See What GEMS Guides Teachers in the Middle School Cohort Have Used in Their Classrooms and Their Feedback:

Environmental Detectives
“The students and I really enjoyed this unit.  The students loved being able to solve the problem as to why the fish were dying.  I loved how all areas of science were integrated into this one unit.  I will definitely do this unit again next year.”  –Davis Jr. High, grade 7 

“My student teacher chose this to be her first lesson to take over the class.  For the most part, she had a very favorable time presenting the material.  The only problem was that the students were not ready for her and the intense reading that needed to be done with the mystery.”  – Mount Clemens Middle School, grade 8

Oobleck:  What do Scientists Do?
“I love ‘Oobleck!’  It is a great way to start the year.  My kids love being REAL scientists.  I highly suggest using the steps of this book to present ‘Oobleck’ and not to just play with it.  You lose so much of the meat behind it.”  -Quincy Middle School, grade 7

Messages From Space
“My kids loved figuring out the messages from space.  It was a great hook.  I also paired this with ‘Earth, Moon, and Stars’ and ‘Living with a Star’ in order to reach all of my benchmarks.”  -Quincy Middle School, grade 7

Paper Towel Testing
“I used this as a wrap-up to the scientific method.  They had to design their own experiment.  They did a great job with it.”  -Quincy Middle School, grade 7

The Real Reasons for Seasons
“There are great activities in this book!  You should definitely check it out.”  -Quincy Middle School, grade 7

To see more guides MS teachers have used, download this Microsoft Excel file by clicking here!