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Course Standards
General Course Information and Notes
General Notes
This course is an integrated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) course for middle school students. M/J STEM Environmental Science includes an integration of standards from science, mathematics, and english language arts (ELA) through the application to STEM problem solving using environmental sciences knowledge and science and engineering practices. Environmental sciences through applications such as ecosystem management, human-environmental impact, ecology and agriculture, land and resource management, and civil and environmental engineering, are emphasized in this course. Laboratory investigations that include the use of scientific inquiry, research, measurement, problem solving, laboratory apparatus and technologies, experimental procedures, and safety procedures are an integral part of this course. The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) recommends that at the middle school level, all students should have multiple opportunities every week to explore science laboratory investigations (labs). School laboratory investigations are defined by the National Research Council (NRC) as an experience in the laboratory, classroom, or the field that provides students with opportunities to interact directly with natural phenomena or with data collected by others using tools, materials, data collection techniques, and models (NRC, 2006, p. 3). Laboratory investigations in the middle school classroom should help all students develop a growing understanding of the complexity and ambiguity of empirical work, as well as the skills to calibrate and troubleshoot equipment used to make observations. Learners should understand measurement error; and have the skills to aggregate, interpret, and present the resulting data (NRC 2006, p. 77; NSTA, 2007).
Special Notes:
Instructional Practices
Teaching from a range of complex text is optimized when teachers in all subject areas implement the following strategies on a routine basis:
- Ensuring wide reading from complex text that varies in length.
- Making close reading and rereading of texts central to lessons.
- Emphasizing text-specific complex questions, and cognitively complex tasks, reinforce focus on the text and cultivate independence.
- Emphasizing students supporting answers based upon evidence from the text.
- Providing extensive research and writing opportunities (claims and evidence).
Science and Engineering Practices (NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education, 2010)
- Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering).
- Developing and using models.
- Planning and carrying out investigations.
- Analyzing and interpreting data.
- Using mathematics, information and computer technology, and computational thinking.
- Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering).
- Engaging in argument from evidence.
- Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.
ISTE Standards (http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20-14_ISTE_Standards-S_PDF.pdf) should be incorporated in many contexts throughout the course.
Course Standards
Use grade appropriate Nature of Science and mathematics content benchmarks (i.e. if this course is offered to seventh grade students, then the SC.7.N benchmarks should be integrated into the course content, and SC.6.N and SC.8.N benchmarks should be omitted from the seventh grade course).
Florida’s Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Standards
This course includes Florida’s B.E.S.T. ELA Expectations (EE) and Mathematical Thinking and Reasoning Standards (MTRs) for students. Florida educators should intentionally embed these standards within the content and their instruction as applicable. For guidance on the implementation of the EEs and MTRs, please visit https://www.cpalms.org/Standards/BEST_Standards.aspx and select the appropriate B.E.S.T. Standards package.
English Language Development ELD Standards Special Notes Section:
Teachers are required to provide listening, speaking, reading and writing instruction that allows English language learners (ELL) to communicate information, ideas and concepts for academic success in the content area of Science. For the given level of English language proficiency and with visual, graphic, or interactive support, students will interact with grade level words, expressions, sentences and discourse to process or produce language necessary for academic success The ELD standard should specify a relevant content area concept or topic of study chosen by curriculum developers and teachers which maximizes an ELL’s need for communication and social skills. To access an ELL supporting document which delineates performance definitions and descriptors, please click on the following link: https://cpalmsmediaprod.blob.core.windows.net/uploads/docs/standards/eld/sc.pdf.
General Information
- Class Size Core Required
Educator Certifications
Student Resources
Original Student Tutorials
Explore the topic of Electricity including: how it is transformed into other types of energy, how a circuit works, and electrical conductors and insulators with this interactive research page.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Glimpse into the variety of animal adaptations on Earth and the reasons these adaptations allow different animals to survive in various environments with this interactive research page.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how plants are adapted to their environment, including their life cycles, responses, physical characteristics, and ability to survive harsh environments with this interactive research page.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about organs and structures of the human body, including the senses, skin, muscles, and skeleton, with this interactive research page.
This is part 2 in a three-part series.
- Open Human Body: Part 1 (Heart, Lungs, Stomach, Brain, Reproductive)
- Open Human Body: Part 2 (Senses, Skin, Muscles, Skeleton)
- Open Human Body: Part 3 (Liver, Pancreas, Kidneys, Intestines, and Bladder)
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore forms of energy, including mechanical, electrical, heat, light, sound, and chemical, discover ways to investigate these forms of energy, and learn about related technology with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore the major climate zones on Earth and learn about the related weather patterns with this interactive research page.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about the impact of the growth and development of space exploration on the culture and economy of Florida and how the inclusion of private partners helped reach new goals with this interactive tutorial.
This is part 3 in a three-part series. Click below to view the other tutorials in the series.
- Part 1: To the Moon - Space and the Florida Frontier
- Part 2: The Space Shuttle Era - Space and the Florida Frontier
- Part 3: Partners in Exploration - Space and the Florida Frontier
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about organs and structures of the human body, including the Liver, pancreas, kidneys, intestines, and bladder in this interactive research page.
