All Green.
All Good.
OpenSciEd receives an all-green rating from EdReports for their Middle School Science curriculum!
Have confidence in selecting an innovative science curriculum that meets the demands of challenging science standards.
Trusted by over 50,000 teachers
fULL-SERVICE | FLEXIBLE | frictionless
Preparing All Students for a Phenomenal Future™
Activate Learning is a global leader in standards-based, K-12 curriculum publishing. Our curriculum authors are also the authors of OpenSciEd.
OpenSciEd and Activate Learning have partnered to offer educators high-quality, NGSS-aligned, science curriculum for middle school students.
As a certified OpenSciEd distributor and professional learning provider, we provide the platform, kit materials, and professional learning to make implementation smooth and successful!
Print Editions
New, full-color print teacher edition and all student resources.
Digital Platform
Innovative, interactive and engaging for teachers and students.
Science Kits
All materials necessary for investigations for in OpenSciEd units.
Teacher Support
Full implementation support and professional learning with our experts.
the curricUlum
Designed for Equitable
Science Learning
OpenSciEd’s innovative tools and materials are open educational resources (OER), ensuring any science teacher can access and download free high-quality, adaptable materials that support standards-based, equitable science learning.
equitable science learning
OpenSciEd course materials are:
◾ Aligned to the Framework and NGSS.
◾ Research-based, taking into account how students learn, their motivations and implications regarding teacher/student engagement.
◾ Developed with educators and extensively tested by teachers and schools.
◾ Designed to be used with low-cost, standard laboratory equipment and materials amenable to large-scale deployment.
◾ Continuously updated and improved based on field testing and feedback from teachers.
the approach
Storylines, Collaboration, Investigative Problem-Solving
The OpenSciEd Instructional Model (shown below) uses a storyline approach, each lesson motivated by questions generated by students following their interactions with phenomena.
In each unit of study, students explore the questions they have, make conclusions based on those investigations, and then strategize to come up with the next set of questions to investigate.
When learning is propelled by curiosity and discovery, it's no wonder why teachers and students love OpenSciEd!
“We all know that the teacher knows more than us. They know more, so they have more power. I don’t feel that way in science anymore. My teacher wants to know what I know and what I’m thinking. Nowadays I raise my hand because I know that I have something important to share.” -- 8th Grade Student (Taunton Public Schools in Massachusetts)
“I will admit that making a shift when I really didn’t have to wasn’t something I welcomed. After seeing what happened in my first class, an inclusion class, where all of my students were sharing their thinking and learning together, it all changed for me.” -- Middle School Science Teacher (Taunton Public Schools in Massachusetts)
the problem
Why Educators Struggle with Curriculum Implementation
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common challenges
Recent research has found:
1. Districts face a common set of challenges when implementing new instructional materials. These challenges tend to be consistent across districts, regardless of their size and student demographics.
2. Many of the struggles that arise during curriculum implementation can be avoided if districts learn from the lessons of others and proactively anticipate the kinds of challenges they’re most likely to encounter.
3. Teacher and leader knowledge of how to manage changing materials is as important as their knowledge of content and standards.
* What Does It Take To Implement Strong Curriculum Effectively (Instruction Partners)
Our solution
Guided Implementation with
Freedom and Flexibility
Implementing new curriculum can be overwhelming for even the most seasoned teacher, but it doesn't have to be!
Activate Learning supports end-to-end, complete OpenSciEd implementation, saving you time and money. Whether you need unit materials delivered quickly, a digital platform that supports all OpenSciEd units, or professional learning, our full-service, all-in-one solution has you covered.
Speak to an Activate Learning Curriculum Specialist today about our OpenSciEd all-in-one solution and full-service implementation support.
fulL-service provider
The most trusted OpenSciEd implementation and support platform:
OpenSciEd and Activate Learning share the same "pedagogical-DNA", having both been research based, investigation centered, and designed using the same NGSS standards and principals.
Activate Learning is a full-service partner, providing OpenSciEd materials, kits, and professional learning.
Certified OpenSciEd Kits and Professional Learning Partner
Kits, Materials and Resources
Activate Learning offers science kits to support every OpenSciEd unit for Middle School.
Materials are grouped by lesson so teachers can easily locate materials.
Activate Learning Kit Companion helps teachers save time and easily find everything in their shipment.
Interactive Digital Teacher Edition one-year access is included with purchase!
Certified Professional Learning
Activate Learning curriculum experts provide extensive OpenSciEd product implementation support and certified professional learning on the latest, most innovative strategies and techniques to engage students.
Comprehensive professional learning resources provide the necessary content, structure, and support to experience three-dimensional teaching and learning with OpenSciEd.
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ENGAGEMENT ANYWHERE
Activate Learning Digital Platform
Experience a truly interactive digital edition of all OpenSciEd materials for teachers and students.
With the Activate Learning Digital Platform, students enjoy an interactive, engaging online experience. The platform is designed for accessibility and inclusion and offers embedded translation for 130+ languages, text-to-speech with read-along highlighting, and sentence starters to support writing.
Teachers are supported by having everything they need to plan, teach, assign, and assess lessons all in one easy-to-use platform.
Plus, the Activate Learning Digital Platform supports a broad number of SIS rostering and LMS integrations.
ACCESS FOR
Teachers
Plan standards-based instruction
Teach lessons that effectively differentiate for ALL students
Prepare for every lesson with teacher tools and resources
Quickly view lesson slides, handouts, student edition, and materials
Customize existing content or create new content
Easily review and provide feedback on student work
Create and share assessments
Assess student progress
ACCESS FOR
Students
Apply learning authentically
Engage like scientists by recording learning
Receive and respond to teacher feedback in real-time
Represent ideas as models
Annotate and highlight text
Respond to questions using sentence starters and our read-aloud feature
Demonstrate understanding through assessment
what STUDENTS learn
OpenSciEd Units
Below is an example unit sequence, however, all units can be adapted to fit your state's sequence
GRADE 6
6.1
Light & Matter: Why do we sometimes see different things when looking at the same object?
6.2
Thermal Energy: How can containers keep stuff from warming up or cooling down?
6.3
Weather, Climate & Water Cycling: Why does a lot of hail, rain, or snowfall at some times and not others?
6.4
Rock Cycling & Plate Tectonics: How and why does Earth's surface change?
6.5
Natural Hazards: Where do natural hazards happen and how do we prepere for them?
6.6
Cells & Systems: How do living things heal?
GRADE 7
7.1
Chemical Reactions & Matter: How can we make something new that was not there before?
7.2
Chemical Reactions & Energy: How can we use chemical reactions to design a solution to a problem?
7.3
Metabolic Reactions: How do things inside our bodies work together to make us feel the way we do?
7.4
Matter Cycling & Photosynthesis: Where does food come from and where does it go next?
7.5
Ecosystem Dynamics: How does changing an ecosystem affect what lives there?
7.6
Resources & Human Impact: How do changes in the Earth's system impact our communities and what can we do about it?
GRADE 8
8.1
Contact Forces: Why do things sometimes get damaged when they hit each other?
8.2
Sound Waves: How can a sound make something move?
8.3
Forces at a Distance: How can a magnet move another object without touching it
8.4
Earth in Space: Why do we see patterns in the sky, and what else is out there that we can't see?
8.5
Genetics: Why are living things different from one another?
8.6
Selection and Common Ancestry: How could living things today be connected to the things that lived long ago?
Connect With Us
Partner with Activate Learning for smooth and successful
OpenSciEd implementation.
To learn more about the Activate Learning certified version of OpenSciEd, message us below and one of our curriculum support experts will get right back to you.