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Texas Science Teacher Resource Hub

Free scope and sequences, TEKS breakdowns, phenomenon ideas, and engagement activities for the 2024 Texas science standards.

Chris Kesler
I'm Chris Kesler, a former award-winning Texas middle school science teacher. This is the site I wish I'd had in the classroom. One hub with TEKS breakdowns, scope and sequences, phenomenon starters, engagement ideas, and resources, all aligned to the standards you actually teach.
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Pick your grade level and go straight to your TEKS standards, aligned resources, and teaching tools.

  • 4th
    4th Grade Science
    14 standards • Earth, Energy, Organisms & more
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  • 5th
    5th Grade Science
    16 standards • Matter, Ecosystems, Space & more
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  • 6th
    6th Grade Science
    18 standards • Forces, Energy, Matter & more
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    7th Grade Science
    17 standards • Cells, Chemistry, Earth & more
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  • 8th
    8th Grade Science
    19 standards • Newton's Laws, Space, Genetics & more
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All standards updated for the 2024 TEKS revision
TEKS Details | Texas Hub Module

6th Grade TEKS Standards

Click any standard to see what it means, how to teach it, where students get stuck, and aligned resources.

Matter & Properties (6.6)
6.6A Matter & Kinetic Energy 6.6B Pure Substances & Mixtures 6.6C Classify Elements 6.6D Comparing Density 6.6E Evidence of Chemical Changes
Force, Motion & Energy (6.7)
6.7A Forces in the Real-World 6.7B Calculating Net Force 6.7C Newton's Third Law of Motion
Energy (6.8)
6.8A Compare & Contrast Energies 6.8B Energy Transformations in Systems 6.8C Energy of Waves
Earth & Space (6.9)
6.9A Model Earth's Tilt & Seasons 6.9B Predicting Tides
Earth's Structure (6.10)
6.10A Differentiate Between Earth's Spheres 6.10B Modeling Layers of Earth 6.10C Processes in the Rock Cycle
Resources (6.11)
6.11A Resource Management 6.11B Managing Energy Resources
Ecosystems (6.12)
6.12A Biotic & Abiotic Competition 6.12B Ecological Relationships 6.12C Hierarchy of Ecosystems
Organisms (6.13)
6.13A Development of Cell Theory 6.13B Comparing Organisms 6.13C Variations & Survival
TEKS S.6.7A • Force, Motion & Energy

Forces in the Real-World

The Standard

"Identify and describe the types of forces acting on everyday objects, including contact forces such as friction, normal, applied, and tension, and non-contact forces such as gravity, magnetic, and electric."

💡 What This Standard Actually Means

The Key Verb

"Identify and describe". Students are naming the force acting on an object and explaining what that force is doing. No calculating. No formulas. The standard also uses the word "including", which signals where to focus your students: contact forces (friction, normal, applied, tension) and non-contact forces (gravity, magnetic, electric). Students should be able to identify each of these by name and describe it in action. Instruction can take many forms, such as labeled diagrams, sorts, annotated photos, and short written explanations.

A force is a push or a pull. Every force has something doing the pushing or pulling, and something receiving it. The first big idea students need to hold onto is that forces come in two groups based on whether the two objects are touching.

Contact forces happen when two objects are touching. Friction is the force that resists sliding between two surfaces, like a book sliding across a desk. Normal force is the push a surface gives back on an object resting on it (a desk pushes up on a book). Applied force is the push or pull from a person or another object (a student pushing a chair). Tension is the pulling force through a rope, string, cable, or chain when it's stretched taut.

Non-contact forces act across a distance without the objects touching. Gravity pulls objects with mass toward each other, which is why a dropped ball falls. Magnetic force pulls or pushes certain materials, like iron, through the space between magnets. Electric force acts between charged objects, which is why a rubbed balloon can pull a thin stream of water or stick to a wall. The core understanding students should walk away with is that every object they interact with in a day has forces acting on it, and they can name each one.

💬 From Chris's Classroom

The thing that locked this one in for my kids was turning the classroom into a scavenger hunt. I'd put seven sticky notes on my desk, each with a force written on it, and say, "Find an example of each one in this room." They'd wander. They'd argue. Someone would touch the wall and say, "Is this friction or normal force?" That argument is the gold. Pair it with a T-chart (contact vs. non-contact) on the board and let them place their examples. By the end of the period, they stop seeing "a book on a shelf" and start seeing "a book with gravity pulling it down and normal force pushing it up." That shift is the whole standard.

⚠️ Misconceptions Your Students May Have

These are some of the most common misconceptions. Knowing what to look for can help you get ahead of them.

×

"If an object isn't moving, no forces are acting on it"

✓

This is probably the most common one. A book resting on a table has gravity pulling it down and the table pushing up on it with normal force. The forces are balanced, so the book doesn't move, but forces are still acting. Stillness does not mean "no forces." It means the forces cancel out.

×

"Gravity only works on Earth, or only on heavy things"

✓

Gravity acts between any two objects with mass, anywhere. A feather is pulled down by gravity just like a bowling ball. The feather just falls slower because of air resistance, not because gravity is weaker on it. Gravity also acts on astronauts in orbit. They float because they're falling around the Earth, not because gravity shut off.