This is part 3 in a three-part series.
- Open Human Body: Part 1 (Heart, Lungs, Stomach, Brain, Reproductive)
- Open Human Body: Part 2 (Senses, Skin, Muscles, Skeleton)
- Open Human Body: Part 3 (Liver, Pancreas, Kidneys, Intestines, and Bladder)
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how the Space Shuttle program revived the area near Cape Canaveral, Florida, and how the possibility of living in space on the Space Station brought new jobs and excitement with this interactive tutorial.
This is part 2 in a three-part series. Click below to view the other tutorials in the series.
- Part 1: To the Moon - Space and the Florida Frontier
- Part 2: The Space Shuttle Era - Space and the Florida Frontier
- Part 3: Partners in Exploration - Space and the Florida Frontier
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about the early days of NASA, the work at Cape Canaveral during the Moon missions, and how this work affected the people and economy of Florida with this interactive tutorial.
This is part 1 in a three-part series. Click below to view the other tutorials in the series.
- Part 1: To the Moon - Space and the Florida Frontier
- Part 2: The Space Shuttle Era - Space and the Florida Frontier
- Part 3: Partners in Exploration - Space and the Florida Frontier
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn more about how to empower and enourage others with your leadership skills in this interactive resiliency tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to measure and compare the mass of solids as Devin helps Chef Kyle in the bakery with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about the heart, lungs, stomach, brain, and reproductive organs in this interactive research page on the organs and structures of the human body.
This is part 1 in a three-part series.
- Open Human Body: Part 1 (Heart, Lungs, Stomach, Brain, Reproductive)
- Open Human Body: Part 2 (Senses, Skin, Muscles, Skeleton)
- Open Human Body: Part 3 (Liver, Pancreas, Kidneys, Intestines, and Bladder)
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about the water cycle's major stages and the importance of the ocean in the water cycle with this Interactive Science Research Page.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore and compare objects in the solar system, including planets, moons, the Sun, comets, and asteroids, with this interactive research page.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore how weathering and erosion may have affected Pnyx Hill, the ancient Greek democratic meeting place which influenced our modern government with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore excerpts from the extraordinary autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, as you examine the author's purpose for writing and his use of the problem and solution text structure. By the end of this interactive tutorial, you should be able to explain how Douglass uses the problem and solution text structure in these excerpts to convey his purpose for writing.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Continue to study George Vest's "Eulogy of the Dog" speech and his use of rhetorical appeals. In Part Two of this two-part series, you'll identify his use of ethos and pathos throughout his speech.
Make sure to complete Part One before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to launch Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Read George Vest's "Eulogy of the Dog" speech in this two-part interactive tutorial. In this series, you'll identify and examine Vest's use of ethos, pathos, and logos in his speech. In Part One, you'll identify Vest's use of logos in the first part of his speech. In Part Two, you'll identify his use of ethos and pathos throughout his speech.
Make sure to complete both part of this series! Click HERE to launch Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Continue to study epic similes in excerpts from The Iliad in Part Two of this two-part series. In Part Two, you'll learn about mood and how the language of an epic simile produces a specified mood in excerpts from The Iliad.
Make sure to complete Part One before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to view "That's So Epic: How Epic Similes Contribute to Mood (Part One)."
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about how epic similes create mood in a text, specifically in excerpts from The Iliad, in this two-part series.
In Part One, you'll define epic simile, identify epic similes based on defined characteristics, and explain the comparison created in an epic simile.
In Part Two, you'll learn about mood and how the language of an epic simile produces a specified mood in excerpts from The Iliad. Make sure to complete both parts!
Click HERE to view "That's So Epic: How Epic Similes Contribute to Mood (Part Two)."
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Continue to read the famous short story “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov and explore the impact of a fifteen-year bet made between a lawyer and a banker. In Part Two, you’ll cite textual evidence that supports an analysis of what the text states explicitly, or directly. You'll also make inferences, support them with textual evidence, and use them to explain how the bet transformed the lawyer and the banker by the end of the story.
Make sure to complete Part One before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to view Part One.
Make sure to complete Part Three after you finish Part Two. Click HERE to view "Risky Betting: Analyzing a Universal Theme (Part Three)."
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Read the famous short story “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov and explore the impact of a fifteen-year bet made between a lawyer and a banker in this three-part tutorial series.
In Part One, you’ll cite textual evidence that supports an analysis of what the text states explicitly, or directly, and make inferences and support them with textual evidence. By the end of Part One, you should be able to make three inferences about how the bet has transformed the lawyer by the middle of the story and support your inferences with textual evidence.
Make sure to complete all three parts!
Click HERE to launch "Risky Betting: Text Evidence and Inferences (Part Two)."
Click HERE to launch "Risky Betting: Analyzing a Universal Theme (Part Three)."
