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Standard 1 : Text Types and Purposes
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Number: LAFS.68.WHST.1
Title: Text Types and Purposes
Type: Cluster
Subject: English Language Arts
Grade: 68
Strand: Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects
Related Standards
Code
LAFS.68.WHST.1.1:
LAFS.68.WHST.1.2:
Description
Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
a. Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and
distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims,
and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant,
accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an
understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and
clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims,
reasons, and evidence.
d. Establish and maintain a formal style.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from
and supports the argument presented.
Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of
historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical
processes.
a. Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow;
organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader
categories as appropriate to achieving purpose; include
formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables),
and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts,
definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other
information and examples.
c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion
and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to
inform about or explain the topic.
e. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone.
f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from
and supports the information or explanation presented.
Related Resources
Text Resource
Name
"Genius Materials" on the ISS:
Description
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. Gorilla
Glass on your
phone? Magnetic
fluid shocks in your
car? With
applications here on
Earth, "smart"
materials like these
are being studied in
the microgravity of
space. The
programmed
rearrangement of
particles on a
molecular level
enhances materials
in new high-tech
products.
11-year-old Designs a Better Sandbag, Named 'America's Top Young
Scientist':
7 Things Your Body Language is Telling Your Boss:
91 New Species Described by California Academy Of Sciences in 2013:
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
NBC News science
article describes the
success of a young
inventor's polymer
and salt filled
sandbags, designed
for more efficient
flood protection and
deployment.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This is
an informational
text that helps
readers know how
to better
communicate nonverbally in a
business
environment. This
aligns with IIT
Standard 02.01: Use
listening, speaking,
telecommunication
and nonverbal skills
and strategies to
communicate
effectively with
supervisors, coworkers, and
customers.
Technological
advances and
partnerships with
technology
companies help
with research on
biodiversity.
Satellites – used in
conjunction with
GPS-enabled tablets
A "Goldilocks" World?:
A Big Discovery About Little People:
loaded with imaging
software – can assist
scientists with
uncovering,
locating, and
collecting data on
species that would
normally not have
been discovered.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article describes
how astronomers
have found a new
exoplanet, Kepler186f, orbiting a
distant star.
Research suggests
that this planet is in
the habitable
"Goldilocks"
zone—not too close
and not too far—of
the red dwarf star it
orbits. If the planet
is in the habitable
zone, it mimics the
earth/sun
relationship we
have, and
astronomers believe
liquid water might
be present on this
planet. Water, of
course, is the key to
(extraterrestrial)
life.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text describes the
discovery of a new
species of human,
A Change in Leaf Color:
A Close Call:
nicknamed
"hobbits," believed
to exist as recently
as 12,000 years ago.
It also covers the
evidence in support
of the hypothesis
that hobbits are
truly a new human
species (and not
deformed Homo
sapiens).
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article discusses the
reasons why some
leaves change color
in the fall. It
contains
background
information on why
leaves turn different
colors and how red
pigment is
especially different,
chemically, from
the others.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. On
November 8, 2011,
an asteroid flew by
Earth at a distance
closer to us than our
moon. Scientists
have known about
the close call for
years and were
excited about the
opportunity to view
an asteroid and look
for chemical
evidence of the
young solar system.
Scientists are still
watching tens of
thousands of
asteroids that
potentially threaten
Earth, and
contingency plans
exist should one of
them threaten us.
A Creative Collision :
A Devastating Earthquake:
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
theory that a planet,
Theia, collided with
the Earth billions of
years ago to form
our moon has been
around for years,
but not much
evidence has
supported it until
now. Recently,
scientists found
isotopes of oxygen
in moon rocks that
are consistent with
both the moon and a
non-Earth
planet…Theia? In
addition, the rocks
contain rare
elements not found
on Earth, which
supports the
collision theory.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
A Ghost Lake:
content area. An
earthquake with a
magnitude of 7.7
erupted in a remote
province of
Pakistan,
demolishing homes
and killing
hundreds. The
recovery efforts are
slow and hampered
because of the poor
economic status and
location of the
victims. The article
ends with an
explanation of how
a mud island
appeared in the
Arabian Sea as a
result of the
earthquake.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Through the
author’s personal
experience and
observations made
by scientists, this
article describes
how the study of an
extinct lake’s
history can be used
to make predictions
about how warming
temperatures may
affect the future of
current lakes. From
analyses of the
shoreline, soil, algal
growth, and
minerals coated on
rocks, the article
offers evidence and
clues that the desert
A Silent Hurricane Season:
A Success for Designer Life:
was once under
water.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content
area. September is
generally the height
of hurricane season,
and meteorologists
predicted many
large storms in the
Atlantic for 2013.
Global warming and
other human
activities were
thought to be
precursors to a more
active hurricane
season, but 2013
was surprisingly
quiet. This article
discusses possible
reasons for the
unexpectedly quiet
hurricane season of
2013.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article reveals how
scientists have
found a way to
make a synthetic
chromosome and
insert it into yeast
cells. Scientists
discovered that this
Acids and Bases Are Everywhere:
Alaska's Rat Island Rat Free after 230 Years of Infestation:
chromosome can
alter or create new
traits in an
organism. This
research could lead
to creating an
entirely synthetic
genome, which
scientists expect to
accomplish in the
next few years.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
informational text
on acids and bases
takes difficult
content and explains
it clearly with the
aid of several
simple diagrams. It
explains the pH
scale and how the
chemists Arrhenius,
Bronsted, and
Lowry have
contributed to our
understanding of
acids as donors and
bases as acceptors.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article describes
how conservation
scientists eradicated
invasive, predatory
Norway rats to
successfully restore
native bird
populations on an
Alaskan island. The
rat infestation had
caused a large
Algae Embedded in Sea Ice Drive the Arctic Food Web:
Amazing Moons:
Animals Under Antarctic Ice?:
decline in breeding
bird populations,
eliminating some
species entirely.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Species that live in
the open ocean may
suffer as sea ice
disappears. As sea
ice disappears, the
algae embedded and
living in the sea ice
will be reduced.
This article explores
the evidence
collected to show
the role of algae in
driving the Arctic
food web.
This informational
text resource is
designed to support
reading in the
content area. This
article from NASA
addresses how our
solar system’s
moons may be a
more interesting
study than some of
the planets because
they show a
possibility of
harboring life due to
their composition,
atmospheres and
presence of water.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article describes an
exciting series of
Arctic Thaw is Spreading Wildlife Diseases:
experiments aimed
at determining
whether complex
life could exist in
the extremely harsh
Antarctic
environment of
Lake Vostok.
Researchers found
some evidence of
complex life from
DNA analysis, but
confirming such
extraordinary
findings would
require substantial
additional data and
repeated
confirmation. The
text offers a great
overview of the
complex nature of
the scientific
process and what it
takes to truly
confirm an
experimental
finding.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article describes the
effect of melting ice
in the Arctic Ocean
on the spreading of
parasitic diseases.
The author explains
how grey seals and
ringed seals have
contracted one
particular disease
due to the Arctic
thaw and goes on to
explain how Beluga
whales north of
Alaska have
Atomic Theory:
Baby Stars in the Rosette Cloud:
contracted a second
disease, which can
be spread to
humans.
This article is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article provides a
chronological
description of the
development of the
atomic theory.
Beginning with
debates by Greek
philosophers in the
sixth century B.C.,
the various beliefs
about atoms are
explained. For
around 2000 years,
the subject lay
dormant, until John
Dalton developed
his atomic theory in
the 1800s. Delving
into tests of Dalton's
theory, the author
explains how
scientists, over time,
developed what we
now know as the
modern day atomic
theory.
Images recently
discovered by the
Herschel telescope
reveal the formation
of previously
unseen high-mass
star formations.
These new findings
help us learn more
about our own
galaxy as well as
star formation, and
will lead to a better
understanding of
Bacteria Living in 'Cloud Cities' May Control Rain and Snow Patterns:
Baseball: From Pitch to Hits:
larger distant
galaxies.
This resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article describes
how ice crystals in
clouds grow around
tiny particles such
as dust, pollen and
even bacteria. Some
bacteria contain
proteins that cause
freezing to occur at
higher-than-normal
temperatures, which
may aid in snow
production. In
addition, a lack of
vegetation on land
may cause the
"weather-gifted"
bacteria to decline,
which in turn would
decrease rainfall (if
in fact these bacteria
are needed to "seed"
clouds).
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text describes the
science behind
baseball by
analyzing an actual
pitch that took place
in a Royals vs.
Tigers game. The
text describes how
Newton's First Law
affects the pitch and
then describes how
energy is transferred
from ball to bat.
Finally, the text
Belly up to the Bamboo Buffet: Pandas vs. Horses:
Between a Rock and a Wet Place:
explains how
scientists use
several methods to
analyze the physics
of a pitch.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. In
parts of China,
pandas are
threatened by
horses. The pandas
have a specific diet
- bamboo that grows
on the gently
sloping areas far
from human
populations. But
some farmers allow
their horses to roam
free and graze upon
bamboo, taking
away the only
source of food for
pandas.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article explains how
natural selection can
lead to changes in
populations.
Variations in body
types were observed
in a species of
climbing goby (a
fish) in Hawaii.
These variations
allow differential
success in avoiding
predators and
climbing waterfalls.
Depending on
conditions on
Big Quake, Little Destruction:
Bon Voyage, Voyager 1:
different islands,
individuals with
certain body types
are more likely to
thrive because their
body type makes it
easier for them to
survive and
reproduce.
This informational
text is intended to
support reading in
the content area.
The article outlines
the differences
between recent
large earthquakes in
the Pacific and the
earthquake that
caused a devastating
tsunami in 2004. It
describes how
tectonic plates can
move in relation to
one another in order
to explain different
geophysical (e.g.
tsunami) outcomes.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article describes the
accomplishments of
the Voyager 1
spacecraft since its
launch in 1977. It
also explains the
arguments for
determining the
current location of
the spacecraft—
possibly interstellar
space—and what
will happen when it
begins to shut down
entirely.
This informational
text resource
supports reading in
the content area.
The text explains
how our bones do
Bones: They're Alive!:
much more than just
hold us up and keep
us moving—they
play many other
important roles in
the body.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text describes a
possible solution to
the spread of
mosquito-borne
illnesses like
malaria and dengue
fever. Scientists
have genetically
modified
Brazil Approves Use of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Combat Dengue
mosquitoes to
Fever:
disrupt their
reproductive cycle.
The article ends
with the concerns of
the scientific
community about
the breeding
program, while at
the same time
showing how
several countries are
already having
success with use of
the GM organisms.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
Brightest Stars: Luminosity and Magnitude:
reading in the
content area. This
text briefly
describes how
Building a Better Battery:
Burning to Learn:
astronomers have
measured and
quantified the
apparent brightness
and magnitude of
stars as astrophysics
has evolved over
time. This article
also discusses the
limitations of
absolute magnitude
in terms of the
technology tools
utilized.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. It is
challenging to build
batteries that are
small, hold a big
charge, and can be
recharged many
times. Sulfur-based
batteries represent a
solution, but they
are at risk of
explosion because
byproducts form
when they recharge.
