out a chart identifying components of the water cycle in their local area. The activity directs students to draw a local water-cycle diagram, refer to example diagrams, and suggests using a Google search (by street address) to identify geographic features. Optional hands-on work (make a rain gauge) and the video/notes activity provide additional materials students can consult while completing the investigation.
Lesson 6
Clouds
Students are directed to "research each cloud type by using the links on your book's website" and to use information from pages 52-55 of the text, the NOAA web page, a YouTube video, and a cloud identification flowchart to complete a Cloud Chart. Students take notes in the Cloud Chart (description, altitude, type of weather, clues) and will use that research to write a highlighted, neatly typed cloud article in the future. Students also use their observations recorded in a weather journal and the sources provided to identify a cloud and predict local weather.
Lesson 7
Wild Weather
Activity 1 (Wild Weather Search) asks students to choose a type of wild weather and research it, using books, the Internet, YouTube, or the provided web links. Students are directed to answer specific prompts on the Wild Weather Search worksheet (description, cause, results/damage, location, survival tips, a famous occurrence, history date/location, and interesting facts). The lesson explicitly suggests multiple resource types (National Geographic videos, UCAR page, Fact Monster) and tells students to "challenge yourself to find them all."
Lesson 8
Geography and Climate Change
Activity 3 directs students to answer the question "What influences your local weather and climate?" by using the map they created and multiple web sources (NOAA, Gulf Stream/California Current links) to determine air masses, winds, ocean currents, and geographic features that affect their area. Activity 2 and Activity 1 require students to watch specific videos and use web links and maps (PBS, National Geographic, YouTube, UCAR) as sources while creating and annotating a world climate map. The Parent Plan and Skills sections instruct students to ask questions to clarify evidence and to look up additional phenomena (e.g., El Niño, chinook winds) and share findings, indicating some practice in following up with related inquiries.
Lesson 9
Climate Change
Students watch a NASA video, read textbook pages (75–80), and use the NASA Climate Time Machine interactive to observe changes in temperature, CO2, sea ice, and sea level. Students complete the Climate Time Machine activity pages by recording and labeling differences on maps, draw conclusions about trends, and answer guided questions about causes and effects. Students also conduct a hands-on greenhouse-effect experiment, record temperatures, and discuss results with a parent, providing multiple sources of information (video, text, interactive data, and experiment).
Unit 1: The Wanderer
Lesson 1
Charting the Course
Students are asked to use an atlas or Google Maps to locate and label the stops of the boat's journey (Activity 1), and a provided web link to an author biography prompts students to look up information and answer questions about Sharon Creech. The Life Application asks students to "look online for pictures of large sailboats and their quarters" and compare them to their homes, which requires students to search the web for information and images. The skills section and parent plan explicitly encourage students to "interact with text before reading by seeking additional information."
Lesson 6
Marine Life
The lesson explicitly instructs students to "Research some of the different types of whales and dolphins" and provides multiple web links (Getty Images, NOAA species pages, two YouTube encounters) that students can use as sources. Students are asked to select an option (create a nautical mobile or make origami) after researching, and the mobile option directs students to "draw the animals to scale" and "color them in a way that reflects what they actually look like," which requires using information from sources.
Lesson 8
Changes
Students are asked to "Research either Ireland or England, focusing on what you might see and do if you visited the country," locate the countries on a map, and use provided websites (Discover Ireland, National Geographic Kids, Britannica Kids) to gather information. Students must create a 4" x 6" postcard with an illustrated side and a written message describing their visit, and the Parent Plan directs helping the child locate additional websites after selecting a country. The Parent Plan Skills section also lists "Exploring a variety of sources from which information may be attained."
Unit 2: Geography and Landforms
Lesson 1
Maps of All Kinds
Students watch multiple videos and consult print and online sources (The Geography Book, two YouTube videos, Google Maps, MapQuest, Library of Congress links) while completing activities. Students analyze five different maps of an imaginary island and select which map(s) answer specific scenarios, and they use maps to plan an alternate route for a real trip. Students create an original neighborhood map, generate symbols and a key, and compare their map to panoramic photographs.
Lesson 2
What Is Geography?
Students are asked to complete a final informative book about a local geographical feature, which requires investigating a real place and suggests field trips and local exploration. Students read specified pages of The Geography Book and use its glossary, and Option 2 explicitly directs students to look up unfamiliar terms in the book's glossary or online dictionaries. The lesson points students to multiple external tools (Google Earth, Virtual Globes list, World Map for Kids, National Geographic MapMaker) and asks students to locate news places on a globe or map, indicating use of several informational and mapping sources.
Lesson 3
Landforms
Students are instructed to read specific pages in The Geography Book and to watch linked videos (e.g., continental drift videos, delta videos) and use websites (National Geographic, NASA) to find information, which requires drawing on multiple sources. Activity pages ask students to answer focused questions such as how a delta is formed, describe erosion results, and provide examples and sentences for islands, peninsulas, straits, bays, and fjords. The Parent Plan also suggests an optional extension to conduct library or online research on examples (e.g., Mississippi River Delta or other real-world features).
Lesson 5
Human Geography
Students are asked to find population figures for cities using an atlas, road map, or the Internet (Option 2 dot map), which requires gathering data from external sources. Students are directed to read an online United Nations article about population and answer guided questions about population change and migration. Students are also asked to browse specific pages in Prisoners of Geography for two regions and complete graphic organizers comparing weather, resources, landforms, and how people benefit from or alter environments. The lesson provides multiple named sources (The Geography Book, UN article, Prisoners of Geography, web links) that students are expected to consult for activities.
Lesson 6
Interacting with the Land
Activity 3 directs students to research and create a "Resource Map of [their state]" by finding outline maps and typing their state name plus "resource map" into a search engine to find a variety of maps. The Parent Plan for Activity 3 explicitly says the child "creates a resource map of your state by researching where important natural resources are found" and practices using map keys, interpreting resource maps, and locating information from reliable sources. The Activity 3 prompt asks students to find maps with keys and draw resources on their state where they can be found, which requires consulting external map sources.
Lesson 7
Water Everywhere
Students are asked to read specified pages in The Geography Book and then use multiple web sources (EPA MyWaterway, Nature Conservancy watershed page, EPA pages on drinking water and private wells, and local water system websites) to identify their watershed and the source of their household water. Students complete activity pages ("My Watershed," "The Water at Home," and a "Water Use Chart") that require them to gather information from those sources and record bodies of water, water sources, and daily water-use data. The lesson directs students to use the web links to learn ways individual actions impact watersheds and to use that information to list five actions homeschooled kids could take.
Lesson 8
World Map - Part I
Students read assigned pages of Prisoners of Geography and answer guided questions about how geography shaped nations (for example, questions about Russia's defenses, resources, and Europe's agricultural advantages). Students label and annotate a multi-page "World Map" using the book pages as a source for locating countries, rivers, mountains, and manmade features. Students create a postcard from Russia or China and are instructed to look up images and "try to find more information about it online," with two suggested web links provided.
Lesson 9
World Map - Part II
The Postcard activity asks students to pick a geographical feature, use pages/maps from Prisoners of Geography, and "look up images... try to find more information about it online," with several web links provided. The lesson assigns specific pages to read in Prisoners of Geography and requires students to answer guided questions, which has students extract information from a book source. Map-labeling and map-assembly tasks require students to locate and use geographic information across the textbook pages as reference.
Final Project
Local Geography Book
Students are asked to select a local geographic feature, visit it if possible, take notes, and create a map or visual representation using park maps, road maps, or online map sources. Students are instructed to write detailed descriptions of landforms, waterforms, and climate and to research how people use the place and how human activities impact it. The materials reference unit books and a Unit Review Sheet as sources to consult and ask students to assemble findings into a book to share with others.
Unit 2: The People of Sparks
Lesson 1
The City of Ember
Students are instructed to watch The City of Ember and then write or perform a movie review, and they are directed to "read and/or watch movie reviews online to better understand what to include in your review." The materials provide external sources (a Scholastic student review link and Rotten Tomatoes) that students can consult. The Life Application and "Ideas to Think About" sections pose investigable questions about how environments influence people and how people adapt to environments.
Lesson 8
Unfairness
Students are asked in Activity 2 (Option 1) to brainstorm aspects of American city governments and the government of Sparks, compare them, and decide which system is more effective, which asks them to gather and use knowledge to answer a question. In Activity 1 students are instructed to look up vocabulary in a thesaurus and, if unsure, consult a dictionary, which requires consulting reference sources. The life application suggests a field trip to city hall, offering an additional real-world source students could use.
Final Project
Wars and Plagues or A New Environment
Students are asked to conduct a research project on a chosen war or plague that directs them to gather information about causes, effects on communities, and how the event ended. The materials instruct students to visit a variety of websites and library resources, list sources in a "Sources" box on the Research Organizer, and put information into their own words. Students must produce several research products that draw on that research (map of affected regions, six-event timeline, and a newspaper report integrating research and images) and use rubrics that explicitly evaluate research, map, and timeline components. The Parent Plan skills section explicitly tells students to frame questions that direct the investigation and to determine, locate, and explore a range of relevant sources.
Unit 3: Our Changing Earth
Lesson 1
The Rock Cycle
Students are asked in Activity 2 to choose a rock from their kit, find the rock's name in the kit brochure, and "research the rock online to learn more about where it might be found." Earlier tasks require students to watch a "Rock Cycle" video and read pp. 90-91 of a textbook to gather information about rock types. The lesson provides specific web links (Geology.com and two links about the Cliffs of Dover) that students can use while developing a drawing or poem about their rock's environment.
Lesson 3
Igneous Rocks and Volcanoes
Students read textbook sections and answer specific questions (Reading and Questions). They watch two videos and consult an informational webpage (geology.com) and a USGS volcano page as part of activities. Students use the USGS interactive map to choose a volcano, read its Volcano Page, and record observations (Activity 4).
Lesson 4
Earthquakes and Moving Plates
Students are assigned specific pages to read (pp. 34-39 and 42-43 of Dirtmeister) and must answer content questions based on that text. Activity 3 directs students to find the FEMA "Earthquake Shaking Hazards in the United States" page, color the map key, locate their state, and report the hazard level. Parent prompts ask students to share observations and to investigate whether their area has a history of earthquakes, which asks students to seek local information.
Lesson 5
Metamorphic and Sedimentary Rocks
Students are asked to read specific pages (pp. 66–67, re-read p. 62, and pp. 84–89) and answer directed questions, which requires using the textbook source to respond to questions. Students conduct hands-on investigations (the Cementation Experiment and the Pressure demonstration) that begin with a question or hypothesis and require them to collect results and draw conclusions. Students are directed to examine kit materials (Rock Science Kit booklet and chart) and are given web links and encouraged to "search online" to learn more about individual rock samples, providing multiple sources to consult.
Lesson 6
Weathering
Students read targeted pages in the textbook (pp. 70–71 and 106–107) and answer specific content questions. Students form hypotheses, carry out the Ice Cold Weathering experiment and the Drip, Drip, Drip demonstration, record observations, and draw conclusions. Students conduct a Weathering Walk to collect and document at least seven real-world examples using photographs, sketches, or descriptions.
Lesson 7
Erosion
Students are asked to read specific pages of Dirtmeister and answer content questions, providing a text source for investigation. Students are prompted to design and conduct their own erosion experiments, using the 'Eroding Experiments' activity page to write a question, hypothesis, materials, procedure, results, and conclusion. Students are encouraged to use images online for the flip book option and to choose their own experimental variables, which supports self-generated questions and independent inquiry.
Final Project
Presenting the Rock Cycle
Students are asked to plan and create a presentation (slide show, video, artwork, or puppet show) that answers specific questions about the rock cycle and related geological processes. Rubrics and templates require students to address multiple content questions (e.g., stages of the rock cycle; how tectonic plates, volcanoes, earthquakes, weathering, and erosion change the Earth). The materials direct students to use information from the book, the Rock Cycle chart in the science kit, and the Unit Review Sheet, which requires students to consult more than one provided source when preparing their presentations.
Unit 3: Short Stories
Lesson 2
Short Story Genre
Activity 3 directs students to "research the planet Mars" using provided web links (NASA and ESA) or library/online sources, to read about the planet, look at images, and record facts in a journal. The Parent Plan reiterates that students "research the planet Mars using provided resources and record key facts" to build background knowledge before reading the science fiction story. The activity asks students to use those resources and then produce an acrostic poem based on what they learned.
Lesson 3
The Dog of Pompeii
Day 2 Activity 4 directs students to "research the history of Pompeii using books or online sources" and to record ten important facts on the provided "Volcano Research" page. The activity provides two external sources (National Geographic Kids and History.com) and allows students to use other books or online sources. Students are also asked to synthesize what they learn by creating a RAFT product (writing/recording a poem or song as a historian) for an audience.
Lesson 4
Rip Van Winkle
Students are asked to locate the Catskill Mountains on a U.S. map and to "find pictures and information about these beautiful mountains online," indicating an information-gathering task. Option 2 explicitly directs students to "Research information about the Catskill Mountains in an encyclopedia" and then "Write ten trivia questions about the mountains," which requires collecting facts and producing questions from that research.
2: Force and Power
Unit 1: Slavery and the Civil War
Lesson 1
Antebellum America
Students are asked to "Use your local library or the Internet to research what your own state was like around 1860," which directs them to carry out a short research task. The lesson asks students to read and draw information from A History of US: War, Terrible War (pages and maps) and offers web links for map-related questions, and students revisit those sources when creating travel brochures and the unit timeline.
Lesson 2
Slavery
Students are asked to write questions in the W (Want to Know) column of a KWL chart, prompting them to generate their own questions. Students gather information from several sources — a video, assigned textbook chapters, and multiple WPA slave narratives — and take notes on provided activity pages. Students compare primary and secondary sources during Day 2 and synthesize what they learn by creating a quilt or mural using the information they collected. The lesson points students to additional web resources (PBS companion site, Library of Congress collection) for further exploration.
Lesson 4
Leadership and the Civil War
Students are instructed to read chapters 12–14 of A History of US: War, Terrible War and answer comprehension questions about Civil War leaders. Students create Civil War Leader Cards by filling in biographies, roles, notable events, and impressions, and are told they may research at least one additional leader of their own choosing. The activity directs students to use the book's glossary to find page numbers for further research and suggests the Library of Congress Civil War photographs as a source for images.
Lesson 5
The Wartime Experience
Students are directed to read chapters 15–16 of A History of US and answer comprehension questions, and Activity 4 asks students to explore an online article (or a library book) about daily life of a Civil War soldier. The Parent Plan and Activity 2 provide links to primary-source collections (Valley of the Shadow; Love Letters) and explicitly invite students to do additional library research if they are interested. The lesson also points students toward a Final Project (museum project or documentary film) as a possible extension of their inquiry.
Lesson 6
Major Battles of the Civil War
Students are assigned Chapters 18–20 of A History of US and answer specific content questions, which has them locate facts about battles (e.g., Bull Run, Antietam). Students complete a map activity that requires them to find and label battle sites and write short explanations of why each battle was significant, using the textbook as a reference. For the monument project, students choose a battle (a self-selected topic), are asked to record factual details and design elements, and are given National Park Service links and the option to research at a library or on the Internet for background and ideas.
Lesson 7
The Homefront Experience
Students are asked to read Chapters 22–24 in A History of US and answer guided questions, which requires extracting information from a historical text. Students are prompted to find modern-day prices at a grocery store or online to complete the "Rising Prices" activity, which requires them to consult an external source. Students are given an optional web link to view examples of Confederate money and instructed to use Civil War Map pages and a timeline, which asks them to consult additional materials and record events.
Lesson 9
End of War and Reconstruction
Students are assigned to read multiple sources (chapters 28-31 of A History of US and a linked website about freed people, the Freedmen's Bureau, and Black Codes) and to read the texts of the 13th–15th Amendments. Students use those sources to add events to a Civil War timeline, summarize and restate amendment meanings in their own words, and synthesize information when completing the "Meaning of Freedom" activities (drawing or outlining a historical-fiction story). A website link for additional information and research resources is provided for students to consult.
Final Project
Remembering the Civil War
Students plan and produce a museum exhibit or a documentary film that requires them to gather historical images and information (for example, directions to use Library of Congress Civil War maps and photographs). Students review and reuse prior unit work (timelines, activity pages, two unit books) and create exhibit cards or film segments that summarize topics like Antebellum America, slavery, battles, and Reconstruction. The project rubrics and activity pages ask students to provide explanations and include interactive or visual elements, prompting students to locate and incorporate supporting materials into a finished product.
Unit 1: Bull Run
Lesson 1
Background on the Civil War
Students are asked to conduct targeted research in Activity 2 by identifying and listing the main steps a territory followed to become a state, using provided web links and recording the steps in a journal. Students are asked in Activity 5 to research the Battle of Bull Run using specified secondary sources and to record information on color-coded note cards organized by topics (causes, leaders, outcomes, etc.). Students examine two primary sources in Activity 4, read diary entries and prisoner accounts, and identify facts and opinions and compare perspectives.
Lesson 2
Pink and Say
Students read the picture book Pink and Say and complete Activity 1 by identifying and recording factual information about the Civil War from the text. Students examine multiple primary-source letters in Activity 5, identifying the writer, recipient, side in the war, and opinions expressed. The lesson prompts students to compare perspectives (Activity 2) and to use a Venn diagram or visual reconstruction to compare life during the Civil War with life today (Activity 4).
Lesson 3
Joining the Ranks
Students are asked in Activity 1 to locate characters' home states and to "research to see which state contains that town" when a town is mentioned, requiring them to look up external information. Students read and analyze multiple sources in Activity 2 (the novel passages, a Civil War speech, and contemporary propaganda images) and record factual vs. opinion statements and explain how images could be used as propaganda. The lesson also directs students to use the "Cast of Characters" page and a colored map from a previous lesson to synthesize information about character origins.
Lesson 4
Ready for Battle
Students are asked to design a Civil War propaganda poster and to think about the characters they have read about and what posters would influence them. The lesson directs students to locate propaganda posters from other wars and provides three web links as sources to consult. The Parent Plan asks students to explain the message their poster conveys and how it would influence a reader, which requires using information from those examples.
Final Project
Argumentative Essay
Students are instructed to "use information you learned from the books you read on the Civil War and information you know about the time period," and the essay rubric explicitly lists "Use of knowledgeable sources?" as a criterion. Prewriting and outline activities require students to gather pros and cons and select supporting evidence for their arguments, which involves using prior sources and information.
Unit 2: Force and Motion
Lesson 2
Forces
Students are asked to read Chapter 1 of the textbook and answer specific content questions, conduct a Force Scavenger Hunt by finding two examples of each type of force around their home, and carry out hands-on investigations such as the "Book Buddies" friction experiment and the "Building Bridges" bridge-design experiments. The lesson also directs students to watch an online video about friction and to record observations and results on activity pages. Students are prompted to modify bridge designs and test outcomes, and to discuss results with a parent or partner.
Lesson 3
Gravity
Students read Chapter 2 of the textbook and answer specific questions about mass, weight, and the Moon's orbit, and they watch linked videos as part of the activities. Students perform multiple short investigations (dropping objects, building parachutes, testing water in a cup) that require forming hypotheses, following procedures, recording results, and writing conclusions. The lesson directs students to consult the book pages and videos to explain outcomes, so students use at least a textbook and video sources while investigating phenomena.
Lesson 4
Laws of Motion
Students are asked to conduct a focused experiment (Force Experiment Option 1 or 2) with an explicit research question: "Does it take twice as much force to move an object that has twice as much mass?", complete a hypothesis, record mass and force data, plot a graph, and write a conclusion. Students are also assigned to read Chapter 3 and watch a video, and to create a Laws of Motion poster using the book, the video, the provided NASA website, and other resources as desired. The marbles activity asks students to observe, draw, or describe scenarios that demonstrate each of Newton's laws, prompting direct evidence-gathering from physical play.
Lesson 5
Magnetism
Students read a chapter (Explore Forces and Motion!, pp.46-52), specific web sections, and watch two instructional videos before completing activities, showing they draw on multiple sources. Students conduct a short investigable project in Activity 1 (hypothesis, procedure, predictions, results, conclusions) to answer the question "Is a neodymium magnet stronger than a marble magnet?". Students use the readings and videos to map magnetic field lines with a compass and produce diagrams that apply information from those sources.
Unit 2: Albert Einstein
Lesson 1
Who Is Albert Einstein?
Activity 1 directs students to "research the life of Isaac Newton online or in an encyclopedia," take notes on note cards, and provides two web links as possible sources. Activity 2 asks students to "think of three or four questions" about Einstein and record them, then look through the book to find answers. The Parent Plan reiterates that students should record 6–10 facts on note cards and use online or encyclopedia sources for the Newton research.
Lesson 4
Research and Discovery
Students read Chapters 5 and 6 and answer comprehension questions, add events to a timeline, and complete a Biography Web that asks them to locate and record four major events from Einstein's "miracle year." Students watch two specified videos, take notes on important ideas, and then write a summary of one video. Students also perform a hands-on "Bending Light" demonstration and explain the theory of relativity using toys, which requires them to use information from the text and videos to construct explanations.
Lesson 6
Fame
Students are instructed in Activity 2 to look up "Albert Einstein" in an encyclopedia, read the entry, and compare that encyclopedia entry to the biography they read and the videos they watched. Students answer explicit comparison questions on the Forms of Media activity page and then explain to a parent how the three sources each contributed to their understanding and the benefits and limitations of each source. The reading task (Chapters 9 and 10) and timeline activity require students to draw information from the biography text as they complete comprehension questions.
Lesson 8
Peace
Students are asked to revisit four questions they recorded earlier and to "continue to research those questions" if unanswered (Activity 1). In Activity 2 students generate two abstract scientific questions, develop a plan that asks "Where will you look for information?" and "Have others already asked the question? What have they discovered?", and are instructed to select one question and attempt to find the answer; the Student Activity Page captures Question, Plan, and Answer. The closing text notes students have read a biography, watched videos, and read an encyclopedia entry, indicating multiple source types are available for investigation.
Final Project
Biography Scrapbook
Students are instructed to "use your biography web and timeline to assist you in finding information" and to "locate at least three photographs... printed from the Internet," which requires gathering factual materials. The Parent Plan Skills explicitly state that students will "conduct research (with assistance) from a variety of sources for assigned or self-selected projects." Students must fill in factual details on a birth certificate and create journal entries and letters using information about Einstein, which requires consulting source material.
Unit 3: World Wars I and II
Lesson 1
World War I Begins
Students are instructed to read Where Poppies Grow (pages 4-21) and to review an external web link titled "Military Technology in World War I," which provides additional information for the Technology activity. Students choose one technology, draw it based on images from their reading or research, and answer guided questions describing the technology and its impact. The Life in the Trenches activity asks students to select a photograph and write responses comparing visual and written sources and describing hardships, and the parent notes prompt discussion of primary vs. secondary sources.
Lesson 2
In the Trenches and on the Homefront
Students read a secondary source (Where Poppies Grow, pages 22–33) and are asked discussion questions about how historians learn about the past. Students are prompted in the extension to ask parents or grandparents for primary-source materials (photographs, toys, writings) and to examine those items. The lesson provides a primary-source web link (The Stars and Stripes) and asks students to think about what kinds of primary sources an author might use, which engages students in identifying sources.
Lesson 7
War in the Pacific and North Africa
The Weapons of War activity asks students to consult the textbook index and "talk to your parent about the possibility of library or Internet research" to find more information or images, and offers two options that require describing and comparing weapons using sources. The Life Application and web links direct students to the Library of Congress oral-history collections and suggest visiting a local library or interviewing community members as research opportunities. The map activity directs students to "review the readings from this lesson" and to use maps in the readings to locate and label events, which requires using at least the assigned textbook as a source.
Lesson 9
The End of World War II
Students are asked in Activity 2 to take reporter-style notes on the bombings of Hiroshima or Nagasaki and are told they may use "today's reading as well as Internet resources," which directs them to gather information from more than one source. The reporter task requires students to answer focused research questions (who, what, when, where, why), and offers written or recorded options, constituting a short research-style project. The lesson also asks students to revisit their "World Leaders" activity page and add information they have found, which encourages follow-up investigation.
Final Project
A World War II Board Game
Students are asked to create thirty-six question-and-answer cards across three categories (Europe, the Pacific, U.S. homefront), which requires them to write self-generated questions and answers. The instructions tell students to use their activity pages and say they "may also use additional research if she desires," allowing students to consult unit materials and other sources. Students must produce trivia cards and correct answers and may test their knowledge by playing the game with others.
Unit 3: Number the Stars
Lesson 4
In Hiding
The Jewish Culture and Religion activity instructs students to "use the Internet or other resources to find information about the Jewish people and the Jewish religion" and to record that information on a menorah graphic organizer, which requires information gathering. The Discussion Director task asks students to write four open-ended discussion questions about Chapters 5 and 6, and the Life Application asks students to think of questions they might ask a Jewish friend, which prompts students to generate questions related to their topic.
Lesson 5
In the Country
The Life Application asks students to locate and interview a person who lived during World War II and to ask that person to describe societal and individual effects of the war, which directs students to gather primary-source information. Students are asked elsewhere to read chapters, record ideas in a journal, and create maps or descriptions of settings with page references, which has them extract evidence from the text as a source. Students also write postcards or coded messages, demonstrating synthesis of historical context into a written product.
Lesson 6
Aunt Birte is Dead
Activity 2 directs students to an external PBS web page about Barbara Rodbell, instructing them to read her story, click "-more-" to continue, retell it to a parent, and answer a journal question about how her message applies to WWII and today. The "Ideas to Think About" and discussion questions ask students to consider historical conflict and consequences, prompting inquiry-based reflection connected to the web reading.
Lesson 9
A Magazine Article
Students are directed to read the book's Afterword and to "do a little more research" using two provided web links and other trusted websites or library resources (Activity 2). They are instructed to put information in their own words to avoid plagiarism, to look for a memorable quotation and pictures, and to indicate where quotations and images came from by including the web link or source information. The research activity is explicitly tied to an assigned question: writing an expository magazine article about Denmark's involvement in World War II.
Final Project
Think-Tac-Toe
Students choose Think-Tac-Toe tasks that include explicit research-oriented activities such as the "Online Holocaust Museum Center" and "Learn more about the heroes and dangers of the Danish Resistance." The Think-Tac-Toe Cards explicitly list research tasks (e.g., researching Alexander Hamilton and the Han Dynasty) that require students to investigate historical topics and produce products. Students are instructed to gather materials, present findings in a specified format, and share or explain what they learned to family.
3: Change
Unit 1: Matter
Lesson 1
Elements and the Periodic Table
Students read assigned pages of a science book and watch a linked video and then answer specific questions, which has them draw on those sources to respond. Students locate the 12 most common elements on a periodic table, use activity pages and charts (atmosphere, ocean, crust, body) as informational sources, and build and explain clay/ toothpick models of compounds found in different environments. Students share their models and explain which compounds are common in the atmosphere, crust, ocean, and body, using their observations and the provided charts.
Lesson 2
Introduction to Metals
Students choose a metal to learn more about (Activity 4) and are directed to read about that element in the book and use an online interactive periodic table, which requires consulting at least two sources. Students collect facts (name, symbol, atomic number, group, characteristics, uses, interesting facts) and produce a collage or informational poster as a product of their inquiry. Other activities ask students to read pages and answer targeted questions about metal families and properties, and to carry out demonstrations that require reading background material.
