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Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to solving many of humanity's most pressing current and future challenges. The United States' position in the global economy is declining, in part because U.S. workers lack fundamental knowledge in these fields. To address the critical issues of U.S. competitiveness and to better prepare the workforce, A Framework for K-12 Science Education proposes a new approach to K-12 science education that will capture students' interest and provide them with the necessary foundational knowledge in the field.

A Framework for K-12 Science Education outlines a broad set of expectations for students in science and engineering in grades K-12. These expectations will inform the development of new standards for K-12 science education and, subsequently, revisions to curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development for educators. This book identifies three dimensions that convey the core ideas and practices around which science and engineering education in these grades should be built. These three dimensions are: crosscutting concepts that unify the study of science through their common application across science and engineering; scientific and engineering practices; and disciplinary core ideas in the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth and space sciences and for engineering, technology, and the applications of science. The overarching goal is for all high school graduates to have sufficient knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on science-related issues, be careful consumers of scientific and technical information, and enter the careers of their choice.

A Framework for K-12 Science Education is the first step in a process that can inform state-level decisions and achieve a research-grounded basis for improving science instruction and learning across the country. The book will guide standards developers, teachers, curriculum designers, assessment developers, state and district science administrators, and educators who teach science in informal environments.

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Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education

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A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas

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Read online, download a free PDF, or order a copy in print or as an eBook.

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Engaging in Argument from Evidence Video and resources 

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Engaging in Argument from Evidence Video and resources 

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"Everyone tells us we need to teach this way, but no one has shown us how. This shows us how!"

~ teacher at NSTA conference in 2014

"For the first time in over 20 years of teaching, I'm confident that my students understand this. They don't need to memorize formulas or math jingles. They really understand the math."

~ a seventh grade Algebra teacher

"When I do my walk-arounds, I see 100% engagement in high-level math discussion. That's never happened before, and it's exciting."

~ principal in a participating school

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"Everyone tells us we need to teach this way, but no one has shown us how. This shows us how!" ~ teacher at NSTA conference in 2014 "For the first time in over 20 years of teaching, I'm confident that my students understand this. They don't need to memorize formulas or math jingles.

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Instructional Leadership for Science Practices

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The recent release of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) offers a new challenge and opportunity for science. Science practices are the social interactions, tools and language that scientist use as they construct, evaluate and communicate scientific knowledge. The effective integration of science practices into classrooms can better support a wide range of students, including those typically underrepresented in science, to develop greater scientific literacy.

Effective integration of science practices in classrooms requires instructional leadership to support that change. Instructional leaders can include a variety of different individuals including, but not limited to, school principals, district leaders, coaches and lead teachers. The ILSP team is developing tools to support instructional leaders in the science practices.

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Instructional Leadership for Science Practices

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This website includes resources to support the successful integration of the 8 Science Practices in NGSS into K-8 classrooms. This includes descriptions of the 8 practices, case studies, and tools such as a continuum for the eight practices.

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Practice 4: Analyzing and Interpreting Data

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Practice 4: Analyzing and Interpreting Data

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How do scientists make sense of and communicate about data?

What are the important details or examples of how students communicate in the practice across grade levels?

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Practice 1: Asking Questions and Defining Problems

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Practice 1: Asking Questions and Defining Problems

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What are the characteristics of questions that students are communicating about in science?

What are the important details or examples of how students communicate in the practice across grade levels?

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Practice 5: Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking

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Practice 5: Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking

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How do you explain mathematical and computational thinking in your own words?

What are the important details or examples of how students communicate in the practice across grade levels?

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How do scientists use and communicate about models?

What are the important details or examples of how students communicate in the practice across grade levels?

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Practice 3: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

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Practice 3: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

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What is the purpose of planning and carrying out an investigation?

How are students communicating when planning and carrying out investigations?

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Practice 8: Obtaining, Evaluating and Communicating Information

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Practice 8: Obtaining, Evaluating and Communicating Information

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What are ways that scientists obtain, evaluate and communicate information? How are obtain, evaluate and communicate interrelated?

