The Next Generation Science Standards is a multi-state effort to create a comphrensive set of science standards for K-12 students in the United States and are a great starting point for a science curriculum. Over 20 states have voluntarily adopted NGSS. We combine these standards with what children are curious about, current world events, and practical skills to provide a modern well-rounded science curriculum that prepares children for anything they might want to pursue.

This chapter explores different materials and how to evaluate their unique properties. Through various activities, we'll see how they can help us solve real-world problems and invent useful things. Throughout this course, we will apply this engineering knowledge to the scientific domains of plants, landscapes, and animals.

In this chapter, students complete their introduction to thinking like an engineer. Students will continue to learn new properties of materials and decide how these characteristics might help solve problems. In class, they will invent their own material, describe its properties, and explain why it is uniquely capable of solving a problem.

In this chapter, students will look at plants and seeds from the perspective of an engineer in order to unravel the reasons behind their unique characteristics! We'll run an experiment to discover how the same tree species can end up on two distant islands and how seeds have adapted for optimal dispersal. Get ready to be inspired by the ingenious structures and designs of the natural world, and learn how they can spark innovative engineering ideas!

In this chapter, students delve into the world of erosion to learn how various land formations are created. Through two hands-on experiments, students will discover how water shapes canyons and apply their engineering knowledge from earlier in the course to develop ways to prevent landslides, just as real scientists do. This class takes a deep dive into the power of water and the materials used to mitigate natural disasters.

In this chapter, we're going on a journey to explore the animal kingdom and learn about how animals are sorted into groups. Our focus will be on birds, those amazing aviators, and discover what makes each kind of bird unique. But we won't just watch; we'll also use our science and engineering skills to create a special bird feeder just for one type of bird. It's a fun trip where we use science and engineering to unlock the secrets of nature!

Get ready for a unique and fun assessment in this final chapter. We're reviewing all the important ideas from the course--with a twist! Many questions are open-ended (with more than one right answer) and designed to kickstart lively discussion. Students will review, think, and see their learning journey in a whole new light. End the course on a high note--full of fun and reflection!