Technology for Tomorrow

Essential Question:

How do we make decisions about developing new technology?

Knowledge Focus

In this unit, students will read informational texts about the changes in society related to advancements in technology. They will build schema around the following concepts:

Social Studies

• Technological developments can have negative and positive impacts on society.
• The Digital Age has brought about many new inventions and innovations, such as driverless cars, drones, and robotic technologies

Science

• Scientific knowledge and the needs of society create a demand for new technologies.

Enduring Understanding

Technology will play a part in shaping the future of Earth.

“Who’s Driving?”

Unit 1 Observing Nature

Essential Question: How do we respond to nature?

Knowledge Focus

In this unit, students will read firsthand accounts of writers’ interactions with nature and novel excerpts in which characters encounter nature. They will build schema around the following concepts:

Science

• Plants and animals, including humans, interact with and depend upon each other and their environment to satisfy their basic needs.
• Plant and animal characteristics can be affected by environment.
• Knowledge of the natural world is based on observation and inquiry.

Literature

• Nature’s beauty and conflicts with nature are recurring themes in literature. Characters reveal themselves through their responses to nature.

Enduring Understanding

The natural world elicits strong feelings and emotions in people.

Read 1: “A Bird’s Free Lunch”

Read 1: “Starting Off