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Hundreds of scientific articles. Written for kids. Approved by scientists.

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Jump to TDSciN Task Library. Take a tour of the TDSciN Task Library About the Network In early 2019, NextGenScience launched the Tennessee District Science Network (TDSciN), a group of six districts in Tennessee working collaboratively to improve their science programs and move towards the vision of

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*Discovery activities have embeddable LTI functionality in the LMS

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Science Curriculum Resources K-12 | Discovery Education

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Discovery Education offers a comprehensive phenomena-based science curriculum for grades K-12. Reimagine learning with our online science program. Learn more.

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The NGSS Design Badge is awarded to top-rated science units designed for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Learn more about the digital badge here.
See the list of all units that have earned the NGSS Design Badge below:
The NGSS Design badge is awarded only to the version of these materials that was reviewed. If any modifications are made to this unit for your use, the revised version cannot be promoted as having earned the badge.

Read the Next Generation Science Standards and the Appendices.

Search our Resource Library here.

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See the list of all units that have earned the NGSS Design Badge below: The NGSS Design badge is awarded only to the version of these materials that was reviewed. If any modifications are made to this unit for your use, the revised version cannot be promoted as having earned the badge.

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PA STEELS - Science, Technology and Engineering, and Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Standards

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PA STEELS - Science, Technology and Engineering, and Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Standards

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy and Sustainability (STEELS) Standards
The newly adopted Pennsylvania Integrated Standards for Science, Technology & Engineering, and Environmental Literacy and Sustainability, and Pennsylvania Technology and Engineering Standards were developed jointly to ensure consistency, coherence and a cohesive K-12 integrated approach to science education in the Commonwealth. On July 16, 2022, the Pennsylvania Bulletin published the new standards, designed for implementation July 1, 2025.

This STEELS Hub provides educators resources to implement and support the new standards. An implementation plan, developed by PDE, aims to ensure that all students have access to an education that prepares them to succeed and become life-long learners.

Add Communication Content Item

LEAs should make a concerted effort to ensure students, parents, and guardians are aware of the new standards and their impact on classroom instruction. Communicating the new standards and implications for instruction is critical to ensuring strong support for the changes.

Implementation Guide Opens up a PDF file in a new tab

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Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy and Sustainability (STEELS) Standards The newly adopted Pennsylvania Integrated Standards for Science, Technology & Engineering, and Environmental Literacy and Sustainability, and Pennsylvania Technology and Engineering Standards were developed jointly to ensure consistency, coherence and a cohesive K-12 integrated approach to science education in the Commonwealth.

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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Note:  This document identifies differences in the PA Science Standards and NGSS.  It only focuses on the science standards and not on Environment/Ecology or Technology/Engineering.  Only the differences are included.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Our Mission

To give teachers the materials, support, and power to get kids excited and curious about the world around them and confident in their ability to figure it out through questioning, investigating, and solving problems.

Our Core Values

We believe that:

All students can excel in science

Historical practices and entrenched cultural perceptions of science education need to be challenged

The science education community, together, can solve problems in science classrooms

High-quality science materials should be freely available and customizable

Science teachers feel empowered when allowed to use their expertise and creativity in the implementation of the materials

Professional learning is key in unlocking the power of great materials

Teachers and students need equitable and exciting learning experiences

We provide teachers the materials and support to get ALL students excited and curious about the world around them and confident in their ability to shape it through questioning, investigating, and solving problems.

Too many teachers know the reality of the opportunity gap, and too many students live that reality. In addition to existing and systemic educational inequities, COVID-19 has exacerbated the crisis disproportionately affecting Black and Brown students as well as traditionally marginalized populations. OpenSciEd exists to change the status quo and remove the predictability about who succeeds and shows affection for the STEM fields.

The high cost of quality science materials often prevents districts from adopting the best curricula, and those who invest in good programs do it at the expense of adequate professional learning that helps teachers make necessary instructional shifts. Being freely available, OpenSciEd creates an environment where districts don't need to make this compromise.

