Reading the novel One Crazy Summer, set in 1968 Oakland, CA at the height of the Black Panther movement, students explore the meaning of community, identity, and what it means to be part of a revolution.

Students explore the biosphere's environments and ecosystems, learning along the way about the plants, animals, resources and natural cycles of our planet. Over the course of lessons 2-6, students use their growing understanding of various environments and the engineering design process to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems - exploring energy and nutrient flows, basic needs of plants and animals, and decomposers. Students learn about food chains and food webs. They are introduced to the roles of the water, carbon and nitrogen cycles. They test the effects of photosynthesis and transpiration. Students are introduced to animal classifications and interactions, including carnivore, herbivore, omnivore, predator and prey. They learn about biomimicry and how engineers often imitate nature in the design of new products. As everyday applications are interwoven into the lessons, students consider why a solid understanding of one's environment and the interdependence within ecosystems can inform the choices we make and the way we engineer our communities.

Students find the volume and surface area of a rectangular box (e.g., a cereal box), and then figure out how to convert that box into a new, cubical box having the same volume as the original. As they construct the new, cube-shaped box from the original box material, students discover that the cubical box has less surface area than the original, and thus, a cube is a more efficient way to package things. Students then consider why consumer goods generally aren't packaged in cube-shaped boxes, even though they would require less material to produce and ultimately, less waste to discard. To display their findings, each student designs and constructs a mobile that contains a duplicate of his or her original box, the new cube-shaped box of the same volume, the scraps that are left over from the original box, and pertinent calculations of the volumes and surface areas involved. The activities involved provide valuable experience in problem solving with spatial-visual relationships.

Through a five-lesson series that includes numerous hands-on activities, students are introduced to the importance and pervasiveness of bridges for connecting people to resources, places and other people, with references to many historical and current-day examples. In learning about bridge types arch, beam, truss and suspension students explore the effect of tensile and compressive forces. Students investigate the calculations that go into designing bridges; they learn about loads and cross-sectional areas by designing and testing the strength of model piers. Geology and soils are explored as they discover the importance of foundations, bearing pressure and settlement considerations in the creation of dependable bridges and structures. Students learn about brittle and ductile material properties. Students also learn about the many cost factors that comprise the economic considerations of bridge building. Bridges are unique challenges that take advantage of the creative nature of engineering.

Students explore the theme of community through the book Seedfolks, wrestling with how prejudice and racism impact the way people treat each other and the ways in which that can influence a community.

Students are introduced to some basic civil engineering concepts in an exciting and interactive manner. Bridges and skyscrapers, the two most visible structures designed by civil engineers, are discussed in depth, including the design principles behind them. To help students visualize in three dimensions, one hands-on activity presents three-dimensional coordinate systems and gives students practice finding and describing points in space. After learning about skyscrapers, tower design principles and how materials absorb different types of forces, students compete to build their own newspaper towers to meet specific design criteria.The unit concludes with student groups using balsa wood and glue to design and build tower structures to withstand vertical and lateral forces.

Students provide details about a character who is missing a school assignment and use code to describe the character's actions, thoughts, and words.

Students use computer science to simulate extreme sports, make their own commercial, and create commentary for a sporting event.

In this skill-building lesson, students will develop sequential algorithms to move a bird from one side of a maze to the pig at the other side. To do this they will stack code blocks together in a linear sequence. This lesson aligns to national Computer Science standards from CSTA.

In this skill-building lesson, students will continue to develop sequential algorithms.In this lesson, students will develop programming skills on a computer platform. The block-based format of these puzzles help students learn about sequence and concepts, without having to worry about perfecting syntax. This lesson aligns to national Computer Science standards from CSTA.

Are we addicted to our devices, and, if so, are companies to blame? The word "addiction" packs a heavy punch, and the research is inconclusive on whether it's truly accurate when it comes to digital device use. What's certain, however, is that as people use devices and apps more, profits increase for the companies who make them. Help your students recognize how most of the technology they use is designed to keep them hooked, and help them use this as an opportunity to find more balance in their digital lives. Approximately 60 mins.

LESSON OBJECTIVES: Analyze and draw conclusions about a series of photos depicting device use. Use online resources to track arguments for and against whether we are addicted to our devices. Complete a short writing assignment analyzing one or more aspects related to the device addiction debate.

Students examine propaganda and media bias, research a variety of banned and challenged books, choose a side of the censorship issue, and support their position through an advertising campaign.

Students explore the topic of "coming of age" through the story of one boy's life in a dystopian future, and his growing understanding that the world around him is not what it appears.

In this lesson students evaluate published children's picture storybooks. Students then plan, write, illustrate, and publish their own children's picture books.

Students read multiple versions of the fairy tale Cinderella, challenging them to think about how the culture, or setting, of the story influences the plot, and examining the setting and characters.

The Civil War and Reconstruction Era brought about the end of slavery and the expansion of civil rights to African Americans through the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. Compare the Northern and Southern states, discover the concepts of due process and equal protection, and understand how the former Confederate states reacted to the Reconstruction Amendments. LESSON OBJECTIVES: Identify the division of the U.S. at the outbreak of the Civil War. *Describe the expansion of civil rights and liberties in the Civil War/Reconstruction Period. *Explain the purposes of the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment. *Identify the different perspectives on slavery during the Civil War period. *Determine the differences between the Presidential and Congressional plans for Reconstruction.

Students explore the contributions and experiences of LGBTQ+ Americans in the past and present.

This textbook follows California Language Arts Standards for grades 9-12 to provide a generalized understanding of composition and to serve as a supplementary aid to high school English teachers.

How can we use code-switching to enhance our communication with online audiences? What you say, and how you say it, often depends on whom you're talking to, both in person and online. The person or people you're chatting with -- and the apps or websites you're using -- affect how we communicate. Remind your students to consider their audience before they post or comment online, and help them build community and communicate effectively in the digital world. Approximately 50 mins.

LESSON OBJECTIVES: Apply the idea of code-switching to how they use phones and other devices in and outside of school. Consider different ways that code-switching online can make communication more meaningful and effective. Write an example post or message that uses code-switching to communicate with an online audience.

Students create poetry collections with the theme of getting to know each other. They study and then write a variety of forms of poetry to include in their collections.