Scientists think they
have solved this
problem by creating
batteries out of
titanium oxidecoated sulfur
particles that allow
for the storage of
bad byproducts.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article describes
some of the research
on fire being done
Caught in the Act:
by a variety of
scientists. This
research is leading
to a greater
understanding of
how things burn and
the effects of fire on
humans and the
environment. For
example, fire
research can be
applied to
maintaining
ecosystems, human
health and safety,
and controlling or
preventing large
wildfires.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article describes
several fascinating
examples of rapid
evolution by natural
selection. It explains
research on three
organisms—
cichlids, crickets
and sea urchins—
that demonstrates
how these creatures
have quickly
adapted to their
changing
environments. This
is a very useful
article for students
beginning to
explore the concepts
of natural selection,
evolution, and
extinction.
Cell Phone Ownership Hits 91% of Adults:
Changing Seas:
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. A Pew
Research Center
survey indicates that
cell phone
ownership is at an
all-time high, with
91% of Americans
owning a cell phone
in 2013. Statistical
tests show that cell
phone usage is
significantly higher
in men, collegeeducated people, the
wealthy, and those
living in
urban/suburban
areas. This rise in
ownership is
associated with a
variety of positive
impacts of cell
phone use, but
previous research
shows there are
several negative
impressions and
impacts of cell
phones as well.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
text explains how
carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere is
changing the
oceans. The text
describes ocean
acidification and
ocean warming. The
text gives examples
of ecosystems that
Circulatory System:
Climate Change Could Stall Atlantic Ocean Current:
are changing as a
result.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article describes the
role of the
circulatory system
in the human body.
The text divides this
system into three
main parts: the
heart, blood vessels,
and blood. Each
component of the
system is explained
in detail, including
its makeup, how it
works, and why it is
important. The text
concludes by
addressing some
diseases of the
circulatory system.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article describes
how climate change
impacts ocean
currents which, in
turn, can affect the
countries which lie
along these currents.
A description of a
model is included to
make a prediction of
what will happen to
the currents if
climate change
continues with
increasing amounts
of carbon dioxide
Cool Jobs: Paid to Dream:
Cool Jobs: Repellent Chemistry:
released into the
atmosphere.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. Predict
the future and get
paid for it? This
article explores the
variety of
disciplines that
involve dreaming
up new ideas for
products and
technology. From
storing data in
bacteria to tapping
into the geothermal
energy between
tectonic plates, the
article provides an
overview of how
futurists get "paid to
dream."
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. Part of
the Cool Jobs
series, this article
features examples
of STEM careers.
The text highlights
research into superrepellent chemicals.
Teams of scientists
inspired by nature
are working on
solving problems
that would enhance
society. These
innovations include
ultra-repellent
fabric, mesh to
clean up oil spills,
de-fogging surfaces,
and coatings that
reduce drag on
ships.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. In
2012, the rover
Curiosity was sent
on a mission to
Mars in order to
Curiosity Lands on Mars!:
explore the planet
for signs of life.
This article
describes the
research required to
build the rover, its
flight and landing
on Mars, and the
objectives of its
mission.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
text highlights the
controversy
surrounding
Debate over Genetically Modified Foods Continues amid Confusion:
genetically modified
foods and their
labeling. The article
explains GMOs and
their implications
for health according
to science and
industry.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
Debate: Should NASA Pay Companies to Fly Astronauts to the International content area. The
Space Station? :
article highlights
two side of a topical
debate: should
NASA fund the
efforts of private
Deforestation:
Defying Gravity: Eye-Opening Science Adventures On a Weightless Flight:
Discovery of Infrared Light:
companies to
transport people to
the ISS or invest in
its own spacecraft,
such as the Space
Launch System
(SLS)?
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article discusses
deforestation, its
causes, and its
effects on
ecosystems.
This article
describes a
weightless flight
taken by student
researchers
investigating several
questions all
centering on zero
gravity. NASA's
Reduced Gravity
Education Flight
Program uses flights
by the commercial
Zero Gravity
Corporation to
perform weightless
science.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article outlines the
scientific mindset
that led William
Herschel to arrive at
the discovery of
infrared light, an
unexpected
consequence of an
experiment he was
Drinking Water: Bottled or from the Tap?:
Dusty Remains from a Dead Star:
Early Tyrannosaurs Would Have Feared This Predator:
conducting. More
generally, the article
demonstrates the
scientific process,
from hypothesis to
observation and
from inference to
conclusion.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
National
Geographic Kids
article discusses the
environmental
problems caused by
disposable water
bottle use.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Scientists have been
observing a
supernova that first
appeared in 1987.
Specifically, they
have measured a
large amount of star
dust that formed as
a result of the
supernova. This
dust is thought to be
the material that
forms new stars and
studying it may tell
scientists something
about how stars
formed early in the
history of the
universe.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
Earth's Interior: A Look at the Inner Earth:
Earthquakes, Megaquakes, and the Movies:
Earth's Tectonic Plates Won't Slide Forever:
content area. This
article discusses
how the early
tyrannosaur's rise to
dominance was
likely delayed by
the existence of a
newly discovered,
fiercer predator with
which it competed.
The new dino, Siats
meekerorum, likely
postponed
tyrannosaur's
emergence as the
top predator in its
ecosystem.
This informational
text is intended to
support reading in
the content area.
The article covers
the composition and
properties of Earth's
layers.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text explains how
large earthquakes
are naturally
occurring events
and compares them
to the fictional
"megaquakes"
portrayed in movies.
It also dispels a
number of myths
about earthquakes.
This text is intended
to support reading
in the content area.
The text describes
future possible
outcomes for the
tectonic plates and
Earthworms: Can These Gardeners' Friends Actually Become Foes?:
the movement of the
Earth’s crust. Using
computer models,
the article first
discusses when
crustal plate
movement is
thought to have
begun. Then, it
provides the reader
with an account of
some of the ways
the Earth has
changed due to the
movement of plate
tectonics. It then
continues to use
computer models to
produce a
simulation to show
that these plate
movements may
stop millions of
years from now.
This informational
text resource is
designed to support
reading in the
content area. The
article describes
new research on the
ways Asian jumping
worms are affecting
American forests.
Findings show they
are much more of a
problem than
initially feared.
Because Asian
jumping worms
have bigger
appetites than other
earthworms found
in the U.S., they are
much more
successful at eating
the debris on the
forest floor. This
Electronics May Confuse a Bird's "Compass":
End of an Era:
exposes vulnerable
areas that may bring
more diseases and
invasive plants. It
can also prevent
delicate seedlings
from taking root.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Scientists are finally
able to support the
hypothesis that
electromagnetic
radiation from
human electronic
equipment can
confuse a bird's
sense of direction;
the radiation
impacts the
orientation
necessary for birds'
migration. When
shielded by an
aluminum screen (a
Faraday cage), this
interference is
eliminated and birds
can orient
themselves
properly.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article describes the
history of NASA’s
space shuttle
program as it comes
to an end. It
discusses the
scientific
advancements that
have resulted from
Energy Companies Triggered Quakes, Study Says:
Evolved to Run:
Explainer: How and Why Fires Burn:
the program and the
possible next steps
in human space
flight.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Scientists recently
linked the injection
of carbon dioxide
into the ground with
increased numbers
of earthquakes in
Texas. This may
have consequences
for plans to store
CO2 underground
to slow global
warming or inject it
during the process
of oil mining.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text compares the
bone and muscle
structure of early
Homo sapiens and
Neandertals. It
describes the ability
to run long
distances in one and
not the other and
explains how this
difference may have
evolved.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article explains the
science behind why
and how fire burns.
Explainer: How Invasive Species Ratted Out the Tuatara:
Failed "Star" Found in Sun's Backyard:
The article
describes why fire is
not considered
matter and what is
required for fire to
burn, as well as how
the atoms rearrange
themselves during
the combustion
process.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
short article is about
how a changing
environment has
lead to a near
extinction of tuatara
(a lizard species) in
New Zealand. It
discusses how
invasive species—in
the tuatara’s case,
predatory
mammals—can
wipe out native
species that are
unable to adapt.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. A
brown dwarf, which
is essentially a
failed star, has been
discovered close to
our solar system.
The brown dwarf is
the coldest and one
of the smallest yet
discovered.
Telescopic images
and data helped
scientists to find and
Faultline: Theory of Plate Tectonics:
Fear Matters:
characterize the
failed star.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
text explains both
the history of plate
tectonics and
continental drift,
and the land
features that result
from the earth's
plate movement.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. Prey
species exhibit a
variety of behaviors
to avoid getting
eaten by predators.
For example, some
animals may run
away, find shelter,
or move to a safer
area if they sense
predators are near.
This article
describes the
responses of two
prey species in
detail: tree frog
tadpoles that hatch
early when
predators are close
by, and elk that
avoid eating in
dangerous areas
when wolves are
present. Their
responses to fear
can affect not only
the prey species, but
the entire food web.
Fins to Limbs: New Fossil Gives Evolution Insight:
Fish Fossil has Oldest Known Face, May Influence Evolution:
Florida Riding a Lucky Streak as Hurricane Season 2014 Opens:
This informational
text resource is
designed to support
reading in the
content area. The
text describes a new
fossil with tetrapod
(four-limbed
vertebrate)
characteristics. The
find is expected to
shed light on the
evolution of animals
from sea to land.
The news article
describes the
discovery of a
placoderm (armored
fish) fossil with a
facial structure
similar to modern
vertebrates. It may
represent the origin
of facial structure
for all modern
vertebrates. This
informational text
resource is intended
to support reading
in the content area.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article reports on the
"lucky streak"
Florida has had in
hurricane seasons
since 2005 and
explains why the
trend cannot last
forever. The author
also focuses on
storm surge damage
and explains the
new computer
programs that use
Flu River:
Food Web Woes:
For Already Vunerable Penguins, Study Finds Climate Change Is Another
Danger:
interactive real-time
maps to predict
storm surges and the
need for
evacuations.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article discusses
how a drug widely
used to flight
influenza—
Tamiflu—is
contaminating
bodies of water. It
describes how this
poses potential risks
to humans and
wildlife.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article describes two
studies that show
how the decline of
large sharks has
adverse effects on
other organisms in
their food web. The
article explains that
without apex
predators like
sharks, other large
fish and rays tend to
thrive and prey too
heavily on shellfish
populations.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Survival for
Magellanic
For Some Male Crickets, Silence Means Survival:
penguins has always
been a challenge
due to predation and
starvation, but the
influence of climate
change is now
making survival
even more difficult
for them. The study
cited in this article
is one of the first to
show a direct
impact of climate
change on the
population of
seabirds. Increased
storm activity and
warmer
temperatures are
two factors
impacting penguin
populations in
Argentina.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article discusses
how crickets on two
Hawaiian islands
have evolved wings
that make them
silent in response to
parasitoid flies that
locate male crickets
via sound (and eat
them from the
inside out!). The
crickets on Kauai
and Oahu evolved
completely different
silent wing types,
which is evidence
that these two
cricket populations
evolved their silent
Fossil Forests:
From Stem Cell to Any Cell:
wings
independently.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. Using
fossilized trees,
scientists can
investigate how the
Earth has changed
over millions of
years. Tree fossils
in the Arctic show
that this region was
once considerably
warmer and was
home to large
forests teeming with
life. Chemical
analyses can also
show what the soil
and water of these
regions looked like
millions of years
ago. This
information can
help predict what
the world might
look like as the
Earth warms once
again.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. Stem
cell research
findings are
discussed with
examples of how
biotechnology is
impacting society.
