Starting the year with energy and engagement in your science classroom is crucial—especially if you’re working with upper elementary or middle school students. First impressions matter, and choosing the right science units can set the tone for curiosity, classroom culture, and student buy-in.
Whether you’re a new teacher without a curriculum or just switching it up this year, these NGSS-aligned science topics for grades 5–8 are guaranteed to hook your students from Day 1. Check out these 5 Best Back to School Science Units.
1. The Scientific Method
This is the foundation for everything that follows in your science class. It’s a great way to ease students into structured thinking and experimentation. Whether you teach all the steps of the scientific method or try to build students’ natural skills of observations, making inferences, and building knowledge of taking accurate data, this science unit gives a lot of opportunities to build interest in your classroom.
Bonus: it naturally leads to hands-on activities and lab routines. Try introducing it as a back to school science unit that gets students testing and observing.
2. Inquiry-Based Experiments
Nothing says “welcome to science” like a hands-on experiment. Choose a simple inquiry lab that gets students asking questions and designing investigations.
Try:
- drops on a penny,
- paper towel absorbency, or
- balloon rockets
—perfect back-to-school science activities for grades 5–8.
3. Earth’s Systems and Weather
Real-world relevance makes this unit engaging right away. Weather is happening all around us, so students can connect what they’re learning to their daily lives. Anything that brings real-life experiences into the classroom will help to pique student interest. Tie weather in with natural disasters to help motivate your back to school science unit!
It’s a great way to introduce Earth science in the first week back to school school science unit.
4. Human Body Systems Overview
Middle schoolers are curious (and sometimes awkward) about how their bodies work. A simple intro to major human body systems sparks engagement and sets the stage for deeper learning later. Choose how much to cover by using the FREE Human Body Curriculum. This editable planner is perfect to help you decide how much to cover with your students. This unit works great as part of NGSS life science topics and makes for an easy-to-differentiate back to school science unit.
5. Lab Safety & Science Tools
This one’s non-negotiable. Even though we do it over and over, it’s so important to review lab safety with your students. Make it fun during the first few weeks of school with a safety scavenger hunt or cartoon lab safety do/don’t activity. Plus, it gives you the chance to establish lab routines right away and sets clear classroom expectations for using science tools safely. Start the year with this foundational back to school science lesson that blends structure with student choice.
Whether you’re teaching 5th graders who have never used a pipette or 7th graders with big attitudes and short attention spans, these back to school science units will help you start strong—and keep your students excited to come back to your classroom for more.
