CHESTER SCHOOL DISTRICT SCIENCE CURRICULUM
Aligned to the 2009 New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards
ST
ENGAGING STUDENTS • FOSTERING ACHIEVEMENT • CULTIVATING 21 CENTURY GLOBAL SKILLS
UNIT OVERVIEW
Students will build and program robotics to replicate the movements and or actions
of American explorers, settlers, soldiers, and Native Americans during the age of
expansion.
Student Goals:
Unit Overview Template
Content Area: Innovation and Design
Unit Title: Robotics
Target Course/Grade Level: 8
Unit Summary: Students will discuss and research the major land acquisitions in United States
history. The initial class discussions will include an examination of the Northwest Ordinance,
Louisiana Purchase, Texas Annexation, and Mexican American War. This background history will
lead into how the armies fought wars, the ways in which settlers utilized natural resources as well as
the overall impact that American expansion had on the Native Americans. Students will then draw a
map of the United States on canvas and begin building a robot that will perform a task related to
American expansionism. The robot will then be programed to replicate the movements of either
explorers, settlers, prospectors, armed forces, or Native Americans. Students will be working in
groups of four to construct a working robot capable of moving, pushing, pulling and picking up an
object. The robots will compete with others built in the class according to prearranged guidelines .
Primary interdisciplinary connections: Math, Science, History, Language Arts
Unit Rationale: The integration of historical background and robotic technology gives
students a hands-on approach to American expansion. The pursuit of this approach will be to
give students a deeper insight into the individual perspective of the explorers, settlers,
prospectors, soldiers, and Native Americans, as well as demonstrating movement across the
nation during the years of exploration.
Created for the Chester School District through committee work in order to provide the students of Chester with a high quality program. In
addition, the goal was to provide the teachers with a workable template for instruction that will allow for common pacing, common formative and
summative assessment, and common educational standards/vocabulary in order to bring about grade and building level discussions for
enrichment and intervention strategies.
CHESTER SCHOOL DISTRICT SCIENCE CURRICULUM
Aligned to the 2009 New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards
ST
ENGAGING STUDENTS • FOSTERING ACHIEVEMENT • CULTIVATING 21 CENTURY GLOBAL SKILLS
Learning Targets
STANDARD 8.2 (Technology Education) All students will develop an understanding of the nature and impact of
technology, engineering, technological design, and the designed world as they relate to the individual, society,
and the environment.
Content Statements:
8.2.8 B. Design: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision-Making
The design process is a systematic approach to solving problems
CPI#
Cumulative Progress Indicator (CPI)
8.2.8. B.1
Design and create a product that addresses a real-world
8.2.8.B.2
8.2.8.B.3
problem using the design process and working with specific
criteria and constraints.
Identify the design constraints and trade-offs involved in
designing a prototype (e.g., how the prototype might fail and
how it might be improved) by completing a design problem
and reporting results in a multimedia presentation.
Solve a science-based design challenge and build a
prototype using science and math principles throughout
the design process
STANDARD 5.1 (Scientific Processes) All students will develop problem solving, decision-making and inquiry
skills reflected by formulating usable questions and hypotheses, planning experiments, conducting systematic
observations, interpreting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and communicating results.
Content Statements:
5.1.8 A. Habits of Mind
2.
Communicate experimental findings to others
5.1.8
B. Inquiry and problem solving
3.
Identify questions and make predictions that can be addressed by conducting investigations
Created for the Chester School District through committee work in order to provide the students of Chester with a high quality program. In
addition, the goal was to provide the teachers with a workable template for instruction that will allow for common pacing, common formative and
summative assessment, and common educational standards/vocabulary in order to bring about grade and building level discussions for
enrichment and intervention strategies.
CHESTER SCHOOL DISTRICT SCIENCE CURRICULUM
Aligned to the 2009 New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards
ST
ENGAGING STUDENTS • FOSTERING ACHIEVEMENT • CULTIVATING 21 CENTURY GLOBAL SKILLS
CPI#
Cumulative Progress Indicator (CPI)
5.1.12.A.2
Use mathematical, physical, and computational tools to
build conceptual-based models and to pose theories.
Design investigations and use scientific
instrumentation to collect, analyze, and evaluate
evidence as part of building and revising models and
explanations.
Gather, evaluate, and represent evidence using
scientific tools, technologies, and computational
strategies.
Use qualitative and quantitative evidence to develop
evidence-based arguments.
Use quality controls to examine data sets and to
examine evidence as a means of generating and
reviewing explanations.
5.1.8.B.1
5.1.8.B.2
5.1.8.B.3
5.1.8.B.4
6.1 U.S. History: America in the World All students will acquire the knowledge and skills to think
analytically about how past and present interactions of people, cultures, and the environment shape
the American heritage. Such knowledge and skills enable students to make informed decisions that
reflect fundamental rights and core democratic values as productive citizens in local, national, and
global communities.
Content Statements:
Expansion and Reform
Westward movement, industrial growth, increased immigration, the expansion of slavery, and the
development of transportation systems increased regional tensions.
CPI#
Cumulative Progress Indicator (CPI)
6.1.8.A.4.b
Analyze how the concept of Manifest Destiny influenced
the acquisition of land through annexation, diplomacy, and war.
