The Art of Making Science Accessible and Relevant to All Students: Building science lessons around phenomena that students know equally and can see in their own lives is making the subject more relevant and interesting.

On the island of Oahu in Hawaii, 2nd graders weave mats, baskets, or other objects from the local hala plant. In northeastern Oklahoma, middle schoolers investigate why light makes some surfaces work like windows and others like mirrors.

Thousands of miles apart, those projects have something powerful in common: They were designed with equity in mind. The lesson writers deliberately chose, as anchors for the lessons, natural phenomena that all students know equally and can see in their own lives.

Centering science lessons on phenomena that are universal—like light—or deeply rooted in a region's culture or location—like the hala plant—can make science more relevant and interesting for students. But they can also have a powerful role in building equity, since all students begin with something they know.

"I'm not going to have students investigate the chemical reaction of the family silver tarnishing, because not all kiddos are going to have that experience in their lives," said Rebecca Morales, the science-curriculum coordinator in the Broken Arrow, Okla., school district. "I try to get my teachers thinking about choosing phenomena that all students as humans can consider."

Conversations like these are unfolding across the country, as more than 40 states implement the Next Generation Science Standards, or standards based on their underlying Framework for K-12 Science Education.

Equity is woven through the NGSS and their framework; the documents frame expectations for all students, not just those aiming for science careers. Phenomena-based instruction is central to the standards, which envision moving away from rote facts to questions that spark students' natural curiosity.

"As a science teacher, I was trained to look at topics and facts," said Peter McLaren, who co-authored the NGSS and now trains teachers on using them. Starting with questions about natural phenomena "is a big change, and a lot of teachers are having a hard time with it."

Drawing on Culture, Place

Collaborative projects have been springing up around the country to help teachers create equitable lessons anchored in natural phenomena. The hala lesson, for instance, took shape when several teachers in Hawaii, linked online through state-sponsored professional development, worked with Brett Moulding, another NGSS author, to craft science lessons that drew on local culture and traditions.

Mikioi Wichman, the K-5 science, technology, engineering and...