GEMS faculty and graduate trainees co-develop curriculum materials with professional K-12 science teachers. GEMS education and outreach activities, such as the Translating Science course and GEMS Institute summer workshops, served as engines of initial development, testing, and feedback in the ongoing development of these curricula.
Elementary School Curriculum
The following materials are published on Google Drive and ready for classroom use. The materials have been developed and tested by elementary school teachers (grades 3–5).
What are bees doing in the garden?
Status: Published
Focal Performance Expectations: 4-LS1-1 (grades 4–5)
Students investigate the connections between community health, pollinators, crop growth, and pesticides.
This unit was developed in collaboration with GEMS science trainee Thomas Zambiasi and GEMS faculty Adam Dolezal and Alexandra Harmon-Threatt.
Where does our food waste go?
Status: Published
Focal Performance Expectations: 5-LS2-1 (grades 3–5)
Students investigate food waste and the difference between food decomposing in a landfill versus in a compost.
This unit was developed in collaboration with GEMS faculty Rachel Whitaker and Anthony Yannarell.
Middle School Curriculum
The following materials are published on Google Drive and ready for classroom use. The materials have been developed and tested by middle school teachers (grades 6–8).
How does our water get messy?
Status: Published
Focal Performance Expectations: MS-LS2-1 (grades 6–8)
Students investigate the causes and consequences of algal blooms.
This unit was developed in collaboration with GEMS faculty Carla Cáceres and Rachel Whitaker.
Polluted Ponds: Ecological Interactions
Status: Piloting in classrooms
Focal Performance Expectations: MS-LS2-4 (grades 6–8)
Students explore the phenomenon of frogs with limb deformities and discover how an ecological cascade of events leads to these deformities.
This unit was developed in collaboration with GEMS science trainee Emily Terrill-Sondag and GEMS faculty Carla Cáceres.
High School Curriculum
The following materials are published on Google Drive and ready for classroom use. The materials have been developed and tested by high school science teachers (grades 9–12).
Where does our food waste go?
Status: Published
Focal Performance Expectations: HS-ESS2-6 (grades 9–12)
Students investigate the decomposition process in anaerobic and aerobic environments.
This unit was developed in collaboration with GEMS science trainees Natalie Belloso and Hannah Murray and GEMS faculty Rachel Whitaker and Anthony Yannarell.
What is the role of keystone species in a polluted world?
Status: Published
Students design investigations to explore the effects of pollution on the keystone species, Daphnia, and to explore Daphnia’s role as a keystone species in aquatic ecosystems.
This unit was developed in collaboration with GEMS science trainees Jeannette Cullum and Patrick Wilson and GEMS faculty Carla Cáceres.
Mycorrhizal fungi and prairie biodiversity
Status: In development
Focal Performance Expectations: HS-LS2-6 (grades 9–12)
Students start by inoculating some plants with fungi and some without. Students observe and monitor plant growth for a few weeks. They collect data on plant growth and health and make observations of the plant roots.
This unit was developed in collaboration with GEMS science trainees Ilana Zeitzer, Isabelle Lakis, and Meghan Blaszynski, and GEMS faculty Rachel Whitaker, Katy Heath, and Anthony Yannarell.
We are actively developing and testing these materials. Contact us if you are interested in piloting these materials in your classroom.
Related Curriculum
If you’re interested in GEMS science curriculum, you may also like these materials from the same developers!
How do small things make a big difference?
Status: Published
Grades: High School (grades 9–12)
Students engage in a series of inquiry-based activities to learn about microbes from the three domains of life (eukaryotes, bacteria, and archaea). Beginning with an exploration of the technological advances that led to the current three-domain tree of life, students investigate how Carl Woese and his research partners used molecular methods to discover the Archaea domain. After observing live microbial communities from a Winogradsky column, students develop a model of the matter and energy cycles within ecosystems that can be applied to biological communities, micro or macro. Through reading adapted scientific articles, students develop science literacy skills and discover the critical role of microbial communities in human health and development. Finally, students model the stability and change of these microbial ecosystems by analyzing published data on the effects of antibiotics on the native microbes of the human microbiome.
This unit connects to GEMS research by Rachel Whitaker.