6.1.8.B.4.a
Assess the impact of the Louisiana Purchase and western exploration
on the expansion and economic development of the United States.
6.1.8.B.4.b
Map territorial expansion and settlement, as well as
the locations of conflicts with and removal of Native Americans.
Created for the Chester School District through committee work in order to provide the students of Chester with a high quality program. In
addition, the goal was to provide the teachers with a workable template for instruction that will allow for common pacing, common formative and
summative assessment, and common educational standards/vocabulary in order to bring about grade and building level discussions for
enrichment and intervention strategies.
CHESTER SCHOOL DISTRICT SCIENCE CURRICULUM
Aligned to the 2009 New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards
ST
ENGAGING STUDENTS • FOSTERING ACHIEVEMENT • CULTIVATING 21 CENTURY GLOBAL SKILLS
6.1.8.C.4.b
Explain how major technological developments revolutionized
land and water transportation, as well as the economy,
in New Jersey and nation.
6.1.8.D.4.a
Analyze the push-pull factors that led to increases in immigration,
and explain why ethnic and cultural conflicts resulted.
6.1.4.C.16
Explain how creativity and innovation resulted in scientific
Achievement and inventions in many cultures
during different historical periods.
6.1.4.C.17
Determine the role of science and technology in
the transition from an agricultural society to an industrial society,
and then to the information age.
Unit Enduring Understandings
 The ways in which the United States acquired land; Purchase, Claim, Negotiate, Conquer
 Sequential order and geographic locations of U.S. land acquisitions
 Robotic design and programming
Unit Essential Questions
 What ways did the U.S. acquire land during the age of expansion?
 What impact did Manifest Destiny have on Americans, Mexicans, and Native
Americans?
 In what ways can robots make life easier for humans?
 How do robots work?
Unit Learning Targets
Students will know and be able to ...
 Describe the different types of movement carried out by settlers during the age of
American expansion.
 Identify the ways in which America acquired land.
 Explain the opportunities that drew new settlers to the various regions
throughout the United States during the age of expansion.
 Create a robot to perform a specific task related to American expansion.
 Use historical data from opening lessons to aid in robotic design and
Created for the Chester School District through committee work in order to provide the students of Chester with a high quality program. In
addition, the goal was to provide the teachers with a workable template for instruction that will allow for common pacing, common formative and
summative assessment, and common educational standards/vocabulary in order to bring about grade and building level discussions for
enrichment and intervention strategies.
CHESTER SCHOOL DISTRICT SCIENCE CURRICULUM
Aligned to the 2009 New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards
ST
ENGAGING STUDENTS • FOSTERING ACHIEVEMENT • CULTIVATING 21 CENTURY GLOBAL SKILLS
programming modification throughout the unit.
VOCABULARY:
Northwest Ordinance
Louisiana Purchase
Texas Annexation
Mexican American War
Alaska
Hawaii
Thomas Jefferson
Napoleon Bonaparte
Lewis and Clark Expedition
James K. Polk
Mississippi River
Bear Flag Revolt
California Gold Rush
Ballast
Chassis
Direct Drive
End effector
Force
Gear Ratio
Gripper
Indirect-Drive
Lever
Mechanical Advantage
Motor
Pivot
Program
R/C
Range of Motion
Receiver
Robot
Servo
Torque
Transmitter
Evidence of Learning
Summative Assessment
Robot Group Build and Programing
Formative Assessments
Teacher Observation
Quiz
Experiment Sheets
Notebook
Class/Student Discussion
Class work
Diagrams/Models
Equipment needed:
Robotics Kit
Canvas and Paint
Unit Checklists
Teacher Resources:
Created for the Chester School District through committee work in order to provide the students of Chester with a high quality program. In
addition, the goal was to provide the teachers with a workable template for instruction that will allow for common pacing, common formative and
summative assessment, and common educational standards/vocabulary in order to bring about grade and building level discussions for
enrichment and intervention strategies.
CHESTER SCHOOL DISTRICT SCIENCE CURRICULUM
Aligned to the 2009 New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards
ST
ENGAGING STUDENTS • FOSTERING ACHIEVEMENT • CULTIVATING 21 CENTURY GLOBAL SKILLS
Discovery United Streaming
PowerPoint presentations, embedded video
Various lab materials/equipment
Various handouts/templates
Lesson Plans
Lesson
Initial Lessons
History of American Expansionism
with video and unit vocabulary
Timeframe
1 Week
Application Lessons:
Part One
U.S. Regional Map Design
3 days
Application Lessons
Part Two
Programming and Robot Build
21st Century Themes
Global
Awareness
Creativity and
Innovation
Media Literacy
7-10 Days
Financial,
Civic Literacy
Economic,
Business, and
Entrepreneurial
Literacy
21st Century Skills
X Critical Thinking
X Communication
and
and Problem
Collaboration
Solving
X ICT Literacy
Health
Literacy
Informat
ion
Literacy
X Life and Career Skills
Created for the Chester School District through committee work in order to provide the students of Chester with a high quality program. In
addition, the goal was to provide the teachers with a workable template for instruction that will allow for common pacing, common formative and
summative assessment, and common educational standards/vocabulary in order to bring about grade and building level discussions for
enrichment and intervention strategies.