We believe that the best materials are rooted in the standards; created, reviewed, and approved by the science educator community; and field-tested to ensure their equity, efficacy, and usability. Our materials carry a creative commons license, which helps foster equal access to excellent, flexible materials that teachers can customize and adapt to meet the needs of their students. Our work is guided by the vision for science literacy described in the Next Generation Science Standards and supported by 10 partner states in the development of the materials.

Team Bios

Jim oversees the leadership of the project, hires and manages a small staff, and supervises the work of the curriculum developers consortium. The Executive Director is responsible for facilitating the Advisory Board meetings. He will be responsible for building partnerships with outside organizations to build revenue streams and/or networks that can support the spread of the materials. Jim has worked in a variety of capacities to improve STEM education for all students. He was a high school mathematics teacher and site administrator for ten years. He worked as an analyst, programmer, and team lead for Apple Computers, and then served in several leadership roles at Key Curriculum Press, a leading publisher of mathematics and science tools and curricula. In his work at Key he was Vice President of Professional Development and Marketing teams and led the creation of a new division focused on supporting the implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Prior to his current role, STEM Executive Director for San Francisco Unified School District where he oversaw the development and implementation of core curricula in math and science as well as the computer science for all initiative in SFUSD.

Sarah Delaney

Sarah coordinates communications with core partner states and facilitates communication between states and consortia. The Director will manage the interactions between the Developers Consortium and Learning Tapestry as well as oversee the public deployment of the completed units. Sarah comes to OpenSciEd from San Francisco Unified School District where she led the development and implementation of their Science Core Curriculum aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards across grades K-12. Sarah's experience includes six years as a middle school science teacher, four years as a professional development provider and instructional coach, and an exciting summer spent teaching science to three and four-year-olds. She has been involved in work at the state level, having been a part of California's development of an Environmental Literacy Blueprint and has led teacher professional development for teachers across all grade bands on a variety of science education topics.

Matt Krehbiel

Matt began his career in science education as a high school science teacher in Kansas, where he taught a wide range of high school science courses over ten years. In 2010, Matt joined the Kansas State Department of Education as the state science supervisor where he led Kansas' participation as a lead state in developing the Next Generation Science Standards, coordinated the standards adoption process that led KS to be the 3rd state to adopt the NGSS, and coordinated the state-wide effort to use the implementation of these standards as an opportunity to advance science education for all students. For his efforts to advance science education in Kansas, Matt was awarded the Kansas Association for Teachers of Science Outstanding Contributions to Science Education Award in 2013 and was selected by Bethel College for their Young Alumnus Award in 2015. Matt was elected President of the Council of State Science Supervisors in 2014 and transitioned to a new position at Achieve, where he became their Director for Science and coordinated efforts to develop the supply of and demand for high quality instructional materials designed for the NGSS. Matt also served on the Board on Science Education at the National Academies for Science, Engineering, & Medicine from 2013 through 2019.

Theresa Siliezar

As the Operations Associate, Theresa is responsible for the general operations of the organization. She will play a vital role in orchestrating the growth of OpenSciEd as a market leader in science education.

Theresa is deeply committed to her work in education and helping at-risk communities. Her most recent role in education was supporting Project Based Learning at PBLWorks as the Publications and Production Manager. For ten years she brought her project management skills to their publications department, while also meeting the e-commerce demands of a continually involving education community.

Prior to her current work in education, Theresa has an extensive history of supporting non-profits in the areas of humanitarian aid, physical disabilities, criminal justice, and homelessness. In her role as executive assistant, she mastered the art of office management, system implementation, teamwork, and customer service.

In addition to being passionate about providing a high quality education to marginalized communities, Theresa is excited about challenging her own limits and trying new experiences. She especially enjoys traveling to new destinations with her camera in hand to capture the land and people she meets along the way.

