The lessons in this module are empirical – abductive. The teacher helps students identify the activity of substances within pizza dough. The teacher announces the students will conduct chemical reactions to explore how matter is conserved during a chemical change. After the class compares their reasoning, the teacher provides clarifying and direct instruction with videos, guided practice and supported computer simulation practice for students to learn to balance chemical equations. Students complete a problem-based investigation to apply their learning by writing, testing and explaining a lab procedure that will help an absent classmate to gather evidence and gain an understanding of the Law of Conservation of Matter. This module was developed by Patricia Kramolisch as part of a Virginia Commonwealth University STEM initiative sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education.

Learn about one of the biggest impacts that humans have on their environment—Litter. It isn’t just an aesthetic problem; it has serious impacts on habitats, wildlife health, as well as human health and safety. The consequences of even small acts of littering can be far-reaching and long-lasting. Join the Wildlife Center staff and watershed conservation authorities to learn more about the problems litter can pose, as well as a variety of ways that you can help reduce litter.

This activity aims to engage middle-school students with cyberbiosecurity topics through a murder mystery-style puzzle. As the narrator, you will set the cybercrime scene and provide breadcrumbs along the way. Your students will serve as investigators, drawing connections between agricultural and computer science topics while they solve the crime. This activity is part of the Agricultural Cyberbiosecurity Education Resource Collection that contains resources for formal and non-formal agricultural educators working with middle school aged youth. Published as Open Educational Resources, all resources are provided in durable (pdf) and customizable (MS Word) formats. They are hosted on  GoOpenVA in a unique resource collection, Ag Cybersecurity Virginia Tech, at https://goopenva.org/curated-collections/143 and on on Virginia Tech’s stable repository, VTechWorks at https://doi.org/10.21061/cyberbiosecurityThis work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields (WAMS) Grants Program, award #2020-38503-31950.

This activity aims to engage middle-school students with cyberbiosecurity topics through a murder mystery-style puzzle. As the narrator, you will set the cybercrime scene and provide breadcrumbs along the way. Your students will serve as investigators, drawing connections between agricultural and computer science topics while they solve the crime. This activity is part of the Agricultural Cyberbiosecurity Education Resource Collection that contains resources for formal and non-formal agricultural educators working with middle school aged youth. Published as Open Educational Resources, all resources are provided in durable (pdf) and customizable (MS Word) formats. They are hosted on  GoOpenVA in a unique resource collection, Ag Cybersecurity Virginia Tech, at https://goopenva.org/curated-collections/143 and on on Virginia Tech’s stable repository, VTechWorks at https://doi.org/10.21061/cyberbiosecurityThis work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields (WAMS) Grants Program, award #2020-38503-31950.

In this lesson, students will review the development of the Constitution.  To experience what this might be like,  students will work together to create a set of rules, procedures, rights, and responsibilities needed to safely use computing devices and networks in our school. When they have finished they will compare their list to the school’s Acceptable Use Policy.

Learn about DNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid is the blueprint for all living things, but it is so small we can’t usually see it. The role of DNA is to provide our cells information on building proteins; these proteins lead to our individual traits such as eye color, height, dimples, and so much more. The structure of DNA is a double helix and we can model this structure at home. This model is based on the work of Rosalind Franklin, a British Chemist who created an X-ray photograph that provided evidence of the double-helix structure of DNA molecules. We can also extract DNA from a living thing, such as a strawberry, at home. The components of this DNA are so small that it does not look like our model; however, with technology scientists can both see the structure and manipulate the structure to change proteins in organisms. The key concepts and terms explored in this episode include DNA, nucleotides, genes, and genetically modified organisms (GMO's).

In this activity, you will design a device that will substantially impact our environment. You can write words around your device’s image to help explain your ideas. This device does not have to be realistic. See the example of how to draw a device prototype below. An example of an approach could be to create a sizable water Roomba-like device that cleans the top of a body of water and burns the trash collected. This process turns the trash into oxygen.

This module is designed to guide students in better understanding what electricity is and how it works by investigating electrical circuits.  The teacher will facilitate students' explorations as they use scientific terms to generate a summary of their experiences.  Throughout this unit, students will be guided in using practical materials such as wires, batteries, switches and light bulbs to better understand how electricity behaves in open and closed circuits. This module was developed by Stephanie Hooks as part of a Virginiga Commonwealth Universtiy STEM initiative sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education.