The article explains
the different types
of stem cells and
highlights research
on stem cells to cure
Frozen Continent Could be Key to Earth's Future:
Geek vs Geek: Do You Want to Live in a Connected Home?:
diseases and help
increase quality of
life. Ethical
questions are
addressed using a
balanced approach.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Scientists from
around the world
and from many
cultures visit
Antarctica to
conduct research on
questions that
matter to all
mankind. There are
a number of
important lessons
that can be learned
through research in
Antarctica, such as
past carbon dioxide
levels, ozone
depletion, impacts
of meteorites, air
pollution, and sea
level change.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
text is composed by
two guys blogging
back and forth about
the pros and cons of
the emerging
technology related
to cell phones and
houses. Note: This
article aligns with
IIT Standard: 21.03-Compare and
contrast emerging
Getting the Dirt on Carbon:
Gold Can Grow on Trees:
technologies and
describe how they
impact business in
the global
marketplace (e.g.,
wireless, wireless
web, cell phones,
portables/handhelds,
smart appliances,
home networks,
peer-to-peer, etc.).
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Carbon, an essential
part of life on Earth,
exists in a neverending cycle. It is
continually moving
back and forth
between living and
non-living factors,
as well as from
organism to
organism. Soil, with
its ability to "lock
up" carbon, plays a
major role in the
carbon cycle.
Atmospheric CO2
levels are linked to
climate change, so
ways of keeping
carbon locked in
soil are of great
interest to scientists.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. Tiny
particles of gold
have been found in
the leaves of trees
growing high above
an underground
Heat-Resistant Makeup:
Hitting Streaks Spread Success:
supply of it.
Biogeochemical
prospecting uses
living organisms to
locate precious
metals deep beneath
the surface. From
termite mounds to
"roo poo" from a
kangaroo, biological
clues point
prospectors in the
right direction.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content
area. Scientists
have developed a
new type of
camouflage
“makeup” for
soldiers that can
help prevent burns
from nearby
explosions. They
have chemically
swapped out
flammable materials
for a new heatresistant polymer to
create a makeup
with applications
well beyond the
military.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Although scientists
haven't determined
a specific reason
why one baseball
player's hitting
streak improves his
whole team's
House Cat Origin Traced to Middle Eastern Wildcat Ancestor:
How Do Scientists Determine the Age of Dinosaur Bones?:
How Does Going To The Bathroom in Space Work?:
performance, they
have observed a
very real
mathematical
pattern. There may
be many reasons for
the phenomenon,
but no one has
found them out yet.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article discusses
how a changing
environment may
have led to the
domestication of
cats.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Scientists use
radiometric dating
to estimate the age
of objects, including
fossils and
geological
formations.
Radiometric dating
methods include
measuring carbon14 and
uranium/potassium
isotopes. This
article details how
these methods can
be used to date a
variety of objects,
including the Earth
itself.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
How Earth's Surface Morphs:
How Many Satellites are in Space?:
content area. This is
a clearly organized
high-interest
informative text
explaining how
astronauts use the
bathroom, sleep and
eat in zero gravity.
The web version has
a video, library of
photos, and many
other related sites
that students can
independently
investigate.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article focuses on
how plate tectonics
change the surface
of Earth, and how
new research is
changing the way
we think about
geological behavior.
The article goes in
depth about two
new ideas that are
changing the way
we think about the
planet's layers and
the processes that
have shaped Earth
over its long
history.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article from
Universe Today
describes the
quantity of
operational satellites
How the Outer Sun Gets So Hot:
How Was the Solar System Formed?:
Humans Threaten Wetlands' Ability to Keep Pace with Sea-Level Rise:
and “space junk”
orbiting the Earth.
Those figures are
broken down by the
satellites’ various
orbits and include
examples of the
types of objects
found in each area.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article describes a
theory explaining
why the outer layer
of the sun, the
corona, is much
hotter than some
inner layers. The
theory states that
magnetic waves
transport heat
energy from the
sun's center to its
outer layers. They
may be "shuttled"
by gas jets that
originate deeper
within the sun.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article describes the
most popular model
of how the solar
system was
formed—the
nebular
hypothesis—and
also presents
potential problems
with that model.
This informational
text resource is
Hurricane Andrew’s Legacy: "Like a Bomb" in Florida:
Hurricane Forecasters: El Niño Could Mean Fewer Storms in Atlantic:
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text discusses the
different benefits
that wetlands bring
to the environment,
their potential
resilience to sea
level rise, and the
different ways in
which humancaused climate
change is affecting
their potential
resiliency.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article gives an
account of the
events before,
during, and after
Hurricane Andrew’s
assault on South
Florida in August of
1992. The author
describes why
South Florida was
unprepared for what
became a category 5
hurricane, why
certain areas
suffered such
extensive damage,
and improvements
that have been made
in prediction and
preparedness for
future storms.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content
area. Scientific
models predict that
El Niño will cause
fewer hurricanes in
the Atlantic
Ocean—but more in
the Pacific Ocean—
in 2014. This is
because El Niño
events affect water
temperatures and
wind shear, which
affect hurricane
formation. The
article gives the
chances of named
storms forming in
both the Pacific and
Atlantic.
Hurricanes:
Ice on the Move:
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
interactive online
text explains how a
hurricane forms,
what storm surge is,
when hurricane
season starts and
ends, how
hurricanes are
named, and more. It
has animations of
storm surge and a
link to a storm
tracking map. The
article also includes
a glossary and
fantastic tables and
diagrams.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article describes
scientists' views on
glacial movement
and global warming.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Infected Cutting Boards:
It's Blackberry Season! Summer Fruits Depend on Pollinators. But Where
Have All the Bees Gone?:
Jupiter to the Rescue:
How has bacteria
evolved to be
resistant to
antibiotic drugs?
Scientists have
discovered that an
ordinary kitchen
item - the cutting
board - can be
spreading dangerous
germs.
This informational
text resource is
designed to support
reading in the
content area. The
article introduces
the reader to the
importance and role
of pollinators,
factors contributing
to their decline, and
easy steps that can
be taken to help
pollinators.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Astronomers
recently observed
an asteroid crashing
into Jupiter. The
asteroid may have
been on a collision
course with Earth,
Jupiter's Long- Lasting Storm:
Kangaroos Have "Green" Farts:
but Jupiter's
powerful
gravitational force
pulled the asteroid
into it, saving Earth
from an impact. The
article goes on to
describe Jupiter's
composition, some
of its 60+ moons,
and a space probe
named Juno, which
will send back
information to
confirm the
hypothesis that
Jupiter "protects"
Earth from
asteroids.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. Most
studies of Jupiter's
Great Red Spot (a
storm) predict that it
should have
disappeared long
ago, and so its
continued existence
puzzles scientists. A
new study that
considers the
vertical winds
within the storm is
able to explain why
the spot has existed
for over 200 years,
and could even
continue for
hundreds of years
longer.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Kepler A Search For Habitable Planets:
Legged Sea Cow Fossil Found in Jamaica:
Researchers in
Australia have
found kangaroos to
produce more
acetate in their
flatulence than
methane. Cows and
goats produce
methane-heavy
flatulence twenty
times more potent
than carbon dioxide,
adding to the
greenhouse gases
contributing to
global warming.
Scientists are trying
to use this research
on kangaroo farts to
discover a way to
alter the amount of
greenhouse gases in
animal flatulence
worldwide.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text describes
NASA’s “Kepler”
mission, which uses
a photometer
telescope to
examine our region
of the Milky Way
Galaxy for habitable
planets similar to
Earth.
The news article
describes a sea cow
fossil find that
completes the "set"
in the evolutionary
chain from land to
aquatic mammal.
The scientist who
found the fossil also
Lesson of the Ancient Nazcas: Deforestation Can Kill a Civilization:
Light and Telescopes:
describes a possible
reason why they
became aquatic and
how it refutes
creationism while
supporting
evolutionary theory.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Scientists have
found evidence
demonstrating the
transition of a
forested ecosystem
to agriculture in the
Ica Valley-where
the large Nazca
civilization once
existed. The
evidence suggests
that the Nazca cut
down the trees for
agricultural fields
making the area
vulnerable to
extreme floods. A
major El Ninodriven deluge of
rain in the Andes
Mountains caused
such a devastating
flood that it wiped
out the Nazca
civilization.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article explains the
Many Human Ails are ‘Scars’ of Evolution:
Moon Crash, Splash:
types of light on the
electromagnetic
spectrum that our
eyes cannot detect;
to make them
visible, scientists
use telescopes to
take amazing
photographs.
Computers turn the
data into color that
the human eye can
see, so the colors
are actually "false
colors." The article
includes additional
links, including the
Hubble Space
Telescope website's
gallery of
photographs.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
human evolution of
bipedalism (walking
upright) has resulted
in a change in the
morphology of the
spine, feet, and
other features of
modern humans that
are also present in
fossils of our
hominid ancestors.
These changes have
resulted in
unintended
consequences body pains and
injuries that our
non-bipedal primate
relatives do not
experience.
This resource is
intended to support
Mountain Maker, Earth Shaker:
Move Over Cheetah: Mite Sets New Speed Record:
reading in the
content area. This
article describes
how NASA sent a
Centaur rocket
attached to a mother
craft (LCROSS) to
the moon. The
rocket detached,
crashed and stirred
up a plume of
debris. The mother
craft flew through
the debris plume,
took pictures and
analyzed the
plume's contents.
The measurements
revealed the
presence of water in
significant
quantities.
This resource
supports reading in
the content area.
This is an
informational text
that provides the
explanations and
activities of the
different
movements of plate
tectonics. This
resource includes
text-dependent
questions.
This informational
text supports
reading in the
content area. This
text discusses the
findings of studying
mite speed and
mite's affinity for
high temperatures.
The article explores
how the data could
Native "Snot":
New "Heartland" Disease Emerges in U.S. Midwest:
be used in the field
of biomechanics.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article describes
how an algae
species previously
thought to be
invasive is actually
a “hidden” native
species that blooms
when environmental
conditions change.
It describes those
conditions as well
as the algae’s
ecological impact
on other
populations. The
article concludes by
connecting that
human impact—
climate change—is
causing algae
blooms to become
more and more
common.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. In
June 2009, two men
were admitted to a
Missouri hospital
with severe flu-like
symptoms. After
lack of response to
treatment and
extensive blood
analysis, it was
determined that the
men had a
phlebovirus—the
first seen in the U.S.
