Example Units

The units highlighted below have been developed and tested in science classrooms. They are not perfect, but they will give you a great start in integrating model-based inquiry into your classroom! Click on the units below to access a completed template of the MBI unit.

(click below to jump to a specific section)

Life Sciences

Earth and Space Sciences

Physical Sciences

Green Circle labelled 'HS' - High School Units. Blue Circle labelled 'MS' - Middle School Units

Pink Circle labelled 'ES' - Elementary School Units. Orange circle labelled 'Legacy' - uses legacy MBI Template

Life Sciences

LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

High School Unit. Why are cases of Lyme diseas increasing in the US and being experienced differently among some racial and ethnic groups?

LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Middle School Legacy unit. Why did the diet of the bald eagle change as a result of the declining sea otter populations in the Aleutian Islands in the 1990s?

Middle School Legacy unit. Why are the polar bears in peril?

LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

Middle School Legacy unit. Why do Lucy and Maria look so different despite being twins?

High School Legacy unit. why did the Kentucky Blue People turn blue? Why were only some of the family members affected and How did the condition persist for more than a century?

High School Legacy unit. What led two brothers to have seemingly unbreakable bones? How does knowing these men are related help explain why their bones are so dense?

LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

Elementary School unit. With the extreme weather conditions in Antarctica, how do emperor penguins survive?

Earth and Space Sciences

ESS1: Earth's Place in the Universe

Middle School unit. Why are there different rock layers across the canyons of the Grand Staircase and how can these layers help us understand the deep history of the Colorado Plateau?

Middle School Legacy Unit. Why ARE Flagstaff, AZ, and Sydney, Australia, in different seasons on Christmas day each year?

ESS2: Earth's Systems

Middle School Legacy unit. Why have the negative impacts of bark beetles in our local forests increased so severely over the past few decades?

Physical Sciences

PS1: Matter and its Interactions

High School Legacy unit. In the cold water near the north and south poles, the formation of brinicles, or “underwater icicles of death”, has been observed and recorded by scientists. How do the brinicles form, and why do they grow downward through the water?

High School Legacy Unit. Why did the tanker car implode overnight after being steam cleaned?

PS3: Energy

Middle School unit. Why do the cookies get hot enough to bake in a car on a hot summer day and why extreme heat is being experienced differently among some racial and ethnic groups?

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