Habitats (HAB)
Children explore the factors that make up an organism's habitat and investigate to find out how specific organisms are adapted to their habitats. Exploration looks at neighborhood habitats, schoolyard habitats, and then focus on the organisms found in a small space in the schoolyard. After studying and learning about the characteristics and habitats of the organisms in the wild, students are challenged to build a compatible habitat for one of the organisms. The unit concludes with students re-examining their neighborhood habitat, noting how humans have adapted to their surroundings and the many micro-habitats existing in the neighborhood and the organisms existing in them. This unit is part of the Insights series developed by the Educational Development Center with funding from the National Science Foundation.

Soils (SOI)
This unit deepens children's awareness and appreciation of soil. Using simple tests, students learn to identify sand, clay, and humus in soil. They also study how water affects different kinds of soil. Through long-term experiments, they explore how roots and plants grow in various soils and how, with the help of worms, old plants decompose and become part of soil. Then, applying what they have learned, they investigate their own local soil. This unit is part of the Science and Technology for Children series developed by the National Science Resources Center, with funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Academy of Sciences.

Lifting Heavy Things (LHT)
In this unit, children begin by thinking about what it means to make work easier. They then try out a series of experiences and challenges with three different simple machines: levers, inclined planes, and pulleys. Each of the challenges is designed to help students see the advantages and the tradeoffs of these three simple machines. Students are asked to work together to construct an experiment, keep careful records, draw pictures, and analyze results. Finally, students work together to design a construction site that used only human power and recommend which simple machine(s) they would use for which task and why. This unit is part of the Insights series developed by the Educational Development Center with funding from the National Science Foundation.