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Identify rhyme, alliteration, and repetition in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" and analyze how he used these sound devices to affect the poem in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Study excerpts from the classic American novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott in this interactive English Language Arts tutorial. Using excerpts from chapter eight of Little Women, you'll identify key characters and their actions. You'll also explain how interactions between characters contributes to the development of the plot.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Examine how allusions contribute to meaning in excerpts from O. Henry's classic American short story “The Gift of the Magi." In this interactive tutorial, you'll determine how allusions in the text better develop the key story elements of setting, characters, and conflict and explain how the allusion to the Magi contributes to the story’s main message about what it means to give a gift.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to identify imagery in William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18" and explain how that imagery contributes to the poem's meaning with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Study William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18" to determine and compare two universal themes and how they are developed throughout the sonnet.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore the form and meaning of William Shakespeare's “Sonnet 18.” In this interactive tutorial, you’ll examine how specific words and phrases contribute to meaning in the sonnet, select the features of a Shakespearean sonnet in the poem, identify the solution to a problem, and explain how the form of a Shakespearean sonnet contributes to the meaning of "Sonnet 18."
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Analyze how O. Henry uses details to address the topics of value, sacrifice, and love in his famous short story, "The Gift of the Magi." In this interactive tutorial, you'll also determine two universal themes of the story.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore key story elements in more excerpts from the classic American short story “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry.
In Part Two of this two-part series, you'll analyze how important information about two main characters is revealed through the context of the story’s setting and events in the plot. By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to explain how character development, setting, and plot interact in "The Gift of the Magi."
Make sure to complete Part One before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to launch Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore key story elements in the classic American short story “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry. Throughout this two-part tutorial, you'll analyze how important information about two main characters is revealed through the context of the story’s setting and events in the plot. By the end of this tutorial series, you should be able to explain how character development, setting, and plot interact in excerpts from this short story.
Make sure to complete both parts! Click HERE to view "How Story Elements Interact in 'The Gift of the Magi' -- Part Two."
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how scientific research is done based society's goals and what current group needs as you complete this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Read more from the fantasy novel The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald in Part Two of this three-part series. By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to compare and contrast the archetypes of two characters in the novel.
Make sure to complete all three parts of this series in order to compare and contrast the use of archetypes in two texts.
Click HERE to view "Archetypes -- Part One: Examining an Archetype in The Princess and the Goblin."
Click HERE to view "Archetypes -- Part Three: Comparing and Contrasting Archetypes in Two Fantasy Stories."
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to determine the important traits of a main character named Princess Irene in excerpts from the fantasy novel The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald. In this interactive tutorial, you’ll also identify her archetype and explain how textual details about her character support her archetype.
Make sure to complete all three parts of this series in order to compare and contrast the use of archetypes in two texts.
Click HERE to view "Archetypes -- Part Two: Examining Archetypes in The Princess and the Goblin."
Click HERE to view "Archetypes -- Part Three: Comparing and Contrasting Archetypes in Two Fantasy Stories."
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to identify aspects of setting and character as you analyze several excerpts from “The Yellow Wallpaper," a chilling short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman that explores the impact on its narrator of being confined to mostly one room. You'll also determine how the narrator’s descriptions of the story’s setting better reveal her emotional and mental state.
This interactive tutorial is Part One in a two-part series. By the end of Part Two, you should be able to explain how the narrator changes through her interaction with the setting. Click below to launch Part Two.
The Power to Cure or Impair: The Importance of Setting in 'The Yellow Wallpaper' -- Part Two
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how different scientists all over the world use vastly different skills to work toward the common goal of understanding and fighting an emerging disease in this interactive tutorial
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Continue to examine several excerpts from the chilling short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, which explores the impact on its narrator of being confined to mostly one room. In Part Two of this tutorial series, you'll determine how the narrator’s descriptions of the story’s setting reveal its impact on her emotional and mental state. By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to explain how the narrator changes through her interaction with the setting.
Make sure to complete Part One before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to launch "The Power to Cure or Impair: The Importance of Setting in 'The Yellow Wallpaper' -- Part One."
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore the mysterious poem “The House on the Hill” by Edwin Arlington Robinson in this interactive tutorial. As you explore the poem's message about the past, you’ll identify the features of a villanelle in the poem. By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to explain how the form of a villanelle contributes to the poem's meaning.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
You'll explore how science does and does not influence decision-making about climate change, sea turtles, and human health, in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Continue to explore the significance of the famous poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, lines from which are engraved on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.
In Part Two of this two-part series, you’ll identify the features of a sonnet in the poem "The New Colossus." By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to explain how the form of a sonnet contributes to the poem's meaning.
Make sure to complete Part One before beginning Part Two.
Click HERE to launch "A Giant of Size and Power -- Part One: Exploring the Significance of 'The New Colossus.'"
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Continue to examine how setting influences characters in excerpts from The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez with this interactive tutorial.
This is part 2 in a two-part series. Make sure to complete Part One first. Click HERE to launch "Analyzing the Beginning of The Red Umbrella -- Part One: How Setting Influences Events."
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In Part One, explore the significance of the famous poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, lines from which are engraved on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.
This famous poem also happens to be in the form of a sonnet. In Part Two of this two-part series, you’ll identify the features of a sonnet in the poem. By the end of this tutorial series, you should be able to explain how the form of a sonnet contributes to the poem's meaning. Make sure to complete both parts!
