Welcome to Physical Science

BACK TO MAIN 6–8 PAGE

Amplify Science California is so effective you can cover 100% of the NGSS in fewer lessons than other programs.
 
Plus, you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing we give you enough materials to support 200 students. In fact, our material kits:

  • Support small groups of 4-5 students.
  • Make organization and finding materials easy.
  • Last longer with only one of the nine kits requiring refills.
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What students learn

When you’re ready:

  • Find a summary of each unit below including each unit’s student role and anchor phenomenon.
  • Click on the orange “See how the unit works” link to download a helpful Unit Guide. These guides make great companions to busy reviewers looking for a big-picture understanding of how each unit works.
An illustration from the Harnessing Human Energy unit

Unit 1

Harnessing Human Energy

Student role: Energy scientists

Phenomenon: Rescue workers can use their own human kinetic energy to power electrical devices used during rescue missions.

An illustration from the Force and Motion unit

Unit 2

Force and Motion

Student role: Physicists

Phenomenon: The asteroid sample-collecting pod collided with the docking station and failed to dock as planned.

See how this unit works

An illustration from the Force and Motion: Engineering Internship unit

Unit 3

Force and Motion Engineering Internship

Student role: Mechanical engineering interns

Phenomenon: Designing emergency supply delivery pods with different structures can better protect pods and their contents.

An illustration from the Magnetic Fields unit

Unit 4

Magnetic Fields

Student role: Physicists

Phenomenon: During its third magnetic spacecraft launcher test, a model spacecraft far exceeded its target speed.

An illustration from the Thermal Energy unit

Unit 5

Thermal Energy

Student role: Thermal scientists

Phenomenon: Riverdale School needs a new heating system. Only one of two proposed systems is the best choice.

See how this unit works

An illustration from the Phase Change unit

Unit 6

Phase Change

Student role: Chemists

Phenomenon: A methane lake on Titan no longer appears in images taken by a space probe two years apart.

See how this unit works

An illustration from the Phase Change: Engineering Internship unit

Unit 7

Phase Change Engineering Internship

Student role: Chemical engineering interns

Phenomenon: Designing portable baby incubators with different phase change materials helps keep babies’ temperatures healthy.

An illustration from the Chemical Reactions unit

Unit 8

Chemical Reactions

Student role: Forensic chemists

Phenomenon: A mysterious reddish-brown substance has been detected in the tap water of Westfield.

See how this unit works

An illustration from the Light Waves unit

Unit 9

Light Waves

Student role: Spectroscopists

Phenomenon: The rate of skin cancer in Australia is higher than other parts of the world despite getting the same or less sunlight.

See how this unit works

How teachers teach

When you’re ready:

  • Scroll down and take a closer look at your classroom resources.
  • Click on the orange links below each component to see grade-specific samples.
Most adopted curriculum for the NGSS California

Classroom Slides

These customizable PowerPoints are available for every lesson of the program and make delivering instruction a snap with visual prompts, colorful activity instructions, investigation set-up videos and animations, and suggested teacher talk in the notes section of each slide.

Video introduction to Classroom Slides

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Teacher’s Reference Guide

Available digitally and in print, our unit-specific reference guides are chock full of helpful resources, including scientific background knowledge, planning information and resources, color-coded 3-D Statements, detailed lesson plans, tips for delivering instruction, and differentiation strategies.

Login to platform below to access

Amplify Science California supports 3-D learning with more materials than any other program.

Materials Kits

Our kits include enough non-consumable materials to support 200 student uses. In other words, you have enough materials to support all five periods and small groups of 4-5 students each. Plus, our unit-specific kits mean you just grab the tub you need and then put it all back with ease.

A digital simulation from Amplify Science

Simulations and Practice Tools

Our digital Simulations and Practice Tools are powerful resources for exploration, data collection, and student collaboration. They allow students the ability to explore scientific concepts that might otherwise be invisible or impossible to see with the naked eye.

Video overview of digital tools

An open book with two pages displaying illustrations of a space docking failure incident, titled in both spanish and english.

Consumable Notebooks

Available for every unit, our Student Investigation Notebooks contain instructions for activities and space for students to record data and observations, reflect on ideas from texts and investigations, and construct explanations and arguments.

Sample Student Investigation Notebook

Sample Student Investigation Notebook (Spanish)

Cover of amplify science california student edition grade 8 integrated featuring illustrations of space, animals, and scientific diagrams.

Student Edition Hardcover

This durable Student Edition is grade-level specific and contains all of the articles that students refer to throughout the year. Districts may choose to pair these traditional student texts with our digital student experience or new 2-volume consumable notebook set.

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Coming Soon

Unlike other publishers, we don’t make you wait until your next adoption to get the latest and greatest from Amplify. We’re always launching new and exciting features. What’s more, we’ll push them out to you even after you adopt us!

See what’s coming for 2020-2021

Navigating the program

  • Click the orange button below to access the platform.
  • Choose the resources you’d like to review.
  • Pick your grade level from the drop-down menu.
  • Scroll down to find additional grade-level resources.

Navigating a Launch Unit

Launch units are the first units taught in each year of the program. The goal of a Launch unit is to introduce students to norms, routines, and practices that will be built on throughout the year.

Navigating an Engineering Internship

Engineering Internship units invite students to design solutions for real-world problems as interns for a fictional company called Futura. In the process, they apply and deepen their learning from Core units.

Navigating a Core Unit

Core units introduce a real-world problem and support students as they figure out the anchoring phenomenon and gain an understanding of the unit’s DCIs, SEPs, and CCCs.

Navigating Classwork and Reporting

Classwork is our new online grading tool that gives you quick and easy access to unreviewed work, student portfolios of work, and automatically generated differentiation groups.