Welcome, Washoe Science Reviewers!
Review Materials
Teacher Reference Guides
It’s important that your committee sees the full breadth and depth of our instruction. For that reason, we provided a copy of each of our unit-specific Teacher Reference Guides. Before you panic, rest assured that teachers do not use these robust reference guides for day-to-day teaching. For that, we have a hands-free TG!
- Teacher Reference Guide: Unlike a typical TG that requires a series of supplemental books to support it, our encyclopedic reference guide is chock-full of everything a teacher needs to fully implement our program and the NGSS.
- Ready-to-Teach Digital Lessons: For daily instruction, teachers need their hands free. That’s why we created ready-to-teach lesson slides for every single lesson What’s more, they are editable and include suggested teacher talk and point-of-use differentiation and other instructional tips. Read this help article to learn more.
Hands-on kits
Every unit of our program includes a dedicated hands-on materials kit. Due to the amount of materials involved, we provided your committee two sample kits per grade level. Our unit-specific kits make material management easy for teachers—they grab the tub they need and then put it all back with ease. Plus, items needed for multiple units are duplicated and found in each tub.
Our unit-specific kits:
- Include more materials — We give you enough non-consumable materials to support 200 student uses.
- Are more manageable — Unlike other programs that require large groups of students to share limited sets of materials, our kits include enough to support small groups of 4–5 students.
- Include supportive videos — Each hands-on activity provides clear instructions for the teacher, with more complex activities supported by video demonstrations and illustrations.
Overview
Developed by UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, our program features:
- A phenomena-based approach where students construct a more complex understanding of each unit’s anchor phenomenon.
- A blend of cohesive storylines, hands-on investigations, rich discussions, literacy-rich activities, and digital tools.
- Cohesive units, chapters, lessons, and activities designed to deliver true 3-dimensional learning.
- An instructional design that supports all learners in accessing all standards.
Hands-on investigations
Literacy integration
Simulations and modeling tools
Classroom discussions
EdReports All-Green
Amplify Science for grades K–8 has been rated all-green by EdReports.
Program structure
Our cyclical lesson design ensures students receive multiple exposures to concepts through a variety of modalities.
As they progress through the lessons within a unit, students build and deepen their understanding, increasing their ability to develop and refine complex explanations of the unit’s phenomenon. It’s this proven program structure and lesson design that enables Amplify Science to address 100% of the NGSS in fewer days than other programs.
Navigating an Engineering Internship (Part 2)
This Part 2 video demonstrates how to use the Futura Workspace to manage the immersive experience of the Engineering Internship units. This includes guidance on how to create student groups, how to review student work, and how to send students targeted feedback on their designs.
Unit sequence
Our lessons follow a structure that is grounded in regular routines while still being flexible enough to allow for a variety of learning experiences.
In fact, our multi-modal instruction offers more opportunities for students to construct meaning, and practice and apply concepts than any other program. What’s more, our modular design means our units can be flexibly arranged to support your instructional goals.
Unit 1
Microbiome
Domain: Life Science
Unit type: Launch
Student role: Microbiological researchers
Phenomenon: The presence of 100 trillion microorganisms living on and in the human body may keep the body healthy.
Unit 2
Metabolism
Domain: Life Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Medical researchers
Phenomenon: Elisa, a young patient, feels tired all the time.
Unit 3
Metabolism Engineering Internship
Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Food engineers
Phenomenon: Designing health bars with different molecular compositions can effectively meet the metabolic needs of patients or rescue workers.
Unit 4
Traits and Reproduction
Domain: Life Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Biomedical students
Phenomenon: Darwin’s bark spider offspring have different silk flexibility traits, even though they have the same parents.
Unit 5
Thermal Energy
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Thermal scientists
Phenomenon: One of two proposed heating systems for Riverdale School will best heat the school.
Unit 6
Ocean, Atmosphere, and Climate
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Climatologists
Phenomenon: During El Niño years, the air temperature in Christchurch, New Zealand is cooler than usual.
Unit 7
Weather Patterns
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Forensic meteorologists
Phenomenon: In recent years, rainstorms in Galetown have been unusually severe.
Unit 8
Earth’s Changing Climate
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Life Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Climatologists
Phenomenon: The ice on Earth’s surface is melting.
Unit 9
Earth’s Changing Climate Engineering Internship
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Civil engineers
Phenomenon: Designing rooftops with different modifications can reduce a city’s impact on climate change.