Lesson 3
Introduction to Metalloids
Students are directed to "find out more" about a chosen metalloid (germanium, arsenic, antimony, or tellurium) and to create a poem or mini-book, which requires collecting information. The lesson points students to multiple sources: specific pages in Fizz, Bubble, and Flash!, a video segment (starts at 2:14), and an interactive periodic table web link to consult. The mini-book template and the listed sections (How it's Used; Other Characteristics; Appearance; Interesting Facts; Where it's Found) guide students to gather focused facts about the element.
Lesson 4
Introduction to Nonmetals
Students are asked in Activity 1 to pick one gaseous nonmetal to research using the textbook pages and an external interactive periodic table website, and to report three things they learned and examples of where the element is used or found. The lesson provides multiple sources (specified book pages, a web link to an interactive periodic table, and a video) for students to draw information from. In Activity 2 students are directed to formulate a question for a hands-on experiment, record materials, procedure, observations, and write a conclusion that answers their question.
Lesson 6
Classifying by Density
Students are asked to watch a video and read two short texts ("Don't Be Dense" and "A Density Riddle") and then answer specific questions, providing at least two distinct sources for learning. Students use an external periodic table with density values plus the book's periodic table (page 10) to solve the Density Puzzles, which requires consulting multiple referenced sources. Activities ask students to design and conduct hands-on investigations (balloon demonstration, Will It Float? experiments) and to create a physical presentation comparing two objects of equal weight, which involves gathering evidence and making explanatory claims.
Lesson 7
Classifying by Magnetic Properties
Students read assigned pages in the book (pages 107, 109, and the "Bird Brains" section on page 110) and answer targeted questions about magnetism. Students visit an external webpage (the "Opposing Forces" link) and examine a supplied periodic table that is color-coded for magnetic properties. Students perform hands-on investigations by magnetizing metal strips, testing paper-clip attraction, and optionally demagnetizing magnets to test changes in strength.
Lesson 8
Classifying by Conductivity
Students are instructed to read an article at a provided web link and read about tungsten and yttrium on p. 101 of Fizz, Bubble, and Flash!, then answer specific content questions. Students are given an optional video link about superconductors to watch to learn more. Students also carry out hands-on investigatory activities (It's Electric! and Feel the Heat) that require making observations and drawing conclusions about conductivity.
Lesson 9
Classifying by Water Solubility
Students are asked to read specific pages of the book (pages 17, 20, 26, 29) and to answer content questions about sodium and calcium. Students design and carry out experiments (Cold Salt or Hot & Cold Salt and a hard-water demonstration) by writing hypotheses, procedures, observations, and conclusions on provided activity pages. Prompts such as "How does water change when different elements are dissolved into it?" and "Do you think these compounds would dissolve in oil? Try it and see!" invite students to pose investigation questions and follow up with testing.
Final Project
Mystery Elements
Students carry out a Matter Challenge in which they examine and test four mystery elements for properties (state, color, luster, heaviness, magnetism, malleability) and record observations on provided observation and analysis pages. Students are directed to compare their test results with information gathered throughout the unit and to use listed resources (unit lessons, a book, and an interactive periodic table link) to research elements that remain after elimination. The rubric and directions prompt students to choose and design additional experiments to gain more information and to explain their reasoning when identifying elements.
Unit 1: Tuck Everlasting
Lesson 4
The Tucks
The lesson asks students to "Do some research to determine if the water in your community comes from a groundwater source," prompting a short, focused research task. The lesson provides an investigating-groundwater simulation with materials and procedures and a linked Groundwater Video that students can use to gather information. Parent prompts ask students to explain what is happening beneath the surface when it rains and to discuss the spring in the story as a groundwater source, which directs student inquiry and observation.
Lesson 9
The Plan
Students read multiple sources about magical waters (the novel chapters, two Norse myths on the Magic Waters page, and a linked Wikipedia article about the Fountain of Youth) and are asked to record three similarities and three differences between those stories and the novel. Students use a journal to record ideas and compare across the provided texts, indicating they draw on several sources to complete a comparative task. The activity directs students to read and synthesize information from at least three different texts.
Lesson 10
The Water and the Toad
Students are asked to read an author interview via a provided web link (a secondary source) and to watch the movie adaptation, then record three ways the movie differed from the book, which requires comparing at least two sources. Option 1 asks students to think of three additional interview questions, which asks students to generate new, related questions. The activities therefore involve consulting external material and producing comparative observations and questions.
Unit 2: Civil Rights
Lesson 2
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Students use the Research Workshop pages to record what they already know about the Civil Rights Movement and to list at least five questions or topics they want to learn more about. Students are told they will conduct either an oral history interview or independent research later in the unit and that the questions they generate should guide that future research. An optional extension lists multiple online primary and secondary sources that students (with supervision) can use to investigate the boycott and Rosa Parks.
Lesson 3
School Desegregation
Students are asked in Activity 3 to narrow a research topic using their "What I Want to Know" page and to list at least three potential interviewees or research subjects, including reasons and potential problems for each choice. Students are directed to use library catalogs and online resources to identify materials and to consult multiple web links and a book (Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round) when preparing their radio broadcast. Students also practice generating questions in Activity 2 by writing four interview questions for a member of the Little Rock Nine or composing a letter that prompts follow-up questions.
Lesson 4
Sit-Ins and Freedom Rides
The lesson includes a Research Workshop where students begin to develop research questions and choose between an oral history (Option 1) or a biographical research project (Option 2). In Option 1 students are instructed to write 2 factual, 3 descriptive, and 1 big-picture question for an interview, and in Option 2 students complete a "Writing Research Questions" page with starter questions and space to add 5–9 additional questions. The lesson also tells students that "as you read more about the topic you've chosen, you will probably come across new information that will lead to other questions," prompting question generation.
Lesson 7
Freedom Summer
Students read assigned pages from a nonfiction book about Freedom Summer and answer comprehension questions that require extracting information about voting barriers and freedom schools. Students conduct a short, guided interview with an adult using provided questions and either record it or take notes, producing primary-source responses. Students use the interview responses and what they learned from the reading to create a persuasive magazine advertisement encouraging people to vote, and an optional web link to historical ads is provided as an additional resource.
Lesson 8
Conducting Your Research
Students are instructed to revisit their research questions, add new questions, and write one research question at the top of each notes page, showing explicit practice generating and refining focused questions. Students must identify at least three books and (if using the Internet) two or more websites and may include other media, demonstrating that they will draw on several sources. Students are guided to read sources, record information tied to specific questions, and cite the source (e.g., "Source #5, pages 26–27"), showing explicit note-taking that links evidence to questions. In the oral-history option, students prepare and use self-generated questions, practice follow-up questioning, and ask clarifying and additional questions during the interview.
Lesson 9
Legacies of the Movement
Students are asked in Activity 2 Option 2 to "find out about an example of discrimination that is occurring somewhere in the world today" and to create a flyer that explains the injustice and provides at least two ideas for what people can do to help. The Parent Plan for Option 2 instructs students to use a newspaper, news magazine, or the Internet to find a topic and suggests using search engines to locate news items, indicating students will gather information from external sources. The Parent Plan also states that students will "do research on a modern example of discrimination and the ways activists are trying to solve problems," linking student investigation to real-world sources and activist responses.
Final Project
Presenting Your Research
Students are asked to present results of independent oral-history or library research in two parts, including creating a mock interview (writing five interviewer questions and scripted answers) and producing a second product (learning station, illustrated book, book review, podcast, or dramatic performance). The instructions tell students to go back through unit readings to find information to incorporate into a podcast script and to place books, images, timelines, and other resources at a learning station for audience members. The lesson also invites students to expand an interview by interviewing one or two additional people and to use earlier activities to help write questions.
Unit 2: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Lesson 2
A Visitor
Students are asked to "Research the state of Mississippi" in Activity 2 and are given three web links and a prompt to use an encyclopedia. For Option 1, students complete a "Mississippi Facts" sheet that asks for natural resources, weather and climate, population, three historical events, and answers to explicit comparison questions (How is Mississippi similar to your state? How is Mississippi different?). For Option 2, students create a tri-fold brochure that requires gathering map details, natural resources, climate information, statistics, photos of farms, and descriptions of historical events.
Lesson 9
Papa's Accident
Students are asked to read Chapter 9 and to use information from the reading; a web link ("Sharecropping in the American South" video) is provided for background and students are told to watch it and consider sharecropper life. Option 2 directs students to go online to locate a picture of a sharecropping family and to paste it on paper with a written quote, and the editing activity asks students to "incorporate information from their reading or research." These elements show students gathering information from the text and at least one online source and producing a product (diagram, picture+quote) based on that information.
Final Project
Unit Test and Presentation for Change
Students are asked to prepare a four-slide presentation to the mayor that presents the problem, provides examples of discrimination (based on the story and Jim Crow laws and other unit videos/text), suggests ways to make changes, and describes predicted community improvements. Students must use a PowerPoint Organizer to plan slides and include bullet points, charts/diagrams, and at least one graphic per slide. A rubric and parent notes require students to support opinions with detailed evidence and to deliver a focused, coherent presentation.
Unit 3: Chemical Change
Lesson 3
Physical Changes
Students are asked to read specified pages from Kitchen Chemistry (Chapters 4–6 and later pages) and use that information to complete Activity 1 and answer Day 2 questions, showing they gather information to answer assigned questions. Activity 3 directs students to define phase-change terms using resources like a glossary or dictionary and to draw labeled arrows, indicating use of at least one additional reference and organizing findings. The lesson asks students to brainstorm examples with a parent and to record real-life observations on index cards, which prompts students to collect observations and reflect on questions about physical vs. chemical changes.
Lesson 4
Chemical Changes
Students read specified pages of a textbook and watch a video, then answer guided questions (e.g., "What are reactants? What are products?"). Students conduct multiple short, hands-on investigations (Color Shift, It's a Gas, Rusty Shapes, Clean Pennies, Prepare a Precipitate) that require writing hypotheses, recording observations, and drawing conclusions. Several activities ask students to revisit experiments across days and to explain how the results demonstrate chemical changes, prompting students to use experimental data to answer questions such as "How can you tell if a chemical change produces a gas?".
Lesson 5
Acids and Bases
Students are asked to read specific pages of Kitchen Chemistry and answer directed questions, which engages them in a focused inquiry using a textbook source. Students collect 6–10 household items, make predictions, test pH with strips or litmus paper, record results, and explain outcomes, which constitutes a short investigative project. The Wrapping Up section instructs students to use the Internet to check predictions, providing at least one additional information source for follow-up.
Final Project
Demonstrating the Concepts
Students plan and conduct a short project: they choose between a Digestive System investigation (set up demonstrations, take notes, photos/video, and answer questions such as how stomach acid breaks down food) or a Chemistry Fair (select four experiments, create posters explaining the concepts, and present to family). The Chemistry Fair Plan asks students to list experiments, supplies, locations, and the chemical-change principles each experiment demonstrates, and students are directed to use activity pages, unit lessons, and optional Kitchen Chemistry experiments. The final product requires students to present findings in a poster or slideshow and to answer focused questions on whether observed changes are physical or chemical.
Unit 3: The Giver
Lesson 9
Rosemary
Activity 2 directs students to find an online art gallery and locate a painting in which one color is dominant, to find and print small images of paintings for each color, and to use provided web links as starting points. Students are asked to record the feeling they associate with each color and to consider the question, "Does the painting cause the feeling you identified?", which prompts them to search for and evaluate artwork as evidence. The activity requires students to collect and organize images and to respond in writing about the relationship between color and emotion.
4: Systems and Interaction
Unit 1: North and South America
Lesson 1
Geography of North America
Activity 4 directs students to select a geographical feature in Mexico or Canada, use maps in Prisoners of Geography, and "look up images of the geographical feature or location, and try to find more information about it online," with several web links provided. Multiple activities require students to read specified pages in Prisoners of Geography and answer comprehension questions (e.g., Day 1 and Day 2 reading questions). Map- and timeline-activities ask students to use the book to label, shade, and number territories, which requires extracting information from the given source.
Lesson 2
North America Economies
Students carry out a multi-day data collection project in the "Made in the U.S.A.?" activity by choosing 10–15 household items, checking product labels or using a computer to record each item's country of origin, and tallying or graphing the results. Students answer guided questions such as which country produced the most items and how many items were made in their country, and they may use packaging information and online checks as sources. In Activity 1, students identify and list natural, capital, and human resources for specific industries (lumber, automobiles, oil), applying vocabulary to real-world industries and potentially researching industry details with parental assistance.
Lesson 3
The Cultures of North America
In Activity 3 students choose one American holiday, research its history and how it is celebrated, and complete an "American Holidays" research page with prompts (name, date and why, origins, past and present celebrations, symbols, foods, and family traditions). The activity instructs students to use resources such as an encyclopedia, local library, or (with parental assistance) the Internet and to give a presentation to their family using props. The research page provides multiple focused questions that guide investigation into different avenues of the holiday's history and cultural practices.
Lesson 4
Geography of Central America, The Caribbean, and South America
Students are asked to "Pick a country" and answer guided questions on a country activity page using an online source (National Geographic Kids), which requires them to locate information about capital, language, resources, economy, and geographical features. Students complete an "Island Data Disk" for a chosen island, filling sections on resources, climate, industry, points of interest, plants/animals, and environment using provided web links and sample materials. The lesson directs students to read specific pages in Prisoners of Geography and to watch videos about Central America and the Caribbean, all of which serve as sources students must draw on to complete the map- and research-based activities.
Lesson 5
Governments in Latin America
Students are directed to use an external web link titled "Types of Governments" to look up political systems and then complete a matching activity and list country examples. Students are asked to watch a video ("Intro to Latin America – Political Development") and pause to answer fill-in-the-blank and short-answer questions about causes of revolution and key historical figures. Option 2 asks students to write a compare-and-contrast response about multiparty democracies versus one-party states, which requires synthesizing information from the provided material.
Lesson 6
Economic Systems of Central and South America
Students are instructed to use the Internet and several provided web links in Activity 1 to explore natural resources and agriculture for multiple countries and to fill in charts for seven countries. In Activity 4, students select a country and research five aspects of its economy (imports/exports, industry, natural resources, agriculture) using online searches and recommended reliable sources. Activity 2 asks students to locate South American products at home or online (scavenger hunt) or gather images for a collage, requiring targeted information gathering from labels or web resources.
Lesson 7
Central and South American Culture
Students are directed to watch multiple videos and follow several web links (e.g., National Dishes of Latin America, How Peruvian Weaving is Done, History of the Piñata) and to use library or online resources to locate examples of South American designs. Students are asked to identify traditional Central American foods their family uses and record information on a Foods of Central America activity page, and to chart and replicate a chosen geometric design using graph paper. The lesson includes open-ended prompts and 'Ideas to Think About' questions that invite inquiry about how culture is influenced by environment and how art and music reflect culture.
Final Project
Embassy Reception or Trivia Game
The project options require students to research a chosen North or South American country using multiple sources (Prisoners of Geography, library resources, and/or the Internet) and provided web links. Student activity pages guide students to record factual information about geography, history/government, economy, and culture and to collect that research on the "Embassy Presentation Research" pages. Option 2 asks students to write forty trivia questions and answers, representing at least twenty countries and including at least ten questions each on political/economic systems, geography, and cultures, which requires gathering information from several sources.
Unit 1: Esperanza Rising
Lesson 1
Tragedy in Mexico
Students are asked to read the nonfiction book What Was the Great Depression (pp. 1–81) and answer specific content questions, which requires locating information in a text. The Great Depression Photo Journal activity directs students to choose two firsthand accounts, paste them on construction paper, locate and print images from provided web links (Library of Congress, PBS, etc.), and credit the sources. The Setting Map activity instructs students to use an atlas or online map to locate and label geographic places, and the Parent Plan/Skills section references seeking additional information and integrating main ideas from multiple sources.
Lesson 3
Train Ride
The lesson's Option 2 directs students to compare Mexico and the U.S. on two Venn diagrams and explicitly instructs them to "use the two websites listed below to help you fill in the two diagrams," which requires consulting multiple sources. The student activity pages ask students to identify similarities and differences in social/class and political systems, an answerable research prompt. Earlier, students are asked to write four discussion questions about the chapters, which has students generate their own questions about the text.
Lesson 4
Los Angeles
Students read a nonfiction section about the Okies and the Dust Bowl (pages 82–89) and use a U.S. map with scale to estimate migration distance from Oklahoma City to Los Angeles. Students view linked photos and documentary video clips, pause and rewind as needed, and record interesting quotes from those sources in their journals. Students synthesize gathered material by creating a poster titled "The Dust Bowl" that includes an image and recorded quotes.
Lesson 9
The Strike
Students are directed to listen to two primary-source interviews (Library of Congress links) and to examine reasons workers might strike, recording examples from the book that support those reasons and summarizing with page numbers. Students use the provided "On Strike!" graphic organizer to record and categorize textual evidence for different strike motivations. The lesson also offers broader "Ideas to Think About" questions (e.g., how resources influence an economy) that can prompt inquiry into economic and labor issues.
Unit 2: Cells
Lesson 2
Animal Cells
Students read assigned textbook pages and answer content questions that focus their inquiry about organelles. Students create primary data by preparing cheek-cell slides and observing paramecia under a microscope, sketching what they see and noting observations. Students are given web links (animal cell structure page, paramecium diagram, and a video) and an option to use the Internet, then synthesize findings into a written report or oral presentation comparing cheek cells and paramecia.
Lesson 4
Systems of Plant and Animal Cells
Students are asked to read assigned pages in a textbook and answer content questions, showing use of a written source. In Activity 2 students are instructed to watch a video and may use an online slideshow as a reference to sketch the four levels of organization for a chosen system, which asks them to use at least two sources to complete a task. Activity 4 has students examine and identify electron microscope images using provided clues and prior knowledge, asking them to compare image evidence to biological concepts.
Lesson 5
Large Systems of Life: Ecosystems
Students read multiple provided informational pages (grasslands, planktonic and benthic habitats) and answer guided questions about those readings. Students design and carry out a short, focused investigation by writing a research question and hypothesis ("Will a change in ____ help more brine shrimp hatch?"), set up control and variable jars, record results over several days, and draw conclusions. Students also create diagrams labeling organisms, populations, communities, and abiotic/biotic factors, and discuss findings with a parent.
Lesson 6
Classifying Life
Students are asked to watch a video and read a webpage and then answer guided questions, drawing on those sources. In Activity 3 students must locate images and use the Internet or other resources to find and write scientific names for 11 animals to create a collage. Multiple web links (video, Britannica, Animal Diversity, cellsalive, prokaryote diagram) are provided and students are directed to use these resources when completing tasks.
Final Project
Cells and Life on Earth
Students are asked to complete a final project (a poster) that requires them to explain how each kingdom is similar to and different from the others on a cellular level and to include labeled cell illustrations. Students perform hands-on observation (microscope sketches of fungi) and are directed to gather and review their prior sketches and notes (animal, plant, protist) to inform the poster. Parent notes explicitly suggest that if students are unsure of answers they should review the book or "look up answers using the Internet or other resources."
Unit 2: The Tree That Time Built
Lesson 1
Fields
In Activity 3 students are instructed to "find an encyclopedia and read about Charles Darwin and how his discoveries and ideas changed the face of science," which directs students to locate and read an informational source. After reading, students are asked to record three questions they would ask Darwin and two things they would show or tell him, requiring students to generate their own questions based on their reading. The lesson also frames poets and scientists as investigators, prompting students to think about observation and inquiry.
Lesson 3
Prehistoric
Students are asked to "research your animal so that you know details about its habitat and how it lived" when writing an obituary, and they are directed to read examples of obituaries in the newspaper or online. The lesson provides external sources (two video links to dinosaur videos and National Geographic) that students can watch as information sources. The "Ideas to Think About" question prompts students to consider how nature teaches about past life, which could guide inquiry.
Lesson 9
Preservation
Students are asked to "select a different endangered or extinct species to learn more about" and "after researching the animal, write a poem," which requires a short research task about an organism. Students are also instructed to "select one of these poets and learn more about his or her life," with explicit suggestions to use the library or online sources and to search nonfiction in the library. Parents are asked to help locate poems (suggesting gathering multiple texts) and students must choose poems to read and analyze, indicating follow-up work based on the research.
Unit 3: Incas, Aztecs, and Maya
Lesson 1
Incas, Aztecs, and Maya History and Geography
Students read DKfindout! Maya, Incas and Aztecs (pp. 4-11) and answer targeted questions about artifacts and similarities among the three cultures. Students examine maps (Activity 2), begin a unit timeline binder (Activity 1), and are given an optional video and an interactive PBS map link as additional information sources. Students are prompted to note what they are wondering about artifacts, and to think about future topics they want to learn more about.
Lesson 3
Three Cities
Students are asked to read specified pages in DKfindout! and then answer a set of questions (Question #1–#5), which requires using a text source to find information. Students are also directed to take a virtual field trip using three video links about Tenochtitlan, Chichén Itzá, and Machu Picchu, and parents are encouraged to discuss observations and questions with students. The lesson includes discussion prompts and comparison tasks (e.g., write three words/phrases describing each city) that ask students to gather information and synthesize it into responses.
Lesson 6
Warfare and Gold
Students are directed to read specific pages (pp. 32-33 and 50-51 of DKfindout! Maya, Incas, and Aztecs) and to watch a Britannica video about Incan gold, providing at least two sources of information. Students answer scaffolded questions on the Student Activity Pages (e.g., "What did gold mean to the Incas?"; "Where did the Incas find the gold nuggets…?") and complete related tasks such as drawing a chosen gold object. Students also complete a cut-and-paste ordering activity and an open-response item asking which weapon would be most effective and why.
Lesson 8
The Maya and the Aztecs
Students watch assigned videos (How They Did It - Growing Up Aztec; Mayan Civilization for Kids; Aztec music) and use information from those videos to complete activity pages such as the Aztec Children Timeline and The Mayan Empire question page. Students assemble timeline cards (Decline of Mayan Power, Aztecs Arrive in Central Mexico, etc.) and answer a focused prompt asking for reasons historians think caused the decline of the Mayan Empire. Students also respond to guided discussion questions and fill in vocabulary and matching activities tied to the video content.
Lesson 9
History and Archaeology
Students are asked to read assigned pages and watch two videos, take notes, and write paragraph summaries of the fall of the Aztec and Incan empires, which requires using those source materials. In Activity 5 students must identify an Incan artifact from a book or online (with parent help), sketch it, and answer guided questions about its age, origin, use, and what it reveals about Incan culture. The lesson also directs students to add timeline cards and use documentary/web sources, creating multiple opportunities to consult different materials.
Final Project
Time Machine
Students are instructed to complete a Time Machine journal and are told they "may need to refer back to Dkfindout! Maya, Incas, and Aztecs or to your earlier lessons" to fill in journal pages. Students are told to review the "Things to Know" sections, timeline, maps, and earlier activity pages and are given a Unit Review Sheet link to study for the unit test. Students complete open-ended test questions (Option 2) that require describing ceremonies, writing systems, and cities, and they must incorporate information from DKfindout! and previous lessons when finishing their journal.
Unit 3: Secret of the Andes
Lesson 2
The Valley
Students are directed to explore multiple web sources about the Incas (Britannica, Ducksters, PBS) and to add information they find to an "Elements of Incan Culture" chart/graphic organizer. Instructions ask students to focus on the most important information and to record an overall picture of the culture using words and pictures. The Parent Plan lists the skill "Locate and explore the full range of relevant sources addressing a research question and systematically record the gathered information," indicating students will practice finding and recording information from several sources.
Lesson 4
The Journey
Students are asked to "Research some of the wildflowers in your state" and to "use your guidebook to identify wildflowers you discover," which requires them to locate information and compile a Wildflowers book. In the Peru Photo Collage option, students are instructed to "Locate pictures of the Andes mountains and the country of Peru" and to "consider the different elements of culture that you researched in Lesson 2," implying they will seek external images and cultural information (internet or books). Parent notes explicitly tell students to use websites/books and to check that cultural elements from prior research are included.
Lesson 6
Llama Training
Students are asked to create a "Guide to Incan Landmarks" book and to write an interesting description of each site and its historical significance. The activity provides multiple web links (Machu Picchu, Temple of the Sun, Maras Salt Mines, Sacred Valley, Tambomachay, Cusco) and explicitly tells students they can use those websites as sources of information. The parent-plan skills list states students should locate and explore relevant sources and synthesize research into a written or oral presentation.
Lesson 9
Belonging
Students are directed to "read about llamas in a reference book or on one of the following websites" (Britannica, Discovery, Llama Legends) and then select an activity. In Option 2 students must "make your own simple slideshow presentation" with five specified slides (Intro, care, historical uses, facts, choice), requiring them to gather and organize information. The lesson provides multiple external sources and asks students to produce an informational product for an audience (young children).
1: Semester 1
Unit 1: Egypt and Mesopotamia
Lesson 1
Civilizations
The Brainstorming activity (Activity 3) directs students to write what they already know about ancient Egypt and to generate at least six questions they still have, which provides explicit practice in creating self-generated research questions. The Parent Plan and Activity 2 (timeline) encourage students to look for answers to their questions over the course of the unit and to add their own timeline cards, implying that students may pursue topics further and record findings. The reading and follow-up comprehension questions ask students to read informational text and respond, giving students practice working with at least one source.
Lesson 2
Archaeology
Students read pages 8–9 to learn archaeological methods and then carry out a hands-on or online dig in which they locate, record (on a Dig Site Map), and analyze three artifacts using the 'Analyzing Artifacts' pages. Students record where artifacts were found, clean them, describe material and use, estimate age, and draw pictures, and then answer a concluding prompt: "Based on these three artifacts, what conclusions can you reach about the people who once owned or created them?" Option 2 directs students to an online dig (Archaeological Institute of America interactive digs) that provides photos, field notes, and reports to examine.
Lesson 3
Mesopotamia
Students are asked to generate questions during pre-reading (Questions 1–3) and to circle/underline one question to answer, then complete the reading and report the answer (Question 4). Activity 8 asks students to create a research poster about a Mesopotamian civilization, instructing them to refer to the textbook, conduct additional research in the library or online with parental assistance, and includes provided web links. The poster directions require a map, specific factual claims (resource use, cultural elements, inventions), and ask students to note URLs under images they use.
Lesson 4
Ancient Egypt
Students are asked to generate questions about the reading (Question #3) and later note whether those questions were answered (Question #4), which prompts inquiry and checking information. Students are directed to read specific pages (12-13, 24-25) and may write short summaries of each 2-page section, practicing targeted information gathering. Students complete a map using the book and an online map link, requiring them to consult at least two sources for geographic information. Students are told to "look up the ruler" when completing Egyptian Ruler Trading Cards and to fill in dates and facts, prompting students to locate factual information from outside the text.
Lesson 5
Egyptian Religion and Myths
Students are asked to pre-read pages 14–17 and write down a few questions about the topics and short summaries, which prompts them to generate initial questions. Students are directed to use multiple web links (and library resources if desired) to read at least two Egyptian myths and then choose one myth to focus on, and to use web resources to research and document four Egyptian gods. Students are instructed to use information from the textbook (p.16) and an external mummification guide to assemble a flowchart showing the steps of embalming, requiring them to gather details from at least two sources.
Lesson 6
Daily Life in Egypt
Students re-read assigned textbook pages and answer explicit content questions about the Nile, hieroglyphics, and ordinary Egyptian life. Students use several sources (textbook pages, multiple provided web links, and library books) to gather information and fill in graphic organizers and tables about the Nile and about life and work in ancient Egypt. Students use web translation tools and reference charts to produce hieroglyphic writing and compile examples of uses of the Nile on a student activity page.
