"How do our bodies manage to heal wounds, build the stamina to run marathons, and give us the energy—even while we’re sleeping—to keep us alive and functioning? Matter and Energy for Growth and Activity prompts high school students to explore fascinating questions like these. It takes a new approach to teaching essential ideas about food, human body systems, matter and energy changes, and chemical reactions. Developed by a team of scientists and science educators and then tested in classrooms, the 14 phenomena-based lessons in this book follow a coherent sequence. They unfold in two main sections: (1) making sense of the matter changes involved in human growth and (2) making sense of the energy changes involved in human growth and activity" -- back cover.

A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. "I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next 'Star Wars' movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans' ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years. —Bill Gates, Gates Notes, Best Books of the Year Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from terra-forming forces of plate tectonics to cumulative erosive effects of raindrops. Life on Earth depends on the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows—ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity—for their civilized existence. In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. Humans are the only species that can systematically harness energies outside their bodies, using the power of their intellect and an enormous variety of artifacts—from the simplest tools to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors. The epochal transition to fossil fuels affected everything: agriculture, industry, transportation, weapons, communication, economics, urbanization, quality of life, politics, and the environment. Smil describes humanity's energy eras in panoramic and interdisciplinary fashion, offering readers a magisterial overview. This book is an extensively updated and expanded version of Smil's Energy in World History (1994). Smil has incorporated an enormous amount of new material, reflecting the dramatic developments in energy studies over the last two decades and his own research over that time.

How do our bodies manage to heal wounds, build the stamina to run marathons, and give us the energy-- even while we're sleeping-- to keep us alive and functioning? Matter and Energy for Growth and Activity prompts high school students to explore fascinating questions like these. It takes a new approach to teaching essential ideas about food, human body systems, matter and energy changes, and chemical reactions. Developed by a team of scientists and science educators and then tested in classrooms, the 14 phenomena-based lessons in this book follow a coherent sequence. They unfold in two main sections: (1) making sense of the matter changes involved in human growth and (2) making sense of the energy changes involved in human growth and activity. Matter and Energy is unique because it does the following: - Targets important ideas about changes in both physical and biological systems within the same unit. The book first engages students in seeing the usefulness of the ideas in making sense of phenomena in simple physical systems. Then it shows how to apply these ideas to make sense of related phenomena in complex biological systems. This interdisciplinary approach reflects the way science is practiced in the real world. - Supports all three dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards. Disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science practices are all integrated in this unit. - Emphasizes important relationships between mathematics and science. Students interpret data sets and graphs to provide evidence for claims. They also do simple computations to explain puzzling phenomena-- for example, why does energy have to be added to ignite a marshmallow even though the burning marshmallow releases lots of energy? - Builds on the middle school unit Toward High School Biology (also published by NSTA Press). Together the two units help students deepen their understanding of matter and energy changes in plants and animals and the role of chemical reactions in the growth, repair, and activity of living organisms. Matter and Energy for Growth and Activity, Student Edition provides all the student handouts with the teaching tips and sample answers found in the Teacher Edition removed. A set of online resources includes the interactive media, videos, and handouts required to use these experiential lessons. Between both books, you have the support you need to help your students turn abstract ideas into applicable knowledge-- a critical first step in learning.

Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to solving many of humanity's most pressing current and future challenges. The United States' position in the global economy is declining, in part because U.S. workers lack fundamental knowledge in these fields. To address the critical issues of U.S. competitiveness and to better prepare the workforce, A Framework for K-12 Science Education proposes a new approach to K-12 science education that will capture students' interest and provide them with the necessary foundational knowledge in the field. A Framework for K-12 Science Education outlines a broad set of expectations for students in science and engineering in grades K-12. These expectations will inform the development of new standards for K-12 science education and, subsequently, revisions to curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development for educators. This book identifies three dimensions that convey the core ideas and practices around which science and engineering education in these grades should be built. These three dimensions are: crosscutting concepts that unify the study of science through their common application across science and engineering; scientific and engineering practices; and disciplinary core ideas in the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth and space sciences and for engineering, technology, and the applications of science. The overarching goal is for all high school graduates to have sufficient knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on science-related issues, be careful consumers of scientific and technical information, and enter the careers of their choice. A Framework for K-12 Science Education is the first step in a process that can inform state-level decisions and achieve a research-grounded basis for improving science instruction and learning across the country. The book will guide standards developers, teachers, curriculum designers, assessment developers, state and district science administrators, and educators who teach science in informal environments.

This well-researched book provides a valuable instructional framework for high school biology teachers as they tackle five particularly challenging concepts in their classrooms, meiosis, photosynthesis, natural selection, proteins and genes, and environmental systems and human impact. The author counsels educators first to identify students' prior conceptions, especially misconceptions, related to the concept being taught, then to select teaching strategies that best dispel the misunderstandings and promote the greatest student learning. The book is not a prescribred set of lesson plans. Rather it presents a framework for lesson planning, shares appropriate approaches for developing student understanding, and provides opportunities to reflect and apply those approached to the five hard-to-teach topics. More than 300 teacher resources are listed.