Make discovery
your destination!
Discovery By Design
Purposeful Planning Principles That Make Inquiry-Based Science Lessons Possible

It was just another day in science class when …

you launch an inquiry-based lesson for learning and…

…your students nearly shut down!

Without giving up all the answers, you swoop in with just enough support.

Soon students realize they simply needed to slow down and say what they see.

Before long, the learning goals are mastered and confidence is restored!
We Need To L.E.A.D., Not Lecture
Meaningful learning doesn’t happen when teachers do all the thinking for students.
It happens when we intentionally design opportunities for learners to engage with ideas, navigate productive struggle, and discover patterns for themselves.

Lessons
structure that creates flow and sustains focus

Engagement
productive struggle that keeps students thinking

Active Discovery
moments when students begin making meaning for themselves

Differentiation
strategic support that helps every learner move forward
for
through
with
What L.E.A.D. looks like in a lesson
Keep the flow and focus on students’ observations for outstanding outcomes!

Link To Prior Knowledge
Students use what they already know to make inferences that link to learning goals.

Engage With An Experience
Students investigate a phenomena, model, or source of data.

Analyze & Argue Evidence
Students look for patterns and construct explanations.

Develop Understanding
Students apply, refine, and transfer their learning.
A 3D DECODER KEY FOR L.E.A.D. DISCOVERY
SEP’s:
What Students DO
CCC’s:
What Students THINK ABOUT
DCI’s:
What Students LEARN
In the Lab In Every Lesson store, badges are used on the product covers to identify the three dimensions of learning embedded in the experience.
Explore the tabs to see:
→ what students do
→ what students think about
→ what students learn
Science isn’t something students memorize—it’s something they practice.
Our SEP badges highlight the primary thinking work students engage in during a lesson:
| developing and using models | ![]() |
| analyzing and interpreting data | ![]() |
| obtaining and evaluating information | ![]() |
| mathematical and computational thinking | ![]() |
| constructing explanations | ![]() |
| engaging in argument from evidence | ![]() |
Crosscutting Concepts help students identify themes that transfer across all areas of science.
Our CCC badges highlight the lens students use while making sense of their observations.
The most common cross cutting concepts embedded include:
| patterns | ![]() |
| cause and effect | ![]() |
| structure and function | ![]() |
| scale, proportion, and quantity | ![]() |
| systems and system models | ![]() |
| energy and matter | ![]() |
| stability and change | ![]() |
The DCI badge identifies the content understanding students develop through the lesson experience.
These are the scientific concepts and explanations students are working toward—not the starting point of the lesson.
Unlike the SEP’s and CCC’s of which there are a set number defined by the NGSS, these badges will be unique for each lesson product listing.
Some examples include:
| states of matter | ![]() |
| the mole quantity | ![]() |
| atomic theory timeline | ![]() |
| half-life of radioactive decay | ![]() |
| combustion reactions and equations | ![]() |
How Will You
Do Discovery?
DESIGN IT YOURSELF
Learn the L.E.A.D. framework and build inquiry-based lessons that move students from observation to explanation.
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Active Learning Action Plan
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Digital Instructional Design Studio
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