STEM Lessons

The SC Standards Support System (S³), a collection of high-quality, professionally developed lessons originally written to correlate to the 2005 SC Science Standards and the 2007 SC Mathematics standards have been revamped.

This updated collection of lessons, aligns with the latest SC standards, were developed by S²TEM Centers SC and offered as free, downloadable lessons. These introductory lessons are designed to serve as supplemental teacher resources—not the primary curriculum.

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Individual Math Lessons

GRADE: K

Standard: K.G.1
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students will use position words to describe positions of objects.

GRADE: 2

Standard: 2.MDA.9
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students will collect, organize and represent data using bar graphs and picture graphs to display student favorite lunch choices and connect this data to the social studies concept of explaining how people’s purchasing choices determine what goods and services are produced. Students develop a written presentation to the cafeteria manager and the principal on the foods they would like to see on the lunch menu daily.

GRADE: 3

Standard: 3.MDA.4
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students will work in partners and groups to explore measurement in inches, half-inches, and quarter-inches to create line plots. Students will have the opportunity to make connections to measurement in our real world through personal experiences and literature. Multiple opportunities are included in this lesson to communicate new learnings through writing and oral presentations.

GRADE: 3

Standard: 3.ATO.3
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students use multiplication and related division problems, and apply their knowledge to find and solve equations (including unknowns) relating to problem situations.

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GRADE: 6

Standard: 6.NS.7
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students will connect a discussion about opposites and distances to be able to define and determine absolute value.

GRADE: 6

Standard: 6.RP.3
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students will extend their understanding of fractions and decimals to include representing fractional parts as percentages where the whole is 100. Learners will make connections between concrete and visual representations of percentages and fractions, create a piece of art related to a popular art movement, and write about the math and the art from the lesson.

Fraction Action Handout
Art Connection Handout
Inch Grid Handout
Show Me Cards Handout
Think Pair Share Strategy

GRADE: 7

Standard: 7.DSP.8
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students will use probabilities and models (tree diagrams) to determine if games are “fair” (equal probabilities of winning) or “unfair” (unequal probabilities of winning).

GRADE: 8

Standard: 8.NS.2
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students will review the definitions of rational and irrational numbers. They will work in pairs to place a series of rational and irrational numbers on a number line and explain their reasoning both in small groups and to the whole class.

GRADE: 8

Standard: 8.F.3
Lesson Overview: In these lessons, students will use technology to graph and look for patterns to establish solid connections to the concepts of slope, x- and y-intercepts, and how such graphs are connected to distance-time graphs.

Handout 1
Handout 2
Handout 3

Individual Science Lessons

GRADE 1

Standard: 1.L.5A.1
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students will demonstrate an understanding of the special characteristics of plants. Students will carry out simple investigations. Students will also compare and classify plants by shape, texture, size, color and using standard English units of measurement where appropriate.

GRADE 2

Standard: 2.L.5A.1
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students will learn what animals need to live and grow and how their environment helps them to meet those needs. Through research and discussion, the students will understand that animals can be classified into categories (mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish and insects) based on similar characteristics.

GRADE 5

Standard: 5.P.2B.4
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students will construct explanations, ask questions, plan and carry out investigations, analyze and interpret data and develop models in order to understand how the amount of solute and solvent determine the concentration of a solution.

GRADE 5

Standard: 5.P.2A.1
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students will be able to observe physical properties of matter and explain why it is either a solid, liquid or gas.

GRADE 6

Standard: 6.E.2A.2
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students will examine how climate change in Antarctica affects the penguins that live there. Students will take on the role of different scientists to analyze the effects of global warming on Antarctica’s living and nonliving systems. Students will analyze scientific arguments based on evidence concerning climate change.

Handout 1
Handout 2

GRADE 7

Standard: 7.P.2B.3
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students will test various solutions using litmus paper, pH paper and Phenolphthalein to classify as either an acid, base or neutral. They will also develop their own understanding of the pH scale prior to being introduced and actually using it. Throughout the lesson, multiple opportunities are provided for students to capture and share their progressive learning through written and oral form.

GRADE 7

Standard: 7.P.2B.1
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students will participant in many activities designed to compare physical and chemical properties such as boiling/melting point, density and the ability of substances to burn or rust. Throughout the lesson, students will collect, analyze and interpret data to support claims made about the substances given.