Nobel Awarded for Unveiling How Cells Recycle Their Trash:
One Plus to Wearing Stripes:
With the help of the
CDC, the virus was
tracked to a species
called the Lone Star
tick. There is
currently no vaccine
or treatment for this
dangerous disease.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article highlights the
work of cell
biologist, Yoshinori
Ohsumi, who won
the Nobel Prize for
physiology for his
research on how
cells recycle unused
materials in order to
maintain
homeostasis.
Ohsumi studied
what the cell did if
it started to "starve."
He noticed how the
cell would start
"eating" some of the
parts it didn't really
need in order to
survive. This
process is called
autophagy.
Scientists hope that
Ohsumi’s discovery
will help find a cure
for diseases like
Alzheimers, which
is caused by cell
trash buildup in the
brain.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
Orb-weaving Spiders use Webs to Trap Pollen in Addition to Insects:
Plants, Animals Adapt to City Living:
article discusses
current thinking and
popular hypotheses
for the function of
zebra stripes. A
recent study
indicates that zebra
stripes may protect
the animals from fly
bites, which are
both a nuisance to
the animals and a
means of spreading
infectious fatal
diseases.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text presents
scientific evidence
that spiders obtain
their nutrition from
both plants and
animals.
Traditionally
spiders have been
classified as
carnivores. This
new evidence
indicates that they
are omnivores.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. It
describes new
research suggesting
urban life creates
evolutionary
changes in plants
and animals.
Examples of
changes to an urban
growing plant (the
white clover) and a
Plate Tectonics:
Predators as Climate Helpers:
Puffins in Peril:
Pythagoras Explained:
Leapin' Lizard are
presented as they
evolve to suit their
new environment.
This resource
supports reading in
the content area.
This text is about
the different
interactions the
plates on the Earth's
surface have with
each other and how
they affect the
Earth's surface.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This is
a fabulous article
that shows the role
and relationship
among predators
and consumers
while also
incorporating the
process of
photosynthesis.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text describes the
challenges the
puffin faces including possible
extinction - due to
global climate
change.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text describes a
Rainforest Rodents Risk Their Lives to Eat:
Rare Warbler Eluding Extinction in U.S.:
method for
predicting the winloss record for
baseball teams
based on runs
scored and runs
allowed, using the
"Pythagorean
Expectation"
formula invented by
Bill James. The text
goes on to show the
relationship of the
prediction formula
to the Pythagorean
theorem, pointing
out a very cool
application of the
theorem to the
world of sports.
This informational
text is intended to
support reading in
the content area.
Researchers found
that the hungrier an
agouti is the more
likely it is to take
risks to find food; in
turn, they
determined that the
more risks an agouti
took the more likely
it was to be killed
by an ocelot.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text is a news article
describing the
habitat changes that
led to near
extinction for the
Kirtland’s warbler
due to loss of
breeding habitat and
Respiratory System:
Return of the Giant Zombie Virus:
an invasive brood
parasite. The article
also describes
conservation efforts,
including the idea
that the warbler is
likely now
dependent on
human assistance to
avoid extinction.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article describes the
respiratory system,
starting with the
major functions.
The article
describes
interactions that
take place between
the respiratory and
other systems of the
human body,
especially the
circulatory system.
The article
describes the
respiratory tract and
the many organs
that complete it.
Finally, the article
gives an overview
of the breathing
process and
concludes with
explanations of
various diseases and
disorders that affect
this system.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article discusses the
amazing discovery
of an ancient virus
found frozen in the
Russian permafrost
after 30,000 years.
The virus is huge in
size and only infects
amoebas.
Amazingly, the
virus is still
infectious after
remaining frozen
for so long.
This informational
text resource is
designed to support
reading in the
content area. The
article is provided
by NASA and
discusses how
farmers in Australia
are able to use
digital data
provided by U.S.
satellites. These
farmers are able to
use this satellite
data to monitor the
Satellite Data Help Australian Ranchers Meet the Rising Demand for Meat in condition of their
a Changing World:
land, and enables
them to better
manage their farms.
The author also
provides additional
examples of how
this data is used by
countries
throughout the
world. The article
helps demonstrate
how space
technology
positively impacts
the world. The text
also discusses the
impact of human
Saturn's Baby Moon:
Scary ‘Chicken’ Roamed Earth with T. Rex:
activities on the
environment.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content
area. NASA’s
Cassini space probe
has spotted an
object forming in
Saturn’s outer rings
that may turn out to
be a new moon. The
small shape must
leave the outer ring
to become an
official moon and
be given a formal
name. Astronomers
are thrilled to be
observing a new
moon possibly
being “born.”
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. Fossil
hunters discovered a
new, bird-like
dinosaur and they
think it looked
ridiculous!
Paleontologists have
found pieces of this
dinosaur before, but
couldn't put the
pieces together until
they found these
specific bones in
North Dakota. They
pieced together
information from
other fossils and
finally discovered
this silly looking
creature.
Scientists Anticipated Size and Location of 2012 Costa Rica Earthquake:
Seeking a Break in a 252 Million-Year-Old Mass Killing:
Shuffling Shenanigans:
This informational
text is intended to
support reading in
the content area. A
group of scientists
predict when and
where an
earthquake will
occur in Costa Rica
using the latest
technology and
research.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text describes how
scientists are
attempting to use
several pieces of
evidence to pinpoint
when a mass
extinction event
occurred at the end
of the Permian
Period. The text
points to a
connection between
increasing volcanic
eruptions, an
increase of carbon
dioxide in the
atmosphere, and
their relationship to
mass extinctions
before alluding to
the signs of how
human activity
could be pushing
Earth towards one.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. A
student in love with
magic card tricks
Snake-Ridden Florida Island Provides Unlikely Haven for Birds:
Soft Skills for Managers:
asks and answers
his own math
questions after
pursuing a career as
a mathematician in
order to solve them.
How many times
must a deck be
shuffled to achieve
a truly random mix
of cards? The
answer lies within.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
news article
describes the
mutualistic
relationship
between
cottonmouth snakes
and nesting birds on
Seahorse Key,
Florida, while
addressing concepts
of predator-prey and
invasive species.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
text is about the
importance of
managers having
soft skills in
addition to the
technical skills, and
it explains ten
important soft skills
for managers to
have. This article
aligns with IIT
Standard 08.06Demonstrate an
awareness of
Solar-Powered Plane:
Solving Bad Breath One Walnut at a Time:
specific job
requirements and
career paths (e.g.,
requirements,
characteristics
needed) in business
environments.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
Time for Kids article
describes the initial
stages of the crosscountry flight of the
Solar Impulse, an
aircraft powered
solely by solar
energy. The text
draws attention to
the use of solar
energy as
alternative power.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
science fair project
of two junior
scientists in Nigeria
may hold the key to
ending "morning
breath." Through
experimentation, the
two teenage girls
determined that the
nuts from an
indigenous tree, the
African Walnut,
were able to kill
bacteria that cause
bad breath. Their
project was
presented at the
Intel International
Some of Chocolate's Health Benefits May Trace to "Bugs":
Spiders In Your Fruit: A Good Thing:
Sun Sibling Spotted:
Science and
Engineering Fair.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Chocolate has been
known to have
health benefits for
hundreds of years,
but why? Because
of the large size of
the molecules found
in chocolate, the
body shouldn't be
able to absorb their
beneficial
components. A team
of scientists
investigated to see if
bacteria in the gut
are responsible for
breaking down
these large
molecules further,
enabling the human
body to absorb them
and take advantage
of chocolate's health
benefits.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article discusses the
use of spiders as a
pest management
strategy and points
out how, as a result,
they are sometimes
found in produce
brought home from
the store.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
Sun's Nearest Stellar Neighbor May Have Earth-Like Planet:
Super Smog in China:
reading in the
content area.
Scientists may have
found a star created
from the same
nebula that
produced our sun.
The spectrograph
composition data,
the motion of the
star through the
Milky Way, and its
age all suggest that
it is a "sibling" to
our Sun.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text includes
information on a
newly discovered
planet that orbits the
nearest star to our
sun. Proxima b,
while close, is
actually quite far—
more than four light
years from our
sun—yet it shows
potential for life,
close enough for the
planet to receive
radiation and energy
from its star. The
article also
discusses the
possibility of
sending robotic
missions there using
new technology that
could perhaps reach
the planet in twenty
years.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
Surprise! Fossils in a Flash:
reading in the
content area.
China’s air
pollution has at
times reached levels
more than 40 times
higher than World
Health Organization
safety standards. In
the past, the
government has
largely ignored the
problem. The winter
months bring smog
so thick it shuts
down some of
China’s major cities
for weeks. Now
China’s
government,
realizing it cannot
ignore the problem,
is planning to send
$800 billion to fight
pollution.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. In this
article, scientists
explore the fossil of
a dead fish whose
cells were perfectly
preserved from 100
million years
ago. The remains
led to further studies
of decay and
fossilization.
Taphonomy, the
study of what
happens after plants
and animals die, is
discussed in detail,
showing how
studying fossilized
animals can tell us
Text Resource: Sneaky! Virus Sickens Plants, but Helps Them Multiply:
The Amazing World Inside a Human Cell:
The Hydrologic Cycle:
about how they
evolved.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. It
describes how one
common virus takes
a sneaky route to
success. It doesn't
kill its leafy hosts,
instead, it makes
infected plants
smell more
attractive to bees.
This ensures the
virus will have a
new generation of
the plants to host it
in the future.
This informational
text resource is
designed to support
reading in the
content area. This
article describes
some of the
organelles in a cell
and explains their
functions. It takes
students "inside" the
cell, by "shrinking"
the students and
giving the students
perspective to the
size of these
organelles by
comparing them to
familiar objects.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text explains the
continuous
movement of water
The Jet Stream:
The Man Who Rocked Biology to its Core:
between the Earth's
surfaces and the
atmosphere.
This informational
text resource is
designed to support
reading in the
content area. The
purpose of the
article is to define
and describe the jet
stream. It explains
how the earth's
rotation and axis
affect the movement
of wind bands
around the Earth.
Interactions from
variables such as
locations of high
and low pressure
systems, warm and
cold air, and
seasonal changes
are also discussed.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article is mostly a
biography of
Charles Darwin,
including his studies
and what drove him
to be a biologist.
The second half of
the article discusses
his theory of
evolution by natural
selection and his
influences on the
development of the
theory. It gives a
synopsis of how
natural selection
operates.
The Money of Global Warming: Q&A with McKenzie Funk:
The Most Popular Stars :
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
climate on Earth is
changing and there
are individuals and
companies
positionining
themselves to make
money on these
changes. For
example, oil
companies are
acquiring leases in
previously frozen
regions, arid
farmland is being
purchased because
the land may be
better in the future
for growing crops
than it is now as a
result of climate
changes.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article discusses
how stars are
classified,
especially the
different types of
dwarf stars. It is still
under debate how
some star-like
objects, like brown
dwarfs, should be
classified. The text
also describes the
life cycle of stars,
explaining how they
change in size and
mass over time and
The Newest Superheavy in Town:
The Oldest Place on Earth:
eventually expand
and die.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Russian and U.S.
scientists have
collaborated to
create for the first
time element 117:
"ununseptium." The
element was created
inside a machine
called a cyclotron
when atoms of
berkelium and
calcium were
smashed together.
