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OpenSciEd Middle School Starts Here

Activate Learning and OpenSciEd have partnered to offer educators high-quality, NGSS-aligned, science curriculum for middle school students.

As a certified OpenSciEd distributor and professional learning provider, Activate Learning provides the digital platform, books, science kits, and professional learning to make OpenSciEd Middle School implementation smooth and successful.

Activate Learning's edition of OpenSciEd 6-8 has earned an All-Green rating from EdReports!

OpenSciEd Middle School implementation starts here!

EdReports
All-Green Rating

The Activate Learning Certified Version of OpenSciEd 6-8 curriculum has earned the esteemed "all-green" rating from EdReports, a leading nonprofit organization that evaluates instructional materials for alignment to college and career ready standards and other markers of quality.

The "all-green" rating means that the Activate Learning Certified Version of OpenSciEd Middle School met expectations for EdReports’ three categories of review: Designed for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), Coherence & Scope, and Usability.

Read the full report. 

Available as a package or
for individual purchase

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Print

Student Notebook, Student Edition, and Teacher Edition

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Digital

On the Activate Learning Digital Platform

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Kits

All materials necessary for investigations for all OpenSciEd units

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Professional Learning

Full implementation support and certified professional learning

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Three-Dimensional
Project-Based Approach

Students explore driving questions, conduct investigations, collect and analyze data, develop and use models to explain phenomena.

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Designed for Equitable Science Learning

Access high-quality, adaptable materials that support standards-based, equitable science learning.

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Total Support
for Teachers

Content, structure, and support to experience three-dimensional teaching and learning with OpenSciEd.

Need more info to decide if this the right curriculum for your district or school?

Curriculum Details

The OpenSciEd Instructional Model 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.

  • Research-Based

    OpenSciEd is research-based, taking into account how students learn, their motivations and implications regarding teacher and student engagement.

  • Tested By Educators

    Developed with educators and extensively tested by teachers and schools. Continuously updated and improved based on field testing and feedback from teachers.

  • NGSS Alignment

    Aligned to the Framework and NGSS. Units can be adapted to fit your state's sequence. 

  • EdReports "All-Green" Rating

    The EdReports "all-green" rating means that the Activate Learning Certified Version of OpenSciEd Middle School met expectations for EdReports’ three categories of review: Designed for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), Coherence & Scope, and Usability.

  • Middle and High School Programs

    The first units in the OpenSciEd High School program are now available from Activate Learning. Connect with us to learn more.

OpenSciEd Middle School
Science Units

Activate Learning takes great pride in offering the most comprehensive version of OpenSciEd Middle School available on the market today.

Our team is dedicated to staying true to the original curriculum and keeping current with ongoing updates to our digital version.

Across the three years of middle school, students conduct sequenced activities, investigations, readings, discussions, and lessons that build student understanding of core disciplinary ideas, crosscutting concepts, and multiple scientific practices.

To the right is an example unit sequence based on NGSS guidelines, however, all units can be adapted to fit your state's unique sequence.

Contact us to learn more about aligning the OpenSciEd curriculum to your state standards.

OpenSciEd Student Notebook from Activate Learning

OpenSciEd
Books & Student Notebooks

  • Activate Learning offers full-color print Teacher and Student Editions for each unit of the OpenSciEd Middle School science curriculum.

 

  • Say goodbye to printing with our printed Student Notebooks!
    • All handouts, reference sheets, and readings, with plenty of room for students to capture their responses to questions and discussion prompts.
    • Multiple copies of the Project Tracker are enough for the whole unit.
    • And with perforated, 3-hole punched pages, it’s easy for students to put completed work into binders!

Certified OpenSciEd
Science Kits

Science equipment and materials are an essential element to investigation-centered learning and Activate Learning offers science kits to support every activity in each unit for OpenSciEd Middle School.

OpenSciEd Middle School Science Kits are in stock and ready to ship!

  • All products are rigorously tested for quality assurance.
  • Materials are grouped by lesson so teachers can easily locate lesson-specific materials.
  • Activate Learning Kit Companion helps teachers save time and easily find everything in their shipment, quickly access important Safety Data Sheets, and view how-to videos to set up materials.
  • New! Time Savers include prepared bath bomb recipes, pre-cut light boxes, and painted cups.

Free! Digital Teacher Edition Access Included

One-year access to the OpenSciEd Teacher Edition on our digital platform is included with your purchase of OpenSciEd Middle School science kits with Activate Learning!