What are the important details or examples of how students communicate in the practice across grade levels?

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Practice 6: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

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Practice 6: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

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How does constructing explanations and designing solutions differ between scientists and engineers?

What are the important details or examples of how students communicate in the practice across grade levels?

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The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

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Science Unscrambled: A Framework for K-12 Science Education

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gravitational vs. elastic potential energy

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A Dropper Popper is more than just half of a rubber ball. This incredible device seemingly defies the laws of physics by bouncing higher than where you dropped it! Requires a small amount of "activation energy" to work.

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Practice 7: Engaging in Argument and Evidence

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Practice 7: Engaging in Argument and Evidence

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How is argumentation and using evidence different/similar than other fields of study?

What are the important details or examples of how students communicate in the practice across grade levels?

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Film Canister Explosion - Sick Science! #032

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These books written by veteran educators describe a variety of activities and strategies that can be used to engage ELLs in science lessons, as well as to develop their academic language skills around science topics.

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These books written by veteran educators describe a variety of activities and strategies that can be used to engage ELLs in science lessons, as well as to develop their academic language skills around science topics.

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What happens to the water drops that fall on this Colocasia leaf?

After the water drops have rolled off, what do you notice about the leaf? Is the leaf dry or wet? Is that what you expected?

How might water-repellent leaves help a plant?

If plants need water, then why is this leaf repelling water? Turns out, in certain climates, the ability to quickly shed surface water provides a survival advantage to some plants. In this investigation, you will examine surface textures and conduct a "tilt test" to compare how materials with different surface textures repel or absorb water.

See the Educator's Toolbox below for student worksheets.

Plants that live in moist environments like rainforests and wetlands can develop damaging fungal and bacterial infections. That's because many of these plant pathogens love moisture. Wet conditions can lead to mold growth, just like you might see in a forgotten bag of veggies in your fridge. In moist environments, plants that can keep their leaves dry and clean are more likely to be healthy and to reproduce.

Why doesn't the water make the Colocasia surface wet?

Surfaces that repel water, like the leaves of the Colocasia plant, are called hydrophobic.

"Hydro-" is a Greek root word that means water.

"Phobia" means fear. Maybe you know someone who is claustrophobic (hates to be in small confined spaces) or is arachnophobic (terrified of spiders).

When a water drop lands on the Colocasia leaf, it beads up into a sphere and simply rolls away. Why doesn't the water make the surface wet? Because this leaf is super hydrophobic!

Microscopic textures play a huge role in hydrophobicity. For example, the leaves of the Colocasia plant are covered with waxy, microscopic bumps that prevent water drops from being able to stick, or adhere, to the leaf. (Imagine a Ping-Pong ball balancing on the teeth of a comb-that's kind of how a water drop sitting on a Colocasia leaf would look if you were to zoom in really close.) As a bonus, the water drops collect dust and dirt as they roll along the leaf-in other words, the leaf surface is self-cleaning!

Inspired by some plants' ability to stay dry, scientists have designed innovative superhydrophobic metal surfaces. These new metal surfaces can be used to make vehicles that don't rust and airplane wings that don't get icy. As you can see in the animation below, not only does water not stick to superhydrophobic metal, it's repelled by it.

Hmmmm...do you think a surface could be too hydrophobic?

Not all materials repel water.

The opposite of hydrophobic is hydrophilic. We already know that hydro means water.

What do you think "-philic" means?

When would a hydrophilic material be helpful to you?

How is a hydrophilic towel helping these girls?

A hydrophilic beach towel consists of thousands of tiny loops of fabric. Those fluffy loops provide ample surface area to absorb water.

Can you think of a part of a plant that would benefit from being hydrophilic?

Preparing to Investigate Hydrophobicity

Now we will test different biological and non-biological objects to investigate whether their surface is hydrophobic, hydrophilic, or in between. Before starting, let's take a few minutes to practice describing different textures and making identically sized water drops.

