Grades 6–8 · Semester 4 · 56 readings
Discover living and designed systems
Begin with contacts and useful patterns. Follow the connected explanations through the path from power to wheels, keeping each small group together and taking time to understand its illustrations.
Start reading →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 1Contacts and useful patterns3 readings ⌄
Damp sand, an induction cooktop and a sheet of paper explain forces, energy transfer and proportion through familiar objects.
- Why can damp sand hold a shape that dry sand cannot?Materials & Matter
- How can a cooktop heat a pan without a glowing burner?Everyday Life
- Why does A-series paper keep its shape when halved?Mathematics
Unit 2Barriers, repair and body position4 readings ⌄
Skin and clotting help maintain a boundary; inner-ear sensors and muscle spindles provide different information about movement.
Unit 4Body signals and transport4 readings ⌄
Hormones, liver processing, oxygen carriage and puberty connect specialized structures with changing needs.
Unit 5Food and cleaning3 readings ⌄
Cheesemaking, freezing food and detergent cleaning change materials through distinct mechanisms.
- How can liquid milk become a piece of cheese?Everyday Life
- Why can thawed fruit be softer than fresh fruit?Everyday Life
- What actually takes dirt out of clothes in a wash?Everyday Life
Unit 6What moves through familiar materials2 readings ⌄
Explore how different substances interact with cloth and food.
Unit 7Motion and heated materials3 readings ⌄
A controlled door, an electric oven and welding connect useful results with movement or energy transfer.
Unit 8Inside a precision workshop3 readings ⌄
Follow metal through controlled deformation, cutting and detailed measurement.
Unit 9Making parts, joints and printed words3 readings ⌄
Connect molds, permanent shape changes and reusable patterns to manufactured objects.
Unit 10Wireless connections2 readings ⌄
Wi-Fi and cellular calls connect devices through organized radio communication.
Unit 11Electric sensing and displays4 readings ⌄
A charger, touch sensor, display and thermometer connect electrical changes with useful outputs.
Unit 12The small parts behind electronic signals5 readings ⌄
Connect charge, stored energy and changing signals inside everyday electronics.
- How does a resistor reduce current without using up charge?Machines
- How can separated metal plates store electrical energy?Machines
- How can reversing current produce an output that keeps one direction?Machines
- How does a radio select one station from many arriving signals?Systems
- How can a radio wave carry the changing shape of a voice?Systems
Unit 13Seeing and supporting movement2 readings ⌄
Ultrasound forms an image from echoes; a prosthetic hand connects a control signal with movement.
Unit 14Living joins and water supply2 readings ⌄
A graft heals living tissues together, while irrigation decisions account for water supply and loss.
Unit 15Storms, mountains and mineral traces3 readings ⌄
Lightning, colliding continents and minerals entering wood explain different ways Earth leaves visible results.
- How does a storm cloud make lightning?Earth & Space
- How can colliding continents build mountains?Earth & Space
- How can wood become a stone that still looks like wood?Earth & Space
Unit 17Inside digital devices4 readings ⌄
Search, processor instructions, camera sensing and working memory connect different physical and informational steps.
Unit 18The path from power to wheels4 readings ⌄
An engine, clutch and selected gears pass motion through a conventional drivetrain; an electric car uses another route.