Overview
Once you log in to Science Techbook and access your course, easily navigate the curriculum.
Explore this navigation tour to learn more about your Science Techbook digital curriculum.
How do I navigate the curriculum?
If your school or district has access to more than one Science Techbook course, select the desired grade level from the Course menu in the top left-hand action bar. This takes you to the grade Overview page.
From here, explore the following sections:
- Overview: Review all units of study and corresponding concepts at a glance. From here, View Unit or View Concept to get a more-in-depth look.
- Table of Contents: Review all available units of study, corresponding concepts and associated resources for each concept. Select Expand All to review all standards addressed in a Concept.
- Standards: Review grade-level standards for each Concept. Select Expand All for direct links to the concepts aligned with each standard in the Course.
- Course Materials: Locate course-level materials, such as Student Editions (English and Spanish), standards alignment and Glossary Flashcards. (Course Materials vary by grade level)
From the Overview page, select View Unit to open the Unit page.
From the unit Overview tab, take a closer look at the following:
- Anchor Phenomenon: Each unit launches with an engaging real-world phenomenon.
- Unit Project: Here students return to the Unit anchor phenomenon to research or find solutions to a real-world problem by applying the unit's performance expectations.
- Overview of each concept: Each overview highlights the investigative phenomenon, student outcomes, concept resources, and standards.
- Teacher Planning Resources: Some units have additional teacher support planning resources like a Unit Overview or Unit Planner.
From the Unit Assessments and Resources tab, review the following:
- Assessments and Resources: 3-D Performance-based assessments are available in both English and Spanish.
How do I explore a Grades K-5 Concept?
To explore a concept, select View Concept from the Unit Overview page.
The elementary program (K-5) uses the Wonder-Learn-Share teaching sequence, a simplified student friendly version of the 5E instructional model, to guide instruction and support students as they experience 3D learning.
Intro
Access Student and Teacher Learning Objectives, Teacher Planning resources, Vocabulary Strategies, Key Vocabulary, and Standards in this brief Concept Overview section.
Wonder
Wonder provides phenomena-driven or problem-based learning experiences as catalysts for the inquiry process, igniting students’ natural sense of curiosity and wonder. Students are challenged to describe real-world phenomena and to develop questions around these phenomena in addition to the Can You Explain? question.
Technology-Enhanced Items (TEIs) in Wonder help educators uncover what students already know about a concept, including their preconceptions and misconceptions.
Learn
Learn presents deep experiences to support scientific learning. Educators guide students through a series of investigations to make sense of the Anchor Phenomenon. Access narrative text, hands-on activities and interactive resources that encourage students to ask questions, test predictions, collect evidence, and record observations and ideas.
Learn also contains digital models and hands-on activities that provide opportunities for students to demonstrate the Science and Engineering Practices. Technology Enhanced Items allow teachers to monitor student learning of the required standards. The digital items feed data directly into online reports, where teachers can easily use the data to adjust their instruction.
Share
Share encourages students to verbalize and demonstrate their conceptual understanding, new skills, and behaviors by constructing a scientific explanation related to the investigative phenomenon, the Can You Explain? question, or one of their own questions first posed in Wonder.
Students can also elaborate on their thinking within the STEM in Action and STEM Project sections.
Evaluate
In Evaluate, also located in the Share tab, students demonstrate their mastery of three-dimensional learning. Varying question types are used to measure student understanding such as constructed response, matching, drag and drop, select text, and multiple choice.
Beyond
Beyond provides additional resources to support learning within a Concept. Divided into categories - View, Read, Interact, Teach, and Listen - these resources provide scaffolding or extension support for students related to the science ideas addressed in the concept.
How do I explore a Grades 6-8 Concept?
Choose a Concept to explore.
The middle school program (6-8) uses the 5E instructional model to guide instruction and support students as they experience 3D learning.
Intro
Access Student and Teacher Learning Objectives, Teacher Planning resources, Vocabulary Strategies, Key Vocabulary, and Standards in this brief Concept Overview section.
The 5E Instructional Model
Science Techbook follows the 5E Model of Instruction (5Es), a research-based instructional cycle that uses complex essential questions to guide the learning experience.
Each of the 5Es describes a phase of learning: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. The 5Es allow students and teachers to experience activities that build upon prior knowledge to construct meaning and demonstrate progress toward learning goals.
The inquiry learning cycle is not linear, so you can move between the 5Es for content and resources to best meet the needs of students. Resources in Discovery Education Science Techbook are organized around the 5E instructional model based on their use by the student: engaging with a concept, exploring resources, explaining understanding, elaborating though deeper investigation, and evaluating understanding.
Elaborate with STEM
The Elaborate with STEM tab provides students with a STEM in Action section that connects real-world career opportunities related to the science content.
STEM Project Starters allow for an extension of learning and student collaboration; students are presented with authentic problems that connect science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and guide students to research and design solutions.
Beyond
Beyond provides additional resources to support learning within a Concept. Divided into categories - View, Read, Interact, Teach, and Listen - these resources provide scaffolding or extension support for students related to the science ideas addressed in the concept..