Middle School Life Science Curriculum for International Schools Abroad
Biology Complete – Middle School is a U.S.-style grades 6–8 life science course that American and international schools abroad can download and teach immediately. Its 70+ resources cover living things, cell theory, plant and animal cells, levels of organization and further life science units, with investigations, data, diagrams and models. No textbook shipment, no customs delay, and no dependence on a lab supplier that may not deliver to your country.
View the life science course →Biology Complete – Middle School, from $149.90, is a digital life science curriculum for grades 6–8 that suits international schools following an American model. It covers characteristics of living things, cell theory, plant versus animal cells, levels of organization and further units, with NGSS-style scientific thinking practices. Because it is delivered digitally, there is nothing to ship. International schools should confirm with their curriculum coordinator and accreditor how it fits, as no endorsement is claimed.
The curriculum
Biology Complete – Middle School, Grades 6–8
Start with the full curriculum. The other resources below are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
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The real problem
Life science far from a U.S. science supplier
Science teachers at international schools run into a specific supply problem. Textbooks and lab materials ordered from the U.S. can take months, and some items get held at customs or are restricted in the host country. You may arrive to find a lab with a few microscopes, unfamiliar local glassware and labels in another language. That makes a course built around equipment fragile. Students add another layer. Some come from systems where biology starts later and is taught as memorization; others had strong hands-on science and are bored by definitions. English levels vary, and scientific vocabulary like 'organelle' or 'hypothesis' trips up even fluent students when they first meet it in English. Families moving between countries also worry about gaps: will their child be ready for high school biology in the U.S., the U.K. or somewhere else? What you need is a sequenced course, from characteristics of living things through cells and levels of organization, that teaches scientific thinking through data, diagrams and models as well as hands-on work, so the course holds up whatever the lab looks like and whoever arrives in October.
Why it fits
Why it holds up in an international school
Both the delivery and the teaching approach suit schools working far from U.S. suppliers.
- Delivered digitally, so the course never waits on a textbook order or a customs release.
- Diagrams, models and data analysis keep lessons strong when lab equipment is limited or delayed.
- Clear cell and organization lessons give students from different systems a shared starting point.
- Hypothesis and investigation routines teach scientific thinking students carry to any next school.
- Differentiated worksheets help when English level and science background vary in one room.
- Units taught individually let mid-year arrivals begin at the next unit without confusion.
Getting started
Starting life science at a school abroad
One possible way to get the course running during your first weeks:
- Download and back upSave the files to a school drive and your laptop. Slow or restricted internet in some countries should not stop a lesson. Keep both copies updated.
- Audit the lab you inheritedCheck what microscopes and supplies exist and what is labeled in another language. Note which investigations you can run and which need diagrams instead. Ask colleagues for help with labels.
- Post a science word wallPull key terms such as cell, hypothesis and organism from early units and display them with images. English learners rely on it all year. Add to it every unit.
- Open with characteristics of lifeThis lesson needs no equipment and invites debate. Students from different systems reveal their backgrounds as they reason about evidence. Keep notes on what you hear.
- Use local organismsWhen teaching plant and animal cells or ecosystems-related units, bring in plants and organisms from your host country. Students connect biology to where they live.
Which version
Choosing your version
The $149.90 version with 70+ resources is the complete life science course. At $189.90, the second version bundles in Teach-Life-Balance, a digital course of planner pages, guides and templates for saving time. Teachers abroad often carry extra duties like trips, boarding or activities, so it may help, but there is no additional science in it. If you teach all middle school sciences at your school, combining this with Chemistry Complete or Physics Complete using TEACHMORE15 gives 15% off, and the shared structure makes switching between them easy.
Honest limits
What it does not do
No lab equipment, specimens or kits are included, which matters if sourcing supplies is already hard where you are. It is not built for IGCSE, IB or host-country science requirements. The NGSS-style description is about the approach, not certified alignment. Your curriculum coordinator should confirm how it fits your accreditation. Team use needs a short message to Teach Lessons first. If it does not suit you, you have 7 days to exchange it for store credit of equal value; there is no cash refund.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is it NGSS-aligned or accepted by our accreditor?
Its scientific thinking practices are described as NGSS-style, but Teach Lessons does not claim alignment with NGSS, any state standard or any accreditation requirement, and no outside body has endorsed it. It is written for U.S. middle school classrooms. Ask your curriculum coordinator to compare it with your accreditor's expectations.
We have almost no lab equipment. Can we still use it?
Yes. Lessons on data analysis, diagrams and models carry much of the course, and investigations are simple. Equipment such as microscopes strengthens the cell lessons, but the concepts can be taught without it. Investigations in the curriculum are simple, so you can often substitute locally available materials for the hands-on parts.
How do teachers outside the U.S. receive it?
Digitally. You get a download link by email right after purchase, and the files stay in your customer account under Orders. Nothing is shipped, so customs and import rules do not apply. Print class sets locally as often as you need, or show the slides on classroom screens.
Can it run alongside IGCSE or IB preparation?
It can provide life science foundations, but it is not designed for IGCSE, IB or any national exam. Compare the units with your school's framework and use the parts that fit your program. A U.S.-style middle school course can come before students begin exam programs in high school.
Is the English level manageable for learners?
It is written for U.S. middle schoolers, not simplified for language learners. Diagrams, models and differentiated worksheets help, and a word wall for scientific vocabulary makes a real difference in the first months. Pairing each vocabulary word with a labeled diagram helps students remember terms like organelle and tissue.
Are there other science products in the same format?
Physics Complete – Middle School and Chemistry Complete – Middle School are built the same way. The STEM Complete Curriculum Bundle for grades 6–10 at $149.00 may also appear on the product page as an optional extra. Using two of them gives one routine across sciences.
Teach life science wherever your school is
Open the product page to see the units, choose a version and download the course today.
View the life science course →