‹ TCEA Critical Thinking Breakouts
Texas Science TEKS · Grades K–8

Science Critical Thinking Online Breakouts

Critical Thinking Online Breakouts across the Texas science TEKS — from light & shadows in Kindergarten to conservation of mass in Grade 8. Each grade page holds a featured breakout, a set of short concept breakouts (one per key idea), a hands-on STEM engineering design challenge, and a student word bank. Choose a grade to begin.
🧒 Elementary · Grades K–5
Kindergarten · §112.2

Kindergarten Science

Light & shadows, sorting, magnets, day & night, the sky, rocks, weather, air & wind, plant & animal needs, and plant parts. Featured: Light and Shadows.

Open Kindergarten →
Grade 1 · §112.3

Grade 1 Science

Pushes & pulls, sorting, hot & cold, seasons, soil, water, weather, living things, food chains, and animals. Featured: Push, Pull, and Play!

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Grade 2 · §112.4

Grade 2 Science

Sound & vibrations, solids & liquids, pushes, Sun & Moon, wind & water, wild weather, recycling, food chains, and metamorphosis. Featured: Make Some Noise!

Open Grade 2 →
Grade 3 · §112.5

Grade 3 Science

The solar system, states of matter, forces at a distance, energy, soil, rapid Earth changes, food chains, fossils, and survival structures. Featured: Blast Off!

Open Grade 3 →
Grade 4 · §112.6

Grade 4 Science

Circuits, mixtures & solutions, energy transfer, conductors, Moon phases, the water cycle, erosion, weather vs. climate, resources, food webs, and traits. Featured: Light It Up!

Open Grade 4 →
Grade 5 · §112.7

Grade 5 Science

Earth's spin & shadows, separating mixtures, particles, forces, energy transformations, light, sedimentary rock, landforms, ecosystems, and behavior. Featured: Round and Round.

Open Grade 5 →
🔬 Middle School · Grades 6–8
Grade 6 · §112.26

Grade 6 Science

Matter & density, forces, energy, Sun–Earth–Moon, Earth's systems, and ecosystems. Featured breakout: Cargo Ship Rescue.

Open Grade 6 →
Grade 7 · §112.27

Grade 7 Science

Motion & graphs, speed vs. velocity, thermal energy, the solar system, plate tectonics, and ecosystems. Featured breakout: Rescue Run.

Open Grade 7 →
Grade 8 · §112.28

Grade 8 Science

Chemical reactions & conservation of mass, forces, waves, stars & the universe, weather & climate, and heredity. Featured breakout: Launch Control.

Open Grade 8 →
🔎 Hands-on companion · Grades 5–8
Grades 5–8 · Five printable cases · Teacher guide

CER & ACE Case Files

The offline half of the same idea: five hands-on investigations in mixtures, density, state change, magnetism, and conductivity. Students collect the evidence on Page 1, then argue from it on Page 2 with Claim–Evidence–Reasoning or Articulate–Connect–Extend. Ships with a teacher guide, answer keys, and editable PowerPoint decks.

🥽 Lab Safety · Grades 6–12
Grades 6–12 · Nine certification activities

Lab Safety Certification

Practice rules of the room, PPE, emergency equipment, hazard symbols, Safety Data Sheets, GHS pictograms, chemical compatibility, and procedure critique. Pass the mastery checks to earn a printable Ranger or Specialist badge.

📝 SST Preparation · Grades 3–5
Grades 3–5 · 28 paired entry and exit tickets

ACE the SST — Elementary Science

Short prompts that ask students to Articulate, Connect, and Extend their science thinking, across all four strands of the draft SST elementary science blueprint. Filter by grade and strand, flip between student and teacher views, and score the answer with a SOLO guide that names the next instructional move.

📖 Science Detectives on the TCEA Blog
Grades K–2 · Teacher reading

Science Detectives for Your K–2 Classroom

An introduction to the primary science breakouts, their reasoning routines, and their paired STEM supports.

Read the K–2 article ↗
Grades 3–5 · Teacher reading

Science Detectives for Your 3–5 Classroom

Connect evidence-based space, circuits, and shadows breakouts with models and hands-on investigations.

Read the 3–5 article ↗
Grades 6–8 · Teacher reading

Science Detectives for Your 6–8 Classroom

Pair misconception-focused breakouts on density, motion, heat, mass, forces, and waves with STEM challenges.

Read the 6–8 article ↗