Unit 1
Geology on Mars
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Launch
Student role: Planetary geologists
Phenomenon: Analyzing data about landforms on Mars can provide evidence that Mars may have once been habitable.
Unit 2
Plate Motion
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: Mesosaurus fossils have been found on continents separated by thousands of kilometers of ocean, even though the Mesosaurus species once lived all together.
Unit 3
Plate Motion Engineering Internship
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Mechanical engineering interns
Phenomenon: Patterns in earthquake data can be used to design an effective tsunami warning system.
Unit 4
Rock Transformations
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: Rock samples from the Great Plains and from the Rocky Mountains — regions hundreds of miles apart — look very different, but have surprisingly similar mineral compositions.
Unit 5
Phase Change
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Chemists
Phenomenon: A methane lake on Titan no longer appears in images taken by a space probe two years apart.
Unit 6
Phase Change Engineering Internship
Domains: Engineering Design, Physical Science
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Chemical engineering interns
Phenomenon: Designing portable baby incubators with different combinations of phase change materials can keep babies at a healthy temperature.
Unit 7
Chemical Reactions
Domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Forensic chemists
Phenomenon: A mysterious brown substance has been detected in the tap water of Westfield.
Unit 8
Populations and Resources
Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Biologists
Phenomenon: The size of the moon jelly population in Glacier Sea has increased.
Unit 9
Matter and Energy in Ecosystems
Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Ecologists
Phenomenon: The biodome ecosystem has collapsed.
Unit 1
Harnessing Human Energy
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Launch
Student role: Energy scientists
Phenomenon: Rescue workers can use their own human kinetic energy to power the electrical devices they use during rescue missions.
Unit 2
Force and Motion
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Physicists
Phenomenon: The asteroid sample-collecting pod failed to dock at the space station as planned.
Unit 3
Force and Motion Engineering Internship
Domains: Engineering Design, Physical Science
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Mechanical engineering interns
Phenomenon: Designing emergency supply delivery pods with different structures can maintain the integrity of the supply pods and their contents.
Unit 4
Magnetic Fields
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Physicists
Phenomenon: During a test launch, a spacecraft traveled much faster than expected.
Unit 5
Light Waves
Domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Spectroscopists
Phenomenon: The rate of skin cancer is higher in Australia than in other parts of the world.
Unit 6
Earth, Moon, and Sun
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Astronomers
Phenomenon: An astrophotographer can only take pictures of specific features on the Moon at certain times.
Unit 7
Natural Selection
Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Biologists
Phenomenon: The newt population in Oregon State Park has become more poisonous over time.
Unit 8
Metabolism Engineering Internship
Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Food engineers
Phenomenon: Designing health bars with different molecular compositions can effectively meet the metabolic needs of patients or rescue workers.
Unit 9
Evolutionary History
Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Paleontologists
Phenomenon: A mystery fossil at the Natural History Museum has similarities with both wolves and whales.
Access program
Watch the video to the right plus the ones below showing you how to navigate our digital platform. When you’re ready, follow the instructions below to log into our live demo account.
- Click the orange button below to access the platform.
- To explore as a teacher, enter this username (t1.washoemssci@demo.tryamplify.net) and this password ( Amplify1-washoemssci).
- To explore as a student, enter this username (s1.washoemssci@demo.tryamplify.net) and this password ( Amplify1-washoemssci).
- Choose your grade level from the drop-down menu.
Navigating an Engineering Internship (Part 1)
This Part 1 video demonstrates how Engineering Internship units invite students to design solutions for real-world problems as interns for a fictional company called Futura. In the process, they apply and deepen their learning from Core units.
Navigating an Engineering Internship (Part 2)
This Part 2 video demonstrates how to use the Futura Workspace to manage the immersive experience of the Engineering Internship units. This includes guidance on how to create student groups, how to review student work, and how to send students targeted feedback on their designs.
Navigating our reporting tools
Teachers of Amplify Science grades 6–8 have access to a feature called Reporting. When unit assessments are administered digitally, the Reporting tool enables teachers to analyze student performance on the unit assessments.
Differentiation post-assessment
Every core unit of Amplify Science 6–8 features a formal formative assessment opportunity at the mid-way point, or Critical Juncture, of the unit, which provides an important opportunity for differentiation.
