Science
The EEI Curriculum includes 40 science units that were created prior to the adoption of the California Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

A Day In My Life
Reading Grade: Kindergarten
Water, along with soil, air, plant, and animal resources, are fundamentally important for life.

The World Around Me
Reading Grade: Kindergarten
Students learn that Earth is made up of land, air, and water. They also learn the characteristics of several ecosystems and relate those characteristics to their local environment.

Finding Shelter
Reading Grade: First Grade
Healthy ecosystems benefit humans, as well as the plants and animals living there.

Open Wide! Look Inside!
Reading Grade: First Grade
Animals meet their needs for food within their habitat in different ways. Human activities influence habitats and affect animals’ food supplies.

Surviving and Thriving
Reading Grade: First Grade
Students discover that there must be a good fit between the physical features of plants and animals and the characteristics of the different environments in which they live.

Alike and Different
Reading Grade: Second Grade
Students are introduced to the idea of adaptation and variation.

Cycle of Life
Reading Grade: Second Grade
Students learn why life cycles are vital to the survival of all species.

Flowering Plants in Our Changing Environment
Reading Grade: Second Grade
Environmental factors affect the ability of flowering plants to grow and reproduce.

The Earth Rocks
Reading Grade: Second Grade
Students learn the properties of rocks and minerals, how rock types and mineral content may change, and how they influence the way rocks and minerals function in natural and human systems.

Living Things in Changing Environments
Reading Grade: Third Grade
Living things (including humans) can cause changes in the environments in which they live.

Structures for Survival in a Healthy Ecosystem
Reading Grade: Third Grade
A healthy natural system is essential to help plants and animals survive the process of growth and reproduction.

Life and Death with Decomposers
Reading Grade: Fourth Grade
This unit focuses on decomposers and their role in breaking down matter.

Microorganisms and the Human World
Reading Grade: Fourth Grade
Microorganisms are a major component of many processes and cycles.

Plants: The Ultimate Energy Resource
Reading Grade: Fourth Grade
Plants are the primary source of matter and energy entering most food chains.

The Flow of Energy Through Ecosystems
Reading Grade: Fourth Grade
Living organisms depend on one another and on their environment for survival.

Changing States: Water, Natural Systems, and Human Communities
Reading Grade: Fifth Grade
Water moves through the water cycle in two primary ways, evaporation and condensation. This movement of water is connected to humans and human communities.

Earth’s Water
Reading Grade: Fifth Grade
Students learn about the water cycle, availability of fresh water, salinity and density of water, and the interaction of humans with freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems.

Our Water: Sources and Uses
Reading Grade: Fifth Grade
Students identify sources of fresh water and describe the reservoirs of Earth’s water and the variations in the ten hydrological regions of California.

Precipitation, People, and the Natural World
Reading Grade: Fifth Grade
A rich variety of ecosystems in California depend on different natural precipitation patterns for their proper functioning.

Energy and Material Resources: Renewable or Not?
Reading Grade: Sixth Grade
Learn about the different ways in which natural resources may be categorized as renewable, nonrenewable, or inexhaustible, and evaluated as commodities.

Energy: It’s Not All the Same to You!
Reading Grade: Sixth Grade
Explore the current energy sources used by California utility companies to provide electricity.

Energy: Pass It On!
Reading Grade: Sixth Grade
All living things, including humans, depend on both the physical environment and the interactions among organisms.

Made from Earth: How Natural Resources Become Things We Use
Reading Grade: Sixth Grade
This unit teaches students about the importance of natural resources to their personal lives.

Playing the Same Role
Reading Grade: Sixth Grade
Students learn about the roles organisms play in ecosystems within a new context, biomes.

The Dynamic Nature of Rivers
Reading Grade: Sixth Grade
Rivers move materials within a watershed and particular locations have been found throughout history to be more suitable for habitation than others.

Responding to Environmental Change
Reading Grade: Seventh Grade
Students examine the role that humans play in the process of environmental change and review the process of adaptation in evolution.

Extinction: Past and Present
Reading Grade: Seventh Grade
Explore how rates of extinction have varied in geologic time and that our own current extinction rates eclipse those of the past.

Shaping Natural Systems through Evolution
Reading Grade: Seventh Grade
Changing environmental factors affect evolution and diversity of organisms (in terms of genetic variation and natural selection).

Biodiversity: The Keystone to Life on Earth
Reading Grade: High School Biology
The biodiversity represented by healthy natural ecosystems is the basis for the ecosystem goods and services that are required for human survival.

Biological Diversity: The World’s Riches
Reading Grade: High School Biology
This unit examines how biological diversity within an ecosystem influences the chances that species will survive after major changes in the environment.

Differential Survival of Organisms
Reading Grade: High School Biology
Natural selection determines the differential survival of groups of organisms.

Ecosystem Change in California
Reading Grade: High School Biology
California grasslands have changed over time as the result of a combination of natural and human-related causes.

High-Tech Harvest: Genetic Engineering and the Environment
Reading Grade: High School Biology
Explore the ways genetic engineering can influence natural systems and human health as a basis for analyzing the implications of genetic engineering.

The Isolation of Species
Reading Grade: High School Biology
Reproductive and geographic isolation play major roles in the evolution of animal species.

Liquid Gold: California’s Water
Reading Grade: High School Earth Science
This unit teaches students how water is distributed and managed as a natural resource.

Living Under One Roof
Reading Grade: High School Earth Science
Students develop an understanding of Earth’s ozone layer and the role it serves in absorbing ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

Ocean Currents and Natural Systems
Reading Grade: High School Earth Science
This unit guides students in examining the correlation between the physical, chemical, and biological world.

Rainforests and Deserts: Distribution, Uses, and Human Influences
Reading Grade: High School Earth Science
Students investigate the role of atmospheric convection currents in determining the geography of deserts and rainforests.

The Greenhouse Effect on Natural Systems
Reading Grade: High School Earth Science
Explore Earth’s natural “greenhouse effect” and how this mechanism creates a climate that sustains life.

The Life and Times of Carbon
Reading Grade: High School Earth Science
Examine Earth’s various carbon reservoirs (atmosphere, oceans, organisms/biomass, coal and oil deposits).