Middle School Systems Thinking Activities Summary Page

Middle School Earth Science (adaptable to many different STEM courses).

No prior skills or concepts are necessary; however several of the activities are intended to be taught in sequence. Activities intended to be taught in sequence will be indicated in the 'Content' section of the 'Instructor Guide' for each activity.

A series of < 45 minute activities that can be implemented periodically throughout a year-long course. Instructors can pick and choose the activities that fit best into their class.

Specific goals exist within each activity Instructor Guide.

Provide middle school students with the tools to assess complex issues of sustainability holistically.
By integrating systems thinking into middle school science classes, students can begin to develop the pathways needed to think about the interconnected systems that make up environmental issues.

These activities are designed to provide middle school students with the tools to assess complex issues of sustainability holistically. The series begins with activities that introduce systems thinking vocabulary and systems diagrams, then moves to activities and experiments addressing how rates, equilibrium, and feedback loops contribute to changes in systems over time. The module concludes with several activities that require students to assess a complex issue of sustainability through a variety of interconnected human and natural systems. The activities begin using simple water system examples such as the classroom sink and the school water supply system. Then the activities progress to more complex system examples with a greater focus on the interconnectedness between systems, ultimately assessing the issue of water scarcity in the United States through many connected human and natural systems like agriculture, energy, and the water cycle.

Activity 1: Systems Thinking Vocabulary Introduction

Activity 2: Systems Thinking Vocabulary Applied

Activity 3: Systems Diagram Introduction

Activity 4: Multiple Sources in Systems Diagrams

Activity 5: Rates and Quantities Experiment

Activity 6: Building a Systems Diagram

Activity 7: Limitations of Systems Diagrams

Activity 8: Equilibrium Experiment

Activity 9: Feedback Loops Introduction

Activity 10: Feedback Loops Applied

Activity 11: Water Use Introduction

Activity 12: Modeling Water Use in Systems

Activity 13: Water Stress Solutions (coming soon)

Please reach out to Cameron Weiner at weinercameron@gmail.com with any comments/questions/concerns about the activities. We would also love to hear about how you implemented or adapted any of these activities in your class.

This systems thinking module is based on the undergraduate Systems Thinking module on InTeGrate, created by Lisa A. Gilbert, Deborah S. Gross & Karl J. Kreutz.

Another middle school systems thinking resource.