In Module 4, students learn about remarkable accomplishments in space science, paying special attention to accomplishments and people that may have been overlooked until recently. After reading supplemental texts to learn about key events and well-known figures of the Space Race, students begin their anchor text, Hidden Figures (Young Readers’ Edition) by Margot Lee Shetterly. This tells the story of the “West Computers,” the first black women hired by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA, later NASA), which had previously enforced discriminatory hiring policies. The work of these tremendously talented mathematicians, like Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson, led to major advances in space science and helped land human beings on the moon. Major tasks in the module provide opportunities for students to uncover and uplift the stories of these and other hidden figures who have typically not been centered in popular accounts of space science.

Across the eight lessons of Unit 1, students read engaging informational texts about important events in the Space Race of the mid-twentieth century, leading up to the Apollo 11 moon landing. In the first half of Unit 1, much of the work around these texts is related to point of view (e.g., John F. Kennedy’s point of view toward space travel). In the mid-unit assessment, students apply this work to a new text, analyzing the author’s point of view toward the Apollo 11 astronauts and mission and toward the future of humans in space. The informational texts of the second half of Unit 2 add deeper complexity to students’ understanding of the Space Race. Students read arguments that challenge the United States’ decision to invest in space exploration, especially when civil rights abuses were taking place at home. In preparation for the end of unit assessment, which features similar tasks, students practice tracing the arguments posed in these texts, identifying the authors’ main claims and identifying the evidence and reasoning that the authors use to support their claims. This unit helps students build critical context needed to frame and understand the content and focus of Units 2 and 3.

In Unit 2, when students begin reading Hidden Figures, they quickly discover that popular accounts of the Space Race have generally overlooked the contributions of the West Computers. In the first half of Unit 2, students analyze the way that Shetterly introduces and illustrates Dorothy, Mary, and Katherine in the text. Students also practice identifying claims about the West Computers that can be supported using evidence from the text. Students apply this learning and complete similar tasks during the mid-unit assessment. In the second half of Unit 2, and on the end of unit assessment, students read supplemental texts about the West Computers and compare and contrast the authors’ presentations of events with Shetterly’s presentation of the same events in Hidden Figures.

In Unit 3, students revisit the Painted Essay® structure to analyze a model argument essay that addresses the prompt: What makes Dorothy Vaughan’s accomplishments remarkable? Using a similar prompt about Mary Jackson or Katherine Johnson, students write collaborative argument essays that prepare them to produce independent arguments later in the unit. Informed by research conducted across Units 2 and 3, students’ independent essays present arguments about the remarkable accomplishments of their focus figure: a major contributor to space science, outside of the anchor text, whose important work is also comparatively unknown. The performance task of Module 4 invites students to create illustrated pages for a narrative nonfiction picture book about the accomplishments of focus figures. These picture books provide engaging visual support to students’ presentations of their focus figure arguments during the end of unit assessment. During this assessment, students also delineate the arguments of their classmates and reflect on their learning across the module as a whole.

Where do natural hazards happen and how do we prepare for them? This unit begins with students experiencing, through text and video, a devastating natural event that caused major flooding in coastal towns of Japan. This event was the 2011 Great Sendai or Tōhoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami that caused major loss of life and property in Japan. Through this anchoring phenomenon, students think about ways to detect tsunamis, warn people, and reduce damage from the wave. As students design solutions to solve this problem, they begin to wonder about the natural hazard itself: what causes it, where it happens, and how it causes damage.

OpenSciEd content is highly rated in EdReports and is aligned to NGSS standards.

How do living things heal? This unit launches with students hearing about an injury that happened to a middle school student that caused him to need stitches, pins, and a cast. They analyze doctor reports and develop an initial model for what is going on in our body when it heals. Students investigate what the different parts of our body are made of, from the macro scale to the micro scale. They figure out parts of our body are made of cells and that these cells work together for our body to function.

OpenSciEd content is highly rated in EdReports and is aligned to NGSS standards.

Middle Grades Language Arts conventions 6. Conventions. Conventions Key Terms Assignments Review Module Assessment Dictionary Skills What makes up a sentence What are compound sentences What is a complex sentence What are subjects and predicates

Middle Grades Language Arts essays 6. Essays. Elements of Fiction Key Terms Assignments Expository Writing Writing Prompts Writing Prompts continued The Expository Essay Leads Thesis Statements Concluding Paragraphs

Middle Grades Language Arts message. Getting the Message. Getting The Message Key Terms Words and the World Around Us Worth a Thousand Words What are root words Root Words Prefixes Suffixes Transitional Words Nouns

Middle Grades Language Arts fiction. Short Stories. Elements of Fiction Key Terms Assignments Expository Writing Writing Prompts Writing Prompts continued The Expository Essay Leads Thesis Statements Concluding Paragraphs

