Pacing Guide
This is a year-long course, split into two 15 week semesters. 

1 lesson per week

OR

Go faster/slower depending on your season, needs, or interest

	Lesson + Main Hands On	Supplies	Key Ideas
1	The Big Bang  Balloon Space Expansion	Sharpie Balloon	Where do you think everything in the world came from? The Big Bang is where the universe and everything in it began It wasn’t an explosion, but a stretching that’s still currently happening
2	Formation of the Stars and Elements Lifecycle of a Star with Playdough	Play dough or similar in at least TWO different colors	Stars are made of hot gas. Long ago, stars made the tiny bits that make everything, including you. When stars explode, they spread these bits everywhere (called elements).
3	Galaxies & Solar Systems Simulate Orbiting	pie pan small ball Something (like a chair) to orbit around	We live in a galaxy called the Milky Way. Our galaxy has stars, including the Sun. The Sun is in the center of our solar system. The planets go around the Sun in space.
4	Gravity Gravity Dropping	object to drop 2 identical water bottles. One half filled with water 2 identical sheets of paper	Gravity pulls things together. The Sun’s gravity keeps the planets going around it. The Earth’s gravity keeps the Moon near us. Orbits are paths in space made by gravity.
5	Formation of Earth Playdough Earth Layers	4 colors of play dough (suggested colors below) Core = red or orange Mantle = brown or yellow Crust = green and/or blue Dental floss or plastic knife (to cut model open)	Earth started as space dust and little rocks. All those pieces crashed together and made a really hot, melted ball. Big space rocks (meteors) kept crashing into it. Earth slowly cooled and turned into the planet we live on.
6	From Lava to Layers: The Story of Rocks Starburst Rock Cycle	Stardusts (dye free alternative) Access to microwave Paperplate plastic knife (or precut up starbursts)	Some rocks come from lava (igneous), some from bits of other rocks stuck together (sedimentary), and some are squished and changed (metamorphic). Wind and water break rocks down (erosion), and layers build up over time. We can see how Earth has changed by looking at different rocks and layers.
7	Plate Tectonics & Moving Continents Pangea Puzzle Plate Boundaries with Whipped Cream/Graham Crackers	Template (printed) pg. 5 and 6 (you can precut the pieces out) Scissors Glue Stick Whipped cream/cool whip Orange (or yellow/red) food coloring (optional!) graham Crackers Cup of water they can dip crackers in tray to do activity	Earth’s crust is made of big pieces called plates. Plates move slowly and bump into each other or pull apart. When plates move, they can cause the ground to shake or make mountains and volcanoes. Long ago, the continents were joined together and slowly moved apart.
8	Liquid Water and the Atmosphere Water Cycle in a Bag	Sandwich sized Ziploc bag Optional: Blue dye Sharpie Water Something to hang the bag on a window	Earth is special because it has liquid water on its surface. Air surrounds Earth in layers like a big blanket. Water moves in a cycle: it rises, falls, and moves around. Oceans are huge water bodies that help keep Earth comfy. Air and water work together to make weather like rain and wind.
9	Definition of Life Search for examples of nonliving and living things	They’ll need to be able to find something living and nonliving	Living things grow, eat, move, and have babies. Everything alive is made of tiny building blocks called cells. Living things need air, water, and food to live. Animals, plants, and people are all alive.
10	The First Life (Bacteria and Archaea) Bacteria Lab	Predone agar petri dishes like those shown here (look for ones that come with sterile swabs!).  They are also available on amazon. Do not order more than a month in advance.	The first living things were very tiny and could only be seen with special tools. Some tiny creatures live in places that are very hot, cold, or have no air. Bacteria and tiny microbes help keep Earth healthy.
11	Oxygen Changes Everything Paint with Chlorophil	Green leaves or slightly old spinach White paper Metal spoon	Some tiny plants called algae make oxygen that we breathe. Long ago, Earth didn’t have much oxygen in the air. When oxygen increased, new kinds of living things could grow.
12	Eukaryotes Create a Cell Project	Your student could choose ANY number of things to make their cell (including free digital tools)	Some cells are bigger and have parts inside that do special jobs. Mitochondria are tiny parts inside cells that give energy. Long ago, two tiny living things joined together to live as one.
13	Multicellular Life Begins Play Dough multicellular creatures	Play Dough or similar Pony beads	Long ago, all living things were tiny, single cells. Some cells joined together to make bigger living things with many cells. Plants and animals are made of many cells working together.
14	The Cambrian Explosion Rainbow Trilobite	Faber-Castell gel sticks ** 9x12 white sulphite paper*** 9x12 black sulphite paper, cut in half*** 9x12 any color sulphite paper (for background)*** Paintbrush Cup of water Paper towel Scissors Glue ** Could substitute watercolor paint or watercolor crayons*** Cardstock and watercolor paper will work here, or even regular printer paper	A long time ago, lots of new sea animals appeared very quickly. Some animals had shells and bones, which helped them survive. We find their fossils today.
15	Recap Week + Project Show Off	Any S2S project they've created