This module is designed to guide students in better understanding what electricity is and how it works by investigating electrical circuits.  The teacher will facilitate students' explorations as they use scientific terms to generate a summary of their experiences.  Throughout this unit, students will be guided in using practical materials such as wires, batteries, switches and light bulbs to better understand how electricity behaves in open and closed circuits. This module was developed by Stephanie Hooks as part of a Virginiga Commonwealth Universtiy STEM initiative sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education.

By the end of this module, the students will be able to explain (using physical models and computer simulations) the components of electrical circuits, the purpose of each component, and the differences between series and parallel circuits.This module was developed by Christina Owens as part of a Virginia Commonwealth University STEM initiative sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education.

Students will be shown a YouTube Video about different types of electronic communication. There will then be a whole class discussion about 3 specific types (e-mail, social media, and text messages). They will then be given individual LCD tablets and asked to either write A (Email), B (Social Media), or C (Text Messages) for what they would use to send information in certain scenarios that the teacher gives. The teacher will have 3 cards made with A and a picture of email on it, B and a picture of social media platforms on it, and C with a picture of a cell phone on it to help guide students and remind them what to write on their panels. They will hold these up when they are done and a discussion will be done of each scenario.

Learn about where diseases come from. How are they spread? This episode examines a variety of emerging wildlife diseases, with an emphasis on the One Health concept. While some disease outbreaks may be “natural”, human behaviors and influences are adding additional pressure on wildlife and the landscape, and in the end, all of us – humans, wildlife, and the environment – are affected. Learn more about the field of emerging wildlife diseases and the continually evolving research on what those diseases tell us.  

This module is designed to guide students in better understanding energy and its many different forms. The students will also understand how one form of energy is transformed into another form of energy.  The teacher will facilitate students' explorations as they generate a summary of their experiences.  Throughout this unit, students will be guided in using practical materials such everyday appliances, electrical energy, energy from the sun and kitchen materials to create a device that can transform energy.This module was developed by Sarah Donnelly, Stephanie Hooks, and Karin Kaerwer as part of a Virginia Commonwealth University STEM initiative sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education.

This module focuses on SOL 5.7c, energy’s effects on phases of matter. The target population is a fifth grade inclusive classroom. After this learning experience, students should understand that as its temperature increases, many kinds of matter change from a solid to a liquid to a gas. As its temperature decreases, that matter changes from a gas to a liquid to a solid. This module was developed by Karin Kaerwer, Stephanie Hooks, Sarah Donnelly as part of a Virginia Commonwealth University STEM initiative sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education.

Each of the 5 countries have topics, real life applications/consequences, and 3-4 artists from that country that can be used a "mentor artists" to lead the students to create an artistic response and presentation for students, staff, and environmental representatives In terms of the art - What do the colors, lines, shapes, and techniques of the artists make you feel? Why did the artist/author decide to use these techniques and colors? What if they had chosen a different color combination?What colors make you feel the same way? What techniques will you use to express the same feeling?

The structure of enzymes moderates their function in chemical reactions in living things. Enzymes are a group of proteins that function to moderate the rate of metabolic reaction by acting as catalysts (Enduring Understandings of BIO.2c).This module was developed by Kristin Scheible as part of a Virginia Commonwealth University STEM initiative sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education.

In this unit, students will study the evolution of whales from four-limbed, land dwelling, mammalian ancestors to modern, two-finned, aquatic mammals through a virtual or in-class simulation lab. This activity will teach them more about how fossils, homologous structures, and DNA analysis provide evidence for macroevolution, evolutionary theory, and modern classification. This module was developed by Liz Ashby as part of a Virginia Commonwealth University STEM initiative sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education.

As technology has evolved over time so has the understanding of the structure of the atom. This module focuses on how the model of the atom has changed over time using The Atomic Theory Timeline including the historical contributions of the scientists involved. This module was developed by Tracey Nipper as part of a Virginia Commonwealth University STEM initiative sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education.

This resource provides an inquiry-based exploration of the cyanotype photograms using examples from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and video explanations of the history, science, and artistic process of cyanotype photograms.

This resource provides an inquiry-based exploration of the cyanotype photograms using examples from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and video explanations of the history, science, and artistic process of cyanotype photograms.