Our Commitment to Antiracist Action

We remain committed to acknowledging and taking on systemic racism in education. We recognize that the education system has often been a tool of oppression against people of color, specifically Black people, recreating power hierarchies and inequities. As science educators, we endeavor to develop science instructional materials and professional learning resources that provide equitable learning opportunities for historically disenfranchised students, with the goal to support their long-term self-determination. Our development process seeks to surface and address inequities in the engagement and participation of Black and Brown students in science learning, as well as other students who have been seen through a deficit lens rather than as knowledge builders in classrooms. Part of our work towards equity and justice involves recognizing the insidious ways racism has operated in science and rooting it out of science education. We strive to implement approaches that de-settle inequitable systems, routines, and assumptions that are in place in too many science learning environments and educational institutions.

We call on all curriculum developers to provide materials that bring forward and value all students' voices and surface the conversations that will empower students to own their education and their futures.

Our work as educators is central to the elimination of racism, Anti-Blackness, and white supremacy in science education and we dedicate our organization to advocate for and work toward a more just society.

OpenSciEd Brand Guidelines

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Science Materials - STEM Teaching Tools - About OpenSciEd

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To give teachers the materials, support, and power to get kids excited and curious about the world around them and confident in their ability to figure it out through questioning, investigating, and solving problems. We believe that: All students can excel in science Historical practices and entrenched cultural perceptions of

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Data Nuggets | Bringing authentic research and data into K-16 classrooms

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Free activities that bring real scientific data into the classroom, guiding students through the process of science while building their quantitative abilities.

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Subscribe to NGSS Now Newsletter | Next Generation Science Standards

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Read the latest on NGSS NOW Newsletter here

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*There are virtual and hybrid MWEEs!

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The Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) is a learner-centered framework that focuses on investigations into local environmental issues and leads to informed action. Teachers play an important role in providing structure, support, and encouragement as students use their curiosity and creativity to investigate and take action to address a local environmental issue. MWEEs are made up of multiple components that include learning both outdoors and in the classroom and are designed to increase environmental literacy by actively engaging students in building knowledge and meaning through hands-on, student-centered learning experiences.

"The MWEE is a learner-centered, inquiry and action framework that provides educators a roadmap for teaching content in a more engaging way. This type of hands-on learning helps students to understand their impact and realize their personal power to make changes in their local community, which in turn has the potential to affect all habitats and species living downstream."
- Tamara E. Peffer, Environment & Ecology Content Advisor, Pennsylvania Department of Education

Virtual & Hybrid MWEEs

The Distance Learning Supplement to the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience is a document created by Earth Force to help educators transitioning MWEEs to a virtual or hybrid environment.

Essential Elements

The MWEE consists of four essential elements that describe "what students do." These elements, together with the supporting practices, create a learner-centered framework that emphasizes the role of the student in actively constructing meaning from the learning experiences. Throughout the process students have time for reflection, allowing them to refocus on how what they are learning and experiencing affects the driving question. The essential elements are not meant to be linear. In fact, some elements, such as Synthesis and Conclusions, occur repeatedly throughout the MWEE.

Issue Definition

Students focus on a driving question, which is defined by the teacher, that addresses a locally relevant environmental issue that sparks curiosity and organizes student inquiry and investigations. To support youth voice and deepen the learning, students are actively involved in co-developing supporting questions with teachers to better understand the driving question and issue. Students learn more about the issue by making observations, finding and reading credible sources, talking to experts, and carrying out field investigations. Students also consider environmental policies and community practices and reflect on personal, stakeholder, and societal values and perspectives to develop a comprehensive picture of the root causes of the environmental issue.

Outdoor Field Experiences

Students participate in multiple Outdoor Field Experiences to explore the driving question and strengthen their connection to the natural world. During outdoor investigations students can use their senses, scientific equipment, and technology to make observations, collect data or measurements, and conduct experiments necessary to answer their supporting questions and inform environmental action. Within appropriate safety guidelines, students are actively involved in planning and conducting the field investigations. These experiences can take place on the school grounds, close to the school or at off-site locations.

Synthesis and Conclusions

During Synthesis and Conclusions, students reflect on each experience and investigation in relation to the issue, and share their claims and conclusions with each other. Teachers should plan for this to occur regularly throughout the MWEE. This learning and frequent reflection provides the foundation for the development of claims and environmental action that address the driving question and connect to the environmental issue.