See the Educator's Toolbox at the bottom of the page for a printable lab protocol and student worksheets.

Texture Sort

Sort and describe material samples to establish a common language for discussing and comparing textures.

Texture Sort Materials (per group of 3)

5 paper lunch bags, each containing one material sample

Material samples, cut in 8-cm squares (e.g., #80 sandpaper, wood, cork, printer paper, wax paper)

5 index cards

5 paper clips for attaching cards to bags

Water Drop Standardization

An important part of an experiment like this is making sure that the same procedure is carried out on all materials being tested. One factor you can control in your hydrophobicity investigation is the size of your water drops. Why is it important in this experiment to make sure all the water drops are similar? This activity will help you become skilled at creating identically sized water drops.

Water Drop Standardization Materials (per group of 3)

Laminated index card with reinforcement circles

Pipette or eyedropper

Water

1. Cut a 4×4 grid of reinforcement circles and tape it to an index card. Laminate the card or cover it with packaging tape to make it water-resistant.

2. Using a pipette or eyedropper, place two drops of water in the center of each circle to create evenly sized, large water drops.

Investigating Hydrophobicity

There are a couple of tests we can conduct to gauge the hydrophobicity of a material. By looking at the shape of the water drop profile (side view) and conducting a tilt test, we can get an idea of how much a surface absorbs or repels water.

Lab Materials for Investigating Hydrophobicity (per group of 3)

Assorted plant materials and other items from your home or classroom (flat things work best)

Clipboard

Protractor

Scissors

Masking tape and/or duct tape

Small container of water

Eyedropper or pipette

Paper towels

Hand lens (magnifying glass)

Observation Datasheet

Test Your Items for Hydrophobicity

Sketch Water Drop Profile

1. Select a material to test.

2. Place two drops of water on the surface to make one large drop.

3. Look at the large drop from the side, and sketch the drop's profile view on your Observation Datasheet.

Do a Tilt Test and Check Texture

Lab Discussion Questions

If a water drop begins to slide at a low angle (for example, less than 10 degrees), would that suggest that the surface is hydrophobic or hydrophilic?

What water drop profile shapes indicate a hydrophobic surface? A hydrophilic surface?

What other similarities or patterns do you notice among items that are hydrophobic? Hydrophilic?

Are there any descriptive words about texture that seem to be associated with hydrophobic surfaces? Hydrophilic surfaces? Do you observe any connection between texture and hydrophobicity?

What parts of a plant tend to be hydrophobic? Hydrophilic? What's your evidence?

What plant structures would benefit from being hydrophobic? Hydrophilic? For example, would roots function best if their surface were hydrophobic or hydrophilic? How would hydrophobic structures help a plant? Hydrophilic structures? Explain your reasoning.

Your Water Drop Standardization practice helped you control your water drop size in this activity. What else did you standardize, or control, in the hydrophobicity tests?

What new, helpful products would you like to create with hydrophobic surfaces? Hydrophilic surfaces?

Closure and Group Assessment

Where would you place these images on your hydrophobicity scale?

Printable images here.

Why do different materials have different hydrophobicity?

Water has two significant properties that affect hydrophobicity: cohesion and adhesion. Cohesion means water molecules like to stick together and form water drops. Adhesion means water molecules like to stick to other surfaces. When a naturally spherical water drop lands on a hydrophilic surface, gravity pulls the drop downward, and the drop tends to flatten like a pancake and make the surface wet. On a superhydrophobic surface, however, a water drop maintains a spherical shape and does not adhere because the surface provides minimal contact area. Remember the ball-on-a-comb analogy? With minimal tilting, the water drop rolls quickly away. For example, University of Rochester scientist Chunlei Guo's superhydrophobic laser-treated metal surfaces repel water when tilted less than five degrees. By contrast, superhydrophilic surfaces will absorb a water drop.

Related Educational Resource

Make a Wire Critter That Can Walk on Water

Individual Assessment

Pick an item from the mystery bag.