While the element
decays quickly, the
new discovery has
scientists very
excited, as it fills a
gap in the periodic
table.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Evidence that
supports how
Earth’s climate and
the position of its
continents have
changed over time
has been found in
an unlikely place:
Antarctica.
Preserved plants
and insects over 20
million years old,
similar to specimens
on other continents,
have been
discovered. These
The Quake That Shook Up Geology:
The Real Universe:
The Sun's Giant Heat Elevators:
discoveries provide
scientists with
evidence to support
the continental drift
of the landmass
once known as
Gondwana.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article recounts the
Great Alaskan
Earthquake of 1964,
a magnitude 9.2
event and the
second strongest
earthquake ever
recorded. It then
explains how the
earthquake helped
turn plate tectonics
from a theory to a
certainty.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article discusses the
size of the universe
and presents data
showing how
astronomers have
developed their
hypothesis.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article describes the
discovery of megaplumes of plasma
within the sun.
The Transfer of Heat Energy:
Thirst for Water Moves and Shakes California:
These long lasting,
larger than Earth
heat elevators may
be the reason the
latitudes of the sun
rotate at different
speeds. Two
different scientists
have analyzed data
that support this
possible
explanation.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text explains the
three ways heat
passes into and
through the
atmosphere by
relating examples
from everyday life
to atmospheric
forms of heat
transfer.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Humans have been
pumping large
amounts of
groundwater from
the Central Valley
of California for
their own hydration
needs. Recent
research has found
that this loss of
mass is causing the
Earth's crust to shift,
which may be
causing small
earthquakes and the
slight rise of
This year, Monarchs cover a little more ground:
Tiny Planet Mercury Shrinks Further:
mountains in
California.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Populations of
Monarch butterflies
in Mexico have
been collected since
1993. The 2015year population
covers 2.79 acres,
which is an increase
since the 2014-year
(1.65 acres) but
down substantially
since the highest
record in 1996 of
44.5 acres.
Determining the
drop in Monarch
populations is a
significant area of
research and
conservation efforts.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text explains why
the planet Mercury
has actually been
shrinking in
diameter, as well as
how scientists have
proved it through
observation. The
article details their
observations and
then compares
Mercury to Earth to
show why our
planet is not
shrinking as well.
Titanic Sunk by "Supermoon" and Celestial Alignment?:
Trees Trap Ants Into Sweet Servitude:
Tropical Species at Great Risk from Climate Change: Study:
This informational
text is intended to
support reading in
the content
area. This news
article describes an
astronomer’s theory
that a particularly
strong series of tides
contributed to an
abundance of
icebergs and may
have resulted in the
sinking of the
Titanic. It is
complete with the
evidence behind the
theory and a
contrary opinion
from another
astronomer.
This informational
text is intended to
support reading in
the content area.
This is a news
article describing
the partnership
between acacia trees
and the ants which
live on them, as
well as the
manipulation of the
ants into an
addictive
relationship by the
tree.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article describes a
study that suggests
tropical animals are
in danger of
extinction due to
climate change—
Tungsten vs. Lead in the Snowball Derby:
Understanding Medical Radiation:
Ununpentium, The Newest Element:
more so than
animals living in
polar climates. This
is because these
species are already
at their thermal
tolerance limits, and
further increases in
temperature could
greatly lower their
fitness.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. Stock
car driver Chase
Elliott would have
won the Snowball
Derby; however, he
broke the “no
tungsten” rule. Race
cars are only
allowed to have
ballasts made from
lead, not the heavier
element tungsten.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text explains the
different kinds of
radiation, as well as
its sources, benefits,
and risks, and goes
on to discuss the
history of medical
radiation.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article gives a brief
history on
Mendeleev’s
Urine May Make Mars Travel Possible:
Virginia Acts to Reduce Population of Wild Pigs, the ‘Most Invasive
Animal’ in U.S.:
organization of the
first periodic table
and then discusses
the discovery and
short life of
ununpentium.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article describes
how technology is
developing to not
only recycle the
water out of human
urine but to pull
energy from it to
help power its own
recycling. The text
describes why this
is a necessary
process for
extended space
travel and how a
similar system is
already in place on
the International
Space Station. The
text concludes that
this recycling
method could have
several Earth-borne
uses as well.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article describes the
extreme population
growth and range
expansion of wild
pigs, as well as how
this invasive animal
is damaging local
ecosystems.
Vitamin Can Keep Electronics "Healthy":
Was the Moon Once Part of Earth?:
Water, Water, not Everywhere:
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. When
electric charges
build up on objects,
static electricity can
occur. Static
electricity can be
particularly harmful
to electronic devices
if there are small
static discharges.
Researchers have
found that treating
electronics with
Vitamin E can help
reduce static
electricity by
removing free
radicals that are
attached to the
charges.
This text supports
reading in the
content area. This
article explores the
theories behind the
origin of the moon
and how scientists'
understanding of the
moon's origin is
evolving based on
new research.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article describes the
cause and effect of
farming and
agriculture on the
groundwater
reserve. The article
explains the water
cycle and how
We Are Stardust:
Weather/ Whiz Kids/ Climate:
scientists used two
satellites named
Tom and Jerry to
track the changes in
the amount of
groundwater on
earth. The article
also details how
gravity played a role
in helping satellites
detect the changes
in water level.
Finally, the article
explains how
farming uses the
groundwater reserve
stored many years
ago, and how it
depletes this reserve
as a result.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
text examines how
humans and all
things around us are
made of elements
created in stars. The
article references
fusion, the powerful
collision of
enormous stars, and
the intense
explosion of
supernovas. All of
this is tied to the
creation of heavier
elements that hurtle
through space, to be
reassembled as
distant solar
systems.
This informational
text is intended to
support reading in
the content area.
Weathering and Erosion:
Weird Lizard Fossil Reveals Clues to Snake Evolution, Experts Say:
What Causes Thunder and Lightning?:
The text covers
many topics about
weather and climate
including the water
cycle, seasons,
greenhouse effect,
and climate change.
This resource
supports reading in
the content area.
The article explains
the difference
between weathering
and erosion, gives
examples of each,
and describes why
they are both
important processes.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article describes a
recently discovered
marine fossil
demonstrating limb
reduction. The fossil
may shed light on
how the
evolutionary
process resulted in
modern snakes.
This informational
text resource is
designed to support
reading in the
content area. The
text describes what
causes lightning and
examines the
science behind
cloud-to-ground
lightning strikes. It
also discusses what
causes thunder and
explains why we see
the lightning before
What Makes a Dog?:
What Separates Science From Non-Science?:
we hear the thunder.
The last section of
the text provides
important rules
about lightning
safety and lists ways
to stay safe during a
lightning storm.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Studying dog DNA
may have many
applications
including helping
scientists to have a
better understanding
of canine origins
and how dogs
became
domesticated.
Understanding and
locating certain
genes has many
breeding
applications.
Studying and
understanding dog
diseases may be
able to further the
study of human
diseases.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Written by two
scientists, the article
explains how "hard
sciences" and "soft
sciences" are
different. The
authors list the five
concepts that
characterize
What the Appendix is Good For:
When a Species Can't Stand the Heat:
scientifically
rigorous studies and
determine that,
while not inferior,
social sciences like
economics are not
truly "scientific."
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
appendix has long
been thought to be
useless. However,
new research
suggests that the
appendix actually
can have a healthy
function - to harbor
bacteria beneficial
to the immune
system. This would
have been vital
early in humans'
evolutionary
history, when the
chance of infection
was much higher
and medicine was
lacking, and may
still play that role
for people in less
developed parts of
the world.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article discusses
how global
warming could
leave New
Zealand’s tuatara (a
reptile species)
dangerously short
on females. When
When is a Comet Not a Comet?:
Where Native Americans Come From:
Who Was Ida?:
the temperature
rises as little as one
degree, far more
males than females
are born. One island
habitat is now 75%
males, with fewer,
frailer females.
Without
intervention, the
tuatara could
become extinct. The
article offers some
possible solutions,
including having the
colonies relocated
to cooler islands.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
discovery of a
comet-like asteroid
baffles scientists
and poses questions
about its formation,
make-up, and
changing
appearance.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
article describes
how scientists have
found that Native
Americans have
ancestral roots in
Asia using DNA
evidence from a
12,600 year old
toddler skeleton
from the Clovis
culture in Montana.
This informational
text resource is
Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On: Busy Stretch for Large Earthquakes:
Why Are Bees Vanishing?:
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
news article
thoroughly
describes a
transitional primate
fossil and includes
artist illustrations of
the animal in its
environment,
sidebar information
describing the
Messel Pit, life for
animals in a maar,
and how the fossil
was named. The
article also includes
a pop-up glossary of
potential
problematic
vocabulary.
This article is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text investigates
whether the number
of large magnitude
earthquakes has
significantly
increased. The
article explores the
challenge of trying
to determine why
the amount and
intensity of
earthquakes can
vary across time.
The text also briefly
explores the recent
rise in man-made
earthquakes.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. Not
Why Don't I Fall Out When a Roller Coaster Goes Upside Down?:
Will My Plastic Bag Still Be Here in 2507?:
many people will
say they like bees,
but they are a very
necessary part of
our environment.
Scientists are
struggling to find an
answer—and,
hopefully, a
solution—as to why
so many bee
colonies are
vanishing. They
believe there are
several
environmental
factors that are
killing these insects.
This informational
text resource is
designed to support
reading in the
content area. This
short article was
written to answer
the question, "Why
don't I fall out when
a roller coaster goes
upside down?" The
answer to the
question results in
an interesting article
that combines
scientific
information about
the physics of roller
coasters, along with
some fun facts and
photographs.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. In this
text, scientists
conduct
experiments to
determine the
decomposition rate
of plastic bags.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Chinese researchers
recently created a
new "lightest solid,"
an aerogel of carbon
nanotubes with a
Will the World's Newest Lightest Material Be Instrumental in Cleaning Up
density of 0.16
Toxic Oil Spills?:
mg/cm3. Unlike its
aerogel
predecessors, the
substance has
practical
applications and
may prove
extremely helpful in
cleaning up toxic oil
spills.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
text describes a
newly found
parasitic bacterial
protein, SAP54,
which turns host
Wily Bacteria Create "Zombie" Plants :
plants into nonflowering
"zombies" for the
sole benefit of the
parasites. This
knowledge may
enable scientists to
help plants defend
against these
attackers.
This informational
text resource is
With Stunning New Stores, Starbucks has a New Design Strategy: Act Local: intended to support
reading in the
content area. The
World’s Biggest Volcano is Hiding under the Sea:
article describes
how Starbucks
designs its stores
and how some of
those design plans
have changed based
upon customers'
views. This article
aligns with CTE
standards for
marketing, sales &
service.