Click HERE to launch "A Giant of Size and Power -- Part Two: How the Form of a Sonnet Contributes to Meaning in 'The New Colossus.'"
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore excerpts from the beginning of the historical fiction novel The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez in this two-part series. In Part One, you'll examine how setting influences events. In Part Two, you'll examine how setting influences characters.
Make sure to complete both parts! Click HERE to launch Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn the importance of replication and repetition in science as you investigate the composition of a penny with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how innovation is important in moving scientific thinking forward with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
This SaM-1 video provides the students with the optional "twist" for Lesson 17 and the Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) they have been working on in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation.
To see all the lessons in the unit please visit https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
This video introduces the students to a Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) and concepts related to conducting experiments so they can apply what they learned about the changes water undergoes when it changes state. This MEA provides students with an opportunity to develop a procedure based on evidence for selecting the most effective cooler.
This SaM-1 video is to be used with lesson 14 in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation. To see all the lessons in the unit please visit https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore the interconnected world of science, society, economy, and politics and how they all influence one another with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about scientific theories and how they can change when new information is presented with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore how we define and describe scientific phenomena using scientific laws in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how math models can show why social distancing during a epidemic or pandemic is important in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Investigate various limiting factors in an ecosystem and their impact on native populations as you complete this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about scientific theories and how they can change in this space-themed, interactive tutorial
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Investigate the benefits and limitations of experiments, observational studies, and comparative studies with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about different types of scientific investigations as you discover the Zebra Longwing, a special type of butterfly that calls Florida home. In this interactive tutorial, you'll also learn how scientists collaborate with each other and share empirical evidence.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Help Ryan revise his soccer science experiment to make it replicable. In this interactive tutorial, you'll learn what "replicable" means and why it's so important in science.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall" and examine words, phrases, and lines with multiple meanings. In this interactive tutorial, you'll analyze how these multiple meanings can affect a reader’s interpretation of the poem.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about the tools of science as we look at the mystery of bird migrations in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how scientific knowledge is open to change and how the knowledge about the Earth's surface has changed in the past 100 years as you complete this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Science isn't just about experiments! Learn about other ways to do science such as observational and comparative studies in this interactive tutorial. Science is varied and interesting as we use scientific skills to learn about the world!
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Examine the topics of transformation and perfection as you read excerpts from the “Myth of Pygmalion” by Ovid and the short story “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. By the end of this two-part interactive tutorial series, you should be able to explain how the short story draws on and transforms source material from the original myth.
This tutorial is the second in a two-part series. Click HERE to launch Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Examine the topics of transformation and perfection as you read excerpts from the “Myth of Pygmalion” by Ovid and the short story “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. By the end of this two-part interactive tutorial series, you should be able to explain how the short story draws on and transforms source material from the original myth.
This tutorial is the first in a two-part series. Click HERE to launch Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn the differences between science and pseudoscience in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how science can help us make informed decisions that improve our lives as you complete this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore the processes of science and how it changes over time. This interactive tutorial uses the historical development of The Cell Theory to illustrate these ideas.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Engineering and science may be similar but their goals are somewhat different. In this interactive tutorial, learn about engineers; some of the different fields of engineering, where engineers work, what they do, and some of their goals.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about the work of geo-scientists: What they do, where they work and the types of questions they strive to answer in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about the world of physics and explore what physicists do. In this interactive tutorial, you'll discover where they work and what kinds of questions they try to answer.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn more about that dreaded word--plagiarism--in this interactive tutorial that's all about citing your sources, creating a Works Cited page, and avoiding academic dishonesty!
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about the work of chemists, various fields of chemistry, where chemists work and the types of questions they strive to answer in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about the varied job of a biologist; where they work, what they do and the types of questions they try to answer.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
The Sun is integral in keeping us warm, but did you know the other ways that the Sun is essential to Earth? Learn about how the Sun is important in fueling our weather on Earth.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn more about that dreaded word--plagiarism--in this interactive tutorial that's all about citing your sources and avoiding academic dishonesty!
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore excerpts from Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance" in this two-part series. This tutorial is Part Two. In this tutorial, you will continue to examine excerpts from Emerson's essay that focus on the topic of traveling. You'll examine word meanings and determine the connotations of specific words. You will also analyze the impact of specific word choices on the meaning of this portion of the essay.
Make sure to complete Part One first. Click HERE to launch Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore excerpts from Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance" in this two-part interactive tutorial series. You will examine word meanings, examine subtle differences between words with similar meanings, and think about the emotions or associations that are connected to specific words. Finally, you will analyze the impact of specific word choices on the meaning of these excerpts.
Make sure to complete both parts! Click HERE to launch Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore excerpts from Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance" in this interactive two-part tutorial. This tutorial is Part Two. In this two-part series, you will learn to enhance your experience of Emerson's essay by analyzing his use of the word "genius." You will analyze Emerson's figurative meaning of "genius" and how he develops and refines the meaning of this word over the course of the essay.