Make observations about the look and texture of the item and record the observations on your Exit Slip. You can use a hand lens to examine your item closely. You can also use a labeled drawing that includes a familiar object for scale.

Predict whether the item will be hydrophobic or hydrophilic.

If this were part of a plant, where do you think it would work best based on your prediction? Explain your choice.

Vocabulary

Structure - something built, organized, or put together

Function - what something does, how it works

Hydrophobic - "water-hating," repels water

Superhydrophobic - extremely water repellent

Hydrophilic - "water-loving," water clings to it

Texture - the feel of a surface

Pathogen - a microorganism that causes disease, like a bacterium or fungus

Microstructure - a physical feature that is visible under a microscope

Nanostructure - a super-tiny feature from 0.1-100 nm in thickness or diameter

Examples to Push Your Thinking

Looking at some of the examples below, how might hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces inspire people to create solutions to human problems in different regions around the world?

Related Resources

Extension Activities

● Investigate the self-cleaning properties of superhydrophobic plants. Use a superhydrophobic plant leaf and pepper or sand. Brainstorm and research innovative design applications of self-cleaning surfaces. Test other liquids, such as honey, syrup, or oil.

● Explore the structure of plants that use hydrophobic leaves to collect water, such as bromeliads.

● Measure contact angle to classify hydrophobicity of surfaces. (Use this contact angle image.)

● Explore cell micro- and nanostructures that affect surface wetting. (High school and beyond.)

Where should I go from here?

Investigate plant adaptations in different ecosystems.

Why might plants have structures that promote water retention, water absorption, or dryness?

Make predictions about the hydrophobicity of a plant and its structures using images of different environments.

What can you infer about a plant's environment based on its structure. Examples: cactus, mountain plants vs. tropical rainforest plants. Extend to animal adaptations. What adaptations might animals have for using these plants for food, shelter, etc.?

Next Generation Science Standards
NGSS Crosscutting Concepts NGSS Science and Engineering Practices

Educator's Toolbox

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Hydrophobicity: Will the Drop Stop or Roll? - Science Friday

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What happens to the water drops that fall on this Colocasia leaf? After the water drops have rolled off, what do you notice about the leaf? Is the leaf dry or wet? Is that what you expected? How might water-repellent leaves help a plant? If plants need water, then why is this leaf repelling water?

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Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

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Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

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Collaborative grouping:  differentiated by language level or academic level groups
Pictures (elementary level)
Steps on how to (like a recipe card)
Periodic tracking
Think-Pair-Share

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1. Small Group Wor
2. Think Pair Share
3. Purposeful Grouping
4. List of vocabulary and synonyms
5. Give sentence starters

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1. Provide anchor charts with visuals
2. Word Wall
3. Think-Pair-Share
4. Sentence Starters
5. Purposeful Grouping
6. Wait time

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Practice 2.  Developing and Using Models

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Practice 2.  Developing and Using Models

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--Visual Support
--Use of Realia
--Use and labeling of Physical Models
--Sufficient Think Time
--Student Journals Describing Phenomenon.  Can be used for home discussion.
--List of content specific terminology
--Provide sentence stems

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Using Mathematics and Computational thinking

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Using Mathematics and Computational thinking

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-Breaking down into "steps"
-Using video-instruction support
-Using Manipulatives to enhance instruction
-Using Claim Evidence Reasoning

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Practice # 4 Analyzing and Interpreting Data

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Practice # 4 Analyzing and Interpreting Data

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- visuals/pictures
-periodic tracking
-using native language to assist in discussion
-picture supported vocab
-predictable sentence supports
-think/pair/share
-student journal (recording data)
-sufficient think time

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Practice 6: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

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Practice 6: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

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*grouping
*conceptual web with pictures
*periodic tracking
*modeling
*displays and graphic organizers
*Academic language synonym charts
*Purposeful grouping

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1. Videos
2. Word wall with pictures
3. Sentence starters
4. Posters
5. Picture supported and word bank supported graphic organiziers
6. Dramatize
7. Wait time
8. Purposeful groupings with possible triads.