Environmental Action Projects

As a result of their investigations, students identify solutions and develop Environmental Action Projects that directly address the issue within their school, neighborhood, or community. Students are actively engaged in and, to the extent possible, drive the decision-making, planning, and implementation of the action project. Teachers facilitate this process by forming groups, moderating, and answering questions. Students reflect on the value of the action and determine the extent to which it successfully addressed the issue.

Supporting Practices

The MWEE also includes four supporting practices that describe "what teachers do," along with their partners, to ensure success.

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Bay Backpack Providing educators with information about funding opportunities, field studies, curriculum guides and lesson plans related to the Chesapeake Bay. Bay Backpack helps educators find the tools they need to give their students Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences, or MWEEs.

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*There are virtual and hybrid MWEEs!

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The Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) is a learner-centered framework that focuses on investigations into local environmental issues and leads to informed action. Teachers play an important role in providing structure, support, and encouragement as students use their curiosity and creativity to investigate and take action to address a local environmental issue. MWEEs are made up of multiple components that include learning both outdoors and in the classroom and are designed to increase environmental literacy by actively engaging students in building knowledge and meaning through hands-on, student-centered learning experiences.

"The MWEE is a learner-centered, inquiry and action framework that provides educators a roadmap for teaching content in a more engaging way. This type of hands-on learning helps students to understand their impact and realize their personal power to make changes in their local community, which in turn has the potential to affect all habitats and species living downstream."
- Tamara E. Peffer, Environment & Ecology Content Advisor, Pennsylvania Department of Education

Virtual & Hybrid MWEEs

The Distance Learning Supplement to the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience is a document created by Earth Force to help educators transitioning MWEEs to a virtual or hybrid environment.

Essential Elements

The MWEE consists of four essential elements that describe "what students do." These elements, together with the supporting practices, create a learner-centered framework that emphasizes the role of the student in actively constructing meaning from the learning experiences. Throughout the process students have time for reflection, allowing them to refocus on how what they are learning and experiencing affects the driving question. The essential elements are not meant to be linear. In fact, some elements, such as Synthesis and Conclusions, occur repeatedly throughout the MWEE.

Issue Definition

Students focus on a driving question, which is defined by the teacher, that addresses a locally relevant environmental issue that sparks curiosity and organizes student inquiry and investigations. To support youth voice and deepen the learning, students are actively involved in co-developing supporting questions with teachers to better understand the driving question and issue. Students learn more about the issue by making observations, finding and reading credible sources, talking to experts, and carrying out field investigations. Students also consider environmental policies and community practices and reflect on personal, stakeholder, and societal values and perspectives to develop a comprehensive picture of the root causes of the environmental issue.

Outdoor Field Experiences

Students participate in multiple Outdoor Field Experiences to explore the driving question and strengthen their connection to the natural world. During outdoor investigations students can use their senses, scientific equipment, and technology to make observations, collect data or measurements, and conduct experiments necessary to answer their supporting questions and inform environmental action. Within appropriate safety guidelines, students are actively involved in planning and conducting the field investigations. These experiences can take place on the school grounds, close to the school or at off-site locations.

Synthesis and Conclusions

During Synthesis and Conclusions, students reflect on each experience and investigation in relation to the issue, and share their claims and conclusions with each other. Teachers should plan for this to occur regularly throughout the MWEE. This learning and frequent reflection provides the foundation for the development of claims and environmental action that address the driving question and connect to the environmental issue.

Environmental Action Projects

As a result of their investigations, students identify solutions and develop Environmental Action Projects that directly address the issue within their school, neighborhood, or community. Students are actively engaged in and, to the extent possible, drive the decision-making, planning, and implementation of the action project. Teachers facilitate this process by forming groups, moderating, and answering questions. Students reflect on the value of the action and determine the extent to which it successfully addressed the issue.

Supporting Practices

The MWEE also includes four supporting practices that describe "what teachers do," along with their partners, to ensure success.

