An Introduction to Middle School Science Unit - Back to School Bundle

This complete unit has everything you need to engage middle school kids with science right from the start of the year including editable student Slides, worksheets, hands-on investigations, final projects and extension activities.  Topics covered include safety, science and engineering practices, career exploration, science fair projects and more!  If you want to decrease stress for yourself and your students and help kids make personal connections to the science they are learning, this is a great first unit for any middle school class!

We use scientific language in context with photographs and graphics to make our lessons accessible to readers of all levels.  Students make personal connections to the science they learn and enjoy our highly engaging authentic assessments.  

Our lessons are written to make self-pacing as simple as possible and also work in a traditional classroom.  

When you purchase this product, TpT will copy these files directly to your Drive for each mini unit:

→ Teacher outline (PDF)

→ Student slides (Google Slides)

→ Student packet (Google Docs)

→ Summative assessment with rubric (Google Docs)

→ Extension activity slides  (Google Slides)

→ Extension activity with student rubric (Google Docs)

All Google Docs and Slides are editable to better meet your specific needs.

The three mini units outlined below are included in this bundle:

Every school year begins with Safety in the Science Lab!  Students spot broken lab safety rules and analyze unintended consequences of behaviors.  Then, students, parents and guardians check off safety rules together and students create a colorful poster of one safety rule

In Science and Engineering Practices students learn about how they use science in real life, all the time.  They practice planning and carrying out an investigation and then research a science or engineering career.

In the final mini unit, students watch the National Geographic documentary Science Fair  and then use science and engineering practices to answer a question or solve a problem of their own!  This project focuses on the practices of science and engineering and offers students choice in what and how they learn.

Why would I want to self-pace my science class?

If you are tired of cramming learning into perfect 48 minute chunks or filling that extra 10 minutes of class with busy work or if your students get stressed when the bell rings as they rush to finish a lab, then self-pacing is for you!

Self-pacing creates a relaxed, stress-free learning environment for both students and teachers and supports everyone’s social and emotional needs.

Teachers trade whole class lectures for one-on-one conversations and students spend their time doing science at the pace that is right for them! 

Our self-paced science lessons foster independence and higher order thinking while providing many opportunities for students to practice science and engineering skills. The three dimensions of NGSS (science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, disciplinary core ideas) are embedded throughout our lessons and units.

You might also be interested in these Self-Paced Science products:

• The Geologic Time Scale Mini Unit
• Potential Energy Physical Science Mini Unit
• Multiple Intelligences Book Project - You can use this for science!

Visit our Self-Paced Science store to view all of our products.  

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Permission to copy for single classroom use only.

Please purchase additional licenses if you’d like to share this product.