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Grades 6–8 · Semester 3 · 57 readings

Explore everyday mechanisms

Begin with quantities and records. Follow the connected explanations through responding to differences, keeping each small group together and taking time to understand its illustrations.

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One possible pace is 3–4 explanations a week over 16 weeks. Keep each small unit together, revisit its pictures and allow more time whenever an idea needs it.

Unit 1Quantities and records3 readings ⌄

A weighted mean, linked database records and optical character recognition explain different ways information can be combined or transformed.

  1. Why do group sizes matter when combining means?Mathematics
  2. How do IDs connect records in different database tables?Computing
  3. Why can OCR text differ from the scanned page?History & Evidence
Unit 2Images and sound3 readings ⌄

Quantized images, animation frames and chord notes use different relationships to form a representation.

  1. What is lost when a grayscale image uses fewer brightness levels?Computing
  2. How can still frames suggest motion?Arts & Music
  3. How do notes form a chord together?Arts & Music
Unit 3Clear explanations3 readings ⌄

Transcription, translation, paraphrase and paragraph structure determine what is preserved and how ideas connect.

  1. How do transcription and translation preserve different things?History & Evidence
  2. How can a paraphrase keep a claim’s meaning?Language
  3. How do sentences form a coherent paragraph?Language
Unit 4Waves and perception3 readings ⌄

Interfering sound, a puppet’s visible movement and overlapping grids alter a signal or its perception in distinct ways.

  1. How can headphones reduce sound with more sound?Machines
  2. Why can a voice seem to come from a puppet?Arts & Music
  3. Why do overlapping grids make broad moiré bands?Arts & Music
Unit 5Light and hidden clues3 readings ⌄

Auroral emissions, guided light and penetrating X-rays show different interactions between radiation and matter.

  1. Why do gases high in the sky glow during an aurora?Earth & Space
  2. How does an optical fiber guide a light signal around a bend?Systems
  3. How can X-rays reveal an earlier painting?History & Evidence
Unit 6Surfaces and change3 readings ⌄

Gecko contact structures, a flytrap’s signaling and low-pressure sublimation explain different kinds of attachment or transformation.

  1. How can a gecko hold on without glue?Organisms
  2. How can a Venus flytrap snap without muscles?Organisms
  3. How can freeze-drying remove ice without melting it?Everyday Life
Unit 7Patterns and scale3 readings ⌄

Thin films, a model coastline and image landmarks connect small structures or measurements with larger visible patterns.

  1. How do overlapping reflections make colors in a thin film?Materials & Matter
  2. Why does a coastline's measured length depend on the ruler?Mathematics
  3. How can a face effect follow features without identifying a person?Computing
Unit 8Light, images and encoded shapes4 readings ⌄

Mirages, afterglow, vector curves and holograms explain four different relationships between a physical or encoded structure and a visible image.

  1. How can a dry, hot road appear to hold water?Earth & Space
  2. Why does a glow-in-the-dark phosphor keep emitting light?Materials & Matter
  3. How does a vector curve keep its shape when enlarged?Computing
  4. How can a hologram reconstruct a view of an object?Arts & Music
Unit 9Structures, signals and direction4 readings ⌄

Leaf surfaces, an animal’s compass, a battery-free tag and stressed glass have different ways of responding to their surroundings.

  1. How can a lotus leaf shed water and loose dirt?Organisms
  2. How can a monarch use the moving Sun as a compass?Organisms
  3. How can a passive RFID tag reply without a battery?Systems
  4. Why can tempered glass break into many pieces?Everyday Life
Unit 10Structures, water and energy4 readings ⌄

Isolators and prestress alter a structure’s response. Selective membranes and turbines make different uses of water pressure.

  1. How can a building move less while the ground shakes?Machines
  2. Why is concrete squeezed before a bridge beam carries traffic?Materials & Matter
  3. How can pressure separate fresh water from saltwater?Systems
  4. How does a dam’s water produce electricity?Systems
Unit 11Finding damage before a structure fails2 readings ⌄

Connect repeated loading with ways to inspect the material hidden inside a part.

  1. Why can a metal part break after many ordinary loads?Materials & Matter
  2. How can sound reveal a crack hidden inside metal?Machines
Unit 12Inside working devices4 readings ⌄

An electron microscope, an accelerator, a pressure cooker and a ceramic faucet turn hidden interactions into a useful result.

  1. How does a scanning electron microscope build a surface image?Machines
  2. How do particle accelerators add energy and steer a beam?Systems
  3. Why can a pressure cooker cook above water’s usual boiling temperature?Everyday Life
  4. How do turning ceramic discs control a faucet?Everyday Life
Unit 13Hidden arrangements, visible results4 readings ⌄

Wheel gates, lens strips, polarizing sheets and vibrating vocal folds explain four different visible or audible effects.

  1. How do hidden wheels remember a lock’s combination?Everyday Life
  2. How can tilting a card reveal a different picture?Arts & Music
  3. Why can two clear-looking polarizing sheets become dark together?Materials & Matter
  4. What turns a hiss into a buzzing speech sound?Language
Unit 14Motion and boundaries4 readings ⌄

A spinning drum, exhaust-driven machinery, mangrove roots and a spider’s legs show different interactions between motion, pressure and material boundaries.

  1. How does spinning a washer drum remove water from cloth?Machines
  2. How can engine exhaust help bring more air into the engine?Machines
  3. How can a mangrove take in water while limiting salt?Organisms
  4. How can fluid pressure straighten a spider’s leg?Organisms
Unit 15Routes, measurements and landforms4 readings ⌄

A short junction, a digital route, a ship’s time reference and a limestone cave connect an observed result with its underlying process.

  1. Why can three paths share a shorter junction?Mathematics
  2. How can route software find the quickest path?Computing
  3. How could a clock help a ship find its longitude?History & Evidence
  4. How can water slowly open a cavern inside limestone?Earth & Space
Unit 16Canoes and ocean knowledge3 readings ⌄

Floating structures, stars and swell patterns support different parts of an ocean voyage.

  1. How does an outrigger help a narrow canoe resist tipping?Machines
  2. How can a remembered star compass help guide an ocean voyage?Earth & Space
  3. How can ocean swells help Marshallese navigators recognize an island's surroundings?Earth & Space
Unit 17Responding to differences3 readings ⌄

A fish’s sensory organs, a car differential and a stereoscope use different kinds of difference to produce a useful result.

  1. How can a fish feel movement in the water around it?Organisms
  2. How can a car drive two wheels at different speeds?Machines
  3. How can two flat pictures create a sense of depth?Arts & Music