Specifically,
standard 01.03:
Identify the
relationships
between people's
wants and needs and
marketing activities.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Scientists have
recently identified
the largest volcano
on Earth-Tamu
Massif-which is
found below the
surface of the
Pacific Ocean. Due
to its underlying
geology, the
volcano is mostly
found below the
ocean floor, at the
edge of two tectonic
plates. It formed
when magma
emerged as the
plates pulled apart.
The article
compares Tamu
Massif to other
giant volcanoes on
Earth and on other
planets.
Your Boss is Watching:
Your Inner Neandertal:
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area. This
article addresses
and debunks 10
myths employees
often believe about
using the Internet at
work for personal
use and their right
to privacy. This
article is aligned
with IIT Standard
06.01-Demonstrate
awareness of the
following
workplace
essentials: Quality
customer service;
business ethics;
confidentiality of
information;
copyright
violations; accepted
workplace rules,
regulations,
policies, procedures,
processes, and
workplace safety,
and appropriate
attire and grooming.
This informational
text resource is
intended to support
reading in the
content area.
Scientists used
ancient bones to
compare Neandertal
DNA to that of
modern humans
from around the
globe. The results
are surprising: many
of us are closer to
Zika Virus Raises Alarm as It Spreads in the Americas:
Neandertals than
previously thought.
Once considered
very unlikely,
scientists now
believe that humans
and Neandertals
may have
interbred.
This informational
text resource is
designed to support
reading in the
content area. The
text describes the
emergence of the
Zika virus and the
threat it may pose to
the United States.
Information is
provided about how
the virus is
transmitted, and the
connection between
Zika and
microcephaly is
explored.
Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) STEM Lesson
Name
Description
Students will explore how to make inferences about a population
through random sampling, estimate population density, and explore
the impacts that an invasive species can have on the local
ecosystem. Students will use 3D printed lionfish to collect samples
3D MEA: Lionfish Invasion:
of lionfish in various habitats. Students will consider multiple
factors when responding to a request from the Florida Department
for Protecting the Environment to develop a method for selecting
the location most in need of protection from the invasive lionfish.
Students will explore how to make inferences about a population
through random sampling, estimate population density, and explore
the impacts that an invasive species can have on the local
Lionfish MEA:
ecosystem. Students will use 3D-printed lionfish to collect
population samples in various habitats. Students will consider
multiple factors when responding to a request from the Florida
Department for Protecting the Environment to develop a method
for selecting the location most in need of protection from the
invasive lionfish.
Lesson Plan
Name
All “Tired” Up:
Arctic Algae :
Arguing for Evolution using Fossils:
Description
In this lesson
students will utilize
mathematical
computation skills
involving
percentages and
critical thinking skills
to select the best tire
deals advertised.
In this lesson,
students will analyze
an informational
text intended to
support reading in the
content area. Â The
article explains how
climate change is
reducing the amount
of sea ice in the
Arctic Ocean. Within
this sea ice is found
algae that forms the
base of Arctic food
webs. As the sea ice
goes, so does the
algae, which in turn
could affect the entire
Arctic ecosystem.
 This lesson
includes a notetaking guide, textdependent questions,
a writing prompt,
answer keys, and a
writing rubric.
Â
Students will review
fossil formation and
evolutionary theory.
Then students will
Atomic Structure Unit: Lesson 3 - What's my element?:
Atomic Theory Exhibit:
Basketball Tournament:
study some intriguing
fossil progressions
and evaluate how
well they support the
theory of evolution.
This is the final
lesson 3 in the Atom
Structure unit. This
lesson allows
students to program
in Scratch and switch
the costumes based
on the operational
conditions placed on
the sprite. The final
product in this lesson
will showcase the
student’s
conceptual
understanding of the
atomic structure in a
computer science
medium.
Students take visitors
on a trip through time
to view the
development of the
atomic theory.
During the
presentation they list
scientists who
contributed to our
understanding, give
dates, and display
diagrams that
represent the atom in
various stages of its
development.
Students at a local
middle school are
interested in
attending a basketball
tournament in
Orlando. There is an
entrance fee and
hotel costs to
consider. Students
must calculate the
Block the Rays:
Bottymals @ RobottoysTM:
Boxing Candles:
total cost and the cost
per student to attend
the tournament. Each
hotel has different
qualities that could
influence the
students' choice of
which hotel is best
for their team.
This is a 6th grade
MEA. This MEA will
ask students to work
as a team to rank
various fabrics to see
which one is the best
at blocking the sun.
In this Model
Eliciting Activity
(MEA), students will
learn how to use very
different pieces of
information and data
to select the best
"Bottymals" for a
company that wants
to manufacture them
and place them on the
market. The MEA
includes information
about animal/insect
anatomy
(locomotion),
manufacturing
materials used in
robotics, and physical
science of the 6th
grade level.
Extensive
information is
provided to students,
thus pre-requisites
are minimal.
This lesson is
designed for 7th
grade students and is
best suited for
advanced students. It
can be used (with
Bubble Burst Corporation's Chewing Gum Prototypes:
Building Materials and Locations :
Cell Recycling: Nobel Awarded for Unveiling How Cells Recycle Their
Trash:
modifications) in the
general education
classroom for 7th
grade or in an
advanced 6th grade
classroom. In this
MEA, students select
jars for candles based
on a variety of factors
and then design
boxes to contain the
jars.
Students will
calculate unit rate &
circumference,
compare & order
decimals, convert
metric units, and
round decimals.
Bubble Burst
Corporation has
developed some
chewing gum
prototypes and has
requested the
students to assist in
the selection of
which gum
prototypes will be
mass produced by
using both
quantitative and
qualitative data to
rank the prototypes
for Bubble Burst
Corporation.
Students will apply
their knowledge of
hazardous weather to
determine a system to
rank where to build a
new school and to
select the type of
building materials
that should be used.
In this lesson,
students will analyze
an informational text
Champion Volleyball Team:
Concert Venue Building Materials MEA:
intended to support
reading in the content
area. Cell biologist,
Yoshinori Ohsumi,
won the Nobel Prize
for medicine for his
research of how cells
recycle unused
materials in order to
maintain
homeostasis. The text
describes his research
and contains
statements from other
scientists supporting
Ohsumi as the right
choice for the award.
This lesson includes
a note-taking guide,
text-dependent
questions, a writing
prompt, answer
keys and a writing
rubric.
Students will help
create a
championship
volleyball team by
selecting 4 volleyball
players to be added to
open positions on the
team. The students
will use quantitative
(ratios and decimals)
and qualitative data
to make their
decisions.
Students will analyze
sets of data to
determine
what construction
company
proposal would be
best suited for
building an outdoor
concert venue.
Students will need to
consider sound
Cool Special Effects:
Cosmic Nose Cones:
Dig It! (A Thematic Integrated Geology Unit):
quality to the concert
patrons, disturbances
to the local
community, and
safety.
In this MEA, students
will apply the
concepts of heat
transfer, especially
convection. Students
will analyze factors
such as temperature
that affect the
behavior of fluids as
they form convection
currents.
Students will design
specific nose cones
for a water bottle
rocket. They will test
them to find out and
rate which one is
most effective in
terms of accuracy,
speed, distance, and
cost effectiveness.
This information will
be used as criteria for
a company that
designs nose cones
for orbitary missions.
This lesson (2 parts)
is an engaging way to
strengthen student
understanding of the
Law of Superposition
and evidence of
Earth's changes over
time. Students will
excavate "fossils"
from plastic tubs in
class and then have
the option of a larger
outside excavation.
The lesson not only
supports science
benchmarks but Math
and Language Arts
Education and the Economy:
Everything is NOT Okeedokee in Okeechobee!:
Evolution in the City:
Standards as well and
has an optional
Social Studies
extension. Materials
are required but can
be easily obtained
and are reusable year
after year. The more
imagination you put
into setting the
context, the more
powerful the lesson's
outcome.
Students will learn
about how investing
in education affects
the economy by
interpreting data and
writing a persuasive
letter to the Chamber
of Commerce.
Students will gain
background
knowledge and
develop a greater
understanding of how
human impact has
affected local
waterways. Students
will work
collaboratively to
develop and defend
an argument about
how urbanization and
different types of
pollution have
resulted in water flow
changes from Lake
Okeechobee.
In this lesson,
students will analyze
an informational
textintended to
support reading in the
content area. This
article describes new
research suggesting
urban life creates
Family Fishing Trip MEA:
Fast Food Frenzy:
evolutionary changes
in plants and animals.
Examples of changes
to an urban growing
plant (the white
clover) and a
Leapin’ Lizard
are described as they
evolve to suit their
new environment.
This lesson includes
a note-taking guide,
text-dependent
questions, a writing
prompt, answer keys,
and a writing rubric.
Students will analyze
a set of data to
determine the best
location for a family
fishing trip based on
annual and monthly
weather patterns.
Students will
consider average
number of rainy days,
wind speed, average
number of sunny
days, and relative
humidity for each
location.
In this activity,
students will engage
critically with
nutritional
information and
macronutrient
content of several
fast food meals. This
is an MEA that
requires students to
build on prior
knowledge of
nutrition and
expressions/equations
to evaluate fast food
meal options using
Fastest Route:
For Students by Students:
Frozen Treats Storage Dilemma:
new, 8th grade
function
This MEA requires
students to formulate
a comparison-based
solution to a problem
involving finding the
fastest driving routes
from home to work
considering different
aspects. Students are
provided the context
of the problem, a
request letter from a
client asking them to
provide a
recommendation, and
data relevant to the
situation. Students
utilize the data to
create a defensible
model solution to
present to the client.
Students are
presented with the
task of evaluating
several types of
fabric based on each
of its characteristics.
They need to analyze
their current uniform
needs and decide by
choosing which type
of fabric will best fit
their uniform needs.
Then they have to
write a report
explaining the
procedure they used
to analyze their
choices, reasoning
for their ranking and
make the requested
recommendations.
In this MEA, students
must work as a team
to design a procedure
to select the best
Grandparent Interview:
Great Leaders of Ancient Egypt:
storage cooler for
their frozen treats.
The main focus of the
MEA is to apply
scientific knowledge
and describe that heat
flows in predictable
ways. Students will
analyze data in order
to arrive at a
scientifically sound
solution to the
problem.
Students will
interview a
grandparent, relative,
or friend on their
perspective of a
famous event in
history and write a
news article based
upon the interview.
They will also do
research on the event,
using a variety of
sources, to develop
questions to ask
during the interview.
Students will type
their paper and
submit it for peer
review before giving
a final copy to their
teacher. The teacher
will then create a
newspaper template
on a word processor
and compile a
complete newspaper
for the class to enjoy!
In this lesson,
students will learn
about seven of
Egypt's most famous
pharaohs. They will
discuss leadership
styles and draw
conclusions about the
Headphones That Capture Teens Attention:
Holy Jumping Earthworms, Batman!:
success of each of
these pharaohs. After
learning about the
personality and life
of each pharaoh,
students will break
into groups to create
in-depth projects
about one of these
seven pharaohs and
will teach others in
the class about this
leader.
This is a
interdisciplinary
MEA lesson for
science, writing, and
math. This lesson ask
students develop a
criteria for selecting
headphones and
develop an equation
that supports their
choices.
