Scarsdale

Science 21

Space Systems: Stars and the Solar System

• Engage in a high-interest kinesthetic activity (a game of “shadow tag”), then investigate daily and monthly patterns involving the apparent motion of the sun, moon, and stars. 

• Predict what will happen in various scenarios involving changing shadows, phases of the moon, and cyclical patterns of star constellations. 

• Identify cause and effect relationships to make sense of change.  Changes include day and night; daily changes in the length and direction of shadows; and different positions of the sun, moon, and stars at different times of the day, month, and year. 

• Analyze and interpret data to support the practice of engaging in argument from evidence.

Structure and Properties of Matter

• Collaborate with others to plan investigations of phenomena and use observations, measurements, and graphs as evidence to support their ideas. 

• Create different models to make sense of how the tiny particles that make up solids, liquids, and gases (matter) behave. 

• Utilize models to explain their understanding of everyday phenomena, such as melting ice, dissolving salt, evaporating water, and chemical reactions.

• Perform a fair test investigation to determine the perfect recipe for slime while discovering when two or more different substances are mixed, a new substance with different properties may be formed.

Smithsonian Science 

How can we predict change in ecosystems?

• Explore how plants and animals get the matter and energy they need to live and grow, how they interact in food webs, how a change in one part of an ecosystem can have various effects, and how newly introduced species can sometimes become invasive. 

• Through a series of investigations, discover what contributes most of the matter to plant growth. 

• Analyze data from studies on food intake and weight of animals along with observations of energy transfer from food items to build the case that animals get both matter and energy by consuming food. 

• Trace matter and energy through complex food web interactions. 

• Observe what happens when one component of an ecosystem changes and use models to make predictions about how the introduction of a top predator can affect even the bottom of a food web. 

• Analyze data, develop and use models, and engage in argumentation to make a prediction about which of two coastal locations is likely more susceptible to an invasion by a non-native sea squirt.

How can we provide fresh water to those in need?

• Explore the topic of water scarcity and the various ways humans have attempted to get water to where it is needed. 

• Collect evidence and experiences on their water footprints and on how little accessible freshwater actually exists. 

• Create a water scarcity–based public service announcement for a region in distress. 

• Solve a water pumping challenge, develop models based on the interaction of Earth’s four spheres, and then design a solution to a water pollution problem. 

• Utilize a digital game and a newspaper activity to see how humans have tried to solve the global and regional problems of getting fresh water to where it’s needed and raise awareness of the unintended consequences of our solutions 

• Take on the role of various key stakeholder groups and collaboratively design solutions to the water access, treatment, and allocation issues facing individuals and communities around the Earth.