MS-ETS1-3 lessons
Analyze data from tests of similar design solutions to find how they differ and which features work best (here, comparing paper towels to check an advertising claim).
The Next Generation Science Standards code MS-ETS1-3 asks students to: “Analyze data from tests of similar design solutions to find how they differ and which features work best (here, comparing paper towels to check an advertising claim).” These Fieldbook lessons teach it hands-on, with everyday materials, a printable teacher guide and a student sheet.
Test the Claim: Science Facts, Myths and AI Answers Grades 5–7 · partly supports this standard
- Which source should we trust? 50–60 min
Students compare four sources making the same claim about a paper towel: a study summary, an ad, a forum post and an AI chatbot answer. They rate the evidence behind each, then run a fair absorbency test to settle the question with their own data.
Stone, Bamboo and Storms: Building in Vietnam Grades 6–7
- How did rain carve the islands of Hạ Long Bay? 60 min, plus 15 minutes the next day
Science and English together, for English learners at CEFR B1. Teams drop limestone and shells into vinegar, water and soda water, watch for bubbles and weigh what is left the next day. Then they use the evidence to explain to a tour boat guide how weak acid in rain carved the towers and caves of Hạ Long Bay.
- Why do builders in Vietnam trust bamboo? 60 min, or two 35-minute periods
Science and English together, for English learners at CEFR B1. Teams make four beams from identical sheets of paper (a flat sheet, a solid rod, a hollow tube and a tube with 'nodes'), load each one with water until it bends, and work out strength per gram. Then they use the evidence to explain why bamboo is shaped the way it is, and design a bamboo footbridge.
- How can a roof survive a typhoon? 60 min, or two 35-minute periods
Science and English together, for English learners at CEFR B1. Teams build a card house, then test roofs in the wind from a fan: loose, long overhang, short overhang, weighted and tied down. They use the results to explain why wind lifts roofs and to advise a family in Đà Nẵng before a typhoon.
NGSS is used as written in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, so the code MS-ETS1-3 matches there. Other states word and number their own versions: see curriculum alignment for your state's codes.
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