Pennsylvania Grades 6–8 science standards
The Grades 6–8 science outcomes we teach, in the standards's own words, with the lessons and practice pages for each. Pick an outcome code for the full list of lessons and printables.
Pennsylvania Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy & Sustainability (STEELS) Standards. Every lesson comes with a printable teacher guide and student sheet.
Biological Sciences
3.1.6-8.A Conduct an investigation to provide evidence that living things are made of cells, either one cell or many different numbers and types of cells.
Lessons: Cells: The Smallest Living Things (How big is a cell?)
3.1.6-8.B Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and the ways that parts of cells contribute to the function.
Lessons: Cells: The Smallest Living Things (How do things get in and out of a cell?, Can you pull DNA out of a strawberry?) (partly)
Physical Sciences
3.2.6-8.B Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in the particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.
Lessons: Hot and Cold: Particles on the Move (Why do bike tires go soft in winter?, Why does food colouring spread faster in hot water?, How does a thermometer know?) (partly)
3.2.6-8.D Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.
Lessons: Kitchen Chemistry (Is it a new substance?, Can red cabbage tell acid from base?)
Practice: Kitchen Chemistry workbook
3.2.6-8.E Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved.
Lessons: Kitchen Chemistry (Where does the mass go?)
Practice: Kitchen Chemistry workbook
3.2.6-8.G Apply Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.
Lessons: Forces and Motion: Crash, Push and Stop (Why does a heavier cart hit harder?, Can you design a crumple zone?)
3.2.6-8.H Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.
Lessons: Forces and Motion: Crash, Push and Stop (Why do you lurch forward when a bus stops?, Why does a heavier cart hit harder?)
3.2.6-8.L Construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass and speed of an object.
Lessons: Forces and Motion: Crash, Push and Stop (How fast is a toy car really going?, Why does a heavier cart hit harder?) (partly)
3.2.6-8.M Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.
Lessons: Hot and Cold: Particles on the Move (Can you keep an ice cube frozen the longest?) · Hot Stuff: Heat, Temperature and Cooling (How do you keep a drink hot for the longest?) · Steppe Science: Staying Warm on the Kazakh Steppe (How does a felt yurt keep a family warm at −30 °C?)
Practice: Hot and Cold: Particles on the Move workbook · Hot Stuff: Heat, Temperature and Cooling workbook · Steppe Science: Staying Warm on the Kazakh Steppe workbook
3.2.6-8.N Plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample.
Lessons: Hot and Cold: Particles on the Move (Why does food colouring spread faster in hot water?, Can you keep an ice cube frozen the longest?) (partly) · Hot Stuff: Heat, Temperature and Cooling (Does hotter always mean more heat?, Why is the sand too hot to stand on when the sea is still cool?) (partly)
Practice: Hot and Cold: Particles on the Move workbook · Hot Stuff: Heat, Temperature and Cooling workbook
Earth and Space Sciences
3.3.6-8.E Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth's surface at varying time and spatial scales.
Lessons: Stone, Bamboo and Storms: Building in Vietnam (How did rain carve the islands of Hạ Long Bay?, Why do builders in Vietnam trust bamboo?, How can a roof survive a typhoon?)
Practice: Stone, Bamboo and Storms: Building in Vietnam workbook
3.3.6-8.F Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth's materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.
Lessons: Stone, Bamboo and Storms: Building in Vietnam (How did rain carve the islands of Hạ Long Bay?, Why do builders in Vietnam trust bamboo?, How can a roof survive a typhoon?)
Practice: Stone, Bamboo and Storms: Building in Vietnam workbook · Grade 4 Rocks and Minerals
3.3.6-8.G Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of past plate motions.
Lessons: Restless Earth: Fossils, Soils, Volcanoes and Plates (Where do volcanoes and earthquakes happen?, What do moving plates do, and can a building survive?) (partly)
3.3.6-8.L Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.
Lessons: Stone, Bamboo and Storms: Building in Vietnam (How did rain carve the islands of Hạ Long Bay?, Why do builders in Vietnam trust bamboo?, How can a roof survive a typhoon?)
Practice: Stone, Bamboo and Storms: Building in Vietnam workbook
3.3.6-8.O Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century.
Lessons: Climate Clues (Is this winter colder than when your grandparents were kids?, What can a tree ring tell us?) (partly)
Practice: Climate Clues workbook
Technology and Engineering
3.5.6-8.P.ETS Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
Lessons: Forces and Motion: Crash, Push and Stop (Can you design a crumple zone?) · Stone, Bamboo and Storms: Building in Vietnam (How did rain carve the islands of Hạ Long Bay?, Why do builders in Vietnam trust bamboo?, How can a roof survive a typhoon?)
Practice: Forces and Motion: Crash, Push and Stop workbook · Stone, Bamboo and Storms: Building in Vietnam workbook
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