Weather for Kindergarten: In this unit of study, students apply an understanding of the effects of the sun on the Earth's surface. Students develop an understanding of patterns and variations in local weather and the use of weather forecasting to prepare for and respond to severe weather.

Pushes and Pulls: In this unit, kindergartners explore the forces of pushes and pulls as they enjoy a visit to the playground. They learn how to describe the position/motion of objects and the effects of forces on those objects. They experience the effect of slope on the speed of cars going downhill on tracks set at different heights, and forward and backward collisions. The interactions of a kickball game is tons of fun!

Sky Patterns: In this unit of study, students take on various missions as they investigate different sky patterns. These missions include tracking the Sun to predict where it will be at different times of the day and checking out sunsets to discover the seasonal pattern to the amount of daylight throughout the year. Students consider the cycle of night and day and figure out the patterns to the phases of the moon.

Bunny’s Life: In this unit, students act as scientists as they observe how young rabbits look similar to but different from their parents. Students continue to study the rabbit, and other animals, when they look at patterns of behavior displayed by both the parents and the offspring that ensure the survival of the offspring. These patterns of behavior include how parents and offspring use their senses to process information. Students also observe how the structure and function of the rabbit’s external body parts (feet and coat) help the animal survive. Inspired by what they have learned, students design a product, which solves a problem in their own lives, by copying nature.

Made of Matter: This unit covers science concepts about matter, its properties and how it is used. Students will plan investigations to classify objects by their observable properties, analyze data to determine which materials have the properties are best suited for an intended purpose, use evidence to explain that changes to materials due to heating and cooling can be reversed with some materials and not with others, and finally explain how objects are made from a smaller set of pieces which can be disassembled and made into a different object.

Save the Bees: Using Dr. Seuss’ famous environmental book, "The Lorax," students investigate the real world environmental issue of the global loss of the bee population and how it is affecting our world. The lessons in the unit help students develop an understanding of the needs of plants and animals and how plants and animals depend on each other for survival. Students also compare the diversity of life in different habitats. An engineering design project involving the design of a hand pollinator allows students to devise a solution to help with the decline of the bee pollination.

Where are the Woves: Students learn about how bringing wolves back to Yellowstone National Park changed the park’s ecosystem. Students discover that wolves no longer live in New York State, and they are then posed with the question, “Should wolves be brought back to Adirondack Park in New York State?” To help them make their argument, students learn about animal adaptations (physical and behavioral), group vs. solitary animals, and why some organisms survive well in a particular habitat while others survive less well or not at all. Fossils are included in this unit as they represent other animals no longer found in New York State.  

Invisible Forces: The main topics included in this unit are balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object and how data collected about an object’s motion can predict future motion. Cause and effect relationships of electric (static electricity) and magnetic interactions are explored through questioning strategies. The forces of gravity and friction are also introduced in the unit. Magnetism, static electricity, gravity, and friction are all forces that cannot be seen, but we do see their impact. The forces used in a Rube Goldberg machine is the anchoring phenomenon of the unit. Students use the engineering design process to create their own Rube Goldberg machine that incorporates the various forces learned in the unit.  

Investigating Weather and Climate: The main topics included in this unit are investigating the phenomenon of weather, the water cycle, weather-related hazards, and climates in different regions of the world. The class collaborates to plan and conduct an investigation of the weather using weather tools. Students develop a presentation about the weather and climate at a specific global location.

Earth Processes in New York State: In this unit designed for 4th grade, students try to figure out the origin of a bone that is found in local soil. Could it have belonged to a dinosaur? The mystery bone provides an introduction to the main ideas in this unit, such as: rock formations and fossils are evidence of changes in a landscape over time; the effects of weathering and erosion can be observed and measured; the analysis of maps can describe patterns of Earth’s features; and that various solutions can be generated that reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans.

Riding the Waves of Information: Students will learn about waves and the properties of  amplitude, wavelength, and energy.  With these properties, students will learn how waves move objects and transmit information for both sound using Morse code and light using binary code.  As a final project, students use the codes to unlock a series of locks to break into a mystery box to reveal a surprise.

A Walk in the Park: In this unit students take walk in a park. They stop to admire wildflowers and learn how the internal and external structures of these plants function to support growth and reproduction. Students continue on their walk making stops along the way to look at different animals. Students study these animals and learn how the animals use their senses to take information from their surroundings and process this information. Special emphasis is placed on the sense of sight. Students realize that animals, like plants, also survive by the interaction between their internal and external structures.