Dr. Michael Kester-Haynes

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 24 (Grade 8 Science): Energy in Mechanical Systems

Grade 8 unit modeling how kinetic and potential energy shift in ramps, springs, and pendulums using graphs and bar models to explore mass, speed, and position.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 23 (Grade 8 Science): Engineering Energy Solutions

Design, build, and test devices to control thermal energy transfer, using data, scientific principles, and engineering constraints to improve performance.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 22 (Grade 8 Science): Energy Transfer in Systems

Grade 8 unit where students argue that changes in kinetic energy show energy is transferred within systems using collisions, friction, and motion investigations.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 21 (Grade 8 Science): Thermal Energy Transfer

Grade 8 NGSS unit where students investigate how mass, material, and energy transfer affect temperature change and particle motion, using data and models to explain results.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 20 (Grade 8 Science): Potential Energy & Position

Grade 8 science unit on modeling gravitational, elastic, and electric potential energy, showing how mass, height, and distance affect stored energy in real-world systems.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 19 (Grade 8 Science): Kinetic Energy & Speed

Grade 8 NGSS unit where students graph kinetic energy changes with mass and speed, using data to explain why small speed increases greatly boost energy of motion.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 18 (Grade 8 Science): Forces & Motion—Quarter Synthesis

Grade 8 NGSS unit where students model gravity, electromagnetism, and contact forces, using investigations and engineering design to explain how forces interact.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 17 (Grade 8 Science): Force Models—Graphs & Data

Grade 8 NGSS unit where students interpret motion graphs to explain how net force and mass affect changes in motion and explore kinetic energy patterns.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 16 (Grade 8 Science): Engineering with Forces & Motion

Grade 8 NGSS engineering unit where students design and test collision-safety systems, using data and Newton’s Third Law to evaluate competing solutions.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 15 (Grade 8 Science): Magnetism & Electromagnets

Grade 8 NGSS unit where students investigate how electric currents create magnetic fields using circuits, compasses, and electromagnets to collect evidence.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 14 (Grade 8 Science): Electric Forces & Charge

Grade 8 NGSS unit where students use data to ask testable questions about factors that affect electric and magnetic force strength, like distance, charge, and orientation.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 13 (Grade 8 Science): Balanced & Unbalanced Forces

Grade 8 NGSS unit investigating how net force and mass determine changes in motion using force diagrams, motion data, and student-designed experiments.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 12 (Grade 8 Science): Gravity & Gravitational Interactions

Grade 8 NGSS unit where students argue from evidence that gravitational interactions are always attractive and depend on mass, using everyday and space science examples.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 11 (Grade 8 Science): Newton’s Third Law in Action

Grade 8 NGSS unit using Newton’s Third Law to design devices that harness equal and opposite force pairs to move or control the motion of two interacting objects.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 10 (Grade 8 Science): Newton’s Laws—Motion Basics

Grade 8 NGSS unit where students use force diagrams and motion graphs to show how changes in motion depend on net force and mass through hands-on investigations.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 9 (Grade 8 Science): Matter & Interactions—Quarter Synthesis

Grade 8 NGSS unit integrating atoms, molecules, reactions, mass conservation, and thermal energy with engineering design to model and solve real-world systems.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 8 (Grade 8 Science): Designing Thermal Devices

Grade 8 NGSS engineering unit where students design, build, test, and improve devices that absorb or release thermal energy using particle models and data.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 7 (Grade 8 Science): Thermal Energy & Particle Motion

Grade 8 NGSS-aligned unit where students model how adding or removing thermal energy changes particle motion, temperature, and states of matter using data.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 6 (Grade 8 Science): Synthetic Materials & Natural Resources

Grade 8 NGSS unit where students research how synthetic materials come from natural resources and analyze their benefits, drawbacks, and societal impacts.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 5 (Grade 8 Science): Conservation of Mass in Reactions

Grade 8 NGSS unit where students model atom rearrangement and measure mass to show matter is conserved in chemical reactions using closed systems.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 4 (Grade 8 Science): Physical vs. Chemical Changes

Grade 8 NGSS unit modeling how thermal energy changes particle motion, temperature, and state, helping students explain physical vs chemical changes with evidence.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 3 (Grade 8 Science): Properties of Substances

Grade 8 NGSS-aligned unit where students use data, properties, and CER writing to tell physical changes from chemical reactions using clear evidence.

Paid-members only

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 2 (Grade 8 Science): Atoms, Molecules & Structures

NGSS-aligned Grade 8 science unit using atomic models to show how atoms form molecules and extended structures, building foundations for chemical reactions.

Grade 8 Science Units

Unit Plan 1 (Grade 8 Science): Science Skills & Modeling Foundations

Kick off Grade 8 science with an NGSS-aligned unit on lab safety, measurement, graphing, and modeling matter and energy using criteria and constraints.

Paid-members only

3-5 Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan (Grades 3-5): Persuasive Pen Pals: Researching and Writing to Convince

Empower grades 3–5 writers with Persuasive Pen Pals, a CCSS- and C3-aligned unit where students research real issues and write evidence-based letters to create change.