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Resources for Contexts & Concepts (Gr 6-8)
OpenSciEd instructional materials are phenomenon-based, inquiry-driven science units that engage students in explaining real-world events through observation, investigation, and evidence-based reasoning. Each unit provides teacher lesson plans, student-facing materials, hands-on investigations, discussion prompts, assessments, and background science support to help teachers facilitate student-centered sensemaking over time.
Many of the lessons in these units are inquiry-based and will only need to be adapted to grade level and assessed using NB Science skills outcomes (Investigation, Sensemaking, Communication & Responsible & Sustainable Application).
GRADE 6: WAYFINDING – MAKING SENSE OF YOUR WORLD
Light & Matter Unit (OpenSciEd Gr 6) – Why do we sometimes see different things when looking at the same object?
Sounds Waves Unit (OpenSciEd Gr 8) – How can a sound make something move?
Sounds Waves + Computer Science Unit (OpenSciEd Gr 8) – How can a sound make something move and how can we detect it?
Cells & Systems Unit (OpenSciEd Gr 6) – How do living things heal?
Instructional Materials – OpenSciEd (OpenSciEd Gr 4) – How do the structure and function of traits of living things benefit them? (Coming Winter 2026)
GRADE 7: EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES
Plate Tectonics & Rock Cycling Unit (OpenSciEd Gr 6) – What causes Earth’s surface to change?
Weather, Climate & Water Cycling Unit (OpenSciEd Gr 6) – Why does a lot of hail, rain or snow fall at some times and not others?
Thermal Energy Unit (OpenSciEd Gr 6) – How can containers keep stuff from warming up or cooling down?
Earth’s Resources & Human Impact Unit (OpenSciEd Gr 7) – How do changes in the Earth’s system impact our communities and what can we do about i?
Chemical Reactions & Matter Unit (OpensciEd Gr 7) – How can we make something new that was not there before?
GRADE 8: BEYOND EARTH – HUMAN PRESENCE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Earth in the Universe Unit (OpenSciEd Gr 5) – How and why does what I see in the sky change?
Earth in Space Unit (OpenSciEd Gr 8) – How are we connected to the patterns we see in the sky and space?
Contact Forces Unit (OpenScied Gr 8) – Why do things sometimes get damaged when they hit each other?
Forces & Interactions Unit (OpenSciEd Gr 3) – How can we design objects to balance and move in different ways?
Energy Transfer Unit (OpenSciEd Gr 4) – Why does an object’s motion change?
*The ‘Let’s Talk Science’ and ‘Edumedia’ resources are available in French simply by toggling to ‘French’ in the top right corner of the website.
Remember to focus on ways to adapt these lessons, if necessary, to be more inquiry-based. Students should be observing phenomena, asking questions, and designing investigations based on what they are learning about.
GRADE 6: WAYFINDING: MAKING SENSE OF YOUR WORLD
Weather Systems & Climate
Behaviour & Properties of Light
ASD-N Science Lesson Guides | Light | Optics / Optique
Let’s Talk Science | Do You See What I see? | Light and Its Properties
The Physics Girl | How to Control Light with Water | Reflection Flip When You Bend a Spoon Inward
National Eye Institute | The Visual System: How Your Eyes Work
Buzzfeed | What it’s Like to Be Color Blind
Brightside | How Color Blind People See the World
Crash Course | Optical Illusions and Sense of Vision
Exploratorium | Color | Disappearing Glass Rods
PocketLab / PhET | Color Vision-Remote Lab
Biological Forms & Processes
ASD-N Science Lesson Guides | Sound | Light | Optics / Optique
Science Trek | Five Senses
Kids Health.org | All About Your Senses: Experiments to Try | Functions & Processes
Scientific American | Making Sense of the World, Several Senses at a Time
Generation Genius | Senses & The Brain
Bozeman Science | Sensory System
Let’s Talk Science | Sound Bites!
Exploratorium | Proprioception | Peripheral Vision | Perception
GRADE 7: EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES
Matter
ASD-N Science Lesson Guides |Mixtures & Solutions | La théorie particulaire de la matière Heat | La chaleur
Let’s Talk Science | States of Matter
Exploratorium |States of Matter | Heat & Temperature
NASA | Thermodynamics
Teachengineering.org | Thermodynamics
Earth / Weather Systems & Climate
ASD-N Science Lesson Guides |Weather / Le temps qu’il fait | Water Systems on Earth / Les courants océaniques
Exploratorium | Earth Science | Light Wind
Teachengineering.org | Weather
Flinn Scientific | Build Your Own Anemometer
Let’s Talk Science | Weather (Search ‘Weather’)
NASA STEM | Weather & Climate (Search ‘Weather’)
PBS Learning Media | Earth & Space Science | Atmosphere | Cryosphere | Geosphere
GRADE 8: BEYOND EARTH – HUMAN PRESENCE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Motion & Stability / Laws of Motion
ASD-N Science Lesson Guides | Forces and Simple Machines / Les forces et les machines simples
NASA STEM | Motion (Search ‘Motion’)
Let’s Talk Science | Educational Videos
Teachengineering.org | Law of Motion
PBS Learning Media | Physical Science – Interactive
Exploratorium | Center of Gravity | Mechanics
Space Exploration
ASD-N Science Lesson Guides | Space | L’espace | Flight | Le vol
PBS Learning Media | Earth & Space Science
NASA STEM at Home | NASA STEM Engagement
Let’s Talk Science | Exploring Space
CSA | Canada Space Agency
SciShow | Astronomy/Astrophysics/Space |SciShow Space
Be Smart | Space Videos
Mark Rober | How do Astronauts Weigh Themselves?