PRISM Library
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Your Cosmic Address
Students explore Earth's place in the universe, from our local solar system to the Milky Way galaxy and beyond, while understanding why Earth is uniquely suited to support life.
The Language of Operations
Students learn the precise vocabulary for all four arithmetic operations (sum, difference, product, quotient, factor, dividend, divisor) and connect these terms to real-world situations while building confidence through familiar contexts.
Earth's Systems Unit Introduction: Earth's Layers and the Rock Cycle
A 45 minute unit introduction focused on Earth's internal layers and the rock cycle, including two check-your-understanding sections aligned to NC Grade 6 standards ESS.6.2.1 and ESS.6.2.3.
Unit Test - Ecosystems, Interactions, and Energy
Summative unit assessment covering ecosystems and the hydrosphere: water distribution, the water cycle and residence time, ocean currents and climate, groundwater and watersheds, human impacts on water quality, photosynthesis, food webs and energy flow, trophic levels and the 10% rule, and biomes.
Hydrosphere - Intro
A 10-minute in-class introduction to the hydrosphere. Students define the hydrosphere, identify major water reservoirs, and explain a basic interaction between water, humans, and other Earth systems.
Fractions and Decimals: Two Languages, One Idea
Students discover that fractions and decimals are two representations of the same value, master equivalent fractions and simplifying using GCF, convert between improper fractions and mixed numbers, understand the reciprocal, and connect fraction-to-decimal conversion to the division meaning of a fraction.
Expressions, Equations, and Mathematical Reasoning
Students learn the vocabulary of algebra (variables, expressions, equations, terms, coefficients, and constants) and apply order of operations (PEMDAS), properties of operations, and expression evaluation to build the foundation for all 6th grade mathematics.
Matter and Its Interactions: Putting It All Together
Students synthesize all unit concepts by connecting atomic structure to properties, tracing how energy transfer causes phase changes at the particle level, applying multiple concepts to real-world scenarios, and reviewing key vocabulary from all four previous lessons.
Number Relationships and Place Value
Students deepen their understanding of factors and multiples, distinguish prime from composite numbers, find GCF and LCM, and extend place value knowledge through thousandths, building the vocabulary and number sense needed for fraction and decimal operations.
Forces and Interactions: Putting It All Together
Students synthesize all unit concepts by connecting motion description to graphing to forces to electromagnetism, apply integrated knowledge to real-world scenarios (roller coaster, electric car, maglev train), and review key vocabulary from all four previous lessons.
Biological Evolution: The Big Picture
Students synthesize all unit concepts by tracing the complete story of evolution from geological evidence through natural selection to adaptation and speciation, learn to build scientific arguments using the CER framework with the whale evolution case study, analyze integrated case studies (marine iguana, horse evolution), review all unit vocabulary, and explore why evolution matters today.
Unit Test - Weather and Climate
A 40-question summative unit test covering atmospheric composition and structure, the water cycle, humidity and cloud formation, air masses and fronts, pressure systems, weather map interpretation, convection and global winds, the jet stream, and climate zones. Aligned to NC Standard Course of Study ESS.7.1.
Forces and Newton's Laws
Students learn what forces are and how they are measured, distinguish between balanced and unbalanced forces, explore Newton's three laws of motion with real-world examples, and apply F = ma to predict motion.
States of Matter and Phase Changes
Students learn how particle arrangement and motion differ across solids, liquids, and gases, explore all six phase changes and the role of thermal energy, and interpret heating curves to understand what happens at each plateau.
Graphing Motion
Students learn to create and interpret position-time graphs, calculate speed from slope, identify periods of rest, constant speed, and acceleration from graph shape, and compare the motion of multiple objects on the same graph.
Building Blocks of Matter
Students learn that all matter is made of atoms, explore the three subatomic particles and their arrangement within an atom, and discover how atomic number defines each element.
Unit Test - Matter and Its Interactions
A 50-question summative unit test covering atomic structure, classification of matter (elements, compounds, mixtures), periodic table organization, physical and chemical properties, physical and chemical changes, evidence of chemical reactions, endothermic and exothermic reactions, the Law of Conservation of Mass, balanced equations, open and closed systems, and photosynthesis as a real-world chemical reaction. Aligned to NC Standard Course of Study PS.8.1.
Natural Selection
Students learn how natural selection works through Darwin's four principles (overproduction, variation, selection, inheritance), explore the sources of genetic variation, study three real-world case studies (peppered moths, antibiotic resistance, Darwin's finches), and address common misconceptions about evolution.