×

"Friction is bad and we should get rid of it"

✓

Friction can slow things down, but we depend on it constantly. Friction between shoes and the floor is what lets students walk. Friction between tires and the road is what lets cars turn and stop. Without friction, they couldn't pick up a pencil. The goal is to know when friction helps and when it doesn't, not to label it as the enemy.

×

"Magnets pull on everything metal"

✓

Students assume "metal equals magnetic." Most everyday magnets only strongly attract materials containing iron, nickel, or cobalt. Aluminum soda cans, copper pennies, and gold rings are metals but don't stick to a standard refrigerator magnet. A quick sort with a magnet and a pile of metal items clears this up fast.

×

"Normal force means normal or regular"

✓

In physics, "normal" means perpendicular. Normal force is the force a surface pushes outward on an object resting on it, at a 90-degree angle to the surface. The table pushes straight up on the book because the table's surface is flat. On a ramp, the normal force points out perpendicular to the ramp, not straight up. Naming the vocabulary honestly with students helps this stick.

📓 Teaching Resources for 6.7A

These resources are aligned to this standard.

Complete 5E Lesson
Forces in the Real World Complete Science Lesson
The full unit for 6.7A: differentiated station labs, editable presentations, interactive notebooks (English + Spanish), student-choice projects, and assessments. Built on the 5E model.
⏱ Best for: Full unit coverage • Multiple class periods
Preview → Buy →
Station Lab
Forces in the Real World Station Lab
9-station hands-on lab covering contact and non-contact forces with input stations (Explore It!, Watch It!, Read It!, Research It!) and output stations (Organize It!, Illustrate It!, Write It!, Assess It!). Print and digital. English and Spanish.
🔬 Best for: Core instruction • 1-2 class periods
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Student Choice Projects
Forces in the Real World Student Choice Projects
Choice board with nine project options plus a "design your own" pathway. Students demonstrate their understanding of contact and non-contact forces through writing, building, illustrating, presenting, or digital formats.
🎓 Best for: Project-based assessment • 2-3 class periods
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🌎 Phenomenon Ideas for 6.7A

Use these real-world phenomena to anchor your lesson. Show students the phenomenon first, let them wonder, then build toward Forces in the Real-World as the explanation.

🔎
Phenomenon 1

A Floating Magnet Train

Maglev trains in countries like Japan and China can travel at very high speeds while hovering above the track. They are held up and pushed forward by powerful magnets, not by wheels on rails. The train and the track never touch during normal operation, yet the forces between them are strong enough to lift a multi-ton vehicle and speed it along.

💬 Discussion Prompt

"If the train and the track aren't touching, what's holding the train up? What's pushing it forward? Is this a contact force or a non-contact force?"

🔎
Phenomenon 2

Rock Climbers on a Rope

A rock climber dangles from a rope halfway up a cliff. The rope is pulled tight. The climber isn't moving, but the rope is under enormous strain. If the rope snapped, the climber would fall. Something has to be pulling up on the climber with the same strength that gravity is pulling them down.

💬 Discussion Prompt

"Name every force acting on the climber. Which ones are contact forces? Which are non-contact? Why doesn't the climber fall, and why don't they shoot up into the air?"

🔎
Phenomenon 3

A Static-Charged Balloon and Your Hair

Rub a balloon on your head for a few seconds, then hold it just above your hair without touching. Individual hairs often rise up and reach toward the balloon. The balloon and the hair are clearly not in contact, but something is pulling the hair upward against gravity. The same balloon can stick to a wall without any tape.

💬 Discussion Prompt

"The balloon isn't touching the hair, but the hair still moves. What type of force is this? How is it similar to, and different from, how a magnet pulls on a paperclip?"

💡 Free Engagement Ideas for 6.7A

01

Force Scavenger Hunt

Give each group a printed list of all seven forces (friction, normal, applied, tension, gravity, magnetic, electric). They have 15 minutes to find and photograph or sketch a real example of each one in the classroom, hallway, or school grounds. Come back together and share. Disagreements about which force is which are where the real learning happens.

Materials: Printed force list, clipboards, pencils, phones or sketch paper
02

The Paperclip and Magnet Sort

Set out a bin of small items: paperclips, aluminum foil, pennies, rubber bands, paper, a plastic spoon, a steel washer, a nickel. Give each group a refrigerator magnet and have them predict first, then test, which items the magnet attracts. Chart the results and ask: what do the "attracted" items have in common?

Materials: Refrigerator magnets, assorted small metal and non-metal items, chart paper
03

Balloon Static Stations

Set up three mini-stations: rub a balloon on hair and bring it near a thin stream of water from a faucet, rub a balloon and press it against a wall, rub a balloon and hold it near small bits of torn paper. At each station, students sketch what they see and identify it as a non-contact electric force. Humid days make this trickier, so try it on a dry morning.

Materials: Balloons, faucet or water bottle, scrap paper torn small, a wall
04

Tug-of-War Force Diagram

Two students grab opposite ends of a rope. Before the tug begins, have the rest of the class label every force acting on each student: gravity pulling down, normal force up from the floor, friction between shoes and floor, tension in the rope, applied force from the opponent. Then let them tug gently and re-label to show which forces got stronger. A great way to see tension, friction, and applied force all in one picture.

Materials: A short jump rope or length of cord, chalkboard or whiteboard
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