> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.learningcommons.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# OpenSciEd

> OpenSciEd in Knowledge Graph: Courses, units, lessons, and activities aligned to the K-12 curriculum ontology and to NGSS, CCSS ELA, and CCSS math standards.

export const GatedBadge = ({size = "md", children}) => {
  return <Badge color="red" size={size} icon="lock">
      {children == null || children === "" ? "Gated" : typeof children === "string" ? children.trim() : children}
    </Badge>;
};

[Dataset last updated September 22, 2026](#dataset-release-history)

<div className="eyebrow-callout rounded-xl border border-gray-200/80 p-5 dark:border-white/10 flex gap-5 items-center" style={{ marginBottom: "1rem", borderRadius: "4px" }}>
  <div className="mb-3">
    <GatedBadge />
  </div>

  <div className="callout-body text-[15px] leading-relaxed text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300">
    All downloads in this dataset require publisher approval to access. See
    [Requesting access to gated
    data](/platform/using-the-platform/dataset-catalog#requesting-access-to-gated-data)
    for more details.
  </div>
</div>

## Overview

<Note>
  The OpenSciEd dataset uses Curriculum
  [entities](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#entities) and
  [relationships](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#relationships).
</Note>

The OpenSciEd dataset represents the OpenSciEd K–12 science curriculum, structured according to Learning Commons' K-12 curriculum ontology.

It is an NGSS-aligned, phenomenon-based curriculum: each unit anchors student investigation in a real-world phenomenon and a driving question, then sequences lessons so students develop an explanatory model.

|                          |                                                                                                                         |
| :----------------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Source**               | [OpenSciEd](https://www.openscied.org/) ↗                                                                               |
| **Supported grades**     | K–11<br /><br />High school courses cover topics in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.                                    |
| **Includes**             | <ul><li>**OpenSciEd curriculum** <GatedBadge /></li></ul>                                                               |
| **Dataset dependencies** | [U.S. academic standards](/knowledge-graph/datasets/standards/us-academic-standards) - Science, ELA, and math standards |
| **REST API endpoints**   | None                                                                                                                    |

## Use cases

| Use case                                                    | Examples                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| :---------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Teach from phenomena**                                    | Integrate K–12 OpenSciEd lessons so science products follow three-dimensional NGSS alignment across grade bands                                                                                                                    |
| **Recommend by performance expectation**                    | Surface investigations that match a given NGSS performance expectation in lesson pickers and search                                                                                                                                |
| **Generate NGSS-aligned science content**                   | <ul><li>Anchor generated lesson supports or assessment items to a specific unit, lesson, or activity</li><li>Stay coherent with a unit's driving question and anchoring phenomenon</li></ul>                                       |
| **Support science teachers with curriculum-aware guidance** | <ul><li>Detect which pedagogical move a lesson is calling for using Activity-level `curriculumLabel` values (`Navigate`, `Explore`, `Synthesize`, `Connect`)</li><li>Ground guidance in OpenSciEd instructional routines</li></ul> |
| **Evaluate AI-generated science content against NGSS**      | <ul><li>Check whether outputs address the right NGSS performance expectations at grade level</li><li>Reuse the same evaluator across any Knowledge Graph dataset aligned to NGSS</li></ul>                                         |
| **Extend an existing curriculum product into science**      | <ul><li>Apply the same graph traversal and alignment patterns used for [IM® v.360](/knowledge-graph/datasets/curriculum/im-v360)</li><li>Reuse curriculum-ontology logic across Math and Science</li></ul>                         |

## Schema

The data models a single hierarchy across all 15 courses — `Course` → `LessonGrouping` (`unit`) → `LessonGrouping` (`lesson_set`) → `Lesson` → `Activity` — with the following entities and relationships:

<Frame>
  <img
    src="https://mintcdn.com/czi-60a2a443/0O8toJEXZMNYIDls/images/knowledge-graph/openscied.jpg?fit=max&auto=format&n=0O8toJEXZMNYIDls&q=85&s=31130c961b3e3fd5a9d2e1ce6ef6da46"
    alt="Data model diagram: Curriculum entities (Course, LessonGrouping,
Lesson, Activity, Assessment, Material, ClassroomMaterial) and
relationships (hasPart and
hasEducationalAlignment)"
    width="1352"
    height="2204"
    data-path="images/knowledge-graph/openscied.jpg"
  />
</Frame>