Final Project
Expedition or Web-based Tour
Students are asked to plan a research project (an archaeological expedition or a web-based tour) and to list cultural topics and "questions they still have" on the Archaeology Planning pages. The web-tour option directs students to explore several websites, use the provided "Web-based Review Pages" to take notes on multiple sites, and to identify three websites for Mesopotamia and three for Egypt. The artifact research option requires students to use the Ancient Civilizations text and Internet searches to find examples of artifacts, record source URLs, and prepare explanations of what each artifact reveals about culture.
Unit 1: The Hydrosphere
Lesson 1
The Hydrosphere and the Nature of Water
The Parent Plan describes a final project in which students must investigate a local water source and collect a water sample, which implies a multi-step investigation. The lesson directs students to read Chapter 1 and watch at least two linked videos (How Polarity Makes Water Behave Strangely; Properties of Water), and to answer questions based on those sources. The Skills list explicitly includes "Identify and create questions and hypotheses that can be answered through scientific investigations," and several activities ask students to collect and record data (e.g., surface tension investigation) and to explain observations using evidence.
Lesson 2
Density, Salinity, and Water Behavior
Students read Chapter 2 of Water: The Story of the Hydrosphere and answer specific questions about factors affecting water density. Students plan and carry out hands-on investigations (making salt solutions, creating ice cubes, measuring mass and volume) to collect data and calculate density. Students make predictions, record observations, analyze results (comparing mass and density across solutions), and respond to 'Things to Ponder' questions linking evidence to broader explanations about water movement.
Lesson 4
Freshwater and Groundwater
Students read Chapter 4 of Water: The Story of the Hydrosphere and complete questions tied to that reading. Students use multiple media in Activity 2—watching a video, reading an article, and analyzing a chart—to answer guided questions about freshwater sources and agricultural water use. Students follow Activity 1 web resources and build and label a water-table model, using observations to respond to specific prompts on the Student Activity Pages.
Lesson 5
Aquatic Ecosystems
Students are asked to read Chapter 5 and use multiple provided web links (e.g., Asian Carp, Zebra Mussels, Oil Spills) or contact a local water official to investigate a real-world aquatic problem. In Activity 1 they are guided through structured steps (pick a body of water, find a focus, identify problems, brainstorm solutions) and prompted to create a testable, self-generated inquiry question that includes a resource to test. The Parent Plan and examples explicitly show students composing good inquiry questions (e.g., "How does a decrease in food supply affect fish populations in a lake?").
Lesson 6
The Water Cycle
Students read Chapter 6 in Water: The Story of the Hydrosphere and watch a linked video about the water cycle, giving them at least two informational sources to consult. Students build a Ziplock-bag water cycle model and perform an experiment in Part 2 where they choose one condition to change (e.g., move to a sunnier spot, tilt the bag, use warmer water or another idea) and then observe and record results. Students answer guided questions about their observations and explain how their change affected the speed of the cycle, connecting evidence to explanations.
Lesson 7
Weathering and Erosion
Students read Chapter 7 of a textbook and watch a linked video, then analyze river maps and complete hands-on modeling activities to answer questions such as where land is worn away and where new land is built. They collect observations in the Student Activity Pages, label erosion/deposition on diagrams, and respond to 'Think Like a Scientist' prompts that ask them to use evidence and make predictions. The lesson asks specific questions to be answered (e.g., 'Where is erosion happening?' and 'How does the speed of water affect erosion and deposition?'), and students use at least the book, video, and map/model data to support answers.
Lesson 8
Water Pollution
Students read Chapter 8 and answer guided questions, examine and interpret two provided graphs to draw evidence-based conclusions, and watch a video about farming to gather information. Students conduct a hands-on runoff investigation (three cups) and record observations, and they may complete an optional mini-design challenge that asks them to design solutions and label features. These activities require students to use evidence from multiple sources (text, graphs, video, and experiment) to explain how farming and pollution affect water quality.
Lesson 9
Water Treatment, Conservation, and Clean Water
Students complete several short, focused investigations that address specific questions: the Water Filtration Challenge (design, build, test a filter to clean dirty water), the Water Quality Experiment (compare tap water and distilled water and analyze results), and The Great Leak Investigation (measure drops, calculate water loss over time). Students are assigned to read Chapter 9 in Water: The Story of the Hydrosphere and answer guided questions that connect reading to the activities. The curriculum also points to a Final Project: Local Water Investigation in which students will explore water in their own area.
Final Project
Local Water Investigation
Students choose a local water source and investigate it by asking questions and gathering information (e.g., using maps and Google searches) to determine whether it is freshwater or saltwater. They use Google Image Search to identify organisms, collect a water sample, observe changes over time, and record evidence of contamination. Students create models (ecosystem cross-section and food web), analyze observations, and present findings to others. The activities require students to research their location, make observations, and draw evidence-based explanations.
Unit 1: The Pearl
Lesson 1
Steinbeck
In Activity 1 students are instructed to "research the life of John Steinbeck on the websites listed below" and are given three specific web links to consult. Students are directed to read those sources and answer seven specific questions on the "John Steinbeck" activity page (e.g., Where did Steinbeck grow up? What are common themes? How do themes reflect his experiences?). The activity requires students to locate information in multiple online sources and write responses to focused prompts.
Lesson 4
Related Research
Students choose and complete a short research project (either a travel brochure on La Paz or an oral presentation on pearl diving). Students are directed to draw on multiple sources: several web links are provided and the instruction explicitly says to use at least one book as a reference; for pearl diving students must take notes on at least 15 note cards. Students organize and present information by creating a brochure or writing and delivering a one-page scripted presentation with visual aids.
Unit 2: Africa Today
Lesson 1
Overview of Africa
Students complete a Brainstorming activity that asks them to record what they already know and to write "What are you wondering about Africa as you begin this unit?", prompting self-generated questions. Students read assigned pages (Geography of the World, pp. 204-207) and answer specific comprehension questions and then add details to a map, demonstrating use of a source to answer questions. The unit also asks students to track current events and includes a Life Application and Parent Plan that encourage students to visit the library or use the Internet to learn more about topics they are wondering about.
Lesson 2
Northwestern Africa
Students are asked to complete short research tasks: Option 1 directs students to use Geography of the World to fill a table about climate, crops, farming influences, and major exports for four countries. Option 2 asks students to research a chosen country and write a short paragraph (1) about how the environment influences its economy and (2) list natural resources and exports in a brochure. The current events journal requires students to find 1–2 news stories per lesson, record the news source, write 2–3 sentence summaries, and use provided web links (BBC, NPR, CNN, Reuters, Google News) to locate reports.
Lesson 3
Northeastern Africa
Students are asked to read specific pages of Geography of the World and answer targeted questions, which requires locating information to respond to prompts. In the Cultures of Sudan activity, students are directed to "use resources to fill out a table" comparing northern and southern Sudan and to answer two cause-and-effect questions about civil war. Students add 1-2 news stories to a current events journal, which requires locating and summarizing contemporary sources, and students are instructed to use Geography of the World and Ancient Civilizations (DK) and are given a National Geographic web link for information about Egypt.
Lesson 4
West Africa
Students are asked to read specific pages in Geography of the World and answer guided questions about West Africa, providing a focused research reading task. Students must add 1–2 news stories to a current events journal, which requires locating and summarizing external news sources about Africa. Students are directed to use Geography of the World (and optionally library or online resources) to complete a comparison table or to write a letter describing climates, resources, and economies of two countries, which asks them to find and synthesize information to answer a comparative question.
Lesson 5
Central Africa
Students are asked to complete Activity 2 by choosing two central African countries and to use Geography of the World and "other research sources" to record natural resources, colonial history, languages, religions, current government/economy, and to list source(s). Activity 4 (Option 2) directs students to read about a chosen country and write a well-organized paragraph summarizing natural environment, human needs, and conflicts, using the textbook as a starting point. Activity 3 asks students to add 1-2 current news stories on Africa to a journal, which requires locating contemporary sources, and the Parent Plan explicitly suggests library and online research and provides web links.
Lesson 6
Central East Africa
Students are asked to research specific issues (Option 1: mountain gorillas; Option 2: a student-chosen issue) using Geography of the World plus additional sources such as library materials and provided web links (National Geographic, WWF, WHO, etc.). The activities direct students to answer focused questions (e.g., What should people know about this issue? Why is this issue a problem? What is being done? How can people help?) and to produce a poster or a 2-minute public service announcement as a product of their inquiry. Students are also directed to add 1-2 news stories to a current events journal, which requires locating and recording information from news sources.
Lesson 7
Southern Africa
Students are asked to use specific pages of Geography of the World (pages 246-253 and 270-271) to read about southern African countries and to define forms of government, which requires locating and extracting information from a text (Activity 4 and reading assignment). Students are instructed to add 1-2 news stories on Africa to a current events journal, which requires locating and recording information from news sources (Activity 3). Students are prompted to compare apartheid and U.S. segregation using a Venn diagram and are given optional web links and suggestions to visit the library or use online resources for additional reading, indicating opportunities to consult external sources (Activity 2 and Parent Plan).
Final Project
African News Report
Students are instructed to research 2-4 African countries using the Internet, Geography of the World, or other sources and to record background information on Final Project Notes pages (environment, political system, economic system, cultures). Students must find a current events story for each country, create citations using the News Report Citation activity page, and use those sources to plan and write news stories or lapbook mini-books. Rubrics for the newspaper, broadcast, and lapbook require accurate background information, current events reporting, and citation of sources.
Unit 2: The Atmosphere
Lesson 2
Layers of the Atmosphere
Students read Chapter 2 of Air: The Story of the Atmosphere and are instructed to collect information as they read to complete the labeled-diagram activity page. Students must sort real-world objects and phenomena into atmospheric layers and "choose three of your placements and explain your reasoning using evidence from Chapter 2." The lesson also offers an optional video link and suggests searching online for weather balloon launches as an extension.
Lesson 3
Air Pressure and Density
Students are asked to read Chapter 3 of Air: The Story of the Atmosphere and watch a video, then use those sources to answer explicit questions about air pressure and altitude. Students analyze a five-day weather data table, identify patterns in pressure, temperature, wind, and precipitation, and use that evidence to make a prediction for Day 6. Students also draw a particle-level model and a system model showing air movement from high to low pressure, and they answer guided cause-and-effect prompts.
Lesson 4
Energy from the Sun
Students read Chapter 4 and carry out a hands-on Surface Heating & Albedo investigation where they collect temperature data from black paper, white paper, and aluminum foil to answer which surface heats most. Students complete a Mapping Energy on Earth activity in which they form a hypothesis, use multiple online sources (global maps for snow cover, vegetation, deserts, and oceans) to identify surface types, and choose six locations to determine and record energy absorption. Students answer targeted analysis and reflection questions that require using their collected data and map sources to explain patterns of energy distribution and how uneven heating drives atmospheric movement.
Lesson 7
Air Masses and Weather Systems
Students analyze real case studies (Moore tornado, Hurricane Katrina) and answer guided questions that ask them to use evidence from the chapter and linked websites. They use multiple sources for investigations: a video plus a real-style weather map in the Weather Front Investigation, NOAA historical snowfall data in the Winter Storms activity, and weather websites (Weather.com, AccuWeather) for the optional local research. Several activities ask students to analyze and interpret data (maps, radar/satellite descriptions, snowfall records) and to explain or predict weather based on that evidence.
Lesson 8
Human Impact on the Atmosphere
Students read Chapter 8 and examine graphs in the "Climate Data Analysis" activity to identify trends in CO2 and temperature, and they answer guided questions about those data. Students are prompted in Part 4 to write two scientific questions based on the graphs and in several places are asked "What is one question you still have?" Students are instructed in "Designing Solutions" to use provided web links or search the internet to gather information to evaluate and improve real-world actions.
Unit 2: A Girl Named Disaster
Lesson 2
Sickness
Students are asked to "take on the role of Investigator" and "dig up some background information on any topic related to your book," listing possible topics such as geography, culture, history, or author information. Students are instructed to "record the information you gather as an Investigator in your journal" and to collect "four or five bits of information." The activity directs students to use materials from the novel (for example, information found at the back of the novel) and other illustrative items like pictures or objects.
Lesson 4
Escape
Students are instructed to read the back-of-book section titled "The History and Peoples of Mozambique and Zimbabwe" and to "read through these pages to learn more about the history of these countries". Students complete the "A History of Zimbabwe and Mozambique" activity pages that ask content questions (e.g., "What country fought the war against the Frelimo?", "What tribe took over the government in Zimbabwe?") and draw/label flags. Students also read Chapters 11–14 and record passages as part of their Literary Luminary role, connecting chapter content to historical context.
Lesson 7
Baboons
Students are asked to "research baboons, looking closely at the social dynamics in a baboon troop" and then write 8–10 sentences for a museum plaque (Option 1), which directs them to gather information and select images. In Option 2, students choose five animals, "learn more about" each, write 1–2 sentences per animal, and "print a picture from the Internet" to paste into a guidebook. The activities require students to collect facts, summarize information in their own sentences, and create an informational product for an audience.
Unit 3: Australia and Oceania
Lesson 1
The Rainbow Serpent
Students are asked to select and read a second creation story (from provided web links, the library, or other sources) and complete a Comparing Creation Stories activity page that prompts them to record details about origins, creators, order of creation, and human roles. Students are guided to use the Comparing Creation Stories worksheet to directly compare the Rainbow Serpent story with the second story and to answer structured questions about each. The materials include links and instructions for locating additional creation stories online or in the library and an optional extension that invites students to identify and read several different creation stories.
Lesson 2
Overview of Australia and Oceania
Students are asked to research and record a current-events story using newspapers, radio/TV, or Internet sources and to fill out a Current Events Report; the lesson lists multiple web links and news sites to use. Students are instructed to use Geography of the World to find area and population data for countries (Option 2) and to calculate population densities, requiring them to gather and apply factual data. Students complete a "Written and Non-Written Sources" activity that has them brainstorm kinds of sources researchers could use and answer questions about what those sources reveal.
Lesson 3
Australia and Papua New Guinea
Students are asked in Option 2 (A Reporter's Notebook on Aboriginal Rights) to choose an issue of concern for Aboriginal Australians, conduct library or web-based research, take notes on current concerns, relevant facts, possible solutions, and list their sources. Activity 3 (Government of Australia) directs students to consult encyclopedias, library materials, or multiple online resources and to record comparative information on a Venn diagram, including specified factual questions (constitution date, branches, head of executive, legislature names, major parties). Activity 4 (The Australian Economy) asks students to do research about Australian exports and then create a poster or radio advertisement focused on a chosen aspect of the economy.
Lesson 4
Stories of the Yorta-Yorta People
Students are asked in Activity 1 to research a specific Australian animal using Stories from the Billabong, library or online sources (three web links are provided) and to record habitat, foods, five facts, and adaptations on the Amazing Australian Animals page. In Activity 2 students must locate a current news item related to Aboriginal Australians, record source details, significant people, regions, and write a brief summary and reaction on the Current Events Report. In Option 2 (Uluru) students are directed to explore park websites and then produce a letter to the editor or design a bumper sticker/button based on what they learned.
Lesson 5
New Zealand
Students are instructed in Activity 2 to browse several artifacts from multiple sources (Auckland museum website, Encyclopedia of New Zealand, books, or Google Images) and choose one artifact to research. They must record information on the "Maori Art & Artifacts" page by answering five focused questions about the object (what it is, provenance/age, materials/natural resources, use, and cultural importance). Activity 3 asks students to explore connections between New Zealand's natural environment and outdoor activities and to record and compare those features with their own environment, using the reading and supplied resources.
Lesson 6
Peoples of the Pacific Ocean
Activity 2 directs students to "do a bit of research" on a Galápagos animal using the library or online sources and supplies several specific web links; students must produce a field guide page or diagram that asks for scientific name, size, habitat, food source, and adaptations. Activity 3 asks students to locate a current news item about Oceania, record the news source, summarize the story, and reflect on it, requiring students to search externally and document sources. The tourism and vacation planning activities require students to gather information and weigh environmental and economic impacts from different perspectives when completing structured response pages.
Lesson 7
Polar Regions
Students are asked in Activity 3 to locate a news item about Antarctica, record the news source, summarize the story, and reflect on it in a Current Events Report, which requires them to find and use an external source. Activity 1 asks students to refer to their reading and "other research sources if you like" to consider how the environment affects Arctic daily life, prompting investigation beyond the textbook. Activity 2 directs students to use maps and pages in Geography of the World to label geographic features and research-station locations, requiring students to consult provided sources to complete a focused task.
Final Project
Celebrating Australia and Oceania
Students plan and complete a multi-day final project (either a three-part art/performance presentation or a museum wing design) that requires them to collect and present information about the arrival of the first humans, European contact, changes over time, government, economy, natural environments, cultures, and current events. Planning pages and brochure organizers ask students to list at least three important ideas for topics (Governments, Economies, Natural Environments, Cultures) and to describe how visitors will learn those ideas. The museum option explicitly asks students to use previous activity pages, create supporting documents (maps, brochures, models), and may incorporate films or earlier unit projects as sources of content.
Unit 3: The Lithosphere
Lesson 2
Plate Interactions
Students are asked to read Chapter 1 - Part III and answer specific questions about plate boundaries. Students are directed to multiple online sources (a USGS tectonic plates map, a PBS interactive 'Mountain Maker, Earth Shaker', and a mountain image) and must use at least one to complete activities. Students choose an option to either describe/illustrate plate interactions or create clay models and demonstrate/explain what happens at different boundary types to a parent.
Lesson 3
Rocks and Minerals
Students read assigned textbook chapters and answer guided questions, and they use multiple external websites (Rock Key, Geology.com, Mineralogy4Kids, MSA guides) to identify samples. Students carry out a field investigation (rock walk) to gather 3–7 samples, then test and record observations using provided activity pages. Students create labeled index cards with identifications, locations, and descriptions, and are invited to visit a museum for further comparison.
Lesson 4
Seismic Waves
Students are directed to read Chapter 3 and watch a NOVA video, then answer scaffolded questions about seismic waves. For Option 1 students investigate one earthquake-triggered hazard using multiple provided web links and complete an activity page that asks for explanation, causes, damage, and a historical example. For Option 2 students are asked to research seismograph designs (links provided and allowed to search for others), sketch a design, list materials, explain how it will work, and note limitations and fixes.
Lesson 5
Earthquake and Volcano Research
Students choose and research a specific earthquake or volcanic eruption using the provided web links or by finding online articles (Option 1 "Find Out!" or Option 2 "Real-Life Research") and complete a guided activity sheet with factual questions (date, location, damage, type, etc.). Students are explicitly prompted to write two of their own questions or interesting facts on the activity sheet. Students synthesize and present their findings by creating a short slideshow, poster with an oral explanation, or a written report to share with family.
Lesson 6
Geologic Time
Students are assigned Chapter 5 and an article excerpt and are given three web links, which they can consult about geologic time and rock layers. Students complete an activity in which they create a rock-layer model or write a detailed description, and then explain what the remaining parts can tell a scientist. Students answer focused comprehension questions about relative vs. absolute age and factors that complicate age determination.
Lesson 7
Pedosphere and Soil
Students read the 'Twelve Soil Orders' webpage and answer guided questions about which soils occur where (e.g., identifying Gelisols in Alaska). Students choose a state to investigate via the State Soils webpage, take notes, and complete a Venn diagram comparing their state's soil with another state's soil. Students gather a local soil sample, perform texture and pH tests, record measurements and calculations, and consult additional online resources (texture triangle, USDA guides, and a video) to interpret results.
Final Project
Our Lithosphere and Pedosphere
Students are asked to conduct additional tests on their local soil and to describe pH, texture, and nutrient content for the booklet, which requires gathering and recording local data. Students must document rocks and minerals found on a rock hunt and list local mountains, volcanoes, and earthquake faults, which requires investigating their local area. Students are directed to use previous lessons, activity pages, and a Unit Review web link to assemble information and prepare the booklet, indicating they will draw on curriculum sources to support their work.
Unit 3: The Hobbit
Lesson 2
Trolls
Students are directed to two biography web links about J.R.R. Tolkien and told to read those articles (Activity 2). In Option 1 students read the articles, then write five interview questions for Tolkien and explain why each question is important. In Option 2 students gather images (from magazines, the Internet, or their own drawings) to create a collage that represents specific aspects of Tolkien's life (early life, interests, accomplishments, family, change, interesting fact).
Lesson 10
The Dragon
Students are asked to carry out two research options that require using multiple sources: Option 1 directs students to look through the Internet, newspapers, magazines, and their community (including taking photos) and to collect at least seven examples of consumer artifacts. Option 2 directs students to consult different media outlets, books, newspapers, and magazines to find at least two current-event examples and three historical examples, recording them in a journal with descriptions and ranking them. Both options require students to gather, classify, and analyze evidence about greed, wealth, and power.
Lesson 13
The Battle
Students are asked to read "a couple" of early reviews (e.g., C.S. Lewis review and Rayner Unwin's letter) and summarize each critic's response in two or three sentences in their journal. Students must identify whether each response is positive or negative and explain major points the critic makes. Students are prompted to describe any literary elements the reviewer alludes to, which requires drawing information from the provided sources.
Unit 4: Ancient Asia
Lesson 1
The Caste System of Ancient India
Students are asked to read pages 1-21 of Life in the Ancient Indus River Valley and to refer to maps on page 6 of that book and page 167 of Geography of the World when completing the map activity. Students must synthesize information from several sections of the reading to complete the "Comparing Hinduism and Buddhism" table (the instructions note they may need to look through several sections to find needed information). Students also locate and place multiple timeline cards, using dates from different sources to add to their timeline binder.
Lesson 3
Life in Ancient China
Students are asked in the Optional Extension to locate quotations about wealth from multiple traditions using a local library or internet and to compare those ideas to the Tao Te Ching, which requires consulting several sources. In Activity 1 students use the map on page 6 of Life in Ancient China and pages 174-175 of Geography of the World to create a composite map, drawing on at least two sources. Activity 2 asks students to summarize accomplishments of seven dynasties and reflect on living in each period, which prompts students to gather and synthesize information about multiple historical periods.
Final Project
Puppet Show or Presentation
Students are asked to choose stories and "look through the three books from this unit" and check the local library for folktales or historical accounts, which requires consulting external sources. The multimedia option instructs students to create slides with at least two important pieces of information per country and to include image citation when images are not original, prompting students to locate and document source material. Planning pages, rubrics, and "Ideas to Think About" prompts guide students to gather information about social structure, rulers, cultural exchange, and belief systems for their project.
Unit 4: Ecosystems and Ecology
Lesson 1
What Is in an Ecosystem?
Students read assigned pages from Changing Ecosystems and are prompted with guiding questions such as how biotic and abiotic relationships influence an ecosystem. Students choose a local ecosystem to investigate, use the provided "Survey Table" to collect observational data (component, abiotic/biotic, P/C/D, location), and create a diagram showing relationships and flows of energy and matter. The lesson also points students to an external web link about biotic vs. abiotic factors and lists a skill of "develop appropriate experimental procedures by generating questions."
Lesson 2
Diversity within Ecosystems
Students are instructed to read specific pages in Exploring Ecology and to refer to the Changing Ecosystems booklet, and they are given multiple web links to consult, indicating use of several sources. Students choose a biome and two ecosystems, collect information (using the Internet or local observations), and record data in the provided survey and two-table activity pages. Students synthesize and present their findings by creating a website or portfolio and by writing short summary paragraphs that report biome, location, biotic/abiotic factors, and major characteristics.
Lesson 3
Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
Students are directed to read multiple sources (pages from Exploring Ecology, pages from Changing Ecosystems, and a Photosynthesis Infographic, with an optional web interactive) to learn about energy flow and biomass. Students perform data-based investigations (biomass calculations and a hands-on water-transfer model) that require gathering information from the readings and using it to answer specific questions about energy transfer. The lesson prompts students to "focus" on how biomass influences energy availability and to "consider what other factors may reduce the flow of energy," inviting further inquiry.
Lesson 4
Ecosystem Relationships
Students are directed to read specified pages in Exploring Ecology and Changing Ecosystems and to view linked videos and web pages (e.g., Ecological Niches and Symbiotic Relationships) as sources of information. Students are asked to use information collected in Lessons 1 and 2 and to "consult online sources as needed" when describing environment components, indicating use of several sources. Students complete structured activity pages and answer guided questions about organisms, niches, interactions, and whether organisms could survive in a different environment, using the gathered sources.
Lesson 5
Ecological Succession
Students are asked to read specific pages in a textbook and watch a video (and optionally an animation) and then use online sources (Google Images) to find and save pictures to represent stages of succession. Students must create a product (an online slideshow or portfolio pages) that organizes images in sequence and includes captions or descriptions, which requires consulting multiple sources for images and information. The activity directions tell students to "consult online sources as needed to understand what succession looks like," indicating they draw on several sources to complete the task.
Lesson 6
Natural Hazards and Natural Disasters
Students are assigned to read pages 6-15 of Changing Ecosystems and answer guided questions (Q1–Q4) that require using that text to explain causes and effects such as CO2 impacts and effects of El Niño. In Activity 1 students must imagine an island's succession, write a paragraph explaining how it is repopulated, and search online (Google Images and provided web links) to find at least five images plus 2–3 eruption images, saving and captioning them. Students collect and compile information and media from the book and multiple online sources and present their findings on a Weebly page or in a portfolio.
Lesson 7
Succession and Natural Disasters
Students are asked in Activity 1 to investigate how a recent natural disaster altered an ecosystem by researching a specific event (Option 1: Mount St. Helens or Option 2: another disaster), collecting 2–3 before-and-after images, and writing descriptions explaining why changes occurred. The lesson instructs students to search the Internet for images (explicit search terms are provided for Mount St. Helens) and to create a slideshow or portfolio presenting their findings, including a prediction paragraph about the ecosystem 20–30 years in the future.
Lesson 8
A Carbon Journey
Students are directed to read specific pages in Exploring Ecology and to watch the "Carbon Cycle Song" video, which requires them to draw on at least two provided sources. Students answer targeted content questions (Questions #1–#5) about carbon cycling and then create a short story, poem, or comic that uses information from those sources to represent the carbon atom's journey. The student activity pages and prompts explicitly ask students to show processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, consumption, decomposition, and trapping of carbon in their products.
Lesson 9
Ecosystems and Their Environments
Students are directed to review specific pages in Exploring Ecology and Changing Ecosystems and may use the Internet to gather additional information, which has them consult more than one source. Students choose two ecosystems from different biomes, record characteristics on activity sheets, and select abiotic factor(s) to change to predict impacts on vegetation. Option 2 explicitly asks students to conduct more research and to consider how multiple factors together would affect vegetation, requiring them to gather and analyze information.
Lesson 10
Cause and Effect in the Ecosystem
Students are instructed to review the lesson introduction and a specific page in Changing Ecosystems and to watch a video before answering questions, which requires them to draw on multiple sources. Students design and carry out a short experimental investigation (The Toxicant Experiment), write hypotheses, collect daily measurements, and record observations across several days to answer the investigable question. Option 2 explicitly asks students to consider the question they are trying to investigate and to write down any new questions that arise and plan how to test them by repeating or changing the experiment.
Lesson 11
Matter and the Food Web
Students are asked to review specific pages in Exploring Ecology and Changing Ecosystems and to optionally watch a short video, then answer guided questions, which requires consulting provided sources. Students conduct a hypothesis-driven investigation (make slime) and collect quantitative mass data, and they create a food web project that directs them to search the Internet for organism images and to use the textbook illustrations and a provided web link. The food web task asks students to represent flows of matter and energy and to create at least two connected food chains, which requires gathering information about organisms and trophic relationships.
