If you teach middle school science in California, you have run into a fork that teachers in a lot of other states never face. California adopted the California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS), and for middle school it offers two ways to arrange those standards into courses. New teachers usually find this out the hard way, halfway through planning, when a colleague mentions that the school is on the Integrated Model and the units they bought are built for something else.
I went looking for editable, full-year curriculum I could actually adjust to my own pacing, and I wanted it built on the model my district uses. This is a plain-language guide to what the CA NGSS Integrated Model is, how a full-year bundle is organized around it, and which grade-level bundle lines up with the course you teach, from 5th grade through 8th.
What is the California NGSS Integrated Model?
The CA NGSS Integrated Model is one of two course arrangements California offers for middle school science. In the Integrated Model, each of grades 6, 7, and 8 blends life science, physical science, and Earth and space science together in the same year, rather than spending a whole year on one discipline. It is the state's recommended arrangement and the one most California districts use.
The contrast that makes this click is the other option: the Discipline-Specific Model. Under that arrangement, a grade leans heavily on a single domain for the year, more like the old life-science-then-physical-science sequence many of us grew up with. The Integrated Model instead spreads all three domains across each year, so a student touches life, physical, and Earth and space science every grade. California recommends the Integrated Model, which is why it is what you will find in most districts.
How are these California science bundles organized?
Each bundle is a full year of units built for the CA NGSS Integrated Model and arranged by grade. The middle school bundles for grades 6, 7, and 8 follow the Integrated Model directly, blending the three domains across the year. A 5th grade bundle rounds out the set so an elementary-into-middle transition is covered with the same editable, full-year approach.
What mattered to me is that they are editable. A full-year bundle is only useful if I can shift the pacing, drop a lesson my class does not need, or stretch a unit that lands well. Each one is sold as a full-year set of units rather than a single lesson, so the planning skeleton for the year is already in place and I spend my time adjusting rather than building from zero.
- Built on the CA NGSS Integrated Model for the middle school grades, so the three science domains are blended across each year.
- Sold as full-year bundles of units, not one-off lessons, so the year has a structure before you start editing.
- Editable, so you can match the materials to your own pacing, your district calendar, and your students.
Which California science bundle fits my grade?
Match the bundle to the grade you teach. There is a 5th grade bundle, then separate full-year Integrated Model bundles for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. The three middle school bundles are each built for the Integrated Model, so if your district uses that arrangement, the grade-level bundle is the one aligned to your course.
The simplest check is your grade and your district's model. If you are on the Integrated Model, which most California districts are, pick the bundle that matches your grade and you are aligned. The 5th grade set covers that year for elementary teachers and for K-8 sites; the 6th, 7th, and 8th bundles each carry a full year of Integrated Model units for their grade.
- 5th grade: the 5th Grade California Science Bundle, a full-year set of units.
- 6th grade: the 6th Grade Integrated Model full-year bundle.
- 7th grade: the 7th Grade Integrated Model full-year bundle.
- 8th grade: the 8th Grade Integrated Model full-year bundle.
The hardest part of California middle school science is often just knowing which arrangement your courses follow. Once you know your district is on the recommended Integrated Model, the rest is straightforward: pick the editable full-year bundle for your grade and spend your planning time adjusting it to your students instead of building a year from scratch.