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  • Grade 4 Science Unit 2

    Part I: Energy | Part II: Waves & Information

    Suggested Timeframe: Winter (Jan-March)

    Unit description: In Part I, Students explore how energy can be transferred by/from moving objects, sound, light, heat, or electric currents. When moving objects collide the object’s motion changes. Students learn about the different types of energy; where and how we find and use this energy. In Part II, students learn properties of waves and how we use this information to design high tech devices, and transmit digitized information.

    Download the complete Grade 4 Science Unit 2 framework to customize for your own planning.

    Essential Questions and Big Ideas

    Part I: Energy

    • Where do we find energy and how do we use it?
      • A given object possesses more energy of motion when it is moving faster. (4-PS3-1)
      • Energy can be transferred by moving objects or by sound, light, heat, or electric currents. (4-PS3-2), (4-PS3-3)
      • Energy is present whenever there are moving objects, sound, light, or heat. When objects collide, energy can be transferred from one object to another, thereby changing their motion. In such collisions, some energy is typically also transferred to the surrounding air; as a result, the air gets heated and sound is produced. (4-PS3-2),(4-PS3-3)
      • Energy can also be transferred by electric currents, which can then be used locally to produce motion, sound, heat, or light. The currents may have been produced to begin with by transforming the energy of motion into electrical energy. (4-PS3-2),(4-PS3-4)
      • When objects collide, the contact forces transfer energy so as to change the objects’ motions. (4-PS3-3)
      • The expression “produce energy” typically refers to the conversion of stored energy into a desired form for practical use. (4-PS3-4)
      • Energy and fuels that humans use are derived from natural sources, and their use affects the environment in multiple ways. Some resources are renewable over time, and others are not. (4-ESS3-1)
      • Possible solutions to a problem are limited by available materials and resources (constraints). The success of a designed solution is determined by considering the desired features of a solution (criteria). Different proposals for solutions can be compared on the basis of how well each one meets the specified criteria for success or how well each takes the constraints into account. (secondary to 4-PS3-4)

    Part II: Waves & Information

    • How do we use waves in everyday life?
      • Waves, which are regular patterns of motion, can be made in water by disturbing the surface. When waves move across the surface of deep water, the water goes up and down in place; there is no net motion in the direction of the wave except when the water meets a beach.(4-PS4-1)
      • Waves of the same type can differ in amplitude (height of the wave) and wavelength (spacing between wave peaks). (4-PS4-1)
      • Digitized information can be transmitted over long distances without significant degradation. High-tech devices, such as computers or cell phones, can receive and decode information—convert it from digitized form to voice—and vice versa. (4-PS4-3)
      • Different solutions need to be tested in order to determine which of them best solves the problem, given the criteria and the constraints. (secondary to 4-PS4-3)

    Prerequisite Skills/Science & Engineering Practices

    Use evidence to construct an explanation, make observations to provide evidence, ask questions and predict outcomes, apply scientific ideas to design, test and refine a device with a purpose, obtain and combine information to describe concepts, develop a model to describe patterns, generate and compare multiple solutions to a problem.

  • Kindergarten Social Studies Unit 2

    Civic Ideals and Practices

    Unit description: Students will learn about rights and responsibilities at home, at school, in the classroom, and in the community, both their own and those of their adult counterparts. Students will learn about the basic universal rights and protections they have. They will have the opportunity to learn about rules within these same environments, what would happen if rules were not followed, and how to ensure health and safety for all. Students will be given the opportunity to contribute to the development of rules or laws as needed for class activities.

    Standards Addressed in this Unit

    • Standard 5 – Civics, Citizenship and Gov’t

    Essential Questions and Big Ideas

    • BI: Governments create rules and laws in order to protect and respect citizens and communities
    • What are basic universal rights?
      • Universal rights are the things that all people in the world should have, like food, a home, being safe and having an education
    • What responsibilities do we have at home, school, in the classroom and community?
      • Children and adults both help to keep homes, classrooms, schools and community safe, clean and welcoming for all people.
    • How can we be responsible members of the classroom?
      • Students can help keep classrooms clean, safe and welcoming by following rules and routines.
    • What classroom routines do we have to ensure health and safety for all?
      • Routines for handwashing, keeping personal spaces clean and tidy and moving slowly in crowded spaces help to keep classrooms safe and healthy.

    Prerequisite Skills

    In kindergarten, students study “Self and Others.” The course is organized into five units of study — Individual Development and Cultural Identity; Civic Ideals and Practices; Geography, Humans, and the Environment; Time, Continuity, and Change; and Economic Systems. These units represent five of the unifying themes of social studies, and may be presented in any order.