Lesson 12
Adaptability and Survival
Students are asked to choose an extinct organism (from a list or their own choice) and "use the Internet, library books, and other resources" to find images, maps, food‑chain placement, ecosystem details, reasons for extinction, and possible preventions. Students record findings on a Notes page, save images, and prepare a presentation or portfolio that compiles those pieces of evidence into a coherent report. The activity gives specific research tasks (map, climate/geography, food sources/predators, reasons for extinction, prevention paragraph) that guide student investigation across multiple sources.
Lesson 13
Invasive Species
Students are asked to investigate invasive species in their local area (or expand their search) using multiple assigned sources: the video "The Threat of Invasive Species," pages 16–17 of Changing Ecosystems, and two web resources (Wikipedia list and the National Invasive Species Information Center). Students use information from those sources to record the plant name, areas where it occurs, a description of its impact, and to provide or create an image; they may research additional species if time permits. The activity includes guiding investigative questions (e.g., what allows the species to establish, what is its impact, is it beneficial or harmful) and optional extensions that direct students to explore other avenues (invasive animals, industry impacts, economically beneficial invasives).
Unit 4: A Single Shard
Lesson 1
Korea
Students are instructed to locate maps and online pictures of Korea and to "read about Korea at the websites that follow," with a list of multiple web links for ancient and modern Korea. Students record information from those sources on "Elements of Korean Culture" pages, deciding whether details belong in a "Today" or "Centuries Past" column. The Getting Started section presents guiding questions (e.g., "How does the geography of the land affect the culture?") and the parent plan lists the skill to "Evaluate information from different sources about the same topic."
Lesson 4
Food and Pottery
Students are asked to explore an aspect of Korean culture by choosing to prepare a traditional dish or investigate pottery, and the pottery option instructs students to dig soil, sieve it, add water, mold it, dry it, and judge clay content. The pottery activity includes a web link titled "Types of Clay for Pottery" that students can consult as background information. The activity also prompts several focused investigative questions (e.g., What happens as you add more water? Is it hard when dry? What would happen if you fired it in a kiln?) that guide students' exploration.
Lesson 5
The Royal Emissary
Students write four thoughtful questions about Chapters 5 and 6 (including prediction, fact-based, opinion/judgment, and personal reaction questions) and provide answers or possible answers. Students identify and sequence the steps of the pottery-making process using information drawn from Chapters 4–6 (Option 1 or 2) and write directions or an overview based on those chapters. Students are prompted to add details to an "Elements of Korean Culture" page after reading, which asks them to record information from the text.
Lesson 6
Village Life
Activity 2 ('About the Author') directs students to research Linda Sue Park using three provided web sources (the author's biography page, a Reading Rockets interview, and an author interview). Students are instructed to take notes from the readings and videos, answer a 10-question worksheet about the author, and write a short paragraph explaining how the author's experiences and relationships influenced her writing.
Lesson 8
Korean Pottery
Students are directed in Activity 2 to visit several specific websites (The Met, Asia Society Museum, Wikipedia, Korean-Arts) to view images and information about Korean celadon pottery. The lesson asks students to "consider how the artwork reflects the Korean culture and geography of the region" and includes discussion prompts such as "How did Korean pottery reflect the environment and culture of the region?" Students then use what they view to design and decorate a kimchi pot that reflects traditional styles.
Lesson 9
Words of Wisdom
Students are asked to add details to the "Elements of Korean Culture" pages, which prompts them to gather information about Korean culture after reading. Students are invited to "explore Korean proverbs" via a provided web link and to use a proverb as a model for creating their own words of wisdom. Students also answer comprehension questions and interpret quotes that require them to use textual evidence from the chapters they read.
Lesson 10
The Fox
Students are directed to visit three web links containing folktales and fables with foxes and to "Read each story and think about the purpose of the story and what it teaches." Students must keep the fox "true to the nature of foxes as they are represented in the literature you have read" when they type their own short story. The activity therefore has students draw on multiple sources about fox tales to inform their writing.
Unit 5: Asia Today
Lesson 1
Russia East of the Ural Mountains
Students are asked to read specified pages (Geography of the World, pp. 132–143) and use the Gazeteer (pp. 284–295) and map pages to complete a map activity, showing they use at least two provided curriculum sources. Students complete Option 1 by using information from the day's reading to record traditional and resource-driven economic activities in Siberia, and Option 2 asks students to compare daily life in eastern Siberia with their own and offers an optional short-story extension about how resource discovery could change a community. The lesson also prompts students to note questions they have about Asia and suggests consulting supplemental resources (PBS, Britannica, National Geographic, YouTube) if they find other materials of interest.
Lesson 2
Turkey and Cyprus
Students read specific pages of Geography of the World (pages 144–145) and extract factual information about Turkey and Cyprus to complete a chart that lists form of government, major industries/exports, adult literacy, and life expectancy for about 20 Asian countries. Students use the completed data sheets to construct bar graphs, plot literacy rates versus life expectancy, and answer comparative data questions (e.g., which countries have highest/lowest literacy or life expectancy). The materials include a Notes column for students to record additional details and provide an optional external web link for further information.
Lesson 3
The Middle East
Students are directed to conduct a 3–4 day current events journal, finding and recording at least one Middle East news story per day and attaching the article or source. The activity asks students to record the news source, list countries and people mentioned, write a 2–3 sentence summary, and complete analysis boxes for government, economy, culture, and environment. The lesson provides multiple recommended source types and specific websites (BBC, NYT, CNN, NPR, Google News, PBS) encouraging students to consult different media.
Lesson 4
Central Asia
Students are asked to read specific textbook pages (Geography of the World, pp. 160–165) and answer comprehension questions about Central Asia. Students revisit those readings to identify environmental issues (Aral Sea irrigation, Caspian Sea pollution, pollution in Kazakhstan) and choose one issue for further work. Students then plan and produce a focused product (a poster or a 30-second radio/TV advertisement) and write a script/storyboard that explains what is happening, why it is a problem, and what people should do.
Lesson 5
The Indian Subcontinent
Students are assigned focused reading (pages 166–173 and additional pages 166, 169, 188, 196, and 202) about the Indian subcontinent and monsoons and are asked to complete activities based on those readings. Students are asked to maintain and add to a current events journal about the Middle East and to complete one or more report pages about current events. Students choose two countries and create postcards that require them to describe natural environments or cultures, and the lesson provides three external web links (National Geographic Kids and NPR) as optional resources.
Lesson 6
East Asia and Japan
Students are asked to read specific pages (174-187) of Geography of the World and to use that book plus a provided website and library resources to learn more about rice production (Activity 2). Students are instructed to research and record information using Geography of the World and additional resources on ancient China and Japan for the Ancient and Modern comparisons (Activity 4, Options 1 and 2). The Growing Rice activity explicitly directs students to draw on the textbook, an online slideshow, and other books to create an illustrated flow chart or poem, and Option 2 of Activity 4 notes that students will need more research.
Lesson 7
Mainland Southeast Asia
Students are assigned a focused reading (pages 188–195) about mainland Southeast Asia and then asked to choose three countries and record their economic activities in a chart or flapbook. The instructions for Option 1 and Option 2 explicitly tell students they may "use other research sources" if the book lacks detail, and students are asked to imagine being investors and to collect information about resources and economic activities. Students must compare and compile information (natural resource–based vs. capital/human resource–based) and note observations on provided activity pages.
Lesson 8
Maritime Southeast Asia
Students are asked to read specific pages (Geography of the World, pp.196-201) and answer content questions, showing use of a textbook source. Students complete a culture comparison activity that directs them to record information from the textbook and paste provided text boxes into a chart, and they may use the provided web links (BBC, Mama Lisa, MrNussbaum) for further exploration. In the Measuring Indonesia activity, students are instructed to determine distances using an atlas, an online mapping site, or an odometer and then convert and mark those distances, requiring them to gather and apply information from external tools.
Lesson 9
The Indian Ocean
Students are instructed to read pages 202–203 of Geography of the World and to use Geography of the World plus the "Environmental Threats in the Indian Ocean" activity page to record threats from pollution, monsoon rains/tropical storms, and tourism. Students then select one issue of concern and design an awareness poster, using an optional web link for digital poster creation and an optional atoll model activity that refers back to page 202. The activities require students to collect information from the textbook and activity pages and produce a product that summarizes their findings.
Final Project
A Tour of Asia
Students choose a theme and select five countries to research for a themed tour, taking notes from Geography of the World and activity pages. The Final Project Planning Page asks students to record how each country fits the theme, list specific destinations/activities, and indicate whether they can find needed information (encyclopedia, country books, internet). The project asks students to produce two pages per country with summaries of government, economy, natural environment, population, current events, and history, and provides a National Geographic link and suggestions to use library or online sources with parental assistance.
Unit 5: Earth Cycles and Systems
Lesson 4
Matter and Plants
Students are instructed to review specific pages in Exploring Ecology and watch a video, then answer guided questions about energy and matter transfer, which gives them at least two sources to draw information from. Students are asked to investigate a plant from their local area and trace its growth, development, and death by creating a diagram or organizing cut‑outs, which requires gathering information and producing a product that responds to a prompt. The activity includes prompts that ask students to consider additional uses or storage of plant matter and energy (e.g., fossil fuels, decomposition), prompting further lines of inquiry.
Lesson 5
Carbohydrates, Plants, and Energy
Students are asked to develop an inquiry question (sample questions are provided) and record it on the Potassium Iodide Test student page. Students carry out a short investigation: they choose three test solutions, make predictions, perform iodine/starch tests, record color changes and explanations, and use those observations to make explanations about carbohydrates. The lesson also directs students to read specific pages in Exploring Ecology to gather background information about producers and carbohydrates.
Lesson 6
Intro to Earth's Cycles
Students are assigned to read specific pages in Exploring Ecology and to "look carefully at the diagrams" and "examine the illustrations" (pp. 12-16 / 13-18), which they must use to answer guided questions about the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles. In Activity 1 students are instructed to "conduct your investigations," compare information across the cycle descriptions, and construct a Venn diagram showing connections among the three cycles. The activity prompts students to consider focused prompts (e.g., organisms found in all three cycles, processes that occur in all three) while gathering information from the text and illustrations.
Lesson 8
The Carbon Cycle
Students are directed to review specified pages in Exploring Ecology (p. 9 and pp. 14-15 / online p. 10 and pp. 15-16) and answer guiding questions, showing use of a textbook source. Students design and carry out a week-long observational experiment (oxygen-deprived vs. oxygen-adequate fruit), make predictions, record daily observations, and write results and explanations. Students conduct a 10–15 minute field survey to record decomposers on a Decomposer Observations sheet and are encouraged to use an Internet image search or ask others to identify organisms, indicating use of at least one external source.
Lesson 9
The Water Cycle
Students read assigned pages in Exploring Ecology and may use an optional online "Summary of the Water Cycle" link to gather information. Students answer guided content questions (#1–#3) that require extracting information about evaporation, condensation, storage, and related processes. Students conduct a hands-on solar still activity and record observations, then complete a "Questions to Consider" sheet that asks them to explain processes and relate the still to the water cycle. These activities provide opportunities for students to use reading and experiment observations to respond to targeted questions.
Lesson 10
Energy, Food Chains, and Food Webs
Students are asked to investigate the ecosystem in which they live, develop a food web diagram, and ‘‘use available resources'' to find organisms for each trophic level. The activity directs students to review specific pages in Exploring Ecology (pp. 9–11/12) and suggests contacting local experts (agriculture extension agent or park ranger) to learn which organisms are present. Students are instructed to make at least two food chains, organize information on provided sheets, and include processes (photosynthesis, respiration) and energy transfer in their graphic.
Lesson 11
The Nitrogen Cycle
Students are directed to read textbook pages on the nitrogen cycle and to use multiple web links (e.g., the interactive PBS cycle and several fertilizer/NPK resources) to complete activities. Students are asked to "find out more" about fertilizers and how plants use N, P, and K and to use the provided links or do their own research to complete the 'Plant Food' activity pages. Students answer specific questions and make recommendations (e.g., which fertilizer to recommend, whether to get a soil test), and they track the journey of a nitrogen atom using an interactive resource.
Final Project
A Sustainable Farm
Students are asked to "research two or more sustainable farming techniques" and to use the Internet or library resources, with explicit guidance to look for university (.edu) and government or research organization sources. Students must do "additional research for your display as needed" and are given instructions for searching and skimming web pages. Students choose crops and animals and plan a farm, which requires gathering information to apply sustainable techniques to their design.
Unit 5: Independent Study
Lesson 1
Independent Study Introduction
Students choose a controversial topic and select a topic for independent study (Steps to Independent Study). Students develop research questions, find sources to answer those questions, and record information (Steps 3-5). Students are required to use multiple sources (parent note: at least four different types of resources and 6–10 total) and the rubric asks whether the "big question" answers "so what?".
Lesson 2
Bias and Propaganda
Students read and compare two news articles about the same event and record findings on a "Detecting Bias" handout (Activity 1), which requires consulting multiple sources and synthesizing differences in portrayal. In Activity 2 students read a background piece on propaganda techniques and an article about U.S. leaflets and answer journal questions that probe purpose and effectiveness. In Activity 3 students locate two additional advertisements from television, magazines, or newspapers and analyze intended audience and effectiveness, drawing on several media sources.
Lesson 3
Starting Your Research
Students brainstorm controversial topics and narrow them to a single self-generated research topic. Students complete a KWM chart that asks them to list "What I Want to Know," and they use the "Just Right Questions" and "Focusing Your Topic" activities to form focused, open-ended, and important research questions. The Parent Plan and skills list instruct students to generate a research plan, pose relevant tightly drawn questions, refine the major research question guided by secondary questions, and consider multiple resource types (print, Internet, interview, video).
Lesson 4
Finding Information
The lesson directs students to develop 4–5 research questions for their position and 2–3 questions for opposing views (Activity 6) and schedules Days 3–4 specifically for conducting that research. Activity 2 requires students to use at least four different types of resources (reference books, websites, audio/video, periodicals) and Activity 5 asks students to find at least three opinions from different stakeholders with supporting details. Activity 4 teaches students to evaluate websites using purpose, authority, currency, and objectivity, and Activity 3 instructs students to record sources on a Works Cited page.
Lesson 5
Writing the Essay
The Parent Plan lists skills that require students to "support the main idea or ideas of a paper with facts, details, examples, and explanations from multiple authoritative sources" and to "synthesize research into a written or an oral presentation" including use of quotations and a works cited/bibliography. The body-paragraph guidance explicitly tells students to include "facts, statistics, research, expert opinions, examples, quotes, text details" as evidence to support each argument. The example outline and activity instructions ask students to refer to an "Argumentative Essay Rubric" and to collect and evaluate evidence, and the sample outline contains specific researched facts (e.g., U.S. oil consumption statistics).
Lesson 6
Presentation
Students are asked to present a position after completing an argumentative essay, indicating prior research and a focus question for presentation. The Parent Plan explicitly states that students write research reports that pose relevant questions and support main ideas with facts and details from multiple authoritative sources. The Parent Plan also states that students synthesize research into a written or oral presentation that compiles information from multiple sources and uses documentation.
2: Semester 2
Unit 1: Greece and Rome
Lesson 1
Early Greece
Students read assigned pages (pp. 22-23) and answer specific content questions about the Minoans and Mycenaeans, showing they use text-based sources. Students are directed to re-read the Theseus and the Minotaur passage and/or watch a linked video and may use that video to inform their maze activity. For the Trade activity, students are asked to create a Mycenaean merchant sign and are explicitly encouraged to refer to the reading and a linked webpage of Mycenaean art as sources. Students compile timeline cards from multiple unit materials and add them to a timeline, bringing together information from several provided resources.
Lesson 2
Ancient Greece
Students read specific textbook pages (pp. 42-43 and 38-39) and answer directed comprehension questions about Greek city-states and the Persian Empire. Students use multiple sources — textbook pages, recommended websites, and videos — to complete Activity 2 (compare Athens and Sparta), Activity 3 (research Persian Wars and create a poster or model), and Activity 4 (watch a TED-Ed video and compare Athenian direct democracy to representative democracy). Students gather information from at least two different types of sources (print pages and online videos/articles) to add details to maps, timelines, Venn diagrams, and creative projects.
Lesson 3
Everyday Life in Ancient Greece
Students are directed to read textbook pages and multiple web sources (BBC site, Rick Riordan, Ancient History Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Met Museum, Getty) when completing activities, showing use of several sources. In Activity 3 students read summaries of 5–6 different historical figures and then select one to research further, filling in biographical details and answering prompts (e.g., "Why the person's ideas/contributions are important today"). The "Famous Ancient Greek Option 1" page asks students to write three questions they would ask the person, and the Activity 1 and 2 instructions ask students to use specific resources to gather details for a monologue and a daily schedule.
Lesson 5
Ancient Rome and the Roman Republic
Students are asked to read textbook pages and an online article and to watch videos (Activity 1 and Activity 2), then use those sources to compare/contrast founding stories and to answer guided questions. Activity 1 directs students to fill in a chart based on the textbook, a video, and archaeological explanations, requiring them to draw on multiple sources. Activity 2 asks students to form a pros/cons list or write and deliver a 3–5 minute persuasive speech about Brutus, and explicitly suggests additional web sources for further information.
Lesson 6
The Roman Empire
Students are assigned readings from a textbook plus sections of two web resources and are directed to use those sources as they read. In Activity 2 (Option 2) students are asked to read about at least three emperors and then compare two, answering which was the more effective leader, which requires gathering information from multiple sources. In Activity 3 students consult a specific web article about trade and then add trade routes to their map and explain what goods were imported, drawing on that source and map evidence.
Lesson 7
Everyday Life in Ancient Rome
Students read a textbook page and multiple web links (e.g., "Education in Ancient Rome," PBS pages, Ancient History Encyclopedia) and are instructed to "use the web links provided and optionally your own research" to learn more about chosen people. Students complete research-based tasks: Activity 1 asks them to gather information about two social roles and produce letters/illustrations/scripts that compare housing, education, food, work, and daily life; Activity 2 directs students to read web material and fill in a chart about religions; Activity 3 asks students to research at least two famous Romans and complete a biographical activity page.
Lesson 8
The End of the Empire
Students are directed to read multiple sources: the Khan Academy video/article "The Fall of the Roman Empire," sections "External Causes" and "Internal Causes" from a second article, and an optional PBS page on early Christians. Students use an online map (Ancient History Encyclopedia) to outline the empire and read three New Testament passages provided on the activity page. Students answer guided content questions, categorize factors (cut-and-paste internal vs external), and produce a diary entry or analyze primary-source passages.
Final Project
A Greek and Roman Menu
Students are asked to choose a Main Course that explicitly directs them to "Research and explain how ancient Greek and Roman governments influenced the 21st century in a short essay," requiring an investigation and written explanation. Students plan and produce a three-part final project (Appetizer, Main Course, Dessert) and the rubric requires that Main Course and Dessert present "accurate information," which expects students to gather factual support. The Life Application invites students to "do some research online or in your local library about ancient foods and recipes," prompting independent information seeking.
Unit 1: Force and Motion
Lesson 4
Speed, Velocity, and Acceleration
Students are asked to design and conduct their own investigation: they choose a moving object, set distances, time runs, record data in practice and final trials, and analyze results. Students read assigned pages in the book Why Things Move and are given an online stopwatch link and sample data tables to consult. Students calculate average velocity and acceleration from their collected data and create displacement-time and velocity-time graphs to answer questions about motion.
Lesson 5
Centripetal Force and Terminal Velocity
Students read specified pages (Why Things Move, pp. 20-24) and watch two related videos (skydivers and Apollo 15) and then answer explicit questions that ask them to explain gravity, air resistance, and differences in falling rates. Students carry out hands-on investigations (build an accelerometer and perform the bucket-swing) in which they predict, observe, and explain results using Newton's laws. Several activity prompts ask students to make predictions, record observations, and explain phenomena, and the Teacher/Parent notes direct students to compare perspectives (frames of reference).
Lesson 6
Work
Students are assigned focused readings (pages 25–33 of Why Things Move) and complete short, hands-on investigations (Activities 1–4) where they measure force, calculate work, and compare results across trials to answer guided questions. Students record data in tables, analyze comparisons (e.g., force and work with ramps and pulleys), and respond to open-ended prompts that invite exploration (Ideas to Think About, analysis questions). The Parent Plan also prompts students to search online (e.g., "[item] simple machine" and a recommended video) if they need help identifying simple machines.
Lesson 7
Newton in the Milky Way
Students conduct a hands-on investigation in Activity 1 where they collect, measure, graph, and analyze data from a marble and ball-bearing ramp experiment. In Activity 2 students are instructed to review a linked web page and video about Kepler's laws and then answer specific questions on the 'Kepler's Laws' activity sheet, applying observations from Activity 1.
Unit 2: The Middle Ages
Lesson 1
Introduction to Medieval Europe
Students are asked to read Chapter 1 and pages 1–14 of Great Medieval Projects You Can Build Yourself and then use that information to complete map, timeline, and feudalism activities, including writing diary/letter entries that explain relationships in the feudal system. The optional King Arthur activity directs students to "explore the story more fully in a book or audiobook from your local library or online" (a Gutenberg link is provided) and then create a movie poster, which requires students to seek out at least one additional source. The map activity suggests students may consult other units (Prisoners of Geography) to compare modern maps, encouraging use of external resources.
Lesson 2
Monarchs
Students are asked to read a chapter (pages 15–23) and use online texts in Option 2 to create a word cloud of the Magna Carta and at least one other political document, requiring them to open primary-source pages (Magna Carta, Declaration, Constitution, Bill of Rights) and copy text into a word-cloud generator. In Option 1 students compare the king's powers before and after the Magna Carta using information from the reading and an offered National Archives link. The activity questions ask students to compare documents and answer analytical prompts about focus, similarities, and differences.
Lesson 3
Knights and Warfare in the Middle Ages
Students are assigned a focused reading (pages 24–48 of a specified book) and must answer guided questions (Questions 1–4) based on that reading. Students complete short, written projects such as a diary entry reflecting on training as a page/squire and a "Planning a Siege" paragraph that requires them to review specific pages (28–30 and 42–45) and describe attack details, defenses, and countermeasures. Students also add events to a timeline and play/analyze a castle defense game that requires applying information from the reading.
Lesson 4
Castles and Feasts
Students are assigned a reading (pages 49-64 of Great Medieval Projects You Can Build Yourself) and answer four specific comprehension questions about castle geography, bedchambers, kitchens, and feast etiquette. Students are asked to produce a product (a castle floor plan or a tapestry design) that requires using information from the reading and potentially from the provided web links. The Parent Plan and activity options explicitly recommend exploring additional books and websites (library titles, PBS/NOVA and museum links) to inform the design.
Lesson 6
Religion in Medieval Life
Students are assigned a focused reading (pages 91-104 of Great Medieval Projects) and asked to answer specific questions and complete activity pages that require summarizing, explaining, and comparing information from that reading. For the Reconquista activity, students are directed to read an NCpedia article online and then roll a cube to complete tasks that ask them to list motivations, create a timeline, summarize the Reconquista, and explain differences in religious tolerance. An optional web link to the National Gallery of Art is provided for a life-extension task that asks students to read about St. George and the Dragon and then create art or poetry based on that source.
Lesson 8
The End of the Medieval Era
Students read a targeted text (pages 115-116) about the end of the Middle Ages as a basis for inquiry. In the "Naming Our Own Era" activity, students interview at least four people, keep a running list of responses, and mark repeated items, which has them draw on multiple human sources. In the "Middle Ages Today" activity, students locate examples in books, movies, toys/games, stores, or on the internet and explain the medieval influence, which has them gather information from multiple artifact- and media-based sources.
Final Project
A Medieval Fair or Map
Students are asked to plan and produce a final project (a Medieval Fair or a Medieval Map) and to consult their reading from earlier lessons as needed to inform their work. Student activity pages and planning prompts require students to write scripts or notes that explain topics such as feudalism, the Crusades, the role of the church, trades, and defenses. Rubrics and presentation instructions require students to explain parts of their map/fair and to allow time to answer questions from visitors, encouraging explanation and use of prior materials.
Unit 2: Light and the Eye
Lesson 1
Lines of Light
Students read specified sections from a web article and from the book Light and the Eye, answering explicit content questions about what light is, reflection, and speed of light. Students build a ray-making tool, perform a hands-on reflected rays demonstration, make observations about beam directions, and analyze how incident angles relate to reflection. Students discuss findings with a parent and complete a life-application task listing man-made luminous objects.
Lesson 2
Translucence and Shadow
Students read sections of the Light and the Eye text ("Opaque, Transparent, and Translucent Objects" and "Shadows") and a Liverpool Museum archived page on sundials, and an optional sundial craft link is provided. Students answer specific comprehension questions about those readings (e.g., gnomon, umbra vs penumbra, effects of Sun position) and complete hands-on investigations: categorizing 10–15 household items and conducting shadow observations of three opaque objects at different times of day. Students record observations on activity pages and use those observations to create a story or artwork, linking reading and empirical observations.
Lesson 3
Refraction and Lenses
Students read specified pages from Light and the Eye and answer directed questions, showing they use a text source to investigate refraction. Students conduct short hands-on investigations (Lens Bend Demonstration, Camera Obscura, Reappearing/Disappearing Penny, Concave and Convex exploration) to answer observational questions and explain results. Students make choices about which magic trick to perform and which object side to test, allowing them to pursue a selected investigation.
Lesson 4
How Human Eyes Work
Students read designated pages in Light and the Eye and an article on KidsHealth and watch two instructional videos, providing multiple information sources about how eyes work. Students perform a hands-on camera obscura activity and build a 3-D eye model, which lets them investigate why images on the retina are upside down. Students answer guided comprehension questions and are asked to explain how the retina works and why the brain flips images right side up, tying readings and the experiment to a specific explanatory prompt.
Lesson 5
Animal Eyes
Students are asked to read an article about animal eyesight at a provided web link and answer specific comprehension questions (QUESTION #1 and QUESTION #2). Students are instructed in Activity 2 to list at least 20 animals and to use an Internet search engine to find pictures if unsure where an animal's eyes are located, and Option 2 directs students to read pages 5–12 of a linked booklet before categorizing animals. Students perform categorization tasks and write explanations about how eye types help animals, which requires them to gather information and apply it to their categories.
Lesson 6
Color and Perception
Students read assigned pages in the booklet and answer focused questions about color and the visible spectrum. Students watch the "Why Is the Sky Blue?" video and complete hands-on experiments (rainbow projection, spectrum peek, ink chromatography, and milk-in-water scattering) to gather observations. In the Picture the Sky activity (Option 2) students are prompted to consult one or more provided websites to help explain sky colors, which has them draw on external sources to support an explanation.
Final Project
Tools of the Eye
Students are asked to plan and build a tool and to complete activity sheets that prompt Background, Questions, Materials, Procedure, Observations, and Adjustments. Option 2 tells students to "locate instructions online or from other sources" and supplies two web links as possible sources. Option 3 asks students to review information from Options 1 and 2 and use that information to invent a tool, and the activity pages include prompts that require students to explain the science and how the tool changes vision.
Unit 2: Tales from the Middle Ages
Lesson 2
Beetle
Students are assigned the role of Researcher and told to "dig up related information on a topic related to the book," specifying possible topics such as geography, culture, or history of the book's setting. The directions tell students to print off the information they gather and read it to better understand the context of the story. The Researcher role is tied to specific chapters (Chapters 1-3), so students perform the research as a follow-up to reading.
