Curriculum Map

Life Science

From cells to ecosystems — explore biology through scientific investigation, primary research, and real-world applications. Covers cell biology, genetics, ecology, and human body systems. TEKS §112.19 aligned.

14 Units

Early Units (Foundation)

Building Skills

Advanced Concepts

Capstone/Synthesis

How Scientists Think

Learn the scientific method, experimental design with variables, lab safety, and how to distinguish science from pseudoscience.

3-4 days

Cells: The Building Blocks of Life

Explore cell theory, compare plant and animal cells, learn the functions of key organelles, and discover how microscopes revealed the invisible world.

3-4 days

How Cells Work: Energy and Transport

Understand how cells get energy through photosynthesis and cellular respiration, how materials move across cell membranes, and why cells have size limits.

3-4 days

Genetics: Why You Look Like Your Parents (But Not Exactly)

Discover how DNA, genes, and alleles determine inherited traits, explore Mendel's pea plant experiments, and learn to predict trait inheritance using Punnett squares.

3-4 days

DNA Technology: Reading the Code of Life

Explore the structure of DNA, understand how mutations drive variation, learn the basics of genetic engineering, and wrestle with the ethics of editing genes.

3-4 days

Evolution: How Life Changes Over Time

Understand natural selection, adaptation, and the evidence for evolution from fossils, DNA, and comparative anatomy.

3-4 days

Classifying Life: Organizing the Living World

Learn how scientists organize living things into groups using taxonomy, explore domains and kingdoms, practice using dichotomous keys, and understand why biodiversity matters.

3-4 days

Ecosystems: Everything Is Connected

Explore how living and nonliving factors interact in ecosystems, trace energy through food webs, and discover why every organism — from bacteria to top predators — has a role to play.

3-4 days

Cycles of Matter: Water, Carbon, and Nitrogen

Discover how water, carbon, and nitrogen cycle through ecosystems, connecting the air we breathe to the plants we eat and the soil beneath our feet.

3-4 days

Biomes: Earth's Major Ecosystems

Explore Earth's diverse biomes — from frozen tundras to tropical rainforests — and understand how climate shapes the organisms that live there.

3-4 days

Human Body Systems: How You Work

Explore the major systems of the human body — skeletal, muscular, digestive, circulatory, and respiratory — and understand how they work together to keep you alive.

4-5 days

Body Defense: The Immune System

Discover how your body defends itself against invaders — from physical barriers to sophisticated white blood cells to vaccines that train your immune system.

3-4 days

Human Impact on Ecosystems

Examine how human activities — pollution, habitat destruction, invasive species, and climate change — alter ecosystems and threaten biodiversity.

4-5 days

Science, Technology, and Society

Explore how science shapes society, how technology translates discoveries into solutions, and how scientific literacy helps you evaluate claims in a complex world.

3-4 days

Learning Progression

This course is designed to be taken sequentially. Earlier units establish foundational concepts that later units build upon. While you can explore units in any order, following the numbered sequence provides the most coherent learning experience.