Discovery Education’s Science Techbook for Texas is a comprehensive core curriculum designed for Texas teachers and students.
Science Techbook for Texas strategically and systematically integrates the scientific and engineering practices, recurring themes and concepts, and grade-level content as outlined in the TEKS.
Assessments include new STAAR question types: text entry, hot spot, drag and drop, multipart, multi-select, and short constructed response.
Easily meet lab and activity requirements with engaging hands-on activities and interactives that fit into standard lessons.
Middle school lessons are ready-to-teach with point-of-use instructor support and flexible options.
Science Techbook for Texas provides a complete science curriculum in English and Spanish.
Science phenomena and activities feature Texas locations so students can truly see themselves in the program.
Science Techbook for Texas is a hands-on and immersive active learning program. Watch students transform into junior scientists and engineers through engaging real-world lessons.
Students are motivated to understand the science content because it’s exciting and relevant.
Students build conceptual understanding through hands-on activities and interactives in every Concept.
Embedded strategies for differentiated instruction support accessible science instruction.
Make the most of your time! Science Techbook for Texas includes intuitive digital tools that personalize the student experience and instructor resources that streamline processes.
The embedded formative assessment prompts throughout the 6-8 program are STAAR 2.0 assessment types. Additionally, in the Evaluate lessons you will find Concept Summative Assessments. The question types in these assessments also mirror the look and feel of STARR-based item types and include all the new STAAR question types: text entry, hot spot, drag and drop, multi-part, multi-select, short constructed response.
Many assessments are automatically graded, and instructors can view student and class performance in the Concept Assessment Results section. Constructed response questions include rubrics for additional feedback. For more information on assessments, click here.
At the close of each lesson, students complete formative assessments called “What Did You Figure Out?” and “Check For Understanding.” Available in print and digital modalities, these assessments provide a quick opportunity for students to demonstrate their understanding.
Phenomenon Check-Ins serve as another formative check for understanding that allows students to reflect on their sensemaking. As students generate and analyze data, these artifacts allow teachers to monitor student progress. Many formative assessments are auto-graded with built-in scaffolded supports for instant feedback.
For more information on assessments, click here.
Yes! Science Techbook for Texas provides a complete science curriculum in English and Spanish available with a single click. This includes everything students will see in the core curriculum from text, video, interactives, assessments, and more. For grades K-8, the print student editions are also available in Spanish.
Additionally, over 100 languages are available through Immersive Reader and Google Translate.
We also support Emergent Bilinguals with embedded listening, reading, writing, and speaking supports to help students meet grade-level science content expectations. Emergent Bilinguals will benefit from features like Immersive Reader, Interactive Glossary, authentically translated lessons, summative and formative assessments in English and Spanish, and more. Teachers can access point-of-use instructional strategies aligned to the ELPS to meet the needs of their learners and use student data to inform and differentiate instruction.
Science Techbook for Texas includes a wide variety of technology tools and instructional strategies that save both teachers and students time including a Lexile toggle that changes the Lexile of the student narrative, Immersive Reader in the Interactive Glossary, text-to-speech, highlighting and notetaking tools, point-of-use differentiation strategies for approaching learners, advanced learners, and emerging bilinguals, ELPS support strategies, SOS instructional strategies, and common student misconceptions.
Depending on students’ individual needs, educators can take advantage of the Explore More Resources section. This exciting resource includes TEKS-aligned tools that focus on Concept Background, Reinforcement, and Extension. Students can complete the Explore More Resources assignments independently in any setting. All the 6-8 lessons and assets in Explore More Resources include a practice worksheet with additional practice problems and items related to the core ideas of the Concept. Each worksheet is accompanied by a Teacher’s Guide with sample student responses.
Yes! Science Techbook for Texas includes two reading levels for all grades 3-8 and Biology literacy lessons to support deeper understanding of science content. Level A is on grand-band and Level B is 200 Lexile points below.
In each Concept, students are presented with a real-world phenomenon. The Engage lessons are carefully crafted to solicit student curiosity and encourage them to ask questions related to the core concepts for the TEKS associated with the concept.
Using the CER framework, students synthesize the evidence gathered while completing hands-on activities, interactives, and literacy activities in the Explore lessons. They evaluate the validity of this evidence to answer their original questions about the phenomenon from Engage and revise their initial claims and models. Rubrics and the ability to provide personal feedback to their peers help students improve the rigor of their explanations over time.
In Elaborate lessons, students expand on the scientific ideas within each Concept by making connections and applying ideas to real-world experiences through STEM projects and STEM careers. Now that students have acted like scientists and engineers, they can learn how professional scientists and engineers study the same evidence they uncover in your classroom.
The Explore More Resources section supports educators in developing their own understanding of more advanced grade-level concepts. These sections include linked additional resources with background knowledge. Also available for grades 6-8 are Hands-on Activity videos that support educators as they facilitate an engaging, active learning experience.
Yes! The curriculum not only includes misconceptions relevant to the core scientific ideas found in each Concept but also provides those misconceptions for teachers at the point in Explore lessons that are the critical place in the 5E learning cycle where teachers can address the misconception. Each teacher misconception feature includes an explanation and practical strategy to support students in overcoming barriers to conceptual development.
The middle school student curriculum is available in authentically translated Spanish to support Emergent Bilinguals.
Embedded strategies for Emergent Bilinguals aligned to the ELPS are available at point-of-use within the teacher materials. These include guidance for linguistic accommodations (communicated, sequenced, and scaffolded) commensurate with various levels of English language proficiency as defined by the ELPS.
Numerous lessons within the concept include detailed teacher support for how they can facilitate and encourage the use of students’ first language, alongside the acquisition of the English language. These features provide four scaffolded strategies that can be employed based on the language proficiency level of the students in the classroom.
Students and instructors can also take advantage of the Immersive Reader located within the interactive glossaries. Immersive Reader provides personalized access to the curriculum with features such as read-aloud, line focus, translation, and grammar markings, as well as the ability to adjust the size, style, and color of the font. Immersive Reader also authentically translates the text into over 100 languages. For more information on our multilingual resources, click here.
Discovery Education tools, like Assessment Builder and Studio, give teachers the flexibility to create their own customized assessments to best meet their student’s needs.