|                                                                                 |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| :------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [**Entities**](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#entities)           | <ul><li>[`Course`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#course)<ul><li>Root node for a grade-level or high school course (e.g. <em>Grade 4</em>, `ose2024:4`, or <em>High School Biology</em>, `ose2024:9`)</li></ul></li><li>[`LessonGrouping`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#lessongrouping)<ul><li>Unit (`groupName: "unit"`) — multi-week sequence anchored on a driving question in `name` and an anchoring phenomenon in `description`</li><li>Lesson Set (`groupName: "lesson_set"`) — ordinal grouping of lessons inside a unit</li></ul></li><li>[`Lesson`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#lesson)<ul><li>Single day's instruction, with `curriculumLabel` values such as <em>Anchoring Phenomenon</em>, <em>Investigation</em>, or <em>Putting Pieces Together</em></li></ul></li><li>[`Activity`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#activity)<ul><li>Time-boxed segment of a lesson, with `curriculumLabel` values such as <em>Navigate</em>, <em>Explore</em>, <em>Synthesize</em>, or <em>Connect</em></li></ul></li><li>[`Assessment`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#assessment)<ul><li>Attached to a unit, [`Lesson`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#lesson), or [`Activity`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#activity)</li><li>Wraps a single [`Material`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#material) that carries the assessment content</li></ul></li><li>[`Material`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#material)<ul><li>Teacher-, student-, or family-facing resource attached to a unit, [`Lesson`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#lesson), or [`Activity`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#activity)</li></ul></li><li>[`ClassroomMaterial`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#classroommaterial)<ul><li>Physical supply or equipment an activity requires (e.g. <em>Goggles</em>, <em>Hand lens</em>, <em>1 D-sized battery</em>)</li><li>`audience` is always <em>Teacher</em></li></ul></li><li>[`StandardsFrameworkItem`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/standards#standardsframeworkitem) (defined in [Standards](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/standards#entities))<ul><li><Tooltip tip="Next Generation Science Standards">NGSS</Tooltip> performance expectation linked via `hasEducationalAlignment`</li><li>Targets also include <Tooltip tip="Common Core State Standards">CCSS</Tooltip> <Tooltip tip="English Language Arts">ELA</Tooltip> and math</li></ul></li></ul>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| [**Relationships**](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#relationships) | <ul><li>[`hasPart`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#haspart)<ul><li>[`Course`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#course) → [`hasPart`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#haspart) → [`LessonGrouping`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#lessongrouping) (e.g. Grade 4 → Unit 1)</li><li>[`LessonGrouping`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#lessongrouping) (`unit`) → [`hasPart`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#haspart) → [`LessonGrouping`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#lessongrouping) (lesson\_set)</li><li>[`LessonGrouping`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#lessongrouping) (`lesson_set`) → [`hasPart`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#haspart) → [`Lesson`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#lesson)</li><li>[`LessonGrouping`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#lessongrouping) (`unit`), [`Lesson`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#lesson), or [`Activity`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#activity) → [`hasPart`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#haspart) → [`Material`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#material)</li><li>[`LessonGrouping`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#lessongrouping) (`unit`), [`Lesson`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#lesson), or [`Activity`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#activity) → [`hasPart`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#haspart) → [`Assessment`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#assessment)</li><li>[`Lesson`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#lesson) → [`hasPart`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#haspart) → [`Activity`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#activity)</li><li>[`Assessment`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#assessment) → [`hasPart`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#haspart) → [`Material`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#material)</li></ul></li><li>[`hasEducationalAlignment`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#haseducationalalignment)<ul><li>[`Course`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#course), [`LessonGrouping`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#lessongrouping) (`unit` or `lesson_set`), or [`Lesson`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#lesson) → [`hasEducationalAlignment`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#haseducationalalignment) → [`StandardsFrameworkItem`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/standards#standardsframeworkitem)</li></ul></li><li>[`uses`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#uses)<ul><li>[`Activity`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#activity) → [`uses`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#uses) → [`ClassroomMaterial`](/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum#classroommaterial)</li></ul></li></ul> |

## Dataset release history

| Date               | Changed       |
| ------------------ | ------------- |
| September 22, 2026 | First release |

## Related topics

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Curriculum schema reference" icon="share-nodes" href="/knowledge-graph/schema-reference/curriculum">
    Review entities, relationships, and property definitions for Curriculum.
  </Card>

  <Card title="U.S. academic standards dataset" icon="certificate" href="/knowledge-graph/datasets/standards/us-academic-standards">
    OpenSciEd courses, units, lesson sets, and lessons align to standards in
    this dataset.
  </Card>

  <Card title="IM® v.360 dataset" icon="database" href="/knowledge-graph/datasets/curriculum/im-v360">
    Explore the corresponding math curriculum dataset that uses the same
    curriculum ontology.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>