Lesson 6
The Inn
Students are directed to select and prepare one or more medieval recipes using several provided web links (e.g., Medieval Cookery, Chike Endored, Wortes, Apple Muse) and to consider how those recipes compare to their family meals. Students are asked to think about food sources in the Middle Ages (no grocery stores, reliance on local production) and to reflect on social status differences in diet. A life-application prompt directs students to consider modern food availability and links to a CDC policy brief for additional information.
Lesson 7
An Angel or a Saint
Students are directed to read Chapters 14–15 and specific monologues in Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!! (Mogg p.24, Alice p.14, Edgar p.39) to examine the role of domesticated animals. Students complete the "Livestock and Economics" activity in which they draw three animals and write how each influenced peasants' economics, answering scaffolded questions (what they provided, dependence, effects of loss). The lesson also provides guiding questions and asks students to write three sentences explaining the relationship between peasants and animals, encouraging use of textual details.
Lesson 10
Point of View
Students are asked to locate two books written in first-person and two in third-person from their bookcase and to determine whether third-person narrators are limited or omniscient. Students watch a linked video to review first- and third-person points of view and stop at a specified time to focus their learning. Students read passages from different novels and identify narrative point of view and whether third-person passages are limited or omniscient, and they share findings with a parent.
Final Project
Life in the Middle Ages Think-Tac-Toe
Students are asked to "Research the clothing styles of the Middle Ages" in the Dress Code square, which requires collecting information to create illustrations or descriptions. Students can choose tasks that require gathering information, such as summarizing "three important changes" in European Transformations, writing a book review of a book about the Middle Ages, or drawing a Castle Blueprint with labeled features. Students also complete written products (monologues, summaries, essays) that require locating and using information from the unit texts.
Unit 3: The Age of Discovery
Lesson 2
New World Empires
Students read assigned pages (14–19) and answer focused comprehension questions about New World empires. In Option 1 students compare Americas and Europe using readings from this unit and, if available, previous units, filling out charts or Venn diagrams that require synthesizing information from those sources. Option 2 directs students to watch a Cahokia film and take structured notes across topics, including a "Questions that Remain" section. The lesson also provides external web links (medieval towns, environmental history, Cahokia site) that students can draw on.
Lesson 4
The Consequences of Contact
Students are assigned a focused reading (pages 36–51 of The World Made New) and must answer specific questions about the consequences of contact, showing use of at least one source. Students prepare for a debate by writing three arguments for each side and are instructed to provide facts to support those arguments, which requires gathering evidence. Option 2 invites students to clip or print images from publications or websites and to record titles and URLs, and the Parent Plan and Web Links list additional articles students or parents may consult.
Lesson 5
Copernicus and Changes in Science
Students read assigned chapters of Newton at the Center and answer specific comprehension questions about Bacon and Copernicus, showing engagement with a focused topic. In Activity 3, students are asked to research Copernicus to prepare either a short first-person introduction or a scrapbook that identifies three influential places/events/ideas from his life, using the chapter as a source. In Activity 4, students use the reading to draw or demonstrate two models of the universe, applying information from the text to create visual representations.
Lesson 6
Galileo
In Activity 3, Option 1 students choose a modern scientific controversy, conduct Internet-based or library research using provided links (or other sources), and talk to at least three people to gather opinions. They then synthesize those sources and write a short (200-word) letter to the editor answering the central question and providing at least two arguments. In Option 2 students read multiple primary-source documents related to Galileo's trial (several linked texts) and answer directed questions based on those sources.
Lesson 7
Isaac Newton
Students read multiple chapters of Newton at the Center and answer directed questions about Descartes, Newton's work in 1666, and connections between scientific ideas and Enlightenment thought. Students choose one of four inventions in Activity 3 to "explore in greater detail," read the listed pages for that option, and complete a focused activity page (e.g., telescope, microscope, barometer, thermometer). Students are asked to prepare a final project in which they "study further" one voyage and one scientific idea or invention and then present their findings to family and friends.
Final Project
Discovery Research Project
Students choose one Age of Discovery explorer and one scientist from the Scientific Revolution and are instructed to "learn more about them," fill out biography planning pages, and show an explorer's route on a map. Students plan and perform a scientific demonstration and prepare a presentation in which they must explain the historical significance of the voyage and the scholar's work. The provided rubric explicitly includes "evidence of careful planning and research," and the materials tell students they may use their books, activity pages, library resources, or online sources while preparing.
Unit 3: The Solar System
Lesson 2
Our Sun
Students read targeted pages about the Sun (pages 14–15) and use a provided table of average sunspots from 1950–2023 to plot a graph and label maxima/minima. Students follow directions to calculate lengths of time between maximum years, compute an average interval, and use the graph and calculations to decide whether sunspot frequency shows a regular cycle. The activity includes links to two external NASA pages for further reading and optional exploration and poses challenge questions about future maxima/minima and data reliability.
Lesson 3
Earth, the Third Planet
Students are assigned targeted readings (pages 20-21 and 56 of 13 Planets and the web article "Earth's Tilt Is the Reason for the Seasons!") and answer specific questions based on those sources. Students collect and record facts about Earth on the Planetary Passport or create question-and-answer cards for a board game, including a space to write their own question. Students are also directed to copy images from the article and other online sources or use online tools to create a slideshow or animation, which requires consulting multiple sources.
Lesson 4
Satellites and Telescopes
Students are directed to read multiple sources (NASA's "What Is a Satellite?", NASA pages on optical telescopes, a University of Chicago page on telescope types, and the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter information) and answer specific content questions about satellites, orbits, telescopes, and topographic map colors. Students create a hands-on topographic map and apply spectral analysis thinking to match colors to elements, using a provided web activity (Topographic Maps) and an activity sheet. Students visit several linked resources and use information from them to complete comprehension questions and a map construction task.
Lesson 5
Meteorites and the Moon
Students are asked to read specific sources (pages 23-24 of 13 Planets and an article at a web link) and answer directed questions about meteorites, the Moon's origin, and tides. Students use an online Moon Phase Calendar link to compare observations and determine the Moon's motion. Students create a product (slideshow, animation, or physical model) that integrates information about the Moon's orbit and tidal bulges, drawing on prior lesson models and provided resources.
Lesson 6
Other Terrestrial Planets
Students are assigned to read specific pages in 13 Planets and answer content questions about Mercury, Venus, and Mars, showing use of a cited source. Students are asked to fill in a Planetary Passport table and complete 'From Earth to Eris' board game cards, including a prompt to write "your own question" about each planet and to fill in answers on the back of the cards. Students compare planetary characteristics to Earth by shading boxes that match Earth, practicing focused question-answering and comparison tasks.
Lesson 7
Gas Giants
Students read specific pages of the textbook (pages 32–37 and 40–43) to collect information about Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune and answer supplied comprehension questions. Students perform a short, focused project (Activity 1) by researching a chosen gas-giant moon and creating a vacation poster or short story that uses facts about atmosphere, gravity, and geography from the book. Students record and compare planet data by completing the "Planetary Passport" table or cutting/answering cards in the "From Earth to Eris" board-game sheets, which include a blank space labeled "Your own question about [planet]."
Lesson 8
Dwarf Planets and Asteroids
Students are assigned specific pages in 13 Planets to read (pages 31 and 45–51) and answer targeted comprehension questions about dwarf planets, which requires locating facts in a text. Students are asked to complete a "Planetary Passport" worksheet that prompts them to research and record diameter, distance from the Sun, discovery, rotation/orbital period, moons, rings, temperature, and color for each dwarf planet. The board-game activity instructs students to write their own question about a given dwarf planet on the first card and to answer factual prompts (e.g., diameter, density, orbital/rotational period) on other cards, and the passport page suggests drawing or pasting pictures from the internet or an astronomy guide.
Lesson 9
Men on the Moon and Beyond
Students choose a technology to research (Option 2) and are instructed to record two questions they want to answer and then use online or print sources to answer those questions and complete a short report. In Option 1 students read two provided websites about cochlear implants and answer a sequence of focused questions about the technology (year inducted, innovators, parts, improvements, number helped). The student activity pages require students to gather specific factual information and produce a short report/photo, indicating a short research task with guided and self-generated questions.
Final Project
Solar System Model and Test
Students follow directions from a named source (13 Planets: The Latest View of the Solar System, p.59) to build the grocery-bag model and use index cards to note scaled distances. Students review multiple unit materials ("Things to Know," "Reading and Questions," Planetary Passport pages, and game cards) as they prepare for the test and discuss model features. In Activity 3 students compare two models using a grading rubric and complete written pages that ask focused questions about how a proposed museum model will show relative sizes, distances, and orbits.
Unit 3: The Prince and the Bard
Lesson 7
Introduction to Shakespeare
Students read assigned sources (the Early Modern English article and a SparkNotes character list) and are directed to look up the meaning and usage of "[sic]" online and to search why it is italicized. Students complete bracket activities that require consulting a dictionary or the provided modern translations to clarify unfamiliar words. These tasks require students to find information from at least one external source and to use that information to complete written exercises.
Final Project
Love Letters
Students choose a research question for their final project (deciding which relationship is the strongest) and complete note-taking pages ("Play Cupid" or "Strongest of All") that prompt thesis, problem, solution, evidence, and important quotes. Students convert their notes into an outline using the OUTLINING pages and then write a persuasive essay that requires stating a thesis, explaining the couple's problem and solution, and including quotations and persuasive evidence. Students also refer to multiple unit texts (The Little Prince, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet) throughout the unit and answer related test and vocabulary questions based on those texts.
Unit 4: Elizabethan Europe
Lesson 1
Europe at the Time of Elizabeth's Birth
Activity 4 asks students to "do a bit more research on Martin Luther" and to consult the day's reading plus other sources (encyclopedias, books, or online resources). The activity provides multiple source links (a PBS clip, a History Channel article, and Wikipedia) and a graphic organizer to collect facts to use in a biographical poem. Earlier activities direct students to use specific reading pages (pages 8-13 and 10-11) to compare views and answer guided questions about Luther and the Catholic Church.
Lesson 2
The Renaissance and Elizabeth's Childhood
Students are asked to complete a Digital Art Field Trip in which they visit several museum websites, record title/artist/year/website for 3–4 works, and explain why they included each — requiring them to consult multiple online sources. In Activity 3 students use a map and are directed to trace Marco Polo's journey using a Britannica link and to place multiple historical events on the map, drawing on prior timeline entries and an external source. Activity 2 and Activity 4 provide multiple web links (music recordings, sheet music, museum pages) that students are instructed to use while completing focused tasks.
Lesson 3
Becoming Queen
Students are asked to read specified chapters from Elizabeth I: The People's Queen and answer direct comprehension questions, which has them draw information from the assigned text. The lesson provides external source citations for flower symbolism (Huntington Botanical Gardens, Purdue, Folger) and explicitly suggests using library or online sources to learn more about plant meanings and to find blackwork patterns. The Life Application section explicitly invites students to "do a bit of research in your local library or online" to investigate meanings assigned to herbs and flowers for a knot garden.
Final Project
An Elizabethan Lapbook
Students are instructed to review unit readings, timelines, and "Things to Know" sections to prepare content for the lapbook and timeline mini-book. The Family Album mini-book explicitly tells students to use the unit index and optionally use online or library sources to find images and additional information. Several mini-books require students to write 1–3 sentence summaries (e.g., historical events, art and culture, triangular trade) and to select and organize significant dates and locations for maps and timelines.
Unit 4: Technological Design
Lesson 3
Meaningful Technological Designs
Students are asked in Activity 1 to investigate a specific historical technology by writing a paragraph about the inventor and invention date, collecting three images (original, improved, 21st-century), and choosing to build a simple model or write about the device's rationale, tests/trials, or patents. The materials encourage students to use a search engine and provided web links (e.g., Famous Inventors, Energy.gov air conditioning history) to locate information and resources. The Parent Plan skills statement explicitly directs students to use information systems to identify needs or problems and locate resources to obtain and test ideas.
Lesson 4
Necessity vs. Luxury
Students are directed to choose one 20th-century and one 21st-century technology and answer guided research questions about each (e.g., whether the design solved a societal problem and why it became important). The materials explicitly tell students to use safe online sources (Britannica Kids, National Geographic Kids, History.com, Smithsonian, Science News for Students, museum or government sites) and suggest specific search phrases to learn about inventions. The Parent Plan lists the skill "Use information systems to locate resources," and students are asked to compare answers with a previous lesson and be prepared to explain their rationale.
Lesson 5
Necessity Is the Mother of Invention
Students are assigned focused reading from Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions You Can Build Yourself and instructed to use that book as a resource while solving a given problem. In Option 3, students build and use an anemometer to collect evidence and determine whether wind speeds are below 20 mph, directly answering a practical question. The lesson also tells students they may "investigate websites" and the Skills section notes using information systems to locate resources to obtain ideas.
Lesson 6
Da Vinci's Inventions
Students are asked to read specified pages (77-91) about da Vinci's inventions and to evaluate those designs using a rubric, which requires them to gather evidence from the text for ratings. The lesson tells students to "feel free to investigate other resources," and it explicitly states that they will "eventually use your evaluation on your own research project." Activity 2 asks students to build a chosen design, review their evaluation, and think of ways to improve it, which requires inquiry and follow-up investigation.
Lesson 9
Modeling an Idea
Students are prompted to define an aim or research focus (Step 1) and to "look at different resources to understand more about earthquakes," including a named video (The Earthquake Machine) to inform their work. Students gather materials, design and build a model, test it multiple times, make improvements, and are asked to publish or report their results. While watching the video students are asked specific reflective questions (e.g., how the model leads to new explorations and experiments) that guide investigation.
Final Project
Final Exam and Model Bridge
Students are asked in Step 1 to identify the need or problem and in Step 2 to research that problem using multiple specified websites (PBS, Design and Tech PDF, Britannica) and to jot down possible solutions and fill an evaluation chart. Students are directed to use book pages (da Vinci reading) and Internet/library/interview options in Focus 4 and Focus 6, and to use the information from these sources to develop, test, and evaluate designs. Students must use their activity sheets and the history/websites they visited to prepare an engineering presentation, showing they draw on several sources to support their project.
Unit 4: Newton at the Center
Lesson 6
Math and Science Take Flight
Students read Chapter 21 and a NASA webpage and are asked to choose and use one of two demonstrations (cookie-sheet or floating-ball) to explore lift. Students take notes on a provided "Demonstrating Lift" page, create a numbered list of instructions from diagrams/captions/text, collect materials, perform a demonstration, and then summarize for a parent how an airplane wing works. The lesson also includes direct questions to answer in complete sentences about related phenomena (e.g., why roofs blow off, similarities between Bernoulli and Newton).
Lesson 7
Using Newton's Work
Students choose one of two artists and complete a K-W-L chart in Activity 3, writing 3–5 questions under "What I Want to Know." The lesson provides multiple external sources (Britannica, WikiArt, Jacques-Louis David site, and the Met) for students to consult. Students use their findings to give an oral summary (Activity 5) and to write a 1–2 paragraph sidebar with an image and caption (Activity 6), showing they conduct a short research project to answer their questions.
Final Project
Lobby for Newton
Students are asked to answer a focused prompt—write about Newton's ideas and how they have affected their town—and to review highlighted passages and notes from the unit to summarize key points and identify main ideas. Students respond to specific brainstorming questions about Newton (laws of motion, light and color, planets, math, chemistry) and gather observations, examples, quotations, and personal experiences as supporting details. Students create a formal outline (I, II, III; A, B, C) and use the outline to draft, revise, and edit a multi-paragraph expository essay using the provided rubric and writing/grammar resources.
Unit 5: Modern Europe
Lesson 1
Introduction to Europe
Students complete a Scavenger Hunt about the European Union that directs them to use Geography of the World (index and country boxes) to find factual answers, which is a short, guided research task. Option 2 asks students to read an online EU booklet and play a quiz game on the EU website, providing an additional source for answering questions. The Life Application asks students to write 3–5 interview questions and conduct an interview, including thinking of follow-up questions during the conversation.
Lesson 2
Scandinavia and Finland
Students read assigned pages (pages 82–86 of the DK Geography book) and use that information to complete 'Quick Guide to Europe' country pages for Norway and Denmark. Students complete structured research tasks: they record population, languages, government, geography/climate, examples of material and non-material culture, cultural groups, and cultural changes, and they connect geographic features to specific industries using a graphic organizer. Students may find and paste images from magazines or the Internet and are asked to record the publication title or URL beneath the image.
Lesson 3
The British Isles
Students are directed to read pages 87–90 of a geography text and to complete "Quick Guide" pages for the U.K. and Ireland, which requires locating population, language, government, geography, and climate. Student activity pages ask students to analyze how geography and resources influence the economy, identify material and non-material culture, and note cultural changes, prompting research from the reading. Activity 2 asks students to use multiple parliamentary resources (a PDF booklet, an animated video, and other web links) and to take notes answering specific questions about the UK Parliament.
Lesson 4
The Low Countries, Germany, and France
Students are directed to read specific pages (DK Geography of the World, pp. 91–99) and complete Quick Guide pages for the Netherlands, Germany, and France, which requires extracting geographic, economic, and cultural information. In Option 2 students must locate three recent news stories from newspapers, magazines, or online sources (Google News, BBC, NPR, CNN are suggested), provide the source or URL, and write 2–3 sentence summaries for each article. In Option 1 students are asked to watch videos and read EU/environmental policy web pages (European Environment Agency, European Commission) and then create a poster explaining a consumer sustainability practice and at least one reason why the action is beneficial.
Lesson 5
Spain, Portugal, and Italy
Students read pages 100–105 of a geography text to gather information about Spain, Portugal, Italy, Malta, Vatican City, and San Marino. Students complete "Quick Guide" and Student Activity pages for Portugal and Italy, answering directed prompts about population, language, government, geography and climate, how geography and resources influence the economy, examples of material and non-material culture, cultural groups, and cultural change (diffusion vs. invention/innovation). Students are given optional web links (an article on azulejo tilework and a polenta recipe) and a library suggestion that could be used to find additional information.
Lesson 6
Switzerland and Austria
Students are instructed to read pages 106–108 of the DK Geography book and then fill out Quick Guide pages for Switzerland and Austria, using the text to answer factual and analytical prompts. Students are given links to the ICRC, UN, and WHO websites and are asked (in Option 2 and in an optional follow-up to Option 1) to use those websites and international news sources to identify at least one current project for each organization. Students complete directed research tasks such as matching scenarios to organizations, recording two real or plausible situations for each organization, and answering worksheet questions about how geography and resources influence economy and culture.
Lesson 7
Slovenia, Croatia, Belarus, Baltic States
Students are asked to use the book index and pages (Activity 2) and an optional Britannica link to read about the USSR and answer three specific questions, and to record information about five former Soviet countries. Students are instructed to use newspapers, magazines, and online news services (Activity 3) to find three current news stories, cite each source, and write 2–3 sentence summaries. In Activity 6 students are directed to use the provided web links or other internet/library sources to research the governments of Belarus, Norway, and a third country and to complete government-structure worksheets.
Lesson 8
Central Europe
Students are asked to read pages 114–119 and fill out "Quick Guide" pages for Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, locating facts such as population, language, government, geography, and cultural examples. Activity pages prompt students to analyze how geography and natural resources influence the economy and to explain cultural change (diffusion vs. innovation). The music option instructs students to listen to several clips from sites (Smithsonian Folkways, Putumayo) and choose three different songs to analyze, recording instruments, mood, and observations.
Lesson 9
Ukraine, Moldova, Caucasian Republics
Students are instructed to read pages 120-123 of the assigned geography book and to fill out "Quick Guide to Europe" pages for Ukraine and another country, providing targeted facts (population, language, government, geography/climate). Students complete a map activity labeling countries and capitals and an activity page that asks them to describe climates, natural resources, rivers, mountains, plains/steppes and to explain impacts on industrial, agricultural, and tourist economies. A web link about the Caucasus Mountains is provided and students are prompted with guiding questions (e.g., How do geographical features influence the way of life?).
Lesson 10
Southeast Europe
Activity 2 directs students to locate three news stories from newspapers, magazines, or online sources (Google News, BBC, NPR, CNN are suggested), skim them, and select one for an in-depth written or oral report, requiring use of multiple sources. The Romania and Greece student activity pages ask students to research and fill in details (population, language, government, geography, cultural examples), drawing on the assigned pages (124-131) and potentially other resources. The lesson's skills list explicitly states students should "Form research questions and use a variety of information resources to obtain, evaluate, and present data on people, cultures, and developments in Europe."
Final Project
A Quick Guide to Europe
Students assemble a Quick Guide to Europe by completing country pages, coloring borders, and writing a 5–6 sentence introduction that addresses geographies, governments, economies, and cultures. Students may add pages for countries of personal interest and are asked to share a list of sources if they use magazines or online images. Students label EU countries on a map and are given a web link to the European Union site to check membership, and the rubric asks for accuracy of information and thoughtful responses about the guide.
Unit 5: Energy
Lesson 1
Introduction to Energy and Matter
Students read assigned pages and watch a video, then answer directed questions, showing use of multiple sources (book and video). In Activity 2 students consult the textbook and specified web pages to categorize energy sources versus forms. In Activity 3 students carry out a neighborhood survey, recording phenomena, forms of energy, and evidence—collecting observational data to address where energy is present and how it acts.
Lesson 2
Energy Transfer
Students are directed to read Chapter 1 of a book and to watch at least two videos and use a web link, then answer comprehension questions that require synthesizing information about energy and conservation laws. Students trace energy paths on a diagram and label forms of energy, and they complete hands-on investigations (Newton's Cradle and a candle-powered pinwheel) that require observation and referencing the readings/videos. The lesson includes an optional challenge question and "Ideas to Think About" prompts that invite deeper thinking about energy transfer.
Lesson 3
Electricity
Students read Chapter 2 and answer content questions about how electrons move and the difference between static and current electricity. Students conduct short hands-on projects (build a lemon battery, create an electromagnet, model electromagnetic induction) that investigate how electricity is generated and how magnetism and current interact. Students are directed to watch two videos and use an online simulation in addition to the textbook, and they brainstorm and complete activity pages tracing energy conversion in power plants.
Lesson 4
Radiant Energy
Students are directed to read Chapter 10 and watch a linked video and to explore additional web links (a second explanatory video, an interactive simulation, and a Wikipedia diagram) and then answer labeled content questions (#1-3) about how the Sun produces energy and how sunlight becomes electricity. An introductory prompt and 'Ideas to Think About' ask questions such as "How can power from the Sun be used to generate electricity?" and Activity 2 asks students to test a hypothesis about whether other visible light sources will power a solar cell. The activities require students to gather information from multiple assigned sources and to test ideas experimentally.
Lesson 5
More Renewable Power Sources
Students are directed to read multiple sections of a textbook (three chapter excerpts on wind, hydropower, and geothermal energy) and to view a diagram and a linked video, then answer specific content questions about best wind farm locations, how dams generate electricity, and the source of geothermal heat. Students build and test turbine models (pinwheel and water wheel) and demonstrate their water wheel, using observations to explain how moving air and water produce mechanical motion. Students discuss benefits and challenges of renewable sources with a parent and respond to guided questions that draw on the readings, video, and hands-on activities.
Lesson 6
Nuclear Power
Students are directed to read Chapter 7 and review a chart from a web link and then answer three explicit questions about fission, how a reactor generates electricity, and benefits of fusion. Optional extension links and a ‘find out more' life-application prompt ask students to explore additional web resources about fusion and to investigate a nearby nuclear plant's history, advantages, and safety protocols. The guided questions require students to draw information from the assigned chapter and the chart to produce written answers.
Lesson 7
Fossil Fuels and Biomass
Students are asked to pick one fuel source (petroleum, natural gas, coal, or biomass) to research further and to read the remainder of the chapter about that fuel. Students are given multiple web links and are told they can use those or other resources to learn more. Students must complete a product (demonstration, poster, or creative presentation) and share or present their findings to family, discussing uses and pros/cons.
Lesson 8
Powering Our World
Students are instructed in Activity 2 to "do some research on the Internet" about how their state or local area produces electricity, with explicit suggestions to check a local power company website and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). They must create a pie chart of energy sources for their state and compare and contrast five energy sources, using book pages provided for advantages and disadvantages. Activity 3 (Option 2) asks students to develop open-ended questions before a field trip, record answers during the visit, and report findings, while Option 1 directs students to explore country energy profiles and answer guided questions from the OurWorldInData site.
Final Project
Energy Conservation
Students are asked to investigate their family's energy use by studying recent utility bills and comparing usage across months, and to use external tools such as the Energy Use Calculator and an online Home Energy Assessment to collect data. Students must locate and use articles or studies to support the letter they write to a business, organization, or government office (for example, finding a study about electric buses or neighborhood solar panel successes). Students compile and present their findings (utility data, calculator results, audit results) and propose changes, which requires gathering and synthesizing information from these multiple sources.
1: Semester 1
Unit 1: Revolution
Lesson 1
Founding of the Colonies
Students read Chapter 1 of Great Colonial Projects You Can Build Yourself and answer comprehension questions about colonists' motives and trade, and they watch the History Channel episode "Rebels" while taking notes and pausing to ask questions or look up more information. Students complete a mapping activity that directs them to use the book's timeline (pages vi–ix) and maps (pages 12 and 18) to label colonies, record founding dates, and shade British, French, and Spanish territories. Guidance asks students to jot down new information and questions during viewing and to consult books or the Internet (with parental help) to follow up on things they wonder about.
Lesson 2
Southern Colonies
Students read multiple assigned texts (several chapters from We Were There, Too!) and a primary 1584 account (Barlowe) and are asked to reinterpret that account from a Native American perspective. In the tobacco vs. silk/flax activity, students are directed to consult at least two web articles from the National Park Service and complete a pros-and-cons chart to decide which crop a colonial gentleman would choose. Students also compare voyages (Equiano and the Mayflower) using readings and complete a Venn diagram, and they assemble timeline cards drawn from the unit sources.
Lesson 3
The Middle and Northern Colonies
Students are assigned multiple readings from at least two books and directed to online primary-source and secondary-source web pages (the Mayflower Compact link and University of Virginia Salem Witch Trials site). Students analyze a historical document (Mayflower Compact) using a word-cloud activity and complete an evaluative table that asks them to weigh merits and doubts for several explanations of the Salem witch hysteria. Students also review a multi-column table about the founding of the 13 colonies and complete a Venn diagram comparing colonies founded for different reasons.
Lesson 6
Leading Up to Revolution
Students watch the America: The Story of Us episode and answer guided comprehension questions, using the video as a source for information. Students use the NCpedia "Timeline of Resistance, 1763-1774" link and complete the Resistance table by researching each listed act or policy and recording what it did and why colonists objected. The Parent Plan also suggests that students may consult a library or online sources for additional information when discussing questions.
Lesson 7
Independence
Students are assigned multiple print and online sources (two short readings from We Were There, Too!, a chapter from Great Colonial Projects You Can Build Yourself!, Library of Congress pages on the First Great Awakening and the Revolution, Patrick Henry's speech, and the rough draft/final versions of the Declaration). Students analyze those sources by answering directed reading questions, discussing how religious revival or speeches influenced political views, selecting and performing a powerful paragraph from Patrick Henry, and choosing 3–5 revised sections of Jefferson's draft to propose edits. Activity 2 has students compare the rough draft and final text and make evidence-based editing choices.
