The five units

Middle school units that travel between systems

Each unit has eight lessons, topics, challenges or studios that stand alone, so you can teach all of them or choose the ones your scope and sequence needs.

Genetics and Heredity | 8 Lessons, 8 Inheritance Models & a Project | Grades 7–8

Alleles, Punnett squares and genetics claims in eight lessons.

Grades 7–8$19.99

Spotting Misinformation and Deepfakes | 8 Lessons, 6 Verification Files & a Project | Grades 6–8

Checking claims, tracing context and recognizing synthetic media.

Grades 6–8$19.99

Spanish 1: First Steps | 8 Topics, 4 Unit Checks & 4 Speaking Studios | Grades 6–8

Beginner Spanish with unit checks, speaking studios and listening scripts.

Grades 6–8$29.99

Engineering Design Challenges | 8 Challenges, Case Cards & a Project | Grades 6–8

Eight design challenges that use paper and simple materials.

Grades 6–8$24.99

Bill of Rights and Landmark Cases | 8 Lessons, 10 Case Cards & a Fictional Hearing | Grades 7–8

Ten landmark case cards and a fictional hearing.

Grades 7–8$24.99

At a glance

What each unit contains

Every unit also includes editable DOCX text editions and a 17-slide presentation. The closest US frameworks named in the product pages are NGSS (MS-LS3 for genetics, MS-ETS1 for engineering), Common Core ELA for misinformation, ACTFL Novice for Spanish and the C3 Framework for civics. No alignment is claimed. For Singapore-specific planning, see our Singapore MOE syllabus page.

Using your framework

One stage, several names

International schools name the same stage in different ways. A Grade 7 class is roughly Year 8 in England, Secondary 1 in Singapore and MYP Year 2 in an IB school, and your timetable may use any of these. The units on this page say Grades 6–8 and spell out their topics, lesson titles and what the teacher guide holds. They do not claim alignment with MYP, Cambridge Lower Secondary or the Singapore Secondary 1–2 syllabus, and none of those bodies has reviewed them. What you can do is read the topic list, compare it with your own unit planner and decide where a unit fits. Because each lesson, challenge or topic stands alone, you can also take only the parts you need and leave the rest. Teacher guides list expected responses, so a colleague who did not write your plan can pick a unit up and teach it. For Singapore secondary planning, see this planning page.

Science

Genetics and engineering for the lab-light classroom

Genetics and Heredity moves from DNA, genes and chromosomes through alleles, dominance, Punnett squares, probability, reproduction and mutation. Lesson 5 separates the expected ratio from what appears in a small sample, which is a useful point for students who think a 3:1 ratio must show up every time. The last lesson asks students to check claims about heredity against evidence, and the unit ends with a project. Engineering Design Challenges suits schools with few lab supplies, because the eight challenges use paper, index cards and reused material. Students plan, test and justify a design in writing, and a case card in each challenge asks them for reasons. The teacher guide for each unit lists expected responses and notes on the limits of the models. If you teach both, the Middle School Science Bundle also holds the Earth and Space and Plate Tectonics units, and saves $29.97 compared with buying the four units separately.

Humanities and media

Civics and misinformation without a local slant

Bill of Rights and Landmark Cases covers US constitutional law. It reads the first ten amendments, then teaches students to read a case, compare precedents and write a reasoned decision. Ten case cards run from Marbury v. Madison to Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., and the hearing in Lesson 7 is fictional. It suits a civics or humanities course that wants to compare a US system with your host country's. Spotting Misinformation and Deepfakes teaches checking strategies rather than the features of any app, so it ages better than a unit built on one platform. Students practice lateral reading, trace the original context of an image and look at how coordinated behavior makes agreement look larger than it is. Six verification files give them cases to work through.

Languages

A beginner Spanish unit in English

Spanish 1: First Steps is for students who start Spanish in middle school, including those who join mid-year. Explanations and task instructions are in English and the target language is Spanish. Eight topics run from Saludos e identidad to Un plan juntos and cover greetings, family, school, regular -ar verbs, free time and making a plan. Four unit checks and four speaking studios have keys in the 21-page teacher guide. Complete listening scripts are supplied, but audio files are not included, so you or a colleague would read them aloud. The unit does not replace a full textbook. Bilingual programs and international schools that teach Spanish as a third language can use it as a starting block.

Planning

How to place a unit in your course

1. Name the stageWrite down what your school calls this year group and what your planner expects for the term.
2. Read the topic listEach product page lists lessons, topics and teacher-guide contents. Compare them with your own learning goals.
3. Choose whole or partUse all eight lessons or pick the ones you need. Each one stands alone.
4. Check the teacher guideLook at the answers, case guidance and assessment keys before you assign anything for a grade.
5. Add the projectThe units close with a project brief, record and reflection page, which fits a summative task.

Questions teachers ask

Frequently asked questions