This first-grade unit on light starts out with students exploring how many shapes they can see on different pieces of paper at various locations around their classroom when the lights are turned off.  They are surprised to find that some of the shapes are not visible in these conditions    This leads students to start wondering about other phenomena related to seeing in the dark, which in turn leads to new questions and design problems related to how they can make their room completely dark.   (PS4, ETS1)

[Under development] This second-grade unit on plant reproduction and habitats starts out with students exploring the kind of plants they find growing in different places around their school and neighborhood. Their explorations reveal some surprising places where plants are sprouting. This raises a series of questions and ideas for investigations to pursue related to why there are different plants growing in different places. (LS1, LS2, LS4, ETS1)

This fourth-grade unit on wave properties and ocean floor structures starts out with students exploring a perplexing phenomenon where hundreds of unopened bags of snack chips were found on a beach. This sparks a series of questions about where these came from and how they got to where they were found. It also leads students to generate ideas for investigations to pursue about the role of wind, currents, and waves as possible suspects that could have moved these bags from where they were lost in the ocean to where they were found on the shore. (PS4, ESS2)

In this fifth-grade unit on earth systems and on the structure and properties of matter, students investigate where the dirty water that drains out of their homes and schools goes and where the clean water they use comes from. (ESS2, ESS3, PS1, ETS1)

In this fifth-grade unit on interrelationships in ecosystems, students investigate the apparent disappearance of the body of a dead raccoon over time. Their findings lead them to uncover the role of decomposers in this process, as well as the role of decomposers in the disappearance of plant debris over time. Students ultimately track down where the materials come from that all living things need for repair and growth and where the energy comes from that they use to move and stay warm. (LS1, LS2, PS1, PS3)

NextGenStorylines, in conjunction with Learning in Places, developed two elementary storyline units addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and health equity:
What can we do to keep our community healthy? (Grades K-2)
How can we make decisions to care for ourselves, our families, and our communities? (Grades 3-5)