Lesson 8
Fighting the War
Students read multiple specified primary and secondary sources (several short chapters in We Were There, Too: Young People in U.S. History) and are directed to additional web sources (Minute Man NHP, Saratoga, Valley Forge, Yorktown, and History Matters). Students use those sources to complete short research-type tasks: filling out a multi-page brochure with guided questions about each site, adding cards to a timeline, and producing a letter or illustration based on textual evidence. The activities require students to locate information on multiple sites and synthesize details for written or visual responses.
Lesson 9
A New Nation
Activity 1 asks students to choose 3–5 historical figures and "Using the Internet (with parental supervision), reference books, or your local public library, do some research to learn more about each" person. Students are instructed to create an index card for each person with facts on one side and "three questions that you would like to ask that guest" on the other side. The parent notes reiterate that students will research lives of chosen people and jot down several interesting facts and three questions for each guest.
Final Project
Living History
Students are asked to plan and prepare a living history presentation that requires them to gather historical information (e.g., a brief history of a colony, at least three specific reasons for colonial discontent, descriptions of military life and battles). The lesson explicitly tells students to use their unit readings, timelines, activity pages, and, if needed, the local library or the Internet to conduct additional research for the project. Students are instructed to practice and to be prepared to answer audience questions and to research any questions they cannot immediately answer over the next day or two.
Unit 1: Atoms
Lesson 2
Atomic Structure
The lesson requires students (Option 2) to use multiple provided web links to research each scientist, take notes, and write brief summaries of their discoveries before placing them on a timeline. Day 2 lists eight separate links and explicitly instructs students to "research each scientist and his/her major discoveries" and to "use the links provided." The activity asks students to cut out and paste their summaries on the timeline, demonstrating an organized short research task drawing on several sources.
Lesson 4
Solid, Liquid, Gas: What's the Difference?
Students are asked in Option 2 to use their book (pp. 16–21) and "other available resources" to list characteristics of gases, liquids, and solids and to complete a chart, which requires consulting sources. The lesson asks students to watch a video and answer content questions, and includes prompts such as "Ideas to Think About" and a "Challenging Question" that encourage students to consider explanations and ask why state changes occur.
Lesson 5
Properties of Matter II
Students are asked to watch an external video (Draw My Science: Mass, Volume, and Density) and then answer guided questions, which requires using that source to answer questions. The lesson includes a challenge that asks students to "investigate the following online: What is the combustion point of a candle wick? Does candle wax boil?", which directs students to pursue information beyond the classroom activities. The "Ideas to Think About" prompts encourage students to consider questions such as "What makes one piece of matter different from another?" that could guide inquiry.
Lesson 6
The Recurring (Periodic) Table of Elements
Students are directed to "Read the 'Periodic Table' webpage (link provided)" and to "review the periodic table image on pp. 22-23 in Eyewitness Chemistry and the images of the placement of metals and nonmetals found on pp. 25 and 26," then answer specific questions. Students use those sources to complete Activity 1 and Activity 2 tables (filling atomic number, mass, and electron configurations) and to complete Activity 3 where they use their tables and a copy of the periodic table to identify inert gases and trends. Several tasks require students to draw on the provided webpage and textbook images together to support answers and classifications.
Lesson 8
Final Project
Students are asked to conduct a home survey of fifteen items and then research the primary and secondary materials for those items (Part 2 and Part 3). The Getting Specific with an Element section directs students to use the Internet and a provided periodic table link to find what elements compose a chosen item and to fill in detailed element data (melting point, atomic number, common compounds). The materials repeatedly prompt students to use notes, activity pages, book, encyclopedias, and reliable websites to complete tables and create atomic cards.
Unit 1: Abigail Adams
Lesson 1
Getting to Know Abigail Adams
Students are prompted to pre-read and generate questions about Abigail Adams by writing three questions in the "Summary" section based on their exploration of the book. Students examine front and back matter (table of contents, foreword, chronology, bibliography) and are asked to evaluate the bibliography and list other works in the "Further Reading" and "Other Works by Natalie S. Bober" sections. Students are directed to describe what other authors might emphasize and to mark books they have read, which engages them in identifying potential sources.
Lesson 2
John and Abigail Adams
Students are asked to use the book's reference notes and bibliography to identify original sources for quotations (Question #1 and Question #3 require locating endnote entries and a full bibliographic citation). Students are prompted to evaluate whether the sources cited in Chapters 3 and 4 are valid and reliable (Question #4). The Parent Plan and Skills sections explicitly name bibliographic recording and differentiating paraphrase from plagiarism as skills to practice.
Lesson 3
Unrest and War
Students are directed to explore primary sources (for example, a Paul Revere engraving via the Library of Congress link) and to read an entry from John Adams's diary along with chapters from Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution. Students must use those sources to compose a short, first-person paragraph describing the Boston Tea Party or the Boston Massacre, and Option 2 explicitly asks students to draw on both the Adams diary and the Abigail Adams reading. The activity language instructs students to "write a first-person account based on your research," indicating a short research task that requires consulting sources.
Lesson 5
Remember the Ladies
Students read Chapters 9 and 10 of a biography and are directed to the full texts of multiple primary-source letters (three linked letters) to examine Abigail and John Adams's correspondence. In Activity 1 students compare their own notes on a letter with how the biographer used that letter, and in Activity 1 Option 2 they use historian categories (author, type, context, bias, connections) to analyze a primary source. In Activity 2 Option 2 students collect information by interviewing parents about household responsibilities, linking contemporary data to historical roles.
Lesson 7
Education
Students are asked to work with a parent to identify and read a news article about girls' education anywhere in the world, using search suggestions and three provided web links (UNGEI, World Bank, UNICEF). Students select one paragraph from the chosen article and use a Paragraph Analysis page to determine the role of each sentence and the connections between sentences. Students record observations on the analysis page, which requires them to engage with an external source and inspect its content closely.
Lesson 9
The Vice Presidency
Activity 1 directs students to read at least two original letters between Abigail Adams and Thomas Jefferson via the National Archives link, requiring them to draw on multiple primary sources. Students are asked to think about questions such as how Jefferson might have influenced Abigail and then write a diary entry from Abigail's point of view about the influence of this friend on her life, which requires synthesis of those sources.
Lesson 11
Later Life
Students are instructed to look up descriptions and images of Peacefield in the textbook index and to view multiple external websites (Adams National Historical Park, WhiteHouseHistory, and a Google Arts & Culture virtual tour). Students then use details from these readings and websites to create artwork or complete a Venn-diagram graphic organizer comparing the two homes. The activity requires consulting at least several distinct sources (text chapters plus web resources) to complete the comparative task.
Final Project
A One-Person Play
Students are required to incorporate at least one direct quotation from a primary source into one of their three scenes (Day 2 instruction and rubric criterion 5). The planning pages prompt students to list "Relevant primary sources cited" for each event, and a web link to a digital Adams archive is provided for locating original documents. Students must provide accurate dates and historical information for each scene and summarize events, which requires gathering factual evidence to explain context to an audience.
Unit 2: Civics
Lesson 1
The Origins of American Government
Students read multiple primary sources (Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, English Bill of Rights) and a linked transcript/summary of the Articles of Confederation (Activity 1 and Activity 2). Students analyze and categorize excerpts by sorting phrases into columns (limits/rights/responsibilities) or by highlighting passages with color codes, requiring them to draw evidence across those documents (Option 1 and Option 2 activities). Students complete a structured note-taking template for each section of the Articles that asks them to state the purpose, summarize key ideas in their own words, and choose to write a question or assess power distribution.
Lesson 2
The Constitutional Convention
Students are directed to read the online article "A More Perfect Union: The Creation of the U.S. Constitution" and answer specific comprehension questions, demonstrating research to answer assigned questions. Activity 1 instructs students to read the Library of Congress essay "Identifying Defects in the Constitution" and complete a three-column student activity analyzing modern problems under the Articles of Confederation. Activity 2 asks students to "use the Internet, encyclopedias, or your local library" to research two Federalists and two Anti-Federalists and complete biographical and analysis activity pages.
Lesson 3
The Constitution of the United States
Students read the Constitution and take structured notes section-by-section, with instructions to record at least two key points per section (Activity 1). Students may also use external resources: Option 2 directs students to the Library of Congress interactive on the origins of the Bill of Rights with guiding questions, and Option 3 has students play an iCivics game and review a detailed report of their matches. The lesson includes teacher-provided and discussion questions that ask students to compare ideas and consider real-world applications of amendments.
Lesson 4
The Executive Branch
Students read primary constitutional texts (Article II and Amendments XII, XX, and XXII-XXV) and answer targeted questions to create a mini-book, demonstrating short, text-based research. In Option 1, students use White House websites to find information about Cabinet departments and current cabinet members, drawing on at least two online sources. In Option 2, students examine presidential schedules from presidential libraries (including President Clinton) and compare them, taking notes and creating their own schedule based on that research.
Lesson 5
The Legislative Branch
Students are asked to look up their own senators and representatives using the provided House and Senate links and to find a bill sponsored or co-sponsored by one of those representatives (Activity 2). They are instructed to read the text of the bill (or summaries) and to complete an activity page that asks for the bill number, title, sponsor(s), a summary in their own words, who benefits or opposes it, what committee(s reviewed it, and what happened to the bill. In Activity 1 and the Reading section, students are directed to review Article I of the Constitution and White House and House websites to learn the legislative process and then create a visual or musical explanation, drawing on those sources.
Lesson 6
The Judicial Branch
Students are instructed to choose a landmark Supreme Court case and "explore in greater detail, either online or at your local library," using research to answer questions on the Landmark Cases page. The Student Activity Page asks students to write the case name and year, describe the basis for the case, summarize the court's decision, identify the legal precedent, explain why the precedent matters today, and provide an example of how life would differ if the case had been decided otherwise. Activity 1 and the reading tasks require students to read Article III and a White House webpage and direct them to multiple web-based resources about how cases move through courts.
Lesson 7
State Government
Students are asked to spend two days creating a booklet describing their state government and are instructed to use online research or library research to complete the project. The lesson provides a direct web link to state government sites (https://www.usa.gov/state-local-governments) and prompts students to find factual information such as state capital, population, governor, legislature name and membership, and number of supreme court justices. Students are also given guided questions on the activity pages (e.g., How often are members of the legislature elected? List your representatives.) and are encouraged to visit relevant sites (state capital, courthouse) as optional research extensions.
Lesson 8
Local Government
Students are asked to create a Z-fold brochure about their local government using information found on local government websites, at local government offices, the public library, the phone book, and voter advocacy groups (Activity 1). Option 1 ("Whom Would You Call?") requires students to use those sources to identify the specific local office names and phone numbers for ten real-world scenarios. Option 2 asks students to pick a past or present community issue, "do some research (online or in your local library)," determine main issues and strategies, and record findings on the "Change in Your Community" sheet.
Lesson 9
Citizenship
Students choose an issue to investigate and are instructed to "do some background research" using specified news sites (NPR, Google News, CNN) and government resources (White House, house.gov, senate.gov) to complete an Issue Analysis page. Students are directed to summarize positions at the federal, state, and local levels (president, senators/representatives, governor, local government) and to consult multiple party websites in Activity 2 to identify party stances. Students complete activity pages that require listing facts, summarizing positions, and outlining citizen-level strategies, which requires drawing on those sources to answer focused prompts.
Unit 2: Chemical Reactions
Lesson 5
Acids and Bases
Students are asked to read pages 42–45 in Eyewitness Chemistry and to use the USGS pH Color Code web link as resources for the activity, so they draw on at least a textbook and an online source. Students are instructed to test a set list of household substances and may choose up to three additional household items to investigate on their own. The Parent Plan directs students (or parents) to perform a simple Internet search for the pH of other chosen substances, which explicitly involves consulting external sources.
Lesson 8
Periodic Characteristics
Students are asked to reread specific pages ("Making a Precipitate" p.35 and Eyewitness Chemistry pp.44-45) and to use their copy of the periodic table and a provided pH table to analyze reactions. In Activity 1 students record element symbols, identify each element as metal/nonmetal/metalloid, note group numbers, and look for patterns across multiple reactions. In Activity 2 students carry out an experiment mixing bleach and hydrogen peroxide, observe gas production and precipitate formation, and answer guided "Questions to Consider."
Lesson 9
Scientific Argumentation
Students are prompted to write an initial claim/hypothesis and then carry out short experiments (e.g., Tums + vinegar, then adding baking soda) to test that claim, with materials, step-by-step directions, and space for observations and justification. Students categorize statements as claim, evidence, or justification in Activity 1, reinforcing how to frame testable questions and use experimental data. The activities include optional follow-up experiments and discussion questions that encourage further hands-on exploration of the original question.
Lesson 10
Synthetic or Natural?
Students are instructed to "conduct research on a chemical substance commonly used in your geographic area" and to "investigate the substances listed below," indicating a research task. The activity supplies six external links (and invites students to use search phrases to find other sites) and asks students to complete a table classifying substances and explaining risks, benefits, and value. Students must gather information from these sources and synthesize it to make value judgments about each substance.
Final Project
Chemistry in Action
Students are asked to complete a directed research task in Part 2: choose one of four medicines and fill the "What Does It Do?" activity page with prompts such as chemical name, formula, benefits, harms, side effects, mechanisms, natural occurrence, and availability. Students must "complete the research and investigation" and then "collect evidence" and use steps of scientific argumentation to make and present an executive decision for or against marketing the substance. The project culminates in a brief evidence-based presentation (with visuals) in which students act as a CEO and present their claim, evidence, and justification to an audience.
Unit 2: Animal Farm
Lesson 1
What Is a Theme?
Students are asked to read multiple surrounding materials (front and back cover, table of contents, author biography, preface/foreword, and any introductory essays) and answer guided questions about those sources. The activities instruct students to use online research if their edition lacks introductory material, which directs students to seek information from outside sources. The pre-reading prompt also asks students to note any questions they have after reviewing these materials.
Lesson 6
Comrade Napoleon
Students are instructed to do historical research on the Russian Revolution using an encyclopedia, the local library, or online sources and to identify roles of key figures and create a short timeline connecting those figures to Animal Farm. Student activity pages ask students to fill in birth/death dates, roles in the revolution, connections to Animal Farm, and specific evidence supporting those connections. The lesson provides two external web links as possible research sources and an answer key with exemplar information for each historical figure.
Unit 3: The Antebellum West
Lesson 1
America in 1800
Students read the Preface from A History of Us: Liberty for All? 1820-1860 and watch Episode 3 of America: The Story of Us, using both texts to answer guided questions and to discuss content with a parent. Students create a map of America in 1800, identifying states, territories, and foreign claims, and save it for later comparison. Discussion prompts ask students to identify which event or figure from the episode they want to learn more about and to list questions they have about the episode.
Lesson 2
The Early Presidents
Students are directed to do online research on the White House Historical Association site to "skim the biographies" of the first six presidents and to use those facts to create a timeline poster (Activity 1). Students read and analyze primary source speeches (Jefferson's First Inaugural Address and John Quincy Adams's Independence Day speech) and summarize or match paragraph summaries (Activity 3 and 4). Students use a secondary source (an article on early American parties) to take notes about supporters, issues, and policies and then develop party slogans and visual art based on that research (Activity 5).
Lesson 3
The Beginnings of Westward Expansion
Students are instructed to "visit the web resources provided above and then answer the following questions," using five different web links (Kiddle background page, a video, History.com, Academickids paragraph, and optional full text) to find answers to Q1–Q5. Students read a primary Daniel Boone account and other articles and then complete activities (crossword, discussion, or create a movie poster) that require information drawn from those sources. The lesson includes guided discussion prompts and specific questions students must answer about the Northwest Ordinance, its effects, and Boone's experiences.
Lesson 4
The Louisiana Purchase
Students read a chapter and specified web pages (Chapter 1 of Joy Hakim and multiple linked web resources) and answer directed reading questions, demonstrating short text-based inquiry. Students complete project tasks that require gathering information from several sources: creating and labeling a map using atlas/online maps, exploring interactive timelines, and making a timeline or top-10 list based on those resources. Students can also use the optional extension to read through an archived National Geographic interactive journey log and write a journal entry based on multiple records.
Lesson 5
The War of 1812
Students watch a full PBS documentary and read Chapter 3 of a history book to gather information about the War of 1812. Students read four short essays representing American, British, Canadian, and Native perspectives and then either write a perspective-based movie review or complete a chart comparing the four perspectives. Students also read bolded passages of the Monroe Doctrine and summarize those passages in their own words.
Lesson 6
The Trail of Tears
Students read and synthesize multiple primary and secondary sources (PBS article, Jackson's message, Winfield Scott ultimatum, Chief John Ross's letter, Emerson's letter, family stories, and John Burnett's account). Students record at least four justifications and four objections for Indian Removal in their own words (Activity 1 and 2), and they read personal narratives and write a brief summary that explains what the account helped them understand (Activity 3). Students also respond to scenario prompts evaluating whether they would support or oppose removal and provide reasons (Activity 4).
Lesson 8
The Gold Rush and Further Expansion
Students are asked to read multiple prescribed sources (Chapters 12-14 of Joy Hakim, selections from We Were There, a first-person account from the Library of Congress, and Mary Ballou's 1852 letter) and to use details from those readings (e.g., living conditions, work, food, shelter, daily challenges) to complete tasks. Students must synthesize information to prepare a short 3-5 minute personal narrative monologue or to write a letter from an imagined gold miner or create an acrostic poem about the Gold Rush, which require using evidence from those sources. The lesson also provides several external links (PBS pages) that students may consult for additional background.
Lesson 9
Life in the Mid-Nineteenth Century West
Students read Chapters 4–7 of A History of Us and answer directed comprehension questions, using a written secondary source to respond to historical prompts. Students are instructed to locate 10–12 historical photographs from online archives (The Atlantic or the National Archives) and then choose one to explore in depth using a guided Image Analysis worksheet or creative writing, which has them examine multiple primary sources. Students also add events to a timeline and engage in a Pony Express simulation, prompting analysis and connection of evidence to historical ideas.
Final Project
A Westward Migration Story
Students are instructed in the art-gallery option to identify appropriate images online, to copy down the URL for each image, and to write gallery cards describing each image's significance; the art-gallery rubric explicitly requires a citation for each image and 1-2 sentences describing significance. For the storyboard option, students must draw on accurate historical information, plan panels that integrate historical context and at least two federal government actions that impacted the character, and use provided planning pages to organize research-based details. The lesson provides multiple web links and resources for gathering images and historical information and prompts students to think about questions such as factors influencing expansion and consequences of geographic expansion.
Unit 3: Energy and Matter
Lesson 1
Introducing Energy
Students read sections from a textbook and view linked videos about the Sun and solar panels, and they use an online image search link as background information. Students perform hands-on investigations (a marshmallow fusion simulation and a three-bottle solar energy experiment), make predictions/hypotheses, collect temperature and observational data, and write a short justification based on evidence. The activities prompt students to answer targeted questions about limitations and possible improvements to the simulations.
Lesson 4
Electromagnetic and Sound Waves
Students are asked to re-read pages 8-11 of What Is Energy? and watch two linked videos about longitudinal and transverse waves, and then answer specific comprehension questions, showing use of multiple sources. Students carry out hands-on investigations (Activity 1 heating/cooling of soils and water; Activity 2 rubber-band vibration experiments; Activity 3 analyzing wave diagrams), collect temperature and sound data, and graph results to answer guided questions. The materials include "Questions to Ponder" and discussion prompts that require students to interpret experimental data and relate it to concepts from the readings and videos.
Lesson 6
Energy and Machines
Students are directed to use an external web source (PBS video page) and to re-read specific textbook pages (pp. 17-19) to gather information about energy and simple machines. Students conduct a household survey to collect observational data about heat loss and rank devices, and they carry out a hands-on lever investigation in which they record measurements and calculate mechanical advantage. Students answer guided "Questions to Ponder" that ask them to explain observations and reasoning based on their data.
Lesson 8
Energy Sources and Sustainability
Students are asked to investigate whether solar power is a good option for their home by using multiple online sources: they read a pros/cons article (Forbes), consult a household appliance power table, use Project Sunroof to record usable sunlight and roof area, and use a Solar Power Calculator to estimate panel production. Students record data (hours of sun, roof square footage, recommended kW), complete calculations of costs and long-term savings, and fill out a pros/cons chart and a final recommendation. The activities require students to collect and compare information from these different tools and then share findings with a parent.
Final Project
Harnessing the Wind
Students are instructed to "do some research about wind turbines" using multiple provided websites (Basics of Wind Energy; How Do Wind Turbines Work; Advantages and Challenges; Small Wind Guidebook) and to summarize what they learn. The Presentation Guidelines require students to explain how wind energy is transformed, describe benefits, analyze whether wind is practical in their area, estimate costs, and list advantages and disadvantages, and to draw a diagram or use their turbine model. Earlier activities also direct students to read about turbines, power plants, and hydroelectric power and to summarize those processes in writing or a diagram.
Unit 3: Einstein Adds a New Dimension
Lesson 5
Envisioning Fission
Students read Chapters 22–24 and take notes on key concepts (e.g., E=mc², conservation laws, chain reactions) and complete Activity 1 by extracting events from the chapters to populate a year-by-year timeline. Students complete an Internet research activity that teaches search strategies (choosing specific search terms, interpreting search results, avoiding ads) and directs them to three specific web pages to evaluate for credibility, accuracy, and understandability. The Student Activity Page asks students to decide whether each provided web site would be appropriate for a formal research paper and to cite clues about authorship, site type (.gov, user-submitted), and readability.
Lesson 7
Relativity
Students read specified chapters and answer directed comprehension questions, showing engagement with a short, text-based inquiry. Students complete a Domain-Specific Vocabulary activity that requires them to look up terms (with page references) and create examples or illustrations, which involves locating and synthesizing information. Students design a poster on a chosen scientific topic (from the book or their own unit) and are directed to consult the index, use text and graphics, and may use Internet images, which can involve gathering information beyond the assigned reading.
Lesson 11
Citing Sources
Students are assigned a final research paper for the unit and are told they will need citation skills for that project. Students practice recording bibliographic information and creating parenthetical citations and a Works Cited entry using the MLA format and an online citation-builder tool. Students use at least one external source (the ESA Kids page) to complete Part II-A and answer guided reading questions from assigned chapters.
Final Project
Research Paper
The Parent Plan skills list names the standard explicitly and Activity 2 asks students to choose a topic (or expand a prior one), encouraging a self-generated focus and suggesting several angles (process/sequence, cause/effect, compare/contrast, problem/solution). The KWS chart (What I Know / What I Want to Know / What Sources I Could Use) prompts students to write questions they want to explore and to list potential sources. Activities 4–5 require students to gather information from at least three sources (one being the assigned book), record page numbers/URLs, use note cards or research notes, and enter citation information, while Activities 7–10 guide developing a thesis and organizing the paper to answer the research focus.
Unit 4: Antebellum America
Lesson 2
The Rise of Capitalism
Students are asked to read multiple sources (pages 9-12 of Joy Hakim's A History of US and a Miller Center essay plus the full text of Jackson's veto on the Avalon Project). In the timeline activity students may use Internet sources to learn more about specific topics, and in Activity 2 students analyze primary-source text (Jackson's veto) through a word cloud or by comparing support and opposition using the provided essays. The sorting/chart activity has students synthesize perspectives from the readings into supporter and opponent categories.
Lesson 3
Technology and Infrastructure
Students are assigned multiple readings (Chapter 18 of Hakim's History of US and selections from We Were There, Too!) and are pointed to an external PBS web page and a video, providing several information sources. Students are asked to locate the Erie Canal on a U.S. map and to create an advertisement that explains why the project matters, what work is involved, and the risks and benefits, requiring them to gather and synthesize information. Students also add items to a timeline and complete activities (diary, assembly-line exercise, letter/drawings) that ask them to use details from the readings to support their responses.
Lesson 4
Immigration and Migration
Students are asked to consult multiple primary-source images in Option 1 (choose 5–7 images from provided web pages) and to read Chapter 19 of the textbook and two first-person accounts in We Were There, Too! for Activity 2. In Option 2, students use 1850 U.S. census data (a table of countries of birth and totals) and a map template to create a color‑coded map showing immigrant origins. Students produce artifacts (a poem, a map, or a dramatic retelling) that require synthesizing information from these sources.
Lesson 5
Education and Women's Rights
Students choose one reformer to research and write five interview questions for that person. Students are instructed to avoid yes/no questions and to write questions that can be answered through research (e.g., ask about different phases of a person's life). Students are asked to use online or library research to answer at least three of their questions and to record possible answers on the provided interview activity page.
Lesson 7
The Agrarian Economy and Slavery
Students complete several multi-source tasks: Activity 4 directs students to visit two artifact websites and "use the websites provided as sources for your research" to create a museum exhibit booklet, and Activity 3 asks students to choose two slave narratives from the Library of Congress and compare them. Activity 5 requires students to read multiple primary and secondary texts (Hammond, Douglass, Stanton) and prepare a 2–3 minute speech responding to arguments, and Activity 2 has students use provided tabular data to construct and analyze a graph.
Final Project
A Poster Session
Students are instructed to create a poster session presentation about differences between the North and the South, drawing on work done throughout the unit and readings from books they have used. Students use a Planning Page to organize information across categories (way of life, economic, political, cultural, tensions) and are asked to find information, write content, and include at least one map/graph/table or images to support main points. Students prepare a brief (2–5 minute) oral summary and rehearse answering visitors' questions, practicing presenting and citing their poster evidence.
Unit 4: Biochemistry
Lesson 1
Introduction to Biological Chemistry
Students are explicitly instructed to "Conduct an internet search for 'graphite' and 'diamond'" and to use information from that search along with the provided excerpt to record at least three characteristics for each substance. Students are directed to use external sources (food package labels or the USDA Food Data Central link) to look up calorie information for items in their Food Journal and to record/calculations for five days. Students read informational text about the carbon cycle and then create a flow chart tracing the path of a carbon atom, applying content from the reading to a focused prompt.
Lesson 3
Organic and Inorganic Molecules
In Activity 1, students choose two inorganic substances and are instructed to conduct research to answer specific questions (chemical symbol/formula, functions in the body, how the body obtains the substance) and to produce an image representing a source of the substance. The activity supplies multiple web links and allows students to use other sites or sources, so students draw information from several sources. In Activity 2, students investigate ingredient lists and Nutrition Facts labels (and are directed to search for typical labels) to answer questions about biomolecules and inorganic compounds in their own diet.
Lesson 5
Exposure and Feedback
Students are instructed in Activity 2 to use the Internet and the provided CDC links (or additional searches) to investigate listed chemical agents and to complete a table of Type of Agent, Dose for Toxicity, and Sources. Activity 2 directs students to look up unfamiliar terms, use search terms (e.g., "toxic dose of ________"), and reflect on amounts necessary for toxicity, which requires gathering information from web sources. In Activity 3 students use the chart they created and conduct Internet searches to diagnose case files and investigate treatments, applying information gathered during research.
Lesson 6
Immune Response, Part I
Activity 4 directs students to conduct a brief investigation into the lives and discoveries of Edward Jenner, Louis Pasteur, Robert Koch, and Ilya Mechnikov and to use an encyclopedia or Internet research to answer specific worksheet questions. The activity asks students to read predefined questions on the "Immune System Discoveries" page and then gather information to answer those questions. The lesson also includes other prompt-driven questions (e.g., "Questions to Consider") that require students to seek factual information about viruses and immune response.
