Series

Bill Nye the Science Guy

99 episodes

Full twenty-three-minute episodes of the 1990s series, one science topic each, in the format many teachers already know by heart: Bill demonstrates the thing instead of describing it. The subject list runs wide, covering amphibians, animal locomotion, birds, biodiversity, atoms, the atmosphere, balanced and unbalanced forces, archaeology, and architecture. Length is what to plan around, since an episode fills most of a period and works as the spine of a class rather than a warm-up. Grades three through six. Old enough now that a quick preview for dated references and outmoded framing is five minutes well spent.

what this series covers

What Bill Nye the Science Guy covers

99 episodes in the library, tagged for 3rd–6th. Heaviest coverage: Science, Health and Technology. Between them they line up with 73 distinct standards across 7 frameworks.

Episodes per grade

3rd: 99
4th: 99
5th: 99
6th: 99

Episodes per subject

Science: 99
Health: 11
Technology: 7
Math: 4
Music: 1
Social Studies: 1

NGSS (Science) 57

4-LS1-1Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
2-LS4-1Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.
5-ESS2-1Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact.
3-LS1-1Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
3-PS2-1Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.
4-ESS2-1Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation.

+ 51 more

MS-ESS1-1Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons.
MS-LS1-3Use argument supported by evidence for how the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells.
3-ESS2-1Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season.
4-ESS1-1Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.
4-ESS2-2Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth's features.
4-LS1-2Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain, and respond to the information in different ways.
4-PS3-2Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.
4-PS4-1Develop a model of waves to describe patterns in terms of amplitude and wavelength and that waves can cause objects to move.
4-PS4-2Develop a model to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen.
5-ESS1-1Support an argument that differences in the apparent brightness of the sun compared to other stars is due to their relative distances from Earth.
5-LS2-1Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
1-ESS1-1Use observations of the sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted.
1-PS4-1Plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that vibrating materials can make sound and that sound can make materials vibrate.
2-ESS1-1Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly.
2-PS1-4Construct an argument with evidence that some changes caused by heating or cooling can be reversed and some cannot.
3-ESS2-2Obtain and combine information to describe climates in different regions of the world.
3-LS4-1Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago.
3-LS4-3Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
3-PS2-2Make observations and/or measurements of an object's motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.
3-PS2-3Ask questions to determine cause-and-effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.
4-PS3-1Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object.
5-ESS1-2Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky.
5-ESS2-2Describe and graph the amounts of salt water and fresh water in various reservoirs to provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth.
5-ESS3-1Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth's resources and environment.
5-LS1-1Support an argument that plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water.
5-PS1-1Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.
5-PS1-3Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties.
5-PS3-1Use models to describe that energy in animals' food was once energy from the sun.
1-ESS1-2Make observations at different times of year to relate the amount of daylight to the time of year.
1-PS4-3Plan and conduct an investigation to determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials in the path of a beam of light.
1-PS4-4Use tools and materials to design and build a device that uses light or sound to solve the problem of communicating over a distance.
2-ESS2-1Compare multiple solutions designed to slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land.
2-LS2-1Plan and conduct an investigation to determine if plants need sunlight and water to grow.
2-LS2-2Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants.
3-ESS3-1Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of a weather-related hazard.
3-LS2-1Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive.
3-LS3-1Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms.
3-LS3-2Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.
3-LS4-2Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.
3-PS2-4Define a simple design problem that can be solved by applying scientific ideas about magnets.
4-PS3-3Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.
4-PS3-4Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.
4-PS4-3Generate and compare multiple solutions that use patterns to transfer information.
5-PS1-4Conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances.
5-PS2-1Support an argument that the gravitational force exerted by Earth on objects is directed down.
K-ESS3-3Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.
K-PS3-1Make observations to determine the effect of sunlight on Earth's surface.
MS-ESS2-4Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth's systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity.
MS-ESS3-3Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
MS-LS2-1Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
MS-PS1-1Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.

Common Core — Math 4

2.MD.A.1Measure the length of an object by selecting and using appropriate tools such as rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, and measuring tapes.
3.MD.A.1Tell and write time to the nearest minute and measure time intervals in minutes; solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time intervals.
3.MD.A.2Measure and estimate liquid volumes and masses of objects using standard units of grams, kilograms, and liters; solve one-step problems involving these quantities.
4.OA.C.5Generate a number or shape pattern that follows a given rule; identify apparent features of the pattern that were not explicit in the rule itself.

Social Studies (C3 / NCSS) 2

D2.His.16.3-5Use evidence to develop a claim about the past.
D2.His.2.3-5Compare life in specific historical time periods to life today.

National Core Arts 1

MU:Re7.2.3aDemonstrate and describe how a response to music can be informed by the structure, the use of the elements of music, and context.

National Health Education 4

NHES.1Standard 1: Students comprehend functional health knowledge to enhance health.
NHES.1.5.5Describe practices and behaviors that prevent or reduce health risks, such as eating vegetables and fruit daily.
NHES.1.5.2Describe benefits of practicing health-promoting behaviors.
NHES.7.5.1Demonstrate age-appropriate observable health and safety practices.

ISTE (Technology) 4

ISTE.1.1.dTechnology fundamentals: understand how the technology you use works, and try out new tools confidently.
ISTE.1.4.aDesign process: follow a deliberate design process to generate ideas and possible solutions.
ISTE.1.4.bDesign constraints: choose digital tools with an eye to limits, tradeoffs, and calculated risks.
ISTE.1.4.dOpen-ended problems: stick with problems that have no single right answer.