Middle Grades Language Arts writingprocess 6. What is The Writing Process?. Introduction Key Terms What is the Writing Process What is prewriting Assignments What is Drafting What is sharing What is peer editing What is revising What is editing What is publishing

Middle Grades Math 06 Numbersand Operations Clean. Numbers and Operations Introduction Key Terms Factors Multiples and Prime Factorization Time to Practice Factors Greatest Common Factor and Least Common Multiple Time to Practice GCF and LCM Factors Assignment Numbers and Operations Review Quiz 1

Middle Grades Math Algebra SC. Algebra. Numbers and Operations Introduction Key Terms Factors Multiples and Prime Factorization Time to Practice Factors Greatest Common Factor and Least Common Multiple Time to Practice GCF and LCM Factors Assignment Numbers and Operations Review Quiz 1

Middle Grades Math Data Analysisand Prob SC. Data Analysis and Probability. Numbers and Operations Introduction Key Terms Factors Multiples and Prime Factorization Time to Practice Factors Greatest Common Factor and Least Common Multiple Time to Practice GCF and LCM Factors Assignment Numbers and Operations Review Quiz 1

Middle Grades Math Final SC. Final Review and Exam. Final Exam Objective Final Exam Performance Final Exam Foundations of American Government The Constitution Civic Responsibilities The Legislative Branch The Executive Branch Judicial Branch State and Local Government

Middle Grades Math Geometry SC. Geometry. Numbers and Operations Introduction Key Terms Factors Multiples and Prime Factorization Time to Practice Factors Greatest Common Factor and Least Common Multiple Time to Practice GCF and LCM Factors Assignment Numbers and Operations Review Quiz 1

Middle Grades Math 06 Measurement. Measurement. Numbers and Operations Introduction Key Terms Factors Multiples and Prime Factorization Time to Practice Factors Greatest Common Factor and Least Common Multiple Time to Practice GCF and LCM Factors Assignment Numbers and Operations Review Quiz 1

Middle Grades Math Numbersand Operations SC. Numbers and Operations. Numbers and Operations Introduction Key Terms Factors Multiples and Prime Factorization Time to Practice Factors Greatest Common Factor and Least Common Multiple Time to Practice GCF and LCM Factors Assignment Numbers and Operations Review Quiz 1

Middle Grades Science astronomy. Astronomy. Geology III Weathering Erosion and Human Impact Introduction Key Terms Weathering and Natural Erosion Rocks to Soil Erosion from Water Erosion from Gravity and Wind Human Activity and Erosion

Middle Grades Science insideearth. Geology I - Inside the Earth and Plate Tectonics. Geology I Inside the Earth and Plate Tectonics Key Terms Inside the Earth Plate Tectonics Earthquakes I EarthQuakes II Volcano Formation and Types Volcano Eruptions Review Assignments

Middle Grades Science hydrologymeteorology. Hydrology and Meteorology. Geology III Weathering Erosion and Human Impact Introduction Key Terms Weathering and Natural Erosion Rocks to Soil Erosion from Water Erosion from Gravity and Wind Human Activity and Erosion

How can we make something new that was not there before? Seventh grade chemistry students' conceptual understanding of chemical reactions for middle school science is foundational to much science learning. Understanding atomic level reactions is crucial for learning physical, life, earth, and space science. Even more importantly, they open up new windows of curiosity for students to see the world around them. By seventh grade, students are ready to take on the abstract nature of the interactions of atoms and molecules far too small to see.

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What can we learn from those who have survived the greatest tragedies and become even more determined to help others? How can we share these kinds of stories to inspire and educate? In this module, students develop their ability to analyze narratives and create their own stories as they learn about the Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan and the lessons revealed through their journeys.

Students begin Unit 1 reading the novel A Long Walk to Water. The focus of the reading is on how the setting shapes the characters and plot, how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters in the text, and how themes are developed throughout the story. As they analyze and discuss the text, students also create discussion norms in order to have productive discussions about the text at the end of the unit.

Students begin Unit 2 researching to answer the questions generated while reading A Long Walk to Water during Unit 1, including questions about the Lost Girls of Sudan. While researching, they determine two or more central ideas in informational texts and provide objective summaries of them. Students also watch clips of the documentary God Grew Tired of Us about the Lost Boys of Sudan, analyzing the main ideas and supporting details and explaining how the ideas clarify what they have been researching. In the second half of the unit, students write a compare and contrast essay looking at how an informational text about the Lost Children of Sudan and the novel treat similar subject matter.

Students begin Unit 3 comparing A Long Walk to Water to the audiobook version of the text, exploring how authors and readers develop tone, mood, and expression. Students draw on this exploration as they start the second half of the unit, planning and then writing a narrative children’s book about a Lost Boy or Girl of Sudan. Through mini lessons and independent planning work, students focus on developing characters, settings, plot points, and narrative techniques such as pacing, description, and dialogue. For their performance task, students refine their narratives and convert them into ebooks to publish and share with others, especially elementary school children.