Lesson 7
Immune Response, Part II
Students read multiple in-lesson sources (interviews, character tables, and scenario text) in the "Mystery Ailment" activity and mark Y/N data to identify the source of an illness. Students watch and take notes from videos and vocabulary materials in Activity 1/Option 2, and then summarize the immune process in a flow chart or list. The Mystery Ailment includes a report section that asks students to state the cause of the illness and to describe methods for identifying patterns and scientific approaches related to epidemiology.
Lesson 8
Intake and Health
Students are asked to investigate nutrient amounts by using today's reading and online research (including a provided NIH Office of Dietary Supplements link) to fill a table about uses, recommended intake, sources, deficiency and excess effects. In Activity 2 (Option 1) students are instructed to read CDC and PBS fact sheets (with links provided) and other websites as needed, then answer specific research questions on the Alcohol Research page. In Option 2 students gather information from multiple advertisements (provided links and other sources) and record target audience, strategy, descriptions, and observations in a chart.
Final Project
Analyzing Your Food Journal
Students are asked to conduct a brief investigation into dietary fats (lipids) addressing specific research prompts (biochemical significance, acceptable consumption rates, signs of overconsumption, impacts, personal comparison, and ways to change habits). The lesson provides multiple web links (American Heart Association, ChooseMyPlate, WebMD, archived lipid resource) and instructs students to document findings on provided worksheets and include results in a final report and presentation. Students also draw on their own food journal data (categorizing biomolecules, creating graphs, and calculating calories) to compare personal intake to guidelines.
Unit 4: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Lesson 1
Introduction to Mark Twain and the Novel
Students are directed to visit multiple external sources (a biography site about Mark Twain, an 1850 map of free and slave states, USHistory.org articles on the growth of slavery and slave codes, a PBS dialect site, and a linguistic-profiling video) and to record answers and summaries in a journal. Students complete map activities (identifying and shading free and slave states), answer specific guided questions about Twain's life and works, summarize how slavery spread, and list rules slaves had to follow. Students also investigate dialect by reading an article or watching a video and then responding to guided reflection questions in their journals.
Lesson 7
Persuasive Writing
Students are asked to read Chapters 22–25 of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and to read an external article (the CBS News "Editing the Novel" piece) before taking a position on whether the novel should be changed. Students are instructed to "gather your evidence," use a Persuasion Map to plan reasons and facts, and to use a combination of types of evidence to support their persuasive paragraph. The activities require students to collect information from the novel and the linked article and to use that information as support in their written argument.
Lesson 8
Hiding the Money
The Parent Plan explicitly states students will "conduct short research projects to answer a question about the type of writing examined" and to examine newspapers, magazines, online articles, instructional manuals, poetry, and fiction. Activity 1 directs students to collect examples from several sources (magazines, newspaper, online articles, picture books, chapter books, instructional manuals, encyclopedias) and spend time examining and sorting them into narrative, persuasive, and expository categories. Students must create three collage posters, each including at least four examples, demonstrating use of multiple sources to determine types and purposes of writing.
Lesson 11
Mark Twain's Influence
Activity 2 directs students to visit two web links of slave narratives (Sarah Gudger and Arnold Gragston) and then choose one narrative to listen to and take notes. Students are asked to draw conclusions about the life of the slave, compare and contrast those conclusions to the character of Jim, analyze dialect, and note figurative language. The prompt requires students to use at least one primary-source audio narrative to answer specific analytic questions.
Lesson 12
The Movie Adaptation
Students are asked to finish reading the novel and watch the 1993 film adaptation, taking notes as they observe changes in character, plot, language, setting, and dialect. They compare and contrast the novel and the movie, answer directed questions about plot and character outcomes, and consider why directors and actors made particular changes. The lesson directs students to use the novel and the film as sources for analysis and to discuss similarities and differences.
Unit 5: Civil War
Lesson 1
Sectional Differences
Students are asked in Option 1 to "do a bit more research" about one chosen historical figure using the local library or Internet and several provided web links. The lesson assigns a targeted reading (Fields of Fury, up to page 13) and a "Conflicts & Compromises" resource page that students must consult before completing the letter or stakeholder activity. The Activities and Discussion sections include specific prompts and questions (e.g., map analysis and discussion questions) that require students to gather information from texts and resources to support their responses.
Lesson 2
Moving Toward War
Students are directed to reread a section of Fields of Fury (pages 8–11) and answer specific comprehension questions, showing use of a print source. Students read two web sources (Senate summary of the Webster-Hayne debate and a PBS biography of Calhoun) and then summarize and evaluate each statesman's view, demonstrating synthesis across sources. Students use an NPS article to complete a data chart and answer analytical questions comparing North and South, showing they draw on multiple sources to support answers.
Lesson 3
The Start of the War
Students read and take notes on multiple sources: pp. 14-17 of McPherson's Fields of Fury and the primary texts of Jefferson Davis's and Abraham Lincoln's inaugural addresses (links to Avalon). Students synthesize information by summarizing paragraphs in their own words, compare the two presidents by applying speech content to scenarios, and create an illustrated timeline that may require finding and citing additional online images. Students are instructed to record URLs under images on the timeline, showing attention to using and citing sources.
Lesson 4
Early Days of the War
Students read assigned pages from Fields of Fury (pages 18–29) and selected sections of We Were There, Too!, and they answer specific reading questions about those texts. Students begin and continue a multi-day Civil War battle cards project and add entries to a timeline, using the readings to complete prompts about outcomes, significance, and important people. Students also choose between a dramatization or art project that requires using the narratives they read to retell or depict specific events.
Lesson 6
The Emancipation Proclamation
Students are asked to read a section of McPherson (pages 44-53) and answer a focused question about the Emancipation Proclamation, demonstrating use of a content source to produce an answer. In Option 1, students read a passage in Hoose and an article from the Massachusetts Historical Society (including primary photographs) and then synthesize those sources to write a short letter explaining reasons for enlistment. Students also use readings to complete Civil War battle cards, pulling facts from text to answer specific prompts about battles.
Lesson 7
Gettysburg and Beyond
Students watch the 'Civil War' episode of America: The Story of Us and read pages 53–73 of Fields of Fury, then answer specific reading questions. Students use information from the film and the textbook to complete Civil War battle cards and to add cards #82-94 to a timeline. Students respond to guided and discussion questions about technology, leaders, and social impacts, and complete short-answer items about roles, weapons, and battle outcomes.
Lesson 8
The War's End
Students read assigned passages (Pages 74–89 in Fields of Fury) and answer specific content questions (Q1–Q4). Students also read supplemental first-person accounts in We Were There (options about Andersonville or Carrie Berry) and use those readings to create a movie poster or sampler and to complete Civil War battle cards and a timeline. In Activity 4 students take perspectives on Reconstruction and write 1–2 sentences explaining how different individuals would favor punitive or lenient approaches.
Unit 5: Microbiology and Cell Theory
Lesson 3
The Structures of Eukaryotic Cells
Students view three videos about eukaryotic cell structures and then answer five focused content questions about organelles and cellular processes. Students complete an osmosis activity by determining directions of water movement in multiple scenarios and answer follow-up questions that require prediction and explanation. Students perform an optional hands-on experiment (potato in salt water) making predictions, observing results, and creating a labeled 2-D model of a eukaryotic cell with descriptions of organelle functions.
Lesson 4
Protists
Students are directed to read three web articles (animal-like, plant-like, and fungus-like protists) and to "use the information from all three articles to answer the following questions," which requires consulting multiple sources. The lesson lists specific research questions (e.g., characteristics of protozoa, movement types, similarities/differences of algae and plants) that students must answer based on those readings. The activities also ask students to compare diagrams and complete a chart, which requires synthesizing information about different organisms across resources.
Lesson 5
Prokaryotes
Students are directed to "explore different resources" including a video and multiple articles (Prokaryotic vs. Eukaryotic Cells; What are bacteria; Introduction to the Archaea; Archaea and Other Extremists) to build knowledge. Students are asked to compare sources and write a paragraph describing similarities and differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Students also develop a hypothesis and conduct a multi-day experiment (culturing bacteria) to test how temperature affects bacterial growth, recording observations and drawing conclusions.
Lesson 6
Understanding Microbes
Students investigate multiple specified web resources (the "Viral Attack" article, "Flu Attack!" video, "Inside Viruses" site, and optional videos) and use information from those sources to answer a set of directed questions in the Reading and Questions section. In Activity 2, students conduct Internet research from provided reputable sources (and optional searches) to decide whether viruses are living or nonliving and must give reasoning based on that research. Students also synthesize evidence from different media (text, illustrations, and video) to support their conclusions about viruses.
Lesson 7
Specialized Cells
Students are asked in Activity 1 to choose a specialized cell from the coloring book and "do some Internet research" on the cell they chose, filling in the "Specialized Cell" activity page with information about functions and unique properties. The lesson provides a specific web link (Human Cell Atlas) and invites students to optionally search online for images to guide their work. The model-building Activity 2 has students review background information (the Muscles link) before constructing a physical model, reinforcing content they researched.
Lesson 8
Mitosis
Students are directed to watch a video and read specific pages of a book to learn about mitosis and then answer targeted questions, showing use of multiple sources. Students complete activities that require creating clay models and may produce a presentation (film, PowerPoint, or animation) using those models, which resembles a short project. The materials include links and instructions for preparing slides and other resources students can consult while completing tasks.
Lesson 9
Biological Hazards and Infectious Disease
Students formulate hypotheses and run a hands-on antimicrobial experiment (Activity 1) where they predict outcomes, follow procedures, incubate samples, and later cite evidence to evaluate their hypotheses. Students analyze provided case information and use a symptoms/cause/treatment table to answer diagnostic questions (Activity 3), applying information to reach a conclusion. The lesson also prompts students with broad inquiry prompts (e.g., "Are all microbes harmful?") and suggests investigating the CDC or local health organizations for further information.
Final Project
Outbreak Prevention
Students are directed to conduct Internet research on multiple respiratory infections in Activity 2 (SARS, Ebola, Cholera, Flu, Swine Flu, Pertussis) and to fill in a diagnostic table. Activity 5 explicitly asks students to research how SARS is spread and provides multiple authoritative web links (WHO, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic) for use. Optional Activity 6 requires students to contact a local health department or hospital to get answers to several specific questions about testing, gene technology, blood tests, and culturing, demonstrating use of multiple source types (websites and interviews).
Unit 5: Elijah of Buxton
Lesson 1
Introduction to the Novel
Students are directed to use multiple web links (PBS, Pathways to Freedom, The Fugitive Blacksmith) to learn about the Underground Railroad and then produce a poem, song, or journal entry. Students are asked to research the author using two web links (a biography and a video) and answer specific questions about his life and influences. Students are instructed to locate North Buxton on a map, watch a Buxton School House Tour video, read the author's note, and then write a 6-8 sentence persuasive speech encouraging a freed person to move to Buxton.
Lesson 4
Tone and Mood
Students are directed in Activity 2 (Accounts of Slavery) to read quotes, view several linked primary-source images/web pages, and write words or brief phrases explaining what they learned about the experience of being a slave from each source. The lesson provides multiple external sources (excerpts from slave narratives, a photograph, an engraving, and a sketch) and asks students to consider and record learning from each. The optional poem/art tasks ask students to incorporate information learned from the book and the supplementary readings and artwork.
Lesson 7
The Importance of Education
Students are directed in Option 2 to read an external web page about Matilda Taylor and her secret school and then use that information to write the remainder of a play scene in which characters explain why they risk so much to receive an education. Students also read Chapters 13 and 14 of Elijah of Buxton and discuss the historical limitations on slave education, using those texts as sources for classroom discussion. The Option 2 task asks students to use information from the web source to inform their writing about motivations for seeking education.
Lesson 10
Allusions and Authors
Students are asked to examine specific allusions in Elijah of Buxton and write 2–3 sentence explanations of an allusion's origin and its connection to the book, using provided biblical passages (Mark 6, Joshua 6, Luke 3) and literary examples. The materials instruct students to "ask an adult to help you research any of the allusions with which you are not familiar," and the Allusions pages supply source excerpts that students can use to explain meanings. Option 1 asks students to generate five interview questions for the author, and to write possible answers for two of them.
2: Semester 2
Unit 1: History of Your State
Lesson 1
Your State's Natural History
Students are directed to investigate the geologic province of their state using multiple web links (NPS province pages, state province maps, Alaska/Hawaii geology pages) and to record findings on a structured activity page that asks for province name, location, interesting features, and how a major feature was formed. Students are asked to consult National Geographic and other web resources to identify and label the major biome(s) of their state on a map and to use a Census county map to create and annotate a state map. Students plan and conduct a 20-minute field observation of a local ecosystem and record detailed notes or visual documentation in a field or visual journal.
Lesson 2
Flora and Fauna
Students are instructed to create a plant or animal journal by using field guides, library research, or online sources and to fill in at least six research pages. Student activity pages include focused prompts (e.g., scientific name, brief description, where it is found, why it is named/state role, why it is a problem, why it is threatened) that students must research and answer. Students are told to jot down the sources they use and are given guidance to prefer reliable sources (universities, government offices, museums, etc.).
Lesson 3
Native Populations
Students are instructed in Activity 1 to research at least one indigenous group from their state, using provided map links, the Tribal Leaders Directory, and the public library or Internet. Students complete structured "Research on Native Populations" pages that ask for historical details (where they lived, community organization, housing, clothing, food) and modern information (federal/state recognition, tribal lands, current leaders, contemporary issues). The lesson provides multiple explicit sources and prompts that guide students to gather information from several places.
Lesson 4
The History of Your State
Students are instructed to research four specific events or time periods in their state's history across three days (Activities 1–4) and to take organized notes, bookmark website links, and save or print images for use later. The lesson directs students to use libraries or online sources, offers a state-website link list, and tells students to record URLs on index cards to document where information was found. Activity 5 requires students to synthesize their research into a timeline or digital poster with titles, dates, 3–4 sentences explaining significance, and an image or website link for each topic.
Lesson 5
State Leaders
Students choose a state leader to research and are instructed to look up information online or at the library and complete the provided "State Leader" activity pages, which ask for background, notable achievements, and impact. Students are prompted to list their sources with specific URLs or book titles/authors in a "Sources" section. Students generate three questions they would ask the person studied and are asked to circle one and write how they think the person might answer based on their research.
Lesson 6
Your State by the Numbers
Students are directed to use three historical population tables on the Wikipedia page 'List of U.S. States by Historical Population' to plot points and graph state population growth over time. Students use the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts to look up state demographic data and complete a 'Quick Facts' activity page, and they retrieve county-level population data for 10 counties to record in a table. Students are instructed to download the NASBO Fiscal Survey of the States report to fill out a 'State Budgets' page and are asked to compare their state's budget to two other states and write a paragraph about findings.
Lesson 7
Your State's Economy
Students are instructed to "use online research" to complete a State Economy mini-book and to conduct Internet searches to identify top industries, natural resources, and major employers. The lesson provides multiple explicit sources (50states.com, Fact Monster, and a Wikipedia GSP/GDP table) and asks students to use company websites and web searches to describe employers and find GSP figures. Students are also given field-trip and interview options (including creating a list of interview questions and shadowing an adult) that serve as additional research sources.
Lesson 8
Your State and the Arts
Students are directed to use specific online sources (50states.com, Infoplease, a list of art museums, and the NEA state and regional arts organizations) to locate artists, musicians, and writers from their state. Students identify and document three works of art (including printing images and recording the URL), fill out art cards with details (title, artist, date, medium, connection to state), or locate a state song (find a recording or sheet music) or a poem (find and memorize or copy and illustrate it). Students are also asked to visit their state's arts council website to identify upcoming arts events.
Final Project
A Warm Welcome
Students are asked to "use the websites and materials you have studied in this unit" to write a 10-question quiz and to write an answer key, which requires them to draw on prior sources. Students are instructed to "review all of the work that you have created for this unit" and to "use your research from earlier lessons" when planning and producing the mural or video. The lesson provides an "Ideas to Think About" list that prompts student inquiry into geography, ecosystems, history, leaders, industries, and arts.
Unit 1: Genetics and DNA
Lesson 2
Inheritance
Students read assigned pages in a genetics book and may watch two optional videos, then answer targeted questions about Mendel and inheritance. Students complete Activity 1 by recording parent and sibling traits, comparing results, and making a hypothesis about whether traits are dominant or recessive. Students complete Activity 2 by simulating allele inheritance with coin flips, recording ten trials, calculating percentages, and creating a pie chart from their data.
Lesson 4
Reproduction and Change
Students read assigned pages in a genetics textbook and examine diagrams, and they are directed to read an online article about sexual and asexual reproduction and to watch optional videos (e.g., "Genes vs. DNA vs. Chromosomes" and "What Is Mutation?"). Students answer specific content questions after these readings and videos (e.g., definitions of haploid/diploid, comparisons of mitosis and meiosis, causes/effects of mutations). The lesson also includes open prompts ("Ideas to Think About" and "Questions to Consider") that ask students to analyze causes of variation and to explore trait combinations using their chromosome models.
Lesson 5
From Generation to Generation
Students read the provided web page "Ten Human Genetic Traits" and use it to complete an "Investigating Genealogy" chart, identifying trait descriptions and whether each is dominant or recessive. Students conduct a family survey by interviewing parents, siblings, and grandparents (or using sample family data) and record observations on a "Family Survey" page across multiple generations. Students discuss and answer guided questions about how traits are passed on, why alleles are dominant or recessive, and interpret scenarios about parental genotypes.
Lesson 6
Diversity and Adaptation
Students perform an investigation with the bird-beak experiment in which they collect data across three cycles, record amounts eaten, calculate nutrition points, and determine survival, providing practice in carrying out an empirical inquiry. The materials include Questions to Think About and Questions to Ponder that prompt students to ask why certain beaks are better and how competition or food type might change results, encouraging formulation of investigative questions. The student activity page optionally suggests that students use the internet or magazines to find illustrations of adaptations and variations, which offers a limited instance of drawing on external sources.
Lesson 7
Inheritance and Environment
Students read a chapter from a genetics book and answer directed questions about mutations (Reading and Questions). In Activity 1 and Activity 3 students use multiple web links (KidsHealth, Mayo Clinic, NIH, American Cancer Society, Cleveland Clinic, etc.) to investigate specific diseases and environmental influences and complete charts about symptoms, causes, and genetic components. In Activity 2 students interview a parent (using the provided medical-history question list), take notes, and use gathered information to diagnose a patient's condition.
Lesson 8
Cloning
Students are asked to read pages 98-107 of a genetics text and to use multiple web links (videos on DNA fingerprinting, gene therapy, Dolly the Sheep, Genographic Project, and explanatory pages on cloning) to learn about cloning. In Activity 1 students explore websites to understand reproductive cloning and consider benefits and drawbacks. In Activity 2 students produce a brochure that requires them to refer back to the reading and interactive exploration and to explain how the cloning process works. In Activity 3 students make a pros-and-cons list and discuss whether animal (and possibly human) cloning should be legal, using evidence from prior reading and web exploration.
Unit 1: The House of the Scorpion
Lesson 1
Cloning
Students are asked to conduct focused research on human cloning using six specified internet sources, creating numbered source cards and multiple note cards labeled by source. Students take notes that answer explicit research questions (e.g., "What is cloning?", "What are the benefits?", "Arguments FOR/AGAINST human cloning"), practice MLA citation and parenthetical citation, and use the gathered information to plan and write a five-paragraph persuasive essay. Students are instructed to draw on several sources to support a thesis and to use their note cards to select three strongest arguments for their essay.
Lesson 5
Arguing the Issue
Students read two linked essays about human cloning and use the "Arguing the Issue" activity page to record each author's main arguments and identify logical and rhetorical fallacies. The parent plan states that students compare and contrast persuasive texts that reached different conclusions and analyze the evidence each presents. Students also practice creating and identifying fallacies through a paired game, reinforcing analysis of argumentative techniques.
Unit 2: Industrialization, Urbanization, and Immigration
Lesson 1
Urbanization and Migration
Students read a historical excerpt ("Charles Denby: Bound North") and follow several web sources (University of Chicago maps, Chicago population map, NCpedia article, Library of Congress letters, and Jacob Lawrence images). Students use the provided "Growth of American Cities" data table to create graphs and answer analytic questions, and they synthesize information from readings and letters to write a two-paragraph migrant letter or to interpret/create artwork about the Great Migration. These activities require students to draw on multiple sources and produce a product that uses evidence from those sources.
Lesson 2
Indian Wars in the West
Students are asked to locate and use multiple sources (the Heartland film, a Britannica article, a primary-source libguide, and suggested videos) to create an informational sign about Wounded Knee (Activity 2). Students take structured notes while viewing the documentary and read multiple short texts (We Were There, Too! selections and the Pratt article) and then complete photo-analysis and response pages about boarding schools (Activity 3). The Wounded Knee task includes focused prompts (e.g., What happened there and why? Who was involved?) that direct students to gather and organize information from those sources.
Lesson 3
New Technologies
Students are directed to use multiple web resources for the inventors (Edison biography and Edison motion pictures, Britannica/Britannica kids for Bell, and several Wright Brothers sites including the Air and Space artifact gallery). Students complete the Orville and Wilbur Wright activity page by exploring artifacts and answering questions about which artifacts they want to know more about. The Changing Technologies activity asks students to compare how needs were met in 1850 and 1920 and to describe advantages and disadvantages for each technology.
Lesson 4
New Industries
Students watch the documentary episode "Cities" and are instructed to jot brief notes on sections of the film and then write 4–6 questions they still have about the topic, generating additional related, focused questions. Students read two first-person accounts (Rose Cohen and Joseph Miliauskas) and answer comprehension questions about working conditions, which uses source material to inform understanding. For Andrew Carnegie, students are directed to a PBS biography link and an activity page where they brainstorm at least three positive and three negative impacts and decide which view (captain of industry or robber baron) they think is stronger, drawing on the provided materials.
Lesson 5
Immigration
Students read a assigned short article (with direction to focus on the section "A Wave Becomes a Flood") and answer guided questions about immigration. Students read multiple primary-source letters from Polish immigrants and complete an activity page documenting push and pull factors from those letters. Students watch a video about Ellis Island and record 8–10 facts, and they read several web pages about nativism and the KKK and complete an activity analyzing reasons someone might join such groups.
Lesson 6
Social Problems
Students are asked to research a Progressive Era leader on the Internet and create a poster that explains why the issue is a problem, what the leader proposes, and what voters should do (Activity 3). Students read a linked biography of Samuel Gompers and write a one- or two-paragraph response imagining perspectives related to labor organizing (Activity 2). Students view at least ten historical photographs (Riis or Hine) and analyze a chosen image using guided activity pages, drawing evidence from multiple photographic sources (Activity 1).
Lesson 8
World War I
Students are directed to view a video and read a chapter and multiple web sources (PBS, National Archives, Library of Congress, State Department) and to explore primary sources about the Lusitania, propaganda posters, and U.S. entry into the war. Students must choose and read a newspaper article from the Library of Congress, summarize it, and write reactions from both American and German perspectives. Students analyze several propaganda posters using an appeals checklist and either create an original poster or write slogans, and they evaluate and rank multiple reasons for U.S. entry into the war using a State Department milestone page.
Final Project
A Dramatic Performance or Scrapbook
Students are asked to develop a historical character using the Character Planning pages and to create either a dramatic presentation or a scrapbook that must be historically plausible and based on historical facts. Students are instructed to refer back to unit materials (the Review Sheet, timeline cards #100-116, and earlier collections of historical images), to print or create documents and images, and to include artifacts and details on multiple scrapbook pages. Rubrics require that students be able to discuss their work and answer questions, and the project prompts guide students through focused prompts (e.g., reasons for migration, city description, work, reform, attitudes toward war).
Unit 2: Living Organisms
Lesson 1
Levels of Organization
Students conduct a Local Survey in which they gather observational data about six organisms (color, shape, texture, size, other traits) and list differences between plants and animals. In the Plants and Animals activity, students are instructed to research a plant leaf and an animal limb and to document findings using several provided web links. Students also read assigned pages (Life Processes pp.4-7) and watch a video on levels of organization, then complete activity pages synthesizing information from those sources.
Lesson 2
Structure and Stability
Students are asked to investigate a local tree (Activity 1) and connect its structures to functions, using multiple provided web links (tree anatomy guide, tree parts graphic, and tree identification site) and assigned readings (Behavior in Living Things). In Activity 2, students watch a video and read two articles about plant adaptations (tropical savannah and mangroves) and then answer specific questions drawing on those sources. The lesson also requires students to use the cross-section and parts definitions to label or create a diagram, combining field observation with information from instructional sources.
Lesson 3
Plant Reproduction
Students carry out short investigative projects in Activities 1 and 2 by setting up lima bean germination experiments, observing and sketching daily changes for a week, and dissecting seeds to compare structures. The lesson assigns multiple informational sources (assigned reading pages, a seed-germination video, a PBS video, and an extension website on flower parts) that students are directed to consult when examining germination and fertilization. In Activity 3 students must use those sources to create either a physical flower model or a mostly-visual presentation explaining fertilization.
Lesson 4
Biotic and Abiotic Factors
Students design and carry out a short experiment by germinating radish seeds under different abiotic conditions, making predictions, and recording observations over several days in the Soil, Light, and Water tables. Students read a short selection about life in the rainforest and identify three abiotic and three biotic factors, describing impacts and making predictions in the Abiotic and Biotic Factors chart. Students answer reflective questions (e.g., why test one variable at a time) that require them to interpret results and draw conclusions from their observations and the reading.
Lesson 5
Nutrition
Students are asked to choose an animal and "investigate its digestive system," using search phrases like "snake digestive system" or "llama digestion" and to "consult more than one source" to ensure thorough and accurate information. Students must take notes from sources and then summarize their findings as either a brochure or a brief report that includes a diagram and the animal's scientific name. The assignment lets students pick their own animal, which functions as a self-selected research topic.
Lesson 6
Respiration
Students read assigned pages in a textbook (Life Processes, pp.12-15), look up the term "breathing" in a dictionary or online to answer Question #2, and watch two linked videos about photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Students perform a hands-on yeast investigation (activating yeast, measuring balloon circumference, recording observations) and may use Internet images or printed pictures when creating diagrams for Option 2. The activity pages and questions ask students to explain results, make predictions (optional extension), and consider alternative food sources for yeast.
Lesson 7
Stimulus and Response
Students are asked (Activity 2, Option 2) to view a slideshow about animal perceptions, "pick one of the perception capabilities," and "read more about it online," with suggestions to use articles and videos. The Sixth Sense activity page directs students to conduct research on a chosen type of animal perception and then create a presentation and diagram explaining their findings. The lesson also provides multiple external sources (a reading from Life Processes, web slideshows, and video links) that students can consult as part of their investigation.
Lesson 8
Behavior
Students are asked in Activity 2 to investigate the communication methods of a specific animal species by searching the web (e.g., "How do ______ communicate?") and by using the provided links for honeybees, prairie dogs, and wolves. Students fill out an "Animal Communication Notes" page with fields for primary form of communication, other forms, details, and unique aspects, then produce a 1-2 paragraph summary or a poster based on their research. The Parent Plan further describes that students should put information in their own words and note quoted sources, indicating a written product that reports research findings.
Lesson 10
Structural Similarities
Students are asked to use provided web links (a taxonomy video and the Animal Diversity Web) and to research online if uncertain about organism traits when completing tables and cladograms. Students complete trait charts (e.g., vertebra, hair/fur, opposable thumb, complex language) and use that information to create their own cladograms and classification charts. Students are prompted to list similarities and differences, use logic to support groupings, and to consult a dictionary or the web for unfamiliar terms.
