The IQWST team has developed two curriculum units.

The first focuses on introductory concepts of chemistry, including conservation of mass, the atomic nature of matter, and the the rearrangement of atoms during a chemical reaction. The driving question for this unit is "How can I make new stuff from old stuff?" The unit's learning goals stem from the middle grade science AAAS Project 2061 Benchmarks pertaining to these topics.

The materials include student readers designed in accordance with principles of considerate text . The constructed expository text directly references classroom activities, then provides students with opportunities to further develop, extend and apply their understandings to additional everyday experiences. The reader contains many questions that probe students’ understanding, and we suggest to teachers that these questions be used as formative assessments with which both teacher and students can gauge developing understandings. We also provide two types of professional development support for teachers: educative print materials and a web-based system. When designed properly, curriculum materials can help teachers develop pedagogical, content, and pedagogical content knowledge. The printed teacher materials include teaching strategies, teaching alternatives, background knowledge, common student conceptions, prerequisite knowledge, and ideas for checking student understanding. The on-line materials address issues of content and pedagogical content knowledge and include videos and samples of student work. The on-line materials are part of Knowledge Networks on the Web (KNOW) developed and offered by hice.

Our ultimate goal is to develop a comprehensive middle grade science curriculum that focuses on students developing deep understandings of the concepts, principles, and habits of mind articulated in national standards and benchmarks.