In this lesson,
students will analyze
an informational text
that shows how a
seemingly harmless
invasive species of
jumping worm may
cause much more
destruction than once
thought. The Asian
jumping worm eats
the debris on the
forest floor at a rate
that out-competes the
native worms so
much so that it is
causing a number of
problems, including
forest re-growth. This
lesson plan is
designed to support
reading in the content
area. It includes a
note-taking guide,
How Fast can Dominoes Travel in a Chain Reaction?:
text-dependent
questions, a writing
prompt, answer keys,
and a writing
rubric.Â
The students will
complete an inquiry
activity using
dominoes to
determine what
variables affect the
speed of the chain
reaction. Students
will have to consider
and decide on the
best spacing between
dominoes to achieve
the fastest travel time
and ensure the
spacing remains
constant by carefully
measuring the
distance between
each domino. They
will set up 5
dominoes at a time to
set off a chain
reaction alongside
another 5 dominoes
space differently.
Students can create a
bar graph to show
how the spacing
affects the speed.
Students can have
fun while learning or
reinforcing their
understanding of
potential and kinetic
energy, measuring
distance, measuring
elapsed time,
recording data,
making and
interpreting graphs
and using the
distance formula to
I'll Fly Today:
Introduction to Classification (1 of 3):
It's Getting Hot in Here:
Land Management from Outer Space:
calculate the rate of
speed.
Students will use the
provided data to
calculate distance and
total cost. Students
will consider this
data and other
provided criteria to
assist a travel agent
in determining which
airline to choose for a
client.
This activity is
geared for sixth
graders as they are
first introduced to the
relevance of
taxonomy and the
Linnaean system of
classification, along
with the concept of
Domains. It is part 1
of 3 lessons.
Students will look at
heat transfer and
investigate radiation,
conduction, and
convection.
In this lesson,
students will analyze
an informational text
that explains how
ranchers in Australia
are using satellite
data to more
effectively manage
their land. The text
also describes how
NASA's satellite
technology is used by
farmers in other parts
of the world,
providing them with
data to help them
track changes to their
land in near real-time
Levee Construction Company MEA:
Lightning Strikes! :
Long Live Periphyton!:
and over time. This
lesson is designed to
support reading in the
content area. This
lesson includes a
note-taking guide,
text-dependent
questions and a
writing prompt,
sample answer keys,
and a writing rubric.
Students will analyze
a set of data to
determine what type
of construction
material would be
best to construct a
levee out of. Students
will consider not only
cost, but also
ecological impact and
disturbances to the
local community.
In this lesson,
students will analyze
an informational text
that addresses what
causes lightning and
thunder. The text also
outlines ways to stay
safe during a
lightning storm. This
informational text is
designed to support
reading in the content
area. The lesson plan
includes a notetaking guide, textdependent questions,
a writing prompt,
answer keys, and a
writing rubric.
In this Model
Eliciting Activity
(MEA), students will
become familiar with
the use of scientific
names, Linnaeus'
Magical Science Lesson:
binomial
nomenclature, and
Classification of
Living Things. At the
same time students
will be learning about
periphyton in the
Everglades, how it
forms, its importance,
and the factors that
affect its
development. They
will engage in
solving a problem
situation in which
they will have to
select the best area to
reinsert some fish
species that depend
on periphyton.
Students will choose
a "cool" scientific
experiment ("trick")
from informational
text, follow a precise
multi-step procedure
to carry out the
experiment, research
the scientific
explanation for the
result and using
accurate reasoning
explain the science to
a broadcast audience.
Students will be
creating a short video
clip with the theme
"Is it Magic or is it
Science?" to air on
the school CCTV.
They will dress up
like magicians and
scientists and
perform a science
experiment for the
audience. After the
experiment the
debate will begin and
Mars Rovers:
MEA NASA Salaries:
ultimately the
magician will give in
and admit that it was
science, not magic.
Students will
research, perform,
write, edit, record,
create video clips
with music and text.
Students will work in
teams to create a
procedure and
explain their
reasoning to rank
different rover
models to determine
which one could be
the best to use to on
Mars as a part of
Mars Exploration
Project.
This is a NASAthemed, MEA
(Model Eliciting
Activity) lesson that
challenges students to
solve a real world
open ended problem,
while promoting
collaboration through
teamwork. This
lesson asks each
group of students to
choose five positions
and assign salaries to
the positions with a
given budget of
$500,000. The
students' original
decision (and "twist")
will be based on
information from the
client's letter(s) and
data set(s). Groups
are to write a detailed
letter to the client of
the procedure used.
Medium Needed:
Moons: Searching for Signs of Life on 'Water Worlds':
In this MEA, groups
of students will
evaluate the media
for growing plants
hydroponically in
order to help restore
some native species
of the Everglades.
Students will learn
about hydroponics as
an alternative
agricultural practice,
the rock cycle, types
of landforms in
Florida, and will use
different methods to
analyze data and
arrive to conclusions,
as well as present
them in a detailed
description of
procedures and
conclusions,
including
justification and
evidence for each
decision.
In this lesson,
students will analyze
an informational text
that explains the
importance of
examining moons in
our solar system for
signs of life. The text
provides evidence on
several moons of
Saturn and Jupiter
and explains how
these moons might be
good candidates for
potentially harboring
life, in part due to the
presence of water.
This lesson is
designed to support
reading in the content
area. The lesson plan
Mystery Powder Investigation:
NASAnt hire Space Company:
includes a graphic
organizer, textdependent questions,
a writing prompt,
answer keys, and a
writing rubric.
Numerous options to
extend the lesson are
also included.
Students will use
their skills as
scientists to identify a
mystery white
powder. This lesson
is a hands-on,
engaging way to
build students'
understanding of
physical and
chemical properties
of several common
compounds.
This is a NASAthemed, MEA
(Model Eliciting
Activity), STEM
(Science Technology
Engineering Math)
lesson designed to
challenge students to
solve a real world
open ended problem.
It also promotes
collaboration through
teamwork. This
particular lesson asks
students to assist a
client in choosing the
best three companies
(rank in order) to be
considered for hire to
launch an orbiter into
space. The students'
original decision (and
"twist") will be based
on information from
the client's letter(s)
and data set(s).
Newscast Weather Report:
Organelles to Scale:
This activity engages
the students in their
own investigation on
weather conditions
for a newly formed
storm and forecasting
of its path including
time elapsed and the
possibility of
landfall. It involves
the knowledge of
coordinate plane and
its application in
ocean navigation. It
also involves unit
rate, measurement
conversion and
scales.
In this lesson,
students will analyze
an informational text
that addresses
organelles in terms of
their size,
characteristics, and
functions. This
article, designed to
support reading in the
content area,
"shrinks" the student
to put the size of
certain organelles in
perspective with
familiar
objects/places. It also
describes the
characteristics and
functions of the
nucleus, certain
membranes,
endoplasmic
reticulum, ribosomes,
Golgi apparatus, and
the mitochondria.
This lesson plan
includes a notetaking guide, textdependent questions,
Pandas and Horses "Duke It Out":
Picturing World Wars: The Great War & The Greatest Generation at War:
a writing prompt,
answer keys, and a
writing rubric.
Numerous options to
extend the lesson are
also included.
In this lesson,
students will analyze
an informational text
designed to support
reading in the content
area. The article
introduces readers to
a new threat to giant
panda survival:
horses. The article
explains how both
species are
competing for the
limited bamboo
supply in the Wolong
Nature Reserve. This
lesson includes a
note-taking guide,
text-dependent
questions, a writing
prompt, answer keys,
and a writing rubric.
This 3-day lesson
focuses on helping
7th grade students
analyze propaganda
posters from both
world wars to better
understand how the
U.S. government
used propaganda to
acquire civilian
support. Students will
analyze the images
and phrases used in
the posters, the
purpose for each
poster, any biases
exhibited, and even
generate questions
about each poster that
can be used for
Planning the perfect wedding:
Pokemontures App.:
additional research.
Through analysis of
the posters students
will be introduced to
some of the
challenges America
faced by going to
war. For the end of
lesson assessment,
students will write an
explanatory essay
about the
government's use of
propaganda in these
wars. The posters,
graphic organizers,
answer keys, and a
rubric to assess
student writing have
been included with
the lesson.
Students will decide
what is the best
month to celebrate an
outdoor wedding.
The couple is looking
for the perfect
wedding day. What is
the definition of a
perfect day? It has to
be a Saturday or
Sunday with a 20%
or less probability of
rain and sunny but
not too hot. Based on
the information
provided , students
will find the month in
which the probability
of having a rainy day
and the probability of
having a super hot
day (temperature
higher than 75º F) are
minimal.
In this Model
Eliciting Activity
(MEA), students will
Profit Plaza:
understand how
global patterns affect
the temperature of an
area by studying the
features of an
application's virtual
creatures called the
"Pokemontures."
These creatures have
the ability to match
the temperature of
their environment. As
students study the
Pokemontures'
features and calculate
their approximate
temperature, they
will apply concepts
linked to the patterns
that affect
temperature. Students
will also review heat
transfers and sea/land
breezes with the use
of this MEA.
This lesson requires
students to use
mathematical data
and logic/reasoning
to place vendors into
retail spaces in a
shopping plaza.
Students will first
rank five vendor
types on their
profitability (based
on average sales and
average
overhead/upkeep
costs), then place the
vendor types into the
11-13 retail spaces.
They are also
required to find the
area of each space
and calculate the total
leasing charges. The
plans for the plaza
Prom Preparations:
Proxima b: How Earth-like Is It?:
Pythons in the Everglades MEA:
are given on a
coordinate plane, so
students will need to
find the lengths of
horizontal and
vertical line segments
(using the
coordinates of the
endpoints) to
calculate the areas of
the rectangular and
composite spaces.
Students will make
decisions concerning
features of their
prom. Students will
generate an equation
to map attendance.
In this lesson,
students will analyze
an informational
text intended to
support reading in
the content area.
 The article
showcases the recent
discovery of a planet
orbiting our nearest
star that may have the
necessary ingredients
to harbor life. Â The
possibly Earth-like
planet is 4 light years
away, however.
 How might we
explore it in greater
detail? Â The lesson
plan includes a notetaking guide, textdependent questions,
a writing prompt,
answer keys, and a
writing rubric.
Numerous options to
extend the lesson are
also included.
In this MEA, students
will investigate the
Rate Your Local Produce Market:
Real Estate Rental Agency MEA:
Robots Get a Job:
introduction of a nonnative, i.e. invasive,
species to the Florida
Everglades: the
Burmese Python.
Students will
investigate the
complex predatorprey relationship and
learn why this could
damage the
ecosystem
permanently.
Students will analyze
a set of data to
determine which
method of eradication
would be best and
most effective,
considering factors
such as cost, the
amount of manpower necessary to
implement it, the
effect it would have
on the python
population, and its
impact on other
species.
The students will
rank the local
produce markets by
using qualitative and
quantitative data. The
students will have to
calculate unit rates
and compare and
order them.
