Dr. Michael Kester-Haynes

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Grade 7 Science Units

Unit Plan 12 (Grade 7 Science): Food Webs & Energy Flow

Grade 7 science unit modeling how energy flows from the sun through food webs and how matter cycles between living organisms and the environment in ecosystems.

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Grade 7 Science Units

Unit Plan 11 (Grade 7 Science): Biotic Interactions

Grade 7 unit where students predict ecosystem patterns—predator–prey cycles, competition, and mutualism—to explain how interactions shape populations and community balance.

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Grade 7 Science Units

Unit Plan 10 (Grade 7 Science): Ecosystems Basics

Grade 7 unit where students analyze data to explain how limited resources like food or water drive population growth, decline, and competition in ecosystems.

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Grade 7 Science Units

Unit Plan 9 (Grade 7 Science): Cells & Systems — Quarter Synthesis

Grade 7 unit connecting cells, systems, growth, genes, and energy—students model how matter and energy flow through organisms and design solutions to support system health.

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Grade 7 Science Units

Unit Plan 8 (Grade 7 Science): Energy in Organisms

Grade 7 life science unit where students model how food molecules are rearranged through chemical reactions to release energy and support growth in organisms.

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Grade 7 Science Units

Unit Plan 7 (Grade 7 Science): Genes, Environment & Growth

Grade 7 life science unit where students use data and models to explain how genetic and environmental factors influence organism growth and variation.

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Grade 7 Science Units

Unit Plan 6 (Grade 7 Science): Growth & Cell Division

Grade 7 unit where students use data and models to show organisms grow through cell division, constructing evidence-based arguments aligned to MS-LS1-4.

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Grade 7 Science Units

Unit Plan 5 (Grade 7 Science): Human Body Systems

Grade 7 unit modeling how digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems interact to move food and oxygen, showing the body as cell-based interconnected subsystems.

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Grade 7 Science Units

Unit Plan 4 (Grade 7 Science): Specialized Cells & Tissues

Grade 7 unit where students explore how specialized cells form tissues, organs, and interacting body systems using models, diagrams, and CER for evidence.

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Grade 7 Science Units

Unit Plan 3 (Grade 7 Science): Cell Structure & Function

Grade 7 unit modeling plant and animal cell organelles as a system, showing how each part contributes to cell function through diagrams, analogies, and models.

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Grade 7 Science Units

Unit Plan 2 (Grade 7 Science): What Is a Cell?

Grade 7 unit using microscopes, observations, models, and CER to show unicellular and multicellular organisms are made of cells, the basic unit of life.

Grade 7 Science Units

Unit Plan 1 (Grade 7 Science): Science Skills & Inquiry Routines

Launch Grade 7 science with lab safety, careful observation, modeling, and CER to build skills for cell investigations and engineering design all year.

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9-12 Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan (Grades 9-12): Literary Graphic Novels from Poetry - Transforming Verse into Visual Narrative

Students transform poems into 4–6 panel graphic storyboards, using visual metaphors, figurative language analysis, and artist statements to deepen meaning.

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 36 (Grade 8 Science): Cumulative Synthesis & Exhibition

Grade 8 science exhibition where students showcase mastery of matter, forces, energy, waves, and engineering design through models, data, prototypes, and clear explanations.

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Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 35 (Grade 8 Science): Final Engineering Challenge

Students design, test, and improve real-world solutions using forces, energy, or waves—collecting data and iterating through the full engineering design process.

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Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 34 (Grade 8 Science): Waves in Everyday Technologies

Waves power technologies like medical imaging, Wi-Fi, and digital audio by transferring energy and using reliable digitized signals to carry information.

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Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 33 (Grade 8 Science): Engineering Communication Systems

Design wave-based communication systems: students build and test devices using digital signals to send information reliably while applying engineering design.

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Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 32 (Grade 8 Science): Analog vs. Digital Signals

Digitized signals using 0s and 1s are more reliable than analog because they resist noise, store well, and are easier to copy and transmit accurately.

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Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 31 (Grade 8 Science): Light & the Electromagnetic Spectrum

EM waves carry energy and information through space without moving matter; students model amplitude, wavelength, and interactions like absorption, transmission, reflection.

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Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 30 (Grade 8 Science): Sound Waves & Vibrations

Sound as a mechanical wave: students explore vibrations, models, and how sound transfers energy through media—without moving matter.

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Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 29 (Grade 8 Science): Waves Transfer Energy

Grade 8 waves unit where students model mechanical and electromagnetic waves to show energy moves through a medium or space while matter stays in place.

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Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 28 (Grade 8 Science): Intro to Waves—Properties & Patterns

Grade 8 waves unit where students use math, graphs, and patterns to describe amplitude and wavelength and explain how waves carry energy and information.

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Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 27 (Grade 8 Science): Energy—Quarter Synthesis

Grade 8 capstone energy unit where students investigate energy transfer, graph kinetic and potential energy, evaluate thermal designs, and argue using data and models.

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Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 26 (Grade 8 Science): Energy Data—Graphs & Patterns

Grade 8 science unit using tables, graphs, and models to compare energy patterns across motion, mechanical, and thermal systems, showing how energy changes and transfers.

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Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 25 (Grade 8 Science): Energy & Particle Models

Grade 8 unit where students investigate how thermal energy changes particle motion, temperature, and state using data, particle models, and phase change explanations.