Skill: course-build → atomise (architecture, step 6b gate) → write-like-james @ 3352535
MS Life Science — course architecture v1 (for James's approval, 25 September 2026)
Read this in five minutes. It decides the topics, their order, where every PP100 and checkpoint sits, and which topic pilots first. Nothing below writes a lesson sentence. The atom register stays where it is: the Life Science strand of the Science Knowledge Graph (126 atoms, 22 sub-domains). This document arranges those 126 atoms into a course and stops.
The takeaways
- Thirteen topics, one PP100 at the end of each, 124 lessons in all (126 if you decline the two merges in Card 7). One atom, one lesson. Topics run 6 to 15 atoms; the average is under 10.
- The order follows the big ideas, not the TEKS list: what makes something alive and what it is built from → inside the cell → how living things make food and release energy from it → how life is sorted → how living things depend on each other → how features pass on → how populations change.
- Topic 1 is the pilot: "Alive, and built from cells", 13 lessons. It stresses every treatment the course needs — a list fact by typed recall, three example-sequence sorts with hard boundary cases, a why-lesson, a chain of five coined terms, one ordering routine, and the first licensed microscope photos. Its blueprint is the second deliverable.
- "What living things need" is taught where it is used, not as a list up front: food opens the photosynthesis topic; water, air and a suitable place open the ecosystem topic. Every prerequisite edge still points backwards.
- Three checkpoint tests, at the three natural seams — the organism (after Topic 4), living things together (after Topic 8), inheritance and change (after Topic 13). The third doubles as the end-of-grade test, anchored to the released grade-8 STAAR, Florida SSA and AZSCI forms.
- Forty-six prerequisites live outside this strand (45 grades 3–5 atoms and one Earth Science atom). Nothing is assumed: each lesson that leans on one retrieves it in a sentence and one recall item.
- Eleven register observations for your atomisation pass, including four coverage gaps against the grade-8 tests (ribosomes; "cells come from cells"; parasitism and commensalism; the words prokaryote, eukaryote, autotroph, heterotroph). No atom was edited; the register is read-mostly.
The ask: approve or edit the topic table (Card 1), then read the Topic 1 blueprint (course_preview/review/BLUEPRINT_T01.html). Lesson writing starts on your word.
Card 1 — The topics
The call: thirteen topics in the order below, a mixed mastery practice set then a PP100 at the end of every one.
| # | Topic (student-facing title) | Atoms | Lessons | Standards served | The big idea it serves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alive, and built from cells | LIF-001–004, 010–020 | 15 → 13 | TEKS 6.13A, 6.13B, 7.13B; NGSS MS-LS1-1, LS1-3; FL 6.L.14.1; AZ 7.L1U1.8, .10 | Every living thing does the same seven things, and is built from cells in levels |
| 2 | Inside the cell | LIF-021–031 | 11 | TEKS 8.13A; NGSS MS-LS1-2; FL 6.L.14.4; AZ 7.L1U1.9 | Each cell part does one job; plant cells have two parts animal cells lack |
| 3 | How plants make food | LIF-005, 006, 070–075 | 8 | TEKS 8.6E; NGSS MS-LS1-6; AZ 7.L2U1.12 | A plant builds its food from air and water, storing light energy in it |
| 4 | Releasing energy from food | LIF-076–081 | 6 | TEKS 6.8B, pre-8.6E; NGSS MS-LS1-7 | Every living thing breaks food down with oxygen; photosynthesis and respiration are opposites |
| 5 | Sorting living things: the kingdoms | LIF-040–047 | 8 | TEKS 7.14A, 