Self-Paced Science: Middle School

Help students make personal connections to science with self-paced lessons

Mini Unit Components

  • natural selections mini unit packet and slides

    Student Packet and Slides

    • Teacher outline

    • Student slideshow

    • Student packet

    • Vocabulary posters

  • A worksheet titled 'Characteristics of Life' for an introductory life science mini unit. The worksheet includes options for a summative assessment, with criteria for content and mechanics, rated as exceeding, proficient, developing, or beginning. It has sections for writing claims, evidence, and reasoning about whether non-Newtonian substances are living or nonliving. There is space for the student's name at the top right corner.

    Student Project

    A summative assessment, project based activity.

  • A set of educational materials about characteristics of life and life forms. The top right features a frog in water with lily pads, titled "Characteristics of Life Extension Activity" and "Introduction to Life Science Mini Unit One." Below, there are images of different life forms including a butterfly, a dog, a lizard, and coconuts on a tree branch, with the text "Life on Earth takes many forms".

    Extension Project

    Extend learning for students who finish early, or for all to keep learning beyond the standards. Creativity, research and more!

    Includes student slides to guide students through the independent project.

Resource Libraries

Physical Science Resource Library

Energy and matter; heat, potential and kinetic energy; force and motion; waves;  atoms and molecules; the periodic table, synthetic materials, chemical reactions and more! 

Life science resource library

In Progress!

Earth and space science resource library

Water and rock cycles; weather and climate; weathering and erosion; plate tectonics, Pangaea, astronomy, climate change and more!

How do I use a Self-Pace Science mini unit?

88%

of our middle school students agreed with the statement, “Compared to whole class units, I ENJOY the self-paced units more.”

89%

of our students agreed with the statement, “Compared to whole class units, I am LEARNING MORE working through the self-paced units at my own rate.”

80%

of students said they enjoyed self-pacing because “I can work faster or slower depending on how I feel each day.”