Instructional Material & Examples

Organization and Structure

This site provides high school science subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Physical  Science, and the social science of Psychology. Delivery of the subjects here presume the use of school-owned textbooks as a core-component during in-class reading assignments. With that assumption, content presented here is sufficient for most one-year programs. The section titled Cross-Content is not intended to be a stand-alone subject. Rather, the cross-content pages are supplementary to each of the four subjects presented. Psychology does not follow this structure.

After scanning the paragraphs below, we recommend first-time visitors/students invest time with our Get-Started page.

Each subject is structured as 35-40 individual topics. Each topic is designed as a “week’s worth of activity.” Each topic generally corresponds to a specific science standard. For example, the biology Topic 27 is called Populations and Genetics. This topic corresponds to the Oklahoma Academic Standard in High School Life Sciences HS-LS2-1. Each of the 150+ science topics offered through this site correspond to one or more educational standards.

Most topics are structured as 3-4 lessons each. While there are some exceptions, most topics are designed around a four-day system. Again using Biology Topic 27 as an example, it has four lessons. The lessons are identified as 27.1, 27.2, 27.3 and 27.4. Most of the topics are broken down similar to this. Topics begin with an introduction and discussion lesson. The next lesson emphasizes individual reading. The third lesson requires team work. Small groups build a presentation based on their new understanding from the first two lessons in that topic. The final lesson is delivery of all team presentations (about five minutes, each).

  • Topic lesson 1 – facilitated class discussion
  • Topic lesson 2 – individual reading
  • Topic lesson 3 – create presentation (example)
  • Topic lesson 4 – deliver presentation

Examples of Material for Lessons

There are three components provided by this site for each lesson. This material can be launched and viewed online. Or the material can be printed and distributed. The three components are (1) an instructor’s presentation, (2) a student hand-out, or form, and (3) a rubric. Often there are additional materials provided in a given lesson, but these three are almost always provided for each lesson.

Lesson 1 (or “Day 1”) Material
Lesson 2 (or “Day 2”) Material
Lesson 3 (or “Day 3”) Material
Lesson 4 (or “Day 4”) Material
Lesson 5 (or “Day 5) Material

Few, if any of the topics are written as a 5-day topic. Variations of the 4-day program may be altered to expand the “3rd Day” into two full days. This affords deeper research and discovery by individuals or groups into the subject matter. Another variation is to include a hands-on-lab either directly related to the subject matter, or associated with general science.  Find appropriate high-school level lab options under “Activities.” Another variation is to include and emphasize either a portion of, or an entire module provided under “Techniques.” For schools with TI equipment, an additional/excellent variation is to include one or more or the TI-Nspire activities which are coded with this site’s topic numbers. Find these at TNS-biology, TNS-physical science, TNS-earth science, and TNS-chemistry, respectively.

  • Increase “Day 3” to a two-day Assignment
  • Perform a General Activity (go)
  • Practice Key Skills and Techniques (go)
  • Write a Science Letter (go)
  • Critically Think with Venn Diagrams (go)
  • Conduct a TI-Nspire Lab (go)
  • Brush-up the Math Chops (go)
  • Research a major Theory or Law (go)

Curated Embedded Videos

Most “Day 1” lessons have three embedded video links included as suggestions to kick-off a given topic. Typically, each YouTube video is 3-5 minutes in length, with a total length of 12-16 minutes of video content. The selected videos were curated from among scores/hundreds of possibilities available from many other sites. Selection criteria for inclusion as an embedded video on this site is generally as follows:

Primary criteria
  • Available on YouTube as an embedded video
  • Addresses the topic or a significant portion of the topic
  • Is within range of the target length (3-5 minutes long)
  • Is of reasonable quality (sound, graphics, images)
Secondary considerations
  • Has an engaging quality to it (quick paced, fun, etc)
  • Generally targets high school students
  • Comparatively large number of total views
  • High ratio of thumbs up compared to thumbs down
Additional considerations
  • Selection of a “set of three” for a combined overall impact
  • Newly posted without many views yet, but well done
  • Is from a reputable source (such as a university)
  • Fills a topic-niche without many currently-available choices

Material from cK-12 Organization

Find more at cK-12 YouTube Channel or visit the cK-12 web site for more information. View this site’s attribution to cK-12 along with links to terms of service.

This site draws especially from the pdf-format files available through the cK-12.org web site. The files are presented ‘in-tact” to include the cover-page, attribution and description of contributors and fair use.