Students will choose
the best location for a
family relocating and
will consider all of
the factors to make
the best decision.
In this MEA, students
will select the robots
that are more
efficient at doing a
Scout Robot: Mass, Density, Volume, Weight:
Search for Extraterrestrial Life:
certain type of job.
They will have to
analyze data tables
that include force,
force units, mass,
mass units, and
friction.
In this MEA, students
must select which
material to use in the
development of an
advanced military
scout robot. Students
must analyze data
about each
material’s
individual properties
that would make it a
valid choice for
military or police
service. Students
must complete
calculations to
determine material
density as well as the
overall mass and
weight of the robot.
This lesson focuses
on the characteristic
properties of density,
unit conversion, and
differentiating
between mass and
weight.
Students rank
locations that NASA
should search within
our solar system for
life. Students begin
by reading about the
origins of life on
Earth and locations
within our solar
system with the
potential for life.
After students create
a ranked list, they
must report their
Shake It Up:
Sinkholes Under Your Home:
findings to NASA in
the form of a letter
that also includes the
procedure used in
ranking their choices.
A second request is
sent from NASA to
include distance from
Earth as a factor in
the ranking of
locations and
students must return
a letter with their
revised rankings and
the new procedure
used.
After creating a
series of simulated
earthquakes with
various magnitudes
in a virtual
manipulative online,
the students will
investigate
liquefaction by
shaking fishing
weights on top of
three types of soil.
Upon completion of
journal notes on
earthquakes, students
will write an essay
explaining the cause
of earthquakes, the
ways energy from
earthquakes moves,
and the effects of
earthquakes on the
Earth's surface.
In this MEA,
students will
determine the best
location for building
homes based on
sinkhole data.
Students will
determine the best
location for building
Smith Valley Farms Horse Pedigrees:
Sneaky! Virus Sickens Plants, but Helps Them Multiply:
new homes for a
growing population,
investigate sinkhole
data, and determine
the best location for
the new homes.
The owner of newly
opened Smith Valley
Farms is looking to
breed the next
generation of top race
horses. In this MEA,
students will study
race horse pedigrees
as well as horse
racing data to
determine which is
the best stallion to
breed with a filly.
Students will have to
read a horse pedigree,
calculate percentages
based on a data table,
and complete
Punnett squares to
determine genetic
probability.
In this lesson,
students will analyze
an informational text
intended to support
reading in the content
area. The article
describes one
common virus that
takes a sneaky route
to success. It
doesn’t kill its
leafy hosts, instead, it
makes infected plants
smell more attractive
to bees. This ensures
the virus will have a
new generation of the
plants to host it in the
future. This lesson
includes a notetaking guide, text-
Spheres all around us!:
Spheres of Influence: Interactions of Earth's Spheres and their Effect on
Ocean Currents:
Summer Camp Fun:
dependent questions,
a writing prompt,
answer keys, and a
rubric.
In this lesson, the
students will learn
about the five spheres
of the Earth and how
they interact.
In this lesson,
students will analyze
an informational text,
maps, and data tables
intended to support
reading in the content
area. The article,
"Climate Change
Could Stall Atlantic
Ocean Current"
explains how
interactions between
Earth's spheres can
have a global impact
on ocean currents,
climate, and weather.
This lesson includes
a note-taking guide,
text-dependent
questions, a writing
prompt, answer
keys and a writing
rubric.
In this problem,
students will work in
groups to rank
summer camps. They
must first calculate
the discounted price
of each camp by
applying a discount
percentage. Then
they must calculate
the number of weeks
they can attend each
camp based on the
discounted price and
predetermined
budget. There are 5
Survival Journal Part One: Surviving the Epidemic:
Survival Journal Part Three: Surviving the Epidemic: Planting Tomatoes:
students going to the
camp. Students will
be given a data set to
help them develop a
procedure for ranking
the camps. In their
teams, they will write
a letter giving their
procedures and
explanation of the
strategy they used.
Students will practice
adding, subtracting,
multiplying and
dividing numbers to
the thousands and
will work with
percentage discounts.
Rubrics are included
to help evaluate
student work.
In this lesson, each
student will explain
and document in a
science journal how
they will over come a
natural
disaster/plague for 15
days. They will
continue with part
two of this lesson
"Outdoor
Gardening."
This is a detailed
lesson based on the
germination of seeds,
science vocabulary of
plants, diseases, and
insect infestations
with tomato plants.
Tomatoes grow
nutrients that the
human body needs to
survive. It is a
companion lesson to:
Survival Journal
Parts 1 and 2
The bigger the tremble the bigger the trouble!:
The Jet Stream: Rivers of Air:
available on
CPALMS.
Students will
demonstrate
earthquakes using
graham crackers.
They will then
discover the after
effects, (after shocks
and tsunamis), and
earthquake has on
Mother Earth. Lastly,
they will discover not
all tsunamis are
enormous tidal
waves. This is lesson
3 of a 4-part unit.
Lesson 1 (ID 45876),
Lesson 2 (ID 45856),
Lesson 4 (ID 45984)
In this lesson,
students will analyze
an informational
text intended to
support reading in the
content area. Â The
article begins by
defining the jet
stream and then
describes how the
Earth's rotation and
axis affect the
movement of wind
bands around the
earth. Interactions
from variables such
as the locations of
high and low
pressure systems,
warm and cold air,
and seasonal changes
are also discussed.
The lesson plan
includes a notetaking guide, textdependent questions,
a writing prompt,
answer keys, and a
The Lewis and Clark Expedition:
The Physics Behind the Fun:
The Physics of Land Yachting:
writing rubric.
Options to extend the
lesson are also
included.
In this lesson,
students will analyze
the challenges faced
by the Lewis and
Clark Expedition,
also known as the
Corps of Discovery
Expedition, and the
effect the journey had
on American history
and Native American
cultures.
In this lesson,
students will analyze
an informational text
that describes the
physics of roller
coasters. This
informational text is
designed to support
reading in the content
area. The article was
written to answer the
question, "Why don't
I fall out when a
roller coaster goes
upside down?" The
article is an
interesting
combination of
scientific information
about physics of
roller coasters along
with some fun facts.
The lesson plan
includes textdependent questions,
a writing prompt,
answer keys, and a
writing rubric.
In this lesson,
students will explore
motion related to an
object in terms of its
change in position
over time compared
to a reference point.
Thermal Energy Flow:
Town Mosquito Eradication MEA:
Using Evidence to Support the Theory of Plate Tectonics:
Students will be
given a variety of
simple materials to
create and test their
very own land yachts
to explore motion.
This MEA provides
students with the
opportunity to
explore the basis of
heat transfer. The
formative assessment
exposes students to a
quick heat transfer
demonstration. The
reading passages and
data sets further
engage students in
real life application
of heat transfer and
energy efficiency
Students will analyze
a set of data to
determine the best
eradication technique
for a town
experiencing a
mosquito infestation.
Students will need to
consider cost, impact
on the environment,
and effectiveness of
the methods
presented to them.
In this lesson,
students will analyze
an informational text,
a simulation and a
video intended to
support reading in the
content area. The
article addresses the
use of computer
models to predict that
Walking Whales!:
What’s the Buzz about the Bee Population?:
the Earth's tectonic
plates will cease to
move in the future.
The evidence
provided by these
resources will be
used to write an
argument supporting
the theory of plate
tectonics. This lesson
includes a notetaking guide, textdependent questions,
a writing prompt,
answer keys, and a
writing rubric.
Whales had legs?!
What?!!! Use this
well researched and
easily understood set
of resources to
explore the evidence
for evolution in a
way that is both nonthreatening and
engaging. Use a
combination of
article excerpts and
videos, along with
other activities, to
show evidence for
the clear progression
of whales from land
dwellers to sea
masters.
This is best used, in
totality, as the opener
for your evolution
unit. The resources
provided may also
support your current
practices as well.
In this lesson,
students will analyze
an article that
introduces readers to
the importance and
role of pollinators,
What's Your Change?:
Where Should I Go to College? MEA:
Which van is the best buy?:
factors contributing
to their current
decline, and easy
steps that can be
taken to help
pollinators. This
lesson is designed to
support reading in the
content area. This
lesson includes a
note-taking guide,
text-dependent
questions, a writing
prompt, answer keys,
and a writing rubric.
Students will identify
the best material to
use for playground
equipment by
analyzing the
physical changes that
happens to each type.
Students will explore
what the college
search process is like,
utilizing
mathematical
processes to
determine which
college is the right fit
for him or her in
order to win a
contest. Students will
present this
information to
classmates and write
a persuasive essay
explaining why his or
her choice is correct.
The students will
have to decide which
van is the "best buy"
for a family. They
will have to figure
monthly payments
and will also use
critical thinking skills
Zika Virus Arrives in the Americas:
to decide which is the
best van to purchase.
In this lesson,
students will analyze
an informational text
that describes the
spread of the Zika
virus through the
Americas and its
arrival in the United
States. The text
describes how the
virus is carried by
specific species of
mosquitoes that are
common in Florida
and other warmer
areas of the United
States. An added
concern with Zika is
the link to
microcephaly, a
neurological disorder
affecting fetuses and
infants from infected
mothers. The text
also describes other
viruses in the larger
group that Zika
belongs to and how
these viruses affect
the human body. This
lesson is designed to
support reading in the
content area. The
lesson plan includes a
reading guide, textdependent questions,
a writing prompt,
answer keys, and a
writing rubric.
Options to extend the
lesson are also
included.
Teaching Idea
Name
Description
The Revolutionary War: Historical Fiction Connection Using My Brother Sam is
Dead:
This web
resource
from
Discovery
Education
provides
teaching
ideas on
using James
Lincoln
Collier and
Christopher
Collier's My
Brother
Sam is
Dead to
help
students
understand
how they
can learn
about the
past
through
historical
novels.
Students
will
investigate
how some
people take
one side or
another in a
war or other
conflict;
some
people find
themselves
caught in
the middle.
WebQuest
Name
Description
This WebQuest provides students with an interactive
Traveling the Ancient Silk Road WebQuest: experience as they learn about Ancient China.
Students will "travel" along the Silk Road in Ancient
China assuming the role of National Geographic
journalists. They will research stops along the Silk
Road, ultimately drafting an informative article. Links
to webpages, videos, and maps are included for
students to use along their journey. Detailed teaching
plans and rubrics are included to support teachers'
scaffolding of the content.
Original Tutorial
Name
Yes or No to GMO?:
Description
By the end of this tutorial you should know what genetic
engineering is and be familiar with some of the applications of this
technology. You will gain an understanding of some of the benefits
of genetic engineering but we’ll also cover the potential drawbacks.
Ultimately, you’ll be able to think critically about genetic
engineering and write an argument describing your own perspective
on its impacts.
Student Resources
Title
Yes or No to GMO?:
Description
By the end of this tutorial you should know what genetic
engineering is and be familiar with some of the applications of this
technology. You will gain an understanding of some of the benefits
of genetic engineering but we’ll also cover the potential drawbacks.
Ultimately, you’ll be able to think critically about genetic
engineering and write an argument describing your own perspective
on its impacts.