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Bay Backpack Providing educators with information about funding opportunities, field studies, curriculum guides and lesson plans related to the Chesapeake Bay. Bay Backpack helps educators find the tools they need to give their students Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences, or MWEEs.

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*Offerings for Science Professional Learning can be found here

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Professional Growth / MSC Course Offerings

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Participants will explore the progression of the newly adopted Pennsylvania Integrated Standards for Science, Environment, Ecology, Technology and Engineering through their grade band. Attendees will develop a shared understanding of phenomenon-based and problem-driven science instruction that effectively incorporates all three dimensions of the standards (disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices and cross-cutting concepts).

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Welcome to WikiWatershed, a web toolkit designed to help citizens, conservation practitioners, municipal decision-makers, researchers, educators, and students advance knowledge and stewardship of fresh water. Learn more

Explore the WikiWatershed Toolkit

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WikiWatershed: Freshwater Stewardship Web Tools

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Helping citizens, conservation practitioners, municipal decision-makers, researchers, educators, and students advance freshwater knowledge and stewardship.

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GIS Mapping Software, Location Intelligence & Spatial Analytics | Esri

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Esri’s GIS mapping software is the most powerful mapping & spatial analytics technology available. Learn how businesses are using location intelligence to gain a competitive advantage.

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Dzivula Gube
Marine Conservationist & Underwater Photographer, Kenya

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iNaturalist is a social network for naturalists! Record your observations of plants and animals,
share them with friends and researchers, and learn about the natural world.

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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The SOLID Start project ( Science, Oral Language, and Literacy Development from the Start of School) develops professional development opportunities for K-2 teachers that integrates science and literacy. The project also develops standards-based, integrated science and disciplinary language and literacy curriculum materials designed for K-2 children. Components of the SOLID Start curriculum include unit and daily driving questions (ASK), multi-modal investigations of and experiences with science phenomena (EXPLORE), science informational text read alouds (READ), science writing and drawing opportunities (WRITE), and science synthesis discussions (SYNTHESIZE) to build children's oral language with a focus on explanations of phenomena. Teacher Tips are provided throughout the curriculum to support teachers in implementing these exciting units of study.

The ability to read, write, and communicate effectively about science is critical to school success, life-long learning, and participation in a global society. Yet, there is limited attention to science and disciplinary language and literacy in primary grades classrooms. In response to the ambitious goals for student learning set by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the high standards for disciplinary language and literacy the ELA standards, science instruction in K-2 classrooms will need to change.

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The SOLID Start project ( Science, Oral Language, and Literacy Development from the Start of School) develops professional development opportunities for K-2 teachers that integrates science and literacy. The project also develops standards-based, integrated science and disciplinary language and literacy curriculum materials designed for K-2 children.

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Impact on Science Education | College of Education

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This tool contains over 200 (and growing!) examples of scientific phenomena for K-12 teachers.

Help us develop the Phenomena Finder! Use the links at the bottom of the page to give feedback or suggest additional phenomena.

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The Phenomena Finder is a tool that helps K-12 teachers find scientific phenomena through which to engage students in STEM learning. It contains over 200 phenomena related to engineering, technology, and sciences including life sciences (biology, ecology), physical sciences (chemistry, physics), and Earth and space sciences (geology, astronomy).

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Core Reading and Writing for Science and Technical Subjects

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Core Reading and Writing for Science and Technical Subjects

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K-12 STEELS curriculum, assessment, and instructional resources

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K-12 STEELS curriculum, assessment, and instructional resources

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Standard Crosswalk: CS Supporting STEELS

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*Go to Instructional Strategies for the Science Practices

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Instructional Leadership for Science Practices

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This tool is a continuum for each practice that shows how students' performance can progress over time. For each science practice, we focused on one or two elements, which can be challenging for students and are productive levers for shifting classroom culture. A teacher can use the continuum to assess students' abilities to engage in the practices and to inform future instruction. The continuum can be used across multiple time points across the year to assess student growth and can be paired with instructional strategies to address specific student challenges.

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This tool is a continuum for each practice that shows how students' performance can progress over time. For each science practice, we focused on one or two elements, which can be challenging for...