Make sure to complete Part One before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to view Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore excerpts from Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance" in this interactive two-part tutorial. In Part One, you’ll learn to enhance your experience of a text by analyzing its use of a word’s figurative meaning. Specifically, you'll examine Emerson's figurative meaning of the key term "genius." In Part Two, you’ll learn how to track the development of a word’s figurative meaning over the course of a text.
Make sure to complete both parts of the tutorial! Click HERE to launch Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore desertification and the impact people have on it as you complete this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how science relies on creative and innovative thinking as we explore the science of discovering exoplanets in this interactive tutorial. Science is a problem solving endeavor as we try and figure out and learn new things. The answers are hard to find, but if we keep asking questions and building on what we know, then we can solve problems to things we once were thought were impossible!
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to write an effective hypothesis with sharks as a focus in this interactive tutorial. A hypothesis should be testable and falsifiable.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about the amazing science discoveries by people from all over the world and all walks of life. In this interactive tutorial, you'll see that science is by and for everyone!
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore biotic and abiotic factors that can influence the growth of populations of organisms in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to write a valid conclusion from a scientific investigation. In this interactive tutorial, you'll also learn how to answer questions using scientific reasoning.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Practice analyzing word choices in "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe, including word meanings, subtle differences between words with similar meanings, and emotions connected to specific words. In this interactive tutorial, you will also analyze the impact of specific word choices on the meaning of the poem.
This is Part Two of a two-part series. Part One should be completed before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to open Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Practice analyzing word choices in "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe in this interactive tutorial. In this tutorial, you will examine word meanings, examine subtle differences between words with similar meanings, and think about emotions connected to specific words. You will also analyze the impact of specific word choices on the meaning of the poem.
This tutorial is Part One of a two-part series on Poe's "The Raven." Click HERE to open Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Come with me as we select Scientist's Next Top Model! When does an abstract idea become a real scientific model? When the model appears in scientific journals and textbooks all over the world. Before a model can grace the cover of these high profile, peer reviewed journals and textbooks it must go through a rigorous process. How does a model go from an idea to a scientific model? What took me 2000 years I am going to make happen for one lucky model in just 15 short minutes!
Competition is tough and each model will have to showcase why they are able to represent themselves as Scientist’s Next Top Model.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore the ways in which heat is transferred and some common examples of each type in our lives in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore the loss of forests due to human impacts in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to create a Poem in 2 Voices in this interactive tutorial. This tutorial is Part Three of a three-part series. In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a Poem in 2 Voices using evidence drawn from a literary text: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.
You should complete Part One and Part Two of this series before beginning Part Three.
Click HERE to launch Part One. Click HERE to launch Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Get ready to travel back in time to London, England during the Victorian era in this interactive tutorial that uses text excerpts from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This tutorial is Part Two of a three-part series. You should complete Part One before beginning this tutorial. In Part Two, you will read excerpts from the last half of the story and practice citing evidence to support analysis of a literary text. In the third tutorial in this series, you’ll learn how to create a Poem in 2 Voices using evidence from this story.
Make sure to complete all three parts! Click to HERE launch Part One. Click HERE to launch Part Three.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how authors create mood in a story through this interactive tutorial. You'll read a science fiction short story by author Ray Bradbury and analyze how he uses images, sound, dialogue, setting, and characters' actions to create different moods. This tutorial is Part One in a two-part series. In Part Two, you'll use Bradbury's story to help you create a Found Poem that conveys multiple moods.
When you've completed Part One, click HERE to launch Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Practice writing different aspects of an expository essay about scientists using drones to research glaciers in Peru. This interactive tutorial is part four of a four-part series. In this final tutorial, you will learn about the elements of a body paragraph. You will also create a body paragraph with supporting evidence. Finally, you will learn about the elements of a conclusion and practice creating a “gift.”
This tutorial is part four of a four-part series. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.
- Drones and Glaciers: Eyes in the Sky (Part 1)
- Drones and Glaciers: Eyes in the Sky (Part 2)
- Expository Writing: Eyes in the Sky (Part 3)
- Expository Writing: Eyes in the Sky (Part 4)
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Practice citing evidence to support analysis of a literary text as you read excerpts from one of the most famous works of horror fiction of all time, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
This tutorial is Part One of a three-part tutorial. In Part Two, you'll continue your analysis of the text. In Part Three, you'll learn how to create a Poem in 2 Voices using evidence from this story. Make sure to complete all three parts!
Click HERE to launch Part Two. Click HERE to launch Part Three.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to write an introduction for an expository essay in this interactive tutorial. This tutorial is the third part of a four-part series. In previous tutorials in this series, students analyzed an informational text and video about scientists using drones to explore glaciers in Peru. Students also determined the central idea and important details of the text and wrote an effective summary. In part three, you'll learn how to write an introduction for an expository essay about the scientists' research.
This tutorial is part three of a four-part series. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.
- Drones and Glaciers: Eyes in the Sky (Part 1)
- Drones and Glaciers: Eyes in the Sky (Part 2)
- Expository Writing: Eyes in the Sky (Part 3)
- Expository Writing: Eyes in the Sky (Part 4)
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to identify the central idea and important details of a text, as well as how to write an effective summary in this interactive tutorial. This tutorial is the second tutorial in a four-part series that examines how scientists are using drones to explore glaciers in Peru.