    Download the complete Kindergarten Social Studies – Civic Ideals and Practices framework to customize for your own planning.

  • Grade 3 Science Unit 2

    Forces & Interactions

    Suggested timeframe: Winter (Jan-March)

    Unit description: Students explore the relationship between force and motion by observing patterns, cause and effect. Students study the relationship between objects and electric and magnetic forces.

    Essential Questions and Big Ideas

    What causes things to move?

      • Objects in contact exert forces on each other. (3-PS2-1)
      • Each force acts on one particular object and has both strength and a direction. An object at rest typically has multiple forces acting on it, but they add to give zero net force on the object. Forces that do not sum to zero can cause changes in the object’s speed or direction of motion. (3-PS2-1)

    How can we use observations to predict motion and design solutions to engineering problems?

      • The patterns of an object’s motion in various situations can be observed and measured; when that past motion exhibits a regular pattern, future motion can be predicted from it. (3-PS2-2)

    How do we use electric and magnetic forces in everyday life?

      • Electric and magnetic forces between a pair of objects do not require that the objects be in contact. The sizes of the forces in each situation depend on the properties of the objects and their distances apart and, for forces between two magnets, on their orientation relative to each other. (3-PS2-3),(3-PS2-4)

    Prerequisite Skills/Science & Engineering Practices

    Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence, make observations/measurements to provide evidence, ask questions to determine cause and effect, define a simple design problem

    Download the complete Grade 3 Science Unit 2 framework to customize for your own planning.

  • Grade 8 ELA Unit 2

    Narrative Texts

    Unit description: Students will interpret, analyze, and evaluate narrative structures and techniques and their impact on a text(s). Students will analyze and interpret themes and motifs across and within texts to determine their effectiveness within the narrative form. Students will utilize this analysis to write a narrative that includes a clear structure and appropriate use of various narrative techniques.

    Essential Outcomes

    Reading

    • 8R1: Cite textual evidence to strongly support an analysis of what the text says explicitly/implicitly and make logical inferences.
    • 8R2: Determine one or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; summarize a text.
    • 8R3: In literary texts, analyze how particular lines of dialogue or events propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision. In informational texts, analyze how individuals, events, and ideas are introduced, relate to each other, and are developed.
    • 8R6: In literary texts, analyze how the differences between the point of view, perspectives of the characters, the audience, or reader create effects such as mood and tone. In informational texts, analyze how the author addresses conflicting evidence or viewpoints.

    Language

    • 8L3: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
    • 8L5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
    • 8L6: Acquire and accurately use general academic and content-specific words and phrases; apply vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

    Writing

    • 8W3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, relevant descriptive details and clear sequencing.

    Speaking and Listening

    • n/a

    All Standards Addressed in this Unit

    • R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, 8R7
    • L3, L4, L5, L6,
    • W3,
    • SL1, SL4, SL6

    Essential Questions and Big Ideas

    • How do authors use narrative strategies and techniques to explore universal questions and/or convey a message?
      • Authors use narrative techniques to enhance their writing
      • Characterization impacts a narrative in terms of plot arch, theme, events, and experiences.
      • Good readers look at the impact of narrative techniques and story elements to determine how they explore topics and issues
    • How do readers evaluate the effectiveness of a story or text?
      • Good readers use a created or established criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of a story or text
      • There are multiple ways to evaluate a text, and multiple purposes for doing so
    • How do I create my own narrative?
      • Good writers appropriate techniques and styles to craft their own writing
      • Playing with techniques allows good writers to craft their own style
      • Utilizing literary techniques and developing a clear theme through a sequence of events can produce a quality narrative

    Prerequisite Skills

    • Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners; express ideas clearly and persuasively, and build on those of others.
    • Cite textual evidence to support an analysis of what the text says explicitly/implicitly and make logical inferences.
    • Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; summarize a text.
    • Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to respond and support analysis, reflection, and research
    • Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, descriptive details and clear sequencing.

    Download the complete Grade 8 ELA Unit 2 framework to customize for your own planning.

  • Grade 5 Science Unit 2

    Structure & Properties of Matter

    Suggested Timeframe: Winter (Jan-March)

    Unit description: Students explore the structure and properties of solids, liquids, and gases. They learn the basics of chemical reactions, and are introduced to the concept that regardless of the change that occurs, matter is conserved.

    Download the complete Grade 5 Science Unit 2 framework to customize for your own planning.

    Essential Questions and Big Ideas

    What is matter and how do scientists distinguish between different types of matter?

