CK-12 Life Science Honors For Middle School covers seven units: Understanding Living Things; Cells: The Building Blocks of Life; Genetics and Evolution; Prokaryotes, Protists, Fungi, and Plants; The Animal Kingdom; The Human Body; and Ecology.

Increases in CO2 in the atmosphere and warming global temperatures are having a significant impact on the chemistry, temperature, volume, and circulation patterns in bodies of water. In this set of activities, students will investigate these changes and evaluate their potential impacts.

As the global temperature continues to rise due to climate change, the timing of life cycle events might by disrupted in ways that affect ecosystems. In these activities, students will analyze data on the timing of life cycle events and predict possible impacts.

Changes in climate can have direct and indirect on human health. In these activities, students will review the negative impacts of climate change on human health, interpret data that provides evidence of these impacts, and discuss how state and local agencies are acting to try to decrease these impacts.Links are provided to folders on Google Drive with resources for each disease category.

LESSON DESCRIPTIONStudents will research potential careers of stakeholders involved in making land use decisions then engage in a role-playing scenario about a proposed dam removal in their community.

There are many different types of ecosystems in the state of Michigan. Many of these ecosystemshave changed over time due to fires, storms, or animals. No animal has had a bigger impact onMichigan’s ecosystems than humans. Humans have transformed ecosystems all across the state.These ecosystems have been transformed in many different ways, like draining wetlands, cuttingdown forest for farm fields, and cities getting larger and expanding outward. Many ecosystems andorganisms are resilient and have adapted to the changes; others unfortunately have not.

LESSON DESCRIPTIONStudents will use problem-based learning to engineer a solution to the animal car collision problem.

Students will learn about primary and secondary succession through an on-line interactivesuccession game, as well as conduct a historical analysis of the Great Thumb Fire of 1881.

LESSON DESCRIPTIONStudents will analyze existing data to determine potential cause/effect of invasive species in population dynamics. Students will collect their own data in a field study to demonstrate the carrying capacity (competition and availability of resources) of an ecosystem.

The true story of how Momofuko Ando was inspired to create one of the world’s most popular foods after seeing long lines of hungry people waiting for a simple bowl of ramen following World War II. He dreamed about making a new kind of ramen noodle soup that was quick, convenient, and tasty for the hungry people because he believed that peace follows from a hungry stomach. With persistence, creativity, and a little inspiration, Ando succeeded. The resource includes a lesson plan/book card, a design challenge, and copy of a design thinking journal that provide guidance on using the book to inspire students' curiosity for design thinking. Maker Challenge: Develop a food product (a new food, tool, or invention, et al) to help increase access to food in your community.

Objective
SWBAT recognize several characteristics and the habitat of spiders.

Big Idea
Students begin to investigate the "alien" nature of spiders to begin to appreciate their beauty and importance.

Students are introduced to our planet's structure and its dynamic system of natural forces through an examination of the natural hazards of earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, tsunamis, floods and tornados, as well as avalanches, fires, hurricanes and thunderstorms. They see how these natural events become disasters when they impact people, and how engineers help to make people safe from them. Students begin by learning about the structure of the Earth; they create clay models showing the Earth's layers, see a continental drift demo, calculate drift over time, and make fault models. They learn how earthquakes happen; they investigate the integrity of structural designs using model seismographs. Using toothpicks and mini-marshmallows, they create and test structures in a simulated earthquake on a tray of Jell-O. Students learn about the causes, composition and types of volcanoes, and watch and measure a class mock eruption demo, observing the phases that change a mountain's shape. Students learn that the different types of landslides are all are the result of gravity, friction and the materials involved. Using a small-scale model of a debris chute, they explore how landslides start in response to variables in material, slope and water content. Students learn about tsunamis, discovering what causes them and makes them so dangerous. Using a table-top-sized tsunami generator, they test how model structures of different material types fare in devastating waves. Students learn about the causes of floods, their benefits and potential for disaster. Using riverbed models made of clay in baking pans, students simulate the impact of different river volumes, floodplain terrain and levee designs in experimental trials. They learn about the basic characteristics, damage and occurrence of tornadoes, examining them closely by creating water vortices in soda bottles. They complete mock engineering analyses of tornado damage, analyze and graph US tornado damage data, and draw and present structure designs intended to withstand high winds.

Objective
SWBAT explain how the large variety of web types is evidence that there is great diversity in the spider population.

Big Idea
Students put their field journal skills to the test as they document evidence of spiders within their home and school environments.

OpenSciEd middle school is NGSS-aligned science curriculum. Designed for all students and teachers, OpenSciEd includes student-facing materials as well as teacher guides. As with most instructional materials, excellent professional learning for teachers should be provided. For more information in Michigan contact the Michigan Mathematics and Science Leadership Network, starrm@mimathandscience.org

Objective
SWBAT use research to determine the potential human uses for spider venom.

Big Idea
You want to inject me with what?! Students discover the potential medical treatments that spider venom may provide.

Students discover the direct link between land use andthe water quality of streams, rivers, and lakes whenthey observe how pollutants from various land uses canbe carried by runoff through the watershed, eventuallyreaching one of the Great Lakes.

Students are introduced to the physical, chemical, andbiological characteristics of an ecologically healthystream and to the procedures used by scientists andaquatic biologists for assessing the health of a stream.

 Students reflect on what is “great” about the Great Lakes.Next they investigate aquatic food chains in the GreatLakes and how some contaminants can bioaccumulate inGreat Lakes and inland lake fish, resulting in state fishconsumption advisories.

Students learn about floods, discovering that different types of floods occur from different water sources, but primarily from heavy rainfall. While floods occur naturally and have benefits such as creating fertile farmland, students learn that with the increase in human population in flood-prone areas, floods are become increasingly problematic. Both natural and manmade factors contribute to floods. Students learn what makes floods dangerous and what engineers design to predict, control and survive floods.

Students learn how to take blood pressure by observing a teacher demonstration and then practicing on fellow classmates in small groups. Once the hands-on component of this activity is completed, the class brainstorms and discusses how blood pressure might affect a person's health. This activity acts as hook for the second lesson in this unit, in which blood pressure is presented in detail, as well as how variances in blood pressure can affect a person's cardiovascular system.