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Grades 6–8 · Semester 5 · 57 readings

Connect people, places and ideas

Begin with working with indoor air. Follow the connected explanations through the bonds behind familiar materials, 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 1Working with indoor air3 readings ⌄

Air conditioning, dehumidification and filtration change different properties of the air in a room.

  1. How does an air conditioner move heat outside?Machines
  2. How does a dehumidifier collect water from air?Machines
  3. How does an air purifier take particles out of air?Machines
Unit 2Changing food and fabric3 readings ⌄

Extraction, pasteurization and dyeing use different interactions to change a material or move selected substances.

  1. How do tea and coffee give their flavors to water?Everyday Life
  2. How does pasteurization change a liquid food?Everyday Life
  3. How can dye become part of a cotton fabric’s color?Materials & Matter
Unit 3Learning, protection and repair5 readings ⌄

Scar formation, skill learning, attention, vaccination and antibiotics connect different biological mechanisms with familiar experiences.

  1. How does repaired skin become a scar?Organisms
  2. How does repeated practice help a skill become easier?Organisms
  3. How does attention help one thing stand out?Organisms
  4. How can a vaccine prepare immune memory?Organisms
  5. Why do antibiotics affect bacteria but not viruses?Organisms
Unit 4Air, oceans and living coasts4 readings ⌄

Tornadoes, tsunamis, monsoons and reef growth reveal distinct changes in the atmosphere, ocean and living environment.

  1. How can a thunderstorm form a tornado?Earth & Space
  2. How can a tsunami cross an ocean and grow near shore?Earth & Space
  3. Why do monsoon winds change with the seasons?Earth & Space
  4. How do tiny coral animals build a reef?Organisms
Unit 5Generating electricity2 readings ⌄

Solar cells and generators connect different energy sources with electrical output.

  1. How does a solar cell turn light into electricity?Materials & Matter
  2. How does a generator turn motion into electricity?Machines
Unit 6Guided and repeated motion4 readings ⌄

Steering, suspension, railway wheels and a violin bow depend on different arrangements of forces and contact.

  1. Why do a car’s front wheels turn through different angles?Machines
  2. How does a shock absorber reduce bouncing?Machines
  3. How do train wheels follow the rails?Machines
  4. How can a violin bow keep a string vibrating?Arts & Music
Unit 7Managing motion around passengers2 readings ⌄

See how vehicles soften road disturbances and change the way a passenger stops.

  1. Why can a car wheel jump over a bump without lifting everyone as far?Machines
  2. How can an airbag soften a stop that happens in an instant?Machines
Unit 8Digital connections and interpretations3 readings ⌄

Speech recognition, file synchronization and Bluetooth pairing turn signals and records into useful connections.

  1. How does a computer turn speech into text?Computing
  2. How do cloud files stay in step across devices?Computing
  3. What happens when Bluetooth devices pair?Systems
Unit 9Leaving Earth and working outside2 readings ⌄

A rocket carries its propellants; a spacesuit maintains a usable environment around a person.

  1. How can a rocket engine push in empty space?Machines
  2. How does a spacesuit act like a tiny spacecraft?Everyday Life
Unit 10Measuring public systems2 readings ⌄

Weather forecasts combine observations and models; water utilities combine measurements to investigate losses.

  1. How is a weather forecast made?Systems
  2. How can a water utility find evidence of hidden leaks?Systems
Unit 11Working parts behind familiar experiences4 readings ⌄

A voice box, aircraft cabin, dry dock and OLED display each coordinate different physical processes.

  1. How does your voice box produce different pitches?Organisms
  2. How does an airliner maintain cabin air high above Earth?Systems
  3. How can a dry dock leave a huge ship standing on land?Machines
  4. How can an OLED screen make light at each pixel?Computing
Unit 12Records and changing surfaces4 readings ⌄

A disc records sound, a cave drip deposits stone, a storm raises coastal water and a library preserves physical evidence.

  1. How does a CD recover music from tiny marks?Computing
  2. How can dripping water build a stone icicle in a cave?Earth & Space
  3. How can a storm push the sea onto land?Earth & Space
  4. How can a library keep a fragile old book readable?History & Evidence
Unit 13Measuring and coordinating change3 readings ⌄

Operating systems share processor time, accelerometers sense a tiny displacement, and cruise control responds to speed changes.

  1. How can several apps share a processor?Computing
  2. How can a phone sense movement with a tiny moving mass?Computing
  3. How does cruise control respond when a car reaches a hill?Systems
Unit 14Rules, learning and inferred quantities3 readings ⌄

Binary carries preserve place value, training changes a prediction rule, and altimeters infer height from pressure.

  1. How does a computer carry a value when adding binary numbers?Mathematics
  2. How is training an AI model different from using it?Computing
  3. How can an aircraft instrument estimate altitude from air pressure?Machines
Unit 15Patterns across living, chemical and human systems4 readings ⌄

Gene expression, periodic patterns, ocean circulation and interest-rate decisions link parts across different scales.

  1. How can a gene help a cell make a protein?Organisms
  2. Why do periodic-table columns often contain similar elements?Materials & Matter
  3. How does ocean circulation move heat around Earth?Earth & Space
  4. How can a central bank’s interest-rate decision affect spending?Societies
Unit 16Cells, cargo and microscopic partners4 readings ⌄

Cellular machinery explains specialization, secretion, infection and microbial exchanges.

  1. Why does a virus need a living cell to make more viruses?Organisms
  2. How can microbes in the intestine help digest a meal?Organisms
  3. How can cells with similar DNA do such different jobs?Organisms
  4. How does a cell send a newly made protein outside?Organisms
Unit 17The bonds behind familiar materials5 readings ⌄

Follow particles from individual bonds to the properties of whole materials.

  1. What holds a salt crystal together?Materials & Matter
  2. How can shared electrons hold atoms together?Materials & Matter
  3. Why does a water molecule have different electrical sides?Materials & Matter
  4. Why do different liquids boil at different temperatures?Materials & Matter
  5. How do small molecules become a plastic chain?Materials & Matter