Middle School Science

SFUSD's core Science curriculum for Middle School was designed to reflect Next Generation Science Standards' (NGSS) preferred integration progression. This means performance expectations for Life, Earth, Space, and Physical sciences, along with Engineering Design, are connected throughout grades six, seven, and eight.

In addition to being project based, the curriculum utilizes a 5E Instructional Model in which teaching and learning proceeds through five stages: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. Using this model encourages students to connect past learning experiences to the present. Students can ask questions and define problems about the natural and designed world, design investigations in which they collect and analyze trends and patterns in data, develop models of physical phenomena, and ultimately communicate these findings. The course emphasizes evidence-based reasoning for scientific explanations and engineering solutions in order to communicate recommendations to address real-world problems.

Curriculum development and research was sponsored by the George Lucas Educational Foundation and conducted by a team from Stanford University, San Francisco Unified School District, and Digital Promise. (more)

Read a feature story on SFUSD sixth-grade Science core curriculum in Edutopia.

For more information about Science at SFUSD and to follow us on Twitter, go to the main Science page.

Learn more about the SFUSD middle school core curriculum aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards with climate science throughout. Start at this page if you are an educator outside SFUSD looking for more information about our curriculum.

SFUSD teachers access the SFUSD Core Curriculum through Sprocket powered by Educurious.

We want to make sure that all students are able to engage in science laboratory experiences safely.  Teachers may choose to have students and families sign safety contracts and send letters home to families. 

• Safety contracts
• Letter Home