OpenSciEd Science Kits for Middle School Science by Activate Learning

The Activate Learning
Kit Companion™

With a quick smartphone scan of the outside of your kit’s box you get:

  • Packing slip with list of contents
  • How-to assembly videos
  • Lesson bag info & insights
  • Instant access to Safety Data Sheets
  • Charts, videos, handouts and other docs
  • A link to Activate Learning support who can help you implement every step of the way

Take a sneak peek into how it works by scanning this QR code ➡️

Or contact us here to learn more.

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Digital
Platform

Experience a truly interactive digital edition of all OpenSciEd materials for teachers and students.

With the Activate Learning Digital Platform, students and teachers enjoy an interactive, engaging online experience with the OpenSciEd Middle School curriculum.

The platform is designed for student accessibility and inclusion and offers AccessiBe customizable web accessibility tools, embedded translation for 130+ languages, text-to-speech with read-along highlighting, and sentence starters to support writing.

Featuring an intuitive user experience, teachers have everything they need to Plan, Teach, Assign, and Assess lessons in a platform that is integrated with leading SIS rostering and Learning Management Systems. And with Lesson Launch, teachers can quickly view slides, handouts, student edition, and materials in one place!

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Certified OpenSciEd
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.

OpenSciEd Professional Learning Workshop for Teachers by Activate Learning

Testimonials
Kind Words from Administrators & Teachers.

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We have recently implemented OpenSciEd Middle School Units in all of our middle school classrooms.  This past summer, as the Science Instructional Coach in Colonial, I worked alongside the Activate Professional Learning Group to implement professional learning for the units in our district and state.  In addition, I worked with many of the facilitators from Activate to provide professional learning opportunities in our district for our teachers. 

We are so thankful for the work and efforts of the Activate Professional Learning Facilitators.  I love how this group of Activate facilitators along with Tracy, the lead of the Activate PL Group, created personalized learning opportunities for the instructional coaches and teachers in this state, and specifically for our district! The Activate group is friendly, personable, understands the workload and stresses of teachers, and adapts the professional learning to our needs. Thank you Activate for helping us along with our successful implementation of OpenSciEd Curriculum!  

Kimberly Mulvena, Science Instructional Coach

Colonial School District

Overall it is going really well! The teachers and students love the hands-on labs and the teachers love that the kids are thinking like scientists.

Jen O'Neal, 7-12 Curriculum & Professional Development Leader

Marshalltown Community School District

Activate Learning was able to recommend a customized OpenSciEd/ IQWST implementation. Both curricula share the same pedagogy and even some of the same authors, providing a seamless experience to teachers and students through Activate Learning's Interactive Digital Platform. 

Activate Learning is a great support system for me, for the district, for the teachers, and for the kids. It's a one-stop-shop for everything the we need to support our science program and science instruction in our district. 

Erin Babin, Ed.D., Curriculum Specialist

Ascension Parish Schools, Louisiana

My students are more responsible for their own learning. This curriculum changes my teaching style from teaching students content to teaching students how to think.

Ms. Szelc

Barnegat Township School District

I can't say enough about how wonderful the teacher's professional learning was over the last three days! We chose the right teachers to help with the facilitation, and Activate Learning chose the right facilitators to help mentor the teachers and co-present. Thank you, thank you, thank you! It was like all the stars lined up. I loved hearing how much the teachers loved being in the training. Most of them were not getting paid to attend the training, and they were saying the teachers that didn't come to the training are not going to be able to teach this in the fall. This group of teachers are going to be the teachers that rally for professional learning and this program.

Tonyea Mead, Education Associate, Science

Delaware Dept of Education

Using OpenSciEd will mean that my students will have an authentic learning experience. The hands-on, inquiry-driven learning will deepen their knowledge and strengthen their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Ms. Polhemus

Barnegat Township School District

Thank you so much for a wonderful training this week!  The teachers really appreciated it and we were able to delve even deeper into OSE yesterday during our extended planning time. The teacher's and I really appreciated how you were able to capture the spirit of OpenSciEd in the workshops!

Krystyne Kennedy Ed.D., Supervisor of Science, Technology & STEM (5-12)

Barnegat Township School District

Formulating an excellent approach to an anchoring phenomenon is the start of really opening up and engaging in a collaborative fashion. The platform provides for many facets of engagement, fact finding, and a scientific approach to problem solving. The in depth approach of this platform will work well within the confines of my pedagogy.

Ms. Fabian

Barnegat Township School District

Additional
Reading

Activate Learning's Version of OpenSciEd Middle School Receives "All-Green" Rating from EdReports

A Blueprint for Success: Colonial School District Reimagines Science Education with OpenSciEd and Activate Learning

Case Study: Igniting a Science Education Transformation