      • Matter of any type can be subdivided into particles that are too small to see, but even then the matter still exists and can be detected by other means. A model showing that gases are made from matter particles that are too small to see and are moving freely around in space can explain many observations, including the inflation and shape of a balloon and the effects of air on larger particles or objects. (5-PS1-1)
      • Measurements of a variety of properties can be used to identify materials. (Boundary: At this grade level, mass and weight are not distinguished, and no attempt is made to define the unseen particles or explain the atomic-scale mechanism of evaporation and condensation.) (5-PS1-3)

    What happens when you combine two or more different types of matter?

      • When two or more different substances are mixed, a new substance with different properties may be formed. (5-PS1-4)
      • No matter what reaction or change in properties occur, the total weight of the substances does not change (Mass and weight are not distinguished at this grade level.) (5-PS1-2)
      • The total amount of matter is conserved when it changes form, even in transitions in which it seems to vanish. (5-PS1-2)

    Prerequisite Skills/Science & Engineering Practices:

    Develop and use models to describe, measure and graph quantities to provide evidence, make observations and measurements to identify, conduct an investigation

    Download the complete Grade 5 Science Unit 2 framework to customize for your own planning.

  • Grade 1 Science Unit 2

    Waves: Light & Sound

    Suggested Timeframe: Winter (Jan-Mar)

    Unit description: Students explore the concept of what makes sound, how we use light, and how both can be used in a variety of communication devices.

    Download the complete Grade 1 Science Unit 2 framework to customize for your own planning.

    Standards

    Essential Questions and Big Ideas

    • How do we use sound in everyday life?
      • Sound can make matter vibrate, and vibrating matter can make sound. (1-PS4-1)
      • People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances. (1-PS4-4)
    • Why is light important to us?
      • Objects can be seen if light is available to illuminate them or if they give off their own light. (1-PS4-2)
      • Some materials allow light to pass through them, others allow only some light through and others block all the light and create a dark shadow on any surface beyond them, where the light cannot reach. Mirrors can be used to redirect a light beam. (1-PS4-3)

    Prerequisite Skills/Science & Engineering Practices:

    Plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence and/or to make a determination, make observations to construct an evidence-based explanation, use tools and materials to build a device with a purpose

    Download the complete Grade 1 Science Unit 2 framework to customize for your own planning.

  • Grade 4 Social Studies Unit 2

    Native American Groups and the Environment

    Unit description: In this unit, students will students will study Native American groups, chiefly the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and Algonquian-speaking groups, and focus on how they inhabited the region that became New York State. These people interacted with the environment and developed unique cultures. Student will investigate how geographic factors often influenced locations of early settlements and people made use of the resources and the lands around them to meet their basic needs. In addition, students will study how Native American groups developed specific patterns of organization and governance to manage their societies and how each Native American group developed a unique way of life with a shared set of customs, beliefs, and values.

    Standards

    Standards: 1, 3, 5; Themes: ID, MOV, GEO, GOV

    Essential Questions and Big Ideas

    Big Idea: Early Native American groups inhabited this region and adapted the environment to meet their needs and create rich culture.

    What physical features are most likely to support growth of populations?

      • Settlements with food and water sources and natural protection support population growth.

    How did the early Native American people govern their groups?

      • Early Native Americans groups had systems for decision making, creating and implementing rules, agreements with other groups and many other features of today’s government.

    How were early Native American groups unique in their culture?

      • Many of the early Native American daily routines were based on survival and their relationships with nature.

    Prerequisite Skills

    Teachers should note that some Key Ideas and Concepts may require extra time or attention. These include Key Ideas 4.4 Government and 4.6 Westward Movement and Industrialization

  • Grade 7 Social Studies Unit 2

    Colonial Developments

    Unit description: Students will analyze how the American colonies were established for a variety of reasons and developed differently based on economic, social, religious and geographic factors. They will compare and contrast the social, economic, and scientific improvements that helped European nations launch an Age of Exploration. Students will investigate the varied relationships and interactions Europeans had with Native American societies they encountered and the losses Native American societies suffered, and begin to investigate slavery over the 17th and 18th centuries and its growth among the colonies.

    Standards

    • (Standards: 1, 2, 3, 4; Themes: MOV, GEO, ECO, TECH, EXCH)

    Essential Questions and Big Ideas

    • Big Idea: European exploration of the New World resulted in contributions that were long lasting to the Americas during the Age of Exploration.
    • What are the reasons European exploration?
      • Social, economic, and scientific improvements helped European nations launch an Age of Exploration
    • What were the effects of interactions between European groups and Native American societies during this time of exploration?
      • Different European groups had varied interactions and relationships with the Native American societies they encountered. Native American societies suffered from loss of life due to disease and conflict and loss of land due to encroachment of European settlers and differing conceptions of property and land ownership.
    • What effect did the natural habitat of different areas of the Americas have on the development of different economies?
      • Differences in climate, physical features, access to water, and sources of labor contributed to the development of different economies in the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies.
    • How did the initial interaction between Europeans and Native Americans lay the foundation for future race relations in America?
      • Over the course of the 17th and 18th centuries, slavery grew in the colonies. Enslaved Africans utilized a variety of strategies to both survive and resist their conditions.