Examples in the Biology section:

Use of Textbooks

  • The materials provided/offered on this site presume the use of textbooks in the classroom. Even so, the textbooks can be assigned to some students. Instead, these otherwise expensive textbooks are used extensively during “Day 2” activities and remain in the classroom. This approach serves multiple purposes—namely, cost containment and appropriate usage. This approach also more easily achieves a third crucial academic benefit (instructional scaffolding).
    • Cost containment. Textbooks are expensive. When the expensive (and heavy) high school science textbooks are issued to students to transport from their lockers/home/classroom, the books are frequently heavily worn simply due to the transportation to from activity. Textbooks are sometimes mishandled through teenage carelessness or, in rare circumstances, intentional mischief. But this approach allows a single set of classroom textbooks to be used for multiple sessions of the same subject – and that single set can ALSO serve as a reference source for cross-content opportunities with other science subjects. (For example, earth science texts contain relevant content for chemistry, biology, and physical science).
    • Appropriate usage. In an ideal world, all students would diligently read difficult text assignments at home and on their own. However, the reality is that this is becoming less common. By incorporating complex-text reading assignments in the classroom, students are better exposed to challenging reading activities and learn how to learn. This approach instills confidence in educators about the effectiveness of their teaching methods. 
    • Scaffolding. While some schools and some science programs are moving away from expensive textbooks, this site presumes the use of textbooks – but not the assignment of textbooks to individual students. By embedding reading in the classroom as a core part of each topic, instructional scaffolding is possible for all students: those who would otherwise struggle, those who are advanced readers, and those who are in between the extremes. Issuing textbook reading assignments at home does not readily provide for this vital teaching strategy. Incorporation of individual reading in the classroom is a core aspect of delivering this site’s content.

Individual instructors using this site must separately identify (and correlate) their textbooks to the topics/taxonomy provided for here. Possible textbook suggestions are listed below:

  • Chemistry. Zumdahl, S. S. (2007).  World of Chemistry. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole. (On Amazon) apx. $55/each.
  • Biology. Nowiki, S. (2012). Biology. Orlando, FL: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. (Similar on Amazon). apx. $150/each.
  • Earth Sciences. Allison, M. A. (2010). Earth Science. Austin, TX: Holt McDougal. (On Amazon) apx. $60/each.
  • Physical Science. Dobson, K. (2008).  Physical Science. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. (Similar on Amazon) apx. $90/each.
  • Psychology is fully available free online at Achieving the Dream.

Classroom Behavior Expectations

Cross-Cutting Activities and Concepts

  • Most topics on this site are specific to their respective subject area. However, not all science topics, concepts, and principles fit neatly within only one science discipline. For example, the scientific method applies to all of the subject areas. These activities and ideas are separated from the core subject areas under their menu item from the drop-down bar. We have divided our cross-cutting content into categories:
    • Methods is a reference source. Its content centers on the scientific method and describes the differences between scientific law and theory. This section is intended mainly as a reference tool for students and teachers. It does not include classroom material and worksheets found in most Honeycutt Science topics.
    • Techniques are rich with several topics and their classroom-ready material. The techniques introduce 21st-century Skills as well as Scientific Inquiry Skills. Each of these topics provides relevant teaching material applicable to biology, chemistry, earth science, and physical science classes.
    • Math provides quick, relevant math practice worksheets to complement science student math exercises. For example, the worksheets are convenient to print and provide meaningful reinforcement to students who may finish work early or need additional math practice for an upcoming science topic.
    • Activities—Host exciting topics and learning material across two or more core subject areas. These activities might be viewed as “extra”—providing substitute teacher or bell-ringer material to add variety. Some of these look and feel like a typical topic in a core subject area, while others diverge from this approach.
    • References – provides a repository to keep links and information resources conveniently available to instructors and super-users of this site. Also, this is a convenient source to reference our comprehensive science glossary.

The cross-cutting activities and concepts are to be thoughtfully infused within the core subjects as supplements, enhancements, and (in some cases) required state standards.

TI-Nspire Activities

A significant set of TI-Nspire STEM and Science activities are cross-referenced to Honeycutt Science topics. These activities are not required to complete content presented under the four core subject areas. They are however, an exceptional/powerful additional teaching tool. Not all schools, instructors, or home-schooling parents will have access to TI equipment. For those that do – the TNS pages on this site for biology, chemistry, earth science, and physical science – provide a convenient way to supplement many of the Honeycutt Science topics.

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