This tutorial is part two of a four-part series. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.
- Drones and Glaciers: Eyes in the Sky (Part 1)
- Drones and Glaciers: Eyes in the Sky (Part 2)
- Expository Writing: Eyes in the Sky (Part 3)
- Expository Writing: Eyes in the Sky (Part 4)
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about how researchers are using drones, also called unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs, to study glaciers in Peru. In this interactive tutorial, you will practice citing text evidence when answering questions about a text.
This tutorial is part one of a four-part series. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.
- Drones and Glaciers: Eyes in the Sky (Part 1)
- Drones and Glaciers: Eyes in the Sky (Part 2)
- Expository Writing: Eyes in the Sky (Part 3)
- Expository Writing: Eyes in the Sky (Part 4)
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to avoid plagiarism in this interactive tutorial. You will also learn how to follow a standard format for citation and how to format your research paper using MLA style. Along the way, you will also learn about master magician Harry Houdini. This tutorial is Part Two of a two-part series on research writing.
Be sure to complete Part One first. Click to view Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to differentiate replication (by others) from repetition (multiple trials) in experimental design through the information and practice exercises in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about paraphrasing and the use of direct quotes in this interactive tutorial about research writing. Along the way, you'll also learn about master magician Harry Houdini. This tutorial is part one of a two-part series, so be sure to complete both parts.
Check out part two—Avoiding Plaigiarism: It's Not Magic here.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore relationships among organisms, including mutualism, predation, parasitism, competition, and commensalism in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to create a Found Poem with changing moods in this interactive tutorial. This tutorial is Part Two of a two-part series. In Part One, students read “Zero Hour,” a science fiction short story by author Ray Bradbury and examined how he used various literary devices to create changing moods. In Part Two, students will use words and phrases from “Zero Hour” to create a Found Poem with two of the same moods from Bradbury's story.
Click HERE to launch Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore relationships between key species in Kenya and learn how they interact with each other.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Cite text evidence and make inferences about the "real" history of Halloween in this spooky interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn more about that dreaded word--plagiarism--in this interactive tutorial that's all about citing your sources and avoiding academic dishonesty!
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore how scientists have used scientific thinking and methods to develop hypotheses about the development of life on Earth. Throughout this interactive tutorial, you'll see how learning through science requires retesting data, reconsidering evidence, and debate between scientists.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to cite evidence and draw inferences in this interactive tutorial. Using an informational text about cyber attacks, you'll practice identifying text evidence and making inferences based on the text.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to define and identify claims being made within a text. This tutorial will also show you how evidence can be used effectively to support the claim being made. Lastly, this tutorial will help you write strong, convincing claims of your own.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to identify explicit textual evidence and make inferences based on the text. In this interactive tutorial, you'll sharpen your analysis skills while reading about the famed American explorers, Lewis and Clark, and their trusted companion, Sacagawea. You'll practice analyzing the explicit textual evidence wihtin the text, and you'll also make your own inferences based on the available evidence.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore the mystery of muscle cell metabolism and how cells are able to meet the need for a constant supply of energy. In this interactive tutorial, you'll identify the basic structure of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), explain how ATP’s structure is related it its job in the cell, and connect this role to energy transfers in living things.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to identify models and their use in science with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to identify and analyze extended metaphors using W.B. Yeats' poem, "The Stolen Child." In this interactive tutorial, we'll examine how Yeats uses figurative language to express the extended metaphor throughout this poem. We'll focus on his use of these seven types of imagery: visual, auditory, gustatory, olfactory, tactile, kinesthetic, and organic. Finally, we'll analyze how the poem's extended metaphor conveys a deeper meaning within the text.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to identify the independent variable and the dependent variable in an experiment with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to identify the importance of scientific laws and how they are different from societal laws.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore how our atmosphere both insulates our planet and protects life on Earth in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Investigate the limiting factors of a Florida ecosystem and describe how these limiting factors affect one native population-the Florida Scrub-Jay-with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to identify and analyze the central idea of an informational text. In this interactive tutorial, you'll read several informational passages about the history of pirates. First, you'll learn the four-step process for pinpointing the central idea. Then you'll analyze each passage to see how the central idea is developed throughout the text.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how scientific knowledge can change when new evidence is discovered or new ideas are developed. In this interactive tutorial, you'll look at some famous example from the history of science, including the cell theory and the theory of plate tectonics.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to identify several types of natural disasters that occur in Florida and how these disasters can affect people living there as you complete this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to make inferences based on the information included in the text in this interactive tutorial. Using the short story "The Last Leaf" by O. Henry, you'll practice identifying both the explicit and implicit information in the story. You'll apply your own reasoning to make inferences based on what is stated both explicitly and implicitly in the text.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Join Baby Bear to answer questions about key details in his favorite stories with this interactive tutorial. Learn about characters, setting, and events as you answer who, where, and what questions.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore energy transfer in the Antarctic ecosystem to help Brian solve the mystery of the declining krill population in this interacitve tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In this tutorial, you will practice identifying relevant evidence within a text as you read excerpts from Jack London's short story "To Build a Fire." Then, you'll practice your writing skills as you draft a short response using examples of relevant evidence from the story.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to make inferences using the novel Hoot in this interactive tutorial. You'll learn how to identify both explicit and implicit information in the story to make inferences about characters and events.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to make inferences when reading a fictional text using the textual evidence provided. In this tutorial, you'll read the short story "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin. You'll practice identifying what is directly stated in the text and what requires the use of inference. You'll practice making your own inferences and supporting them with evidence from the text.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to distinguish between weather and climate in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore and compare the different spheres of the Earth system, including the geosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and cryosphere. In this interactive tutorial, you'll also identify specific examples of the interactions between the Earth's spheres.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about the water cycle on Earth and how it affects weather and climate with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore the components of weather, including temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind direction and wind speed. In this interactive tutorial, you'll relate the jet stream and ocean circulation to the causes of these conditions, which are caused by the energy from the sun.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how the environment on Earth is constantly changing and that populations of organisms adapt to this change by evolving via natural selection. In this interactive tutorial, you'll discover how organisms do and do not avoid extinction.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to recognize and explain the difference between scientific theories and scientific laws in this interactive tutorial. You'll also explore several examples of scientific theories and the evidence that supports them.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how scientists use models to simplify and understand the world around us. In this interactive tutorial, you'll also explore the benefits and limitations of scientific models.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore methods used in scientific inquiry by following an actual astronomer in search of new planets within our solar system in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In Part Two of this two-part series, you'll continue to explore excerpts from the Romantic novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. In this tutorial, you'll examine the author's use of juxtaposition, which is a technique of putting two or more elements side by side to invite comparison or contrast. By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to explain how the author’s use of juxtaposition in excerpts from the first two chapters of Jane Eyre defines Jane’s perspective regarding her treatment in the Reed household.
Make sure to complete Part One before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to view Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Dive deeper into the famous short story “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov and explore the impact of a fifteen-year bet made between a lawyer and a banker.
In Part Three, you’ll learn about universal themes and explain how a specific universal theme is developed throughout “The Bet.”
Make sure to complete the first two parts in the series before beginning Part three. Click HERE to view Part One. Click HERE to view Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Educational Games
Students attempt to save towns from damage prior to the arrival of several different natural disasters. Students will learn the importance of early prevention and actions to protect others, themselves and their property when faced with a natural disaster. Certain disasters are more appropriate for particular grade levels. Each scenario takes between 20 and 45 minutes to play, depending on the disaster for which your students are trying to prepare. There are five scenarios available, hurricane, tsunami, flood, earthquake, and wildfire. Each scenario can be played on easy, medium or hard difficulty levels. As with life, there are no "perfect solutions" to each scenario and no "perfect score", so students can play multiple times and the scenarios will still be slightly different.These simulation are part of a larger website that provides multiple links for natural disasters.
Type: Educational Game
In this interactive dive through Australia's Great Barrier Reef, discover relationships that have evolved between the resident organisms. Some are predators and prey; others compete for space, food, or mates; and still others are dependent or codependent on each other. Select one of four reef zones, then click on a type of relationship, predation and parasitism, competition or commensalism and mutualism to learn more about these relationships among reef creatures.
Type: Educational Game
Image/Photographs
This PDF included at this site has information about family preparedness plans and safety rules, and information about thunderstorms, tornadoes, and lightning such as facts, when and where they occur, and how they form.
Type: Image/Photograph
This site uses text and images to describe methods that the U.S. Geological Survey measures water temperature, pH, specific conductance, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, hardness, and suspended sediment.
Type: Image/Photograph
Lesson Plans
In this lesson plan, students will explore the history and meaning behind various patriotic holidays and make personal connections with those holidays including, Constitution Day, Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, Patriot Day, President’s Day, Independence Day, and Medal of Honor Day.
Type: Lesson Plan
This lesson introduces students to complex systems and to basic concepts from the field of system dynamics that lie at the heart of systems thinking. These concepts include stocks and flows, feedback loops, unintended consequences, and the basic principle that the behavior of complex systems can best be understood by looking at the system as a whole, and specifically by analyzing the system’s underlying structure. The lesson introduces these topics through an immersion in (and a role-play simulation of) the dynamics of urban recycling systems, many of which have been thrown into crisis in the past two years. Through this current-affairs example of complex systems in crisis, we identify some key structural features that help to explain how these systems behave over time. We also discover how well-intentioned action can cause negative unintended consequences when we try to intervene in a complex system without understanding how it operates.
Type: Lesson Plan
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the concept of sea level rise as it occurs through climate change by having them examine 3 specific parameters: ice distribution, thermal expansion, and analyzing and interpreting data. The lesson and activities within the lesson were designed using the three dimensions of the Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards – specifically crosscutting concepts, science and engineering practices, and disciplinary core ideas. While there isn’t any required pre-requisite learning required for this lesson, a general understanding of sea-level rise, glaciers, and climate may be beneficial to students. During classroom breaks, pairs of students will develop/discuss their models, revise their interpretations of their models or data, and think-pair-share their thoughts on the investigation segments.
Type: Lesson Plan
Perspectives Video: Experts
In a fog about weather patterns? This climatologist will demystify the topic for you.
Type: Perspectives Video: Expert
<p>It's impossible to count every animal in a park, but with statistics and some engineering, biologists can come up with a good estimate.</p>
Type: Perspectives Video: Expert
Water quality is extremely important to the aquatic ecosystem, and human activities all over the country can impact the water around the Florida Keys. Dive in and learn more!
Download the CPALMS Perspectives video student note taking guide.
Type: Perspectives Video: Expert
Some scientists' labs are outside! Learn all about a large-scale environmental model called LILA!
Download the CPALMS Perspectives video student note taking guide.
Type: Perspectives Video: Expert
<p>Invasive lionfish are taking a bite out of the ecosystem of Biscayne Bay. Biologists are looking for new ways to remove them, including encouraging recreational divers to bite back!</p>
Type: Perspectives Video: Expert
Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiasts
Candy production requires lots of heat. If you can't stand it, get out of the kitchen so you can watch this video on the couch instead.
Download the CPALMS Perspectives video student note taking guide.
Type: Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast
Find out how math and technology can help you (try to) get away from civilization.
Download the CPALMS Perspectives video student note taking guide.
Type: Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast
<p>Sometimes scientists conduct a census, too! Learn how population sampling can help monitor the progress of an ecological restoration project.</p>
Type: Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast
Presentation/Slideshows
This interactive tutorial explores the evolution of time measurement through the ages, beginning with Stonehenge and ancient calendar systems. It progresses through sun and water clocks, mechanical and quartz-movement clocks, and atomic clocks.
Type: Presentation/Slideshow
Resource provides a succinct overview of the nature of science; what science is and is not. Information includes the aims of scientific pursuits, principles, process and thinking.
Type: Presentation/Slideshow
Text Resources
Using this case study, students can answer the question, "What are the limits of fair use regarding copyright protection?"
Type: Text Resource
Using this case study students can discuss "How can an employee"s behaviors and actions drive their career stability and path?"
Type: Text Resource
This site features information on endangered species as well as various organizations and laws pursuing their protection. It includes a list of acronyms, bibliography, index, and one classroom activity.
Type: Text Resource
This Frequently Asked Question page can be used by educators and students as a scientific resource to answer the question, "Why isn't Pluto a planet?". From the International Astronomical Union, the definitive answer from the governing body that classified Pluto as a dwarf planet.
Type: Text Resource
Using this case study, students can answer the question, "How does the composition of a scene influence how the viewer feels?"
Type: Text Resource
Video/Audio/Animations
With an often unexpected outcome from a simple experiment, students can discover the factors that cause and influence thermohaline circulation in our oceans. In two 45-minute class periods, students complete activities where they observe the melting of ice cubes in saltwater and freshwater, using basic materials: clear plastic cups, ice cubes, water, salt, food coloring, and thermometers. There are no prerequisites for this lesson but it is helpful if students are familiar with the concepts of density and buoyancy as well as the salinity of seawater. It is also helpful if students understand that dissolving salt in water will lower the freezing point of water. There are additional follow up investigations that help students appreciate and understand the importance of the ocean's influence on Earth's climate.
Type: Video/Audio/Animation
Ocean explorer Robert Ballard gives a TED Talk relating to the mysteries of the ocean, and the importance of its continued exploration.
Type: Video/Audio/Animation
This game aims at showing the use of model organisms in behavioral studies and in detecting the causes of certain diseases
Type: Video/Audio/Animation
Excerpted from NOVA: "Volcanoes of the Deep", this video segment reveals strange and luminescent forms of life, such as giant tube worms, spider crabs, and billions of microbes clumped together like a cottony web. The site where life began on Earth may have been where black smokers stream from hydrothermal vents and chimneys along the sea floor.
Type: Video/Audio/Animation
This video segment from Interactive NOVA: "Earth" describes the role of decomposers in the living world. We've all been victimized by decomposers: Lettuce rots; bread becomes moldy. Bacteria and fungi often consume our food before we have a chance to. However, if we stop to consider the important work that decomposers do, we may be a little less disgruntled by their presence.
Type: Video/Audio/Animation
This 13-minute video segment produced by NOVA Science Now explores the work by one committed family and researchers to identify patterns in the genetic information of autism patients.
Type: Video/Audio/Animation
In this NOVA-adapted video clip, members of a research team deal with the inhospitable climate and other hazards while researching in Antarctica. Many scientists consider the opportunity to do their research in Antarctica a dream come true. The extreme environment and remoteness make it one of the most untouched regions on the planet. There is a treaty that allows more than 20 nations to maintain research facilities, and dedicates the entire continent to peaceful scientific investigation.
Type: Video/Audio/Animation
Virtual Manipulative
Through this website, students learn about different weather disasters and what to do before, during, and after an emergency.
Type: Virtual Manipulative
Congratulations