    Prerequisite Skills

    This unit represents unifying themes of social studies – Colonial Development, Exploration and “Doctrine of Discovery” and enduring issues of social studies such as Impact of Colonization, Impact of Cultural Diffusion, Conflict. Students develop their skills to explain the significance of the technological developments and scientific understandings that improved European exploration; examine the voyage of Columbus, leading to the Columbian Exchange and the voyages of other explorers; investigate other Indigenous societies and their interactions with Europeans; assess the effects of contact on the Indigenous Peoples and Europeans.

    Download the complete Grade 7 Social Studies – Colonial Developments framework to customize for your own planning.

  • Grade 5 Social Studies Unit 2

    Complex Societies and Civilizations

    Unit Description: In this unit, the students will develop an understanding of the history and geography of the Western Hemisphere. They will compare and contrast the similarities and differences between simple and complex societies (religion, job specialization, cities, government, language and writing systems, technology, and social hierarchy). They will identify, list and discuss the benefits of living in a complex society. Finally, the students will compare and contrast political states of the Maya and the Aztec, noting the territories that they controlled, the type of rule each had, and how the ruler attempted to unify the people.

    Standards

    • Standards: 2, 3; Themes: ID, TCC, GEO, GOV

    Essential Questions and Big Ideas

    Big Idea: Although these complex societies and civilizations have certain defining characteristics in common, each is also known for unique cultural achievements and contributions.

    • How are complex societies different from one another?
      • Students will compare and contrast the similarities and differences between simple and complex societies (religion, job specialization, cities, government, language and writing systems, technology, and social hierarchy)
    • What are the benefits of living in a complex society or civilization such as those seen of the Mayas, Aztecs and Incas?
      • Students will identify, list and discuss the benefits of living in a complex society. They will be able to identify specific characteristics, cultural achievements and contributions that are still present today.
    • How do civilizations adapt and modify their environment to meet the needs of their people?
      • It is vital to compare and contrast political states of the Maya and the Aztec, noting the territories that they controlled, the type of rule each had, and how the ruler attempted to unify the people,

    Prerequisite Skills

    Teachers should note that some Key Ideas and Concepts may require extra time or attention. These include Key Ideas 5.3 European Exploration and its Effects, 5.6 Government, and 5.7 Economics.

    Download the complete Grade 5 Social Studies – Complex Societies and Civilizations framework to customize for your own planning.

  • Grade 3 Social Studies Unit 2

    Geography, Humans, and the Environment

    Unit Description: In this unit, students will develop a beginning understanding that geographic regions have unifying characteristics and can be studied using a variety of tools. They will learn to recognize and identify that the location of world communities can be described using geographic tools and vocabulary. The students will examine how geographic factors influence where people settle and form communities and learn to identify and explain how people adapt to and modify their environment in different ways to meet their needs.

    Essential Outcomes of the Unit

    • develop a beginning understanding about communities around the globe and about global citizenship
    • make comparisons across time and space, examining different communities and their cultures
    • recognize that culture includes social organization, customs and traditions, language, arts and literature, religion, forms of government, and economic systems
    • Develop awareness of concepts of prejudice, discrimination and human rights, as well as to social action.

    Standards

    • Standard 1- U.S. & N.Y. History
    • Standard 3- Geography
    • Standard 5- Civics, Citizenship and Gov’t

    Essential Questions and Big Ideas

    • BI: Looking at the world and where humans fit
    • How do we look at the geographical world we live in?
    • Where are we in comparison to other parts of the world?
    • How do humans affect the world and communities they live in?
    • How does technology impact the environment?

    Prerequisite Skills

    Teachers should select at least three communities that represent different regions of the world, types of communities (urban, suburban, and rural), and governmental structures. The communities selected should reflect the diversity of the local community. Students bring with them knowledge about their communities. The key ideas, conceptual understandings, and content specifications guide the study of communities while exploring the major themes of social studies. The various world communities, Key Ideas and social studies practices may be presented in any order.

    Download the complete Grade 3 Social Studies – Geography, Humans, and the Environment framework to customize for your own planning.