Final Project
Exploring Living Organisms
Students choose a plant or animal not previously studied and spend three days researching it, taking notes and completing booklet pages or slides for specific categories (overview, taxonomy, nutrition, ecological relationships, abiotic/biotic factors, reproduction, communication/behavior). Students are instructed to take notes on separate paper, to complete 2–3 pages/slides on Day 1 and additional sections on subsequent days, and to present findings in a booklet or slideshow. The slide option asks students to include text and graphics and to credit Internet sites if they use online images, implying use of external sources for information or images.
Unit 2: Watership Down
Lesson 5
Quotes and Creatures
Students are assigned the role of Researcher and are asked in Activity 2 to do brief research on a provided list of plants and animals to determine whether each is a producer or consumer and to identify diets, using that information to create a food web. Activity 1 directs students to briefly research the works cited in chapter quotations and to record sentences about the author, culture/time period, themes, and how the quote relates to Watership Down. The lesson provides a web link labeled "Food Web: Facts" and explicit activity pages where students record their findings and construct either a poster or a digital diagram.
Lesson 8
Folktales and Fantasy
The Parent Plan Skills section explicitly lists conducting short research projects as a targeted skill. In Activity 2, students are instructed to select an animal species, research that animal, consult at least three sources (books or online), and record notes and sources on the provided "Animal Research" page. The Animal Research page prompts students to gather specific information (habitat, diet, lifespan, physical appearance, family relationships, predators and defense), which requires drawing on several sources.
Unit 3: The Great Depression and World War II
Lesson 1
The 1920s
Students are directed to explore the Kennedy Center "Drop Me Off in Harlem" interactive site, choose a person, read that person's short biography, and explore any associated media files (images, music, video) linked from the biographies. Students repeat the process for five different individuals and record connections by creating a network chart that documents relationships and places, which requires consulting multiple biographies and multimedia items on the site. The lesson also assigns short reading pages to read and comprehension questions to answer, giving students at least one additional written source to consult.
Lesson 2
The Great Depression
Students are asked to do independent research in the Library of Congress photo collection (Option 2), selecting 6–8 photos around a theme, printing them, and recording title, photographer, date, and the URL for each image. Students also read specified background texts and watch an episode of America: The Story of Us and take notes using activity pages, providing multiple sources of information about the Great Depression. Photo-analysis prompts (e.g., "Where and when was this photo taken?", "What does this photo tell me about the Great Depression?") guide students' inquiry into primary sources.
Lesson 3
The Start of World War II
Students read assigned sections of World War II for Kids and answer four explicit questions about Nazi actions, the invasion of Poland, British defenses, and Pearl Harbor, which requires extracting information from the text. Students who choose the poster option are directed to visit a Northwestern University Library World War II poster collection web page, giving them at least one additional source to consult. Students add cards to a timeline and complete a hands-on or creative activity that applies information from the readings.
Lesson 5
The Homefront
Students are assigned multiple print sources (World War II for Kids and We Were There, Too!) and answer guided comprehension questions (Questions #1-4) based on those readings. In Activity 3 students explore rationing by using their family's grocery receipts to analyze how diet and shopping would change under wartime rationing, a short inquiry that asks them to collect and interpret data. In Activity 2 students read focused passages about kids' contributions and brainstorm eight different ways a child their age might make a difference, using the texts to inform their ideas.
Lesson 6
1943
Students are assigned to read specific sections of Chapter 4 of World War II for Kids and answer targeted questions about wartime production, strategy, and Operation Overlord. Students add timeline cards to a timeline and then locate those events on a large Map of World War II. Students are instructed to consult the map at the front of World War II for Kids, online sources, or an atlas to help locate specific places, which directs them to draw on multiple sources to complete the mapping task.
Lesson 7
Victory in Europe
Students watch the America: The Story of Us episode and take structured notes (Activity 1) and read specified selections from a chapter of World War II for Kids (Day 2), providing at least two distinct sources of information. Students answer guided comprehension questions (QUESTION #1-#4) and complete an analysis chart ('The Impact of the War') that asks them to synthesize information about different people's experiences.
Lesson 8
The Holocaust
Students are asked to take guided notes on Chapter 6 of a history book, which requires reading and extracting information. In the virtual museum option, students spend time exploring multiple sections of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum website and complete a "Field Trip About the Holocaust" activity that asks them to identify useful exhibits, relevant online resources, and what they learned. In the art option, students visit multiple art websites, choose three images, record title/artist/year/medium, and write reflective answers about what each artwork shows and why it is powerful.
Lesson 9
Victory in the Pacific
Students are assigned specific readings from World War II for Kids (multiple sections) and answer targeted questions about Allied goals, Okinawa, invasion concerns, and Truman's hopes, which requires extracting information from texts. In Activity 2, students complete a chart titled "The Atomic Bomb" that asks them to list "Facts and Advice/Estimates Available," evaluate whether those facts support dropping the bombs, and explain why or why not, requiring students to weigh evidence and make a documented decision. The timeline activity and suggested follow-up (physics activity) give students additional prompts to add information to a timeline and explore related content.
Final Project
Before and After World War II
Students are asked to conduct a museum exhibit project (Option 1 or Option 2) that requires gathering information about individuals or aspects of America before, during, and after WWII. The directions provide multiple web links and tell students to "use the information from these resources, additional research online as needed, and your readings from earlier in the unit" and to include primary sources and citations. The rubrics require inclusion of primary sources, accurate historical information, and the ability to answer questions and respond to comments, which implies gathering and using multiple sources for the project.
Unit 3: A Dynamic Planet
Lesson 1
The Dating Game
Students are assigned readings from The Field Guide to Geology (Chapter 1 and Chapter 10) and are directed to watch an external video about rock types, giving them multiple informational sources to consult. Students are asked in a life-application task to use the Internet or library to identify local rock types and to search for the geologic history of their region. Students engage in hands-on and inquiry activities (The Sands of Time, Relative Dating, Radiometric Dating) that require them to gather data from provided tables, diagrams, and observations and use that information to answer specific questions about ages and ordering of rock layers.
Lesson 2
Plate Tectonics
Students read Chapter 2 of The Field Guide to Geology and answer content questions, and they watch the National Geographic video "Colliding Continents" and are required to add at least five timeline cards from that viewing. Students are asked to find or draw images from magazines or the Internet for the Deep Time timeline and to cut and place Plate Tectonic Timeline Cards, which requires using multiple informational artifacts (textbook, video, timeline cards, and possible web/magazine images). Students also present and compare timelines with peers, which asks them to synthesize and communicate information from those sources.
Lesson 3
The First Four Billion Years
Students read assigned pages in The Field Guide to Geology and answer specific comprehension questions that require locating information in the text (Questions 1–5). Students watch several linked time-lapse videos and write a journal paragraph describing a chosen video, showing they gather information from multimedia sources. Students assemble timeline cards and place them on a timeline, using provided dates and a scale to integrate information from the activity page with prior work.
Lesson 6
Natural Selection
Students read specified pages (pages 12–17) and answer directed questions about Darwin's theory and natural selection. Students consult multiple sources: linked web pages about artificial selection in pigeons and dogs, an image of dog-breed phylogeny, and a NOVA documentary segment to gather information. Students use the provided 'Generations' data table to calculate and interpret generational counts and answer several related quantitative questions.
Lesson 8
Convergent Evolution
Activity 1 directs students to choose an example of convergent evolution and "use your research to complete" a student activity page, explicitly instructing students to research species using resources found online or at the library. Students must fill out sections about each species' habitat/challenge and how adaptations are similar or different, and then produce either a paragraph (Option 1) describing the environmental challenge and similarities/differences or a poster (Option 2) with detailed anatomical and habitat information. The reading assignment and Question #1 also ask students to define convergent evolution and provide examples, prompting students to gather information and examples.
Final Project
Fast Forward
Students are instructed to choose a religion, identify issues, and perform research using books, the Internet, and in-depth interviews (Step 3). The materials include an "Interview Questions" worksheet and a rubric that requires interviewing at least two different people and documenting differences in viewpoint. Students are asked to document religious and scientific evidence side-by-side, develop conclusions, and prepare a 5–10 minute presentation summarizing their findings.
Unit 3: The Book Thief
Lesson 1
The Author and Narrator
Students are directed to use multiple web sources (Encyclopaedia Britannica and CNN) to complete the "World War II Detective" activity, answering specific prompts such as When, Where, Sides involved, Important world leaders, and How did the war end. Students are also asked to consult several author-focused sources (two biography pages and an interview video) to gather facts about Markus Zusak and then produce a poster or a 90-second radio promotion using that gathered information. The instructions say to "use the following web links or other resources," which requires students to draw information from more than one source.
Lesson 3
Burning Books
Students complete the "Historical References" activity page by using multiple provided web links (Link A, Link B, Link D and the infographic Link C) to answer five specific questions about Communists, Aryan, Mein Kampf, anti-Semitism, and the yellow stars. Students choose three Nazi propaganda posters from an online archive, identify the target audience and goal for each poster, and analyze what makes each poster effective. Students record examples of propaganda from the day's reading on the Propaganda activity page and are instructed to continue adding examples as they read further.
Lesson 5
The Accordion Player
Students read and analyze excerpts from the Nuremburg Laws and the Hitler Youth law and answer targeted questions about eligibility for citizenship, rights denied to non-citizens, and historical examples from The Book Thief. Students are asked to record examples of propaganda across multiple readings on a 'Propaganda' activity page, and an Optional Extension supplies two external websites (USHMM and PBS) for learning more about Kristallnacht. Students also compare the book text to the primary-source law excerpts when responding to the activity questions.
Lesson 7
The Seven-Sided Die
Students are asked to write four self-generated questions (Right There, Think and Search, Author and You, Opinion) and provide answers based on the assigned reading. In Activity 1 students use two external sources (a print ad and a 30-second television ad) to identify logical fallacies. In Activity 2 students read excerpts from The German National Catechism or a linked web page and analyze specific arguments, identifying fallacies and explaining why those arguments may have been effective.
Lesson 8
The Thief Strikes Again
Students are asked in Activity 1 to watch two short video clips of Hitler and "take notes on what might people may have found compelling about the way Hitler spoke," which directs them to answer a focused question using at least two sources. Students are also instructed to record examples of propaganda on the Propaganda page from Lesson 3 after today's reading, which has them draw on the book text (and prior lesson material) to support their observations. The parent discussion prompts ask students to analyze aspects of speeches and rallies and to compare the experience to other events, prompting evaluative use of gathered evidence.
Lesson 10
The Trilogy of Happiness
Students read and view multiple sources in Activity 2: they read the PBS article (first paragraphs), watch 1943 newsreel footage, and read an Ernie Pyle column, then answer five guided questions on the War Journalism page. The Relationship Web activity asks students to "research and write about the types of relationships and their significance" between Liesel and other characters, prompting students to gather information and write about connections.
Lesson 11
The Word Shaker
Students read and use multiple sources: excerpts from Anne Frank, two Warsaw Ghetto reflections, and Part Eight of The Book Thief. Students complete the "Primary Sources vs. Historical Fiction" activity in which they brainstorm pros/cons and then choose three ideas and provide specific examples drawn from both the day's primary-source readings and The Book Thief. Students also record examples of propaganda across readings on the Propaganda activity page, linking evidence from different texts.
Lesson 12
The Teddy Bear
Students are asked to plan and carry out a Journey Interview: they find a person who experienced a significant journey, use provided questions or create their own, conduct the interview by phone, email, or in person, and jot down important parts of the answers. The activity directs students to use the interview responses to create a map or diagram and suggests using supporting materials (e.g., a printed map of Germany, Internet images) when making a Journey Diagram for a character. The Student Activity Page explicitly includes a section "Your Own Questions," prompting students to generate questions for the interview.
Final Project
Think-Tac-Toe
Students are asked to locate and analyze three U.S. World War II propaganda posters using two provided web links and to attach each poster to a guided analysis sheet with specific prompts (How it is propaganda? What emotions? Logical fallacies? etc.). Students are directed to read an essay by Walter Cronkite (censorship) and to take a side, listing reasons, supporting examples, and an opponent's argument with a refutation. Students may use optional external examples for the war correspondent task and are instructed to copy/paste or print sources for their bottom-row projects.
Unit 4: Global Conflict and Civil Rights
Lesson 1
The Post-War World
Students are directed to review multiple external sources (The Atlantic photo set, IWM Blitz collection, National WWII Museum article, Navy/History site, Wikipedia images, and the Duke AdAccess archive) and to use those sources to answer specific questions about the end of World War II and postwar advertising. In Activity 1 students extract data from provided charts, describe material damage using historical photos, calculate percentages, and create graphs comparing GDP and wartime deaths across five countries. In Activity 2 students locate a historical advertisement and a modern counterpart and analyze and compare them using guided analysis questions.
Lesson 2
The Cold War and Communism
Students are directed to read short historical articles from the U.S. State Department about the early Cold War, the Truman Doctrine, and the Marshall Plan (Day 2 readings and links). In Activity 2 students choose either the Truman Doctrine or the Marshall Plan, read primary and secondary sources (e.g., Truman's speech, Wallace's letter, Library of Congress cartoons, Marshall Plan exhibit and posters), and use those sources to form a position on whether aid was wise. Students also take notes on a video and answer focused comprehension questions that require synthesizing information from the provided readings and media.
Lesson 3
The Cold War
Students are directed to read accounts of the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis from the Office of the Historian and then answer specific comprehension questions, showing they conduct short research to answer questions. In Option 1 students are told to "use the provided materials to research the events, evaluate the various factors that affect decision-making… then analyze the decisions" and complete a Decision Making activity page. The lesson provides multiple external sources (JFK Library site, Kennedy speech transcript/audio/video, History.com) that students can consult for the activities.
Lesson 4
Civil Rights
Students read multiple assigned sources (We Were There, Too; Free at Last) and an archival web link about Rosa Parks and answer directed questions (Q1–Q4) based on those readings. Students complete a comparative graphic organizer about Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks that requires synthesizing information from the texts. Students read several biographical sketches and produce a memorial poem or a newspaper clipping that draws on those biographical sources.
Lesson 5
Sit-Ins and Freedom Rides
Students read multiple assigned texts (the Carolyn McKinstry selection in We Were There, Too and Section 3 of Free At Last) and a primary-source speech (Dr. King's "I Have a Dream") and are directed to listen to the speech as they follow the text. Students may also select and read a second King speech from the linked collection and complete a graphic organizer that compares the two speeches, noting similarities and differences. Students highlight or underline powerful phrases and choose between an analytical comparison (Option 2) or an artistic representation (Option 1), engaging with multiple sources and textual analysis.
Lesson 6
The Ballot
Students read Part 4 of a history text and answer specific comprehension questions about voting rights and tactics used to prevent African Americans from voting. In Activity 1 students are directed to browse photo collections (two provided web links), choose an image, and record where they found it and what is known about when, where, and who took it. In Activity 2 students brainstorm reasons and objections and role-play a conversation about joining Freedom Summer, practicing argumentation and perspective-taking.
Lesson 7
New Directions and Other Social Movements
Students read multiple assigned sources (Section 5 of Free at Last, the Jessica Govea excerpt, SCLC and Black Panther primary documents, and a Cesar Chavez video and quotations) and use those materials to complete tasks. Students compare two organizations using a Venn diagram that requires synthesizing information from at least two web sources and answer a follow-up question about why activists might support one group over another. Students gather information about Cesar Chavez from text and video and produce a collage or write a short speech that incorporates quotations and facts from those sources.
Lesson 8
Korea
Students read a webpage about the Korean War and answer guided factual questions (e.g., what event started the war, why it was a proxy war). Students watch veteran interview(s) and an optional PBS documentary and are asked to take notes on veterans' memories. Students then produce a written product (a proposal to remember the war or a letter to a veteran) using what they learned from the readings and videos.
Lesson 9
Vietnam
Students read multiple U.S. Department of State webpages (Gulf of Tonkin, Tet Offensive, Ending the Vietnam War) and answer specific reading questions, showing use of several sources to find information. Students review 2–3 veteran interviews from the Library of Congress, consulting additional primary-source accounts about the war. Students write a letter to John Tinker and are asked to generate three questions to ask him, demonstrating question-generation related to the topic.
Final Project
A Time Capsule
Students are asked to locate and add artifacts and historic documents (images printed from the Internet, protest posters, speeches, newspaper clippings, historical photographs) to a seven-item time capsule and to use previously completed projects from earlier lessons as artifacts. Students complete artifact description slips that require them to identify each artifact and explain what it will help future archaeologists understand. Students are directed to plan and create new written projects (fake letters, speeches, political platforms) and physical objects, and to review a rubric and prepare brief remarks for a dedication ceremony.
Unit 4: Human Body Systems
Lesson 1
Our Bodies
Students are asked to read specified pages of The Concise Human Body Book (pp. 14-17) and take notes on system functions and interactions (Activity 1). In Activity 2, students brainstorm how specific health decisions could affect a body system and then look up each decision on the KidsHealth website to describe another system that could be affected, requiring short targeted online research. An optional Activity 3 directs students to scan pp. 12-13 about medical imaging, providing an additional informational source to consult.
Lesson 3
Musculoskeletal System
Students are assigned focused reading (specific pages in The Concise Human Body Book) and a supporting video link to learn about the musculoskeletal system. In Activity 1 students are directed to use the book images and may use Internet sources to identify which muscles and bones produce specific movements. Activity 3 asks students to use the textbook images to locate and label skeletal and muscular parts and preserve their diagram for a final project.
Lesson 5
Respiratory System
Students are assigned background reading (pages 160–170 of The Concise Human Body Book) and are directed to use an external web article to build a respiration flowchart, showing they draw on at least two informational sources. Students design and carry out an investigation (the red cabbage indicator experiment) to test whether inhaled and exhaled air differ and are prompted to propose methods for detecting those differences. Activities include data collection, recording observations, and answering focused questions about inhaled vs. exhaled air and how exercise affects results.
Lesson 8
Endocrine System
Students are directed to read pages 130-137 of The Concise Human Body Book and to use a linked Johns Hopkins chart and a YouTube video as supporting resources. Students use information from the book and the Hopkins chart to match hormones to their functions and the glands that produce them in the 'Hormones' activity. Students gather details from the book to label and place glands on an endocrine system diagram, using multiple provided sources as references.
Lesson 9
Reproductive System
Students are asked to "Research the functions of each organ listed" and complete a Reproductive System Research Worksheet that directs them to provide information in their own words about male and female reproductive parts. The lesson assigns reading (pp. 260-265 of The Concise Human Body Book) and provides two external web links (Male Reproduction and Female Reproduction) as resources students can consult. Activity 1 requires students to synthesize findings into a written paragraph or a two-minute oral presentation, showing a short research task with sources to consult.
Lesson 11
Nervous System
The lesson asks students to read specific pages in The Concise Human Body Book and to use several web links and videos (StudyJams, BrainFacts, CBC brain map, YouTube) as resources. Students complete activities that require gathering information (labeling diagrams, building neuron models, performing taste/smell experiments) and the Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill 'Gather and synthesize information that sensory receptors respond to stimuli.' The lesson includes guiding questions under 'Ideas to Think About' that prompt inquiry (e.g., 'How are messages relayed throughout the body?').
Lesson 12
Balance in the Body
Activity 1 directs students to read specified pages in The Concise Human Body Book and to use two web links to complete the "Homeostasis" activity page, so students draw on several sources to complete a task. Activity 2 has students run a short hands-on investigation (measuring pulse across trials), convert counts to beats per minute, create a line graph, and answer interpretive questions about which situations represent homeostasis and which systems restore balance.
Lesson 13
Human Growth and Development
Students read textbook pages (The Concise Human Body Book, pp. 280-285) and answer guided questions about puberty and lifespan. In Activity 2 students are directed to read a UC Davis overview and WHO pages and are invited to "feel free to do Internet research" to identify environmental factors, label at least four boxes, and explain possible negative consequences for specific body parts. The student activity requires synthesizing information from those sources onto a graphic organizer that links environmental issues to bodily systems.
Final Project
Body Systems Presentation
Students are asked to create a multi-slide or poster presentation that explains each body system's function and at least two ways it is interdependent with other systems. The instructions explicitly allow students to scan/upload their own diagrams, use images from the Internet, and consult The Concise Human Body Book and the unit materials. The rubric and project steps require students to synthesize information into clear, concise explanations and include labeled diagrams for each system.
Unit 4: To Kill a Mockingbird
Lesson 1
Historical Context
The activity asks students to watch a linked video titled "Alabama in the 1930s," create a mind map based on information presented, and then answer a reflective journal question about whether they would have wanted to live in Alabama in the 1930s. Students are instructed to synthesize historical details (e.g., Great Depression, segregation) into categories and connections on the mind map, and then read the first two chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird to connect context to the text.
Unit 5: Technology Explosion
Lesson 1
Overview of Modern America
Students are instructed to "do the necessary research" for their illustrated essay paragraphs and to "cite your research sources properly." The Brainstorming and Choosing a Topic activity pages ask students to list "what I want to know" and list "websites" for three potential topics, prompting students to generate questions and identify sources. The National History Day option requires students to "create a research plan," "identify research sources," and a rubric explicitly asks for the "inclusion of primary and secondary sources."
Lesson 2
Demographics and Immigration
Students analyze population data from the U.S. Census (Activity 1) by plotting line graphs for ten cities and answering questions about which cities grow or decline. Students compute city percentages of the U.S. population and map changes between 1950 and 2010 (Activity 2), using provided census figures to support conclusions. Students read/listen to an NPR piece and a CFR backgrounder (Activities 3 and 4), take notes on differing viewpoints, and write a short letter to the editor reflecting a chosen position.
Lesson 3
The End of the Cold War
Students are directed to read multiple State Department articles (Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Berlin Wall) and then answer specific questions about those readings. Students use those same readings to complete a comparative activity page summarizing each president's foreign policy. For the final project (Option 1) students are asked to do research using videos, readings, encyclopedias, Internet resources, and library books and to cite sources using a provided Citation Builder. For the National History Day option students must consult linked theme and rules pages and brainstorm how their chosen topic connects to the theme.
Lesson 4
Leadership and Domestic Policy
Students are asked in Activity 4 to "conduct a search for reliable news sources about an environmental issue of your choice" and to "familiarize [themselves] with the different positions" on that issue, which requires gathering information from multiple sources. In Activity 1 students choose two presidential speeches (from different presidents) to skim or watch and then complete an analysis/comparison page that asks them to identify major topics, powerful sentences, meanings, and evaluate persuasiveness. In Activity 2 and Activity 3 students read short overviews and primary-source speeches or case summaries and complete guided activity pages that ask them to summarize, identify accusations/decisions, and explain who might support or oppose rulings, which involves short research and synthesis.
Lesson 5
Technology
Students identify and describe multiple sources by creating an annotated bibliography that lists three primary and five secondary sources and explains how each will help their National History Day research. Students conduct web and library research for multiple activities: they use Internet links and print sources to research space-age technologies, complete Space Age Technology worksheets, and research unfamiliar technologies for the Emerging Technologies ranking. Students are instructed to use research materials (videos, readings, encyclopedias, Internet, library) and to record proper MLA citations using a Citation Builder when drafting their illustrated essay paragraph.
Lesson 6
Terrorism
Students read a designated History.com page and answer specific comprehension questions about the 9/11 attacks, showing engagement with a curated informational source. Students may interview an adult about their memories (primary-source collection) and then write a 5–10 sentence reaction, demonstrating short, focused inquiry. Students exploring Option 2 visit three separate artifact sites (Smithsonian, 9/11 Memorial, National Geographic), examine supporting documents for each artifact, and synthesize their findings into a poster that interprets and explains how the artifacts help them understand September 11, 2001.
Lesson 7
Modern American Culture
In Option 1 students are instructed to "do research for and complete a rough draft of Paragraph 3" and may use videos, readings, encyclopedias, Internet research, and library books, with a requirement to cite sources. In Activity 1 students use NCES data and an online graphing tool to analyze women's college enrollment from 1970–2010. In Activity 2 students choose four award-winning songs from different decades, listen to them (linked sources are provided), and analyze themes, style, technology, and changes over time.
Final Project
Illustrated Essay or National History Day
Students are asked to complete a final project (either an illustrated essay or a National History Day plan) that requires them to write an introduction and conclusion naming three technologies and explain their importance. Students must include appropriate citations for paragraphs and are directed to use readings and activities from the unit as sources; they are also instructed to assemble work from Lessons 1, 3, 5, and 7 into a research folder. The process paper prompts ask students to write short paragraphs describing how they chose their topic and what their plan for research is, and the illustration and activities depict gathering, analyzing, organizing, and arranging information chronologically.
Unit 5: Health and Nutrition
Lesson 2
Being a Smart Consumer
Students are instructed to research five products by going to a store or online, write down product names and any claims on packaging, and, if possible, find commercials online. Students are directed to compare those claims and to research other similar products that serve the same purpose but cost less, which requires consulting multiple sources (packaging, commercials, online listings, price comparisons).
Lesson 3
Healthy Body
Students are instructed to "research one of the five most common chronic diseases: heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis" and make a public-awareness poster listing at least four actions people can take to reduce risk. Students are asked to read information from provided web links and assigned textbook pages and then answer specific content questions about infectious vs. non-communicable diseases and prevention strategies. Students are asked to select a teen health issue and create a PSA, with multiple web links and media provided as potential information sources.
Lesson 5
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drugs
Students are instructed in Activity 1 to watch multiple videos and read an online booklet, and to take structured notes on a Student Activity Page that lists nine drugs, their characteristics, and effects, drawing explicitly on the linked sources. In Activity 3 and Activity 4 students read multiple web articles about tobacco and alcohol and then produce an email, poster, or a list of reasons based on those readings. Activity 2 has students watch two videos about addiction and then create an acrostic poem or a one-minute PSA, requiring them to use information from the videos to produce a related product.
Lesson 6
Nutrition and Exercise
Students read chapter texts and use provided web links (MyPlate plan and BMI charts) to gather information about nutrition and healthy portions. Students collect primary data by keeping a three-day food journal and examine packaged foods by reading and answering questions about nutrition labels. Students synthesize findings when they analyze their food journal, set improvement steps, calculate BMIs for family members, and create a 10–12 minute teaching presentation covering the food pyramid, BMI, and food labels.
Unit 5: Great American Poets
Lesson 3
Figurative Language
Students are asked in Activity 2 to use the information provided in 101 Great American Poems and information available online to fill in Poet Cards (dates, favorite poem, interesting facts), which requires consulting at least the book and online sources. The Student Activity Page directs students to look up poems in 101 Great American Poems and to use a dictionary for unfamiliar words, prompting independent information gathering. The Parent Plan also notes students should look up poets' pictures online to ensure accuracy, further indicating use of multiple sources.
Lesson 4
Poetic Forms
The lesson asks students to read and analyze multiple linked poems (e.g., Longfellow's "The Sound of the Sea," "John Henry," "To My Dear and Loving Husband," and haiku examples) and to answer specific analytic questions about form, meter, and rhyme. Students are directed to use web links and compare poems (e.g., identify iambic pentameter, determine whether a poem is a sonnet, and compare rhyme schemes), and they consult resources (e.g., haiku samples, Richard Wright's haiku, rhymezone) when composing their own poems.
Lesson 12
Reciting Poetry
Activity 2 (Option 1) asks students to choose a poet and "do research online about the poet's life and work and fill in the 'Poet Research' sheet." The activity provides starting web links (Poetry Foundation, Academy of American Poets) and directs students to read at least one additional poem by the author. The student research sheet lists specific research prompts (birthplace, places lived, childhood, influences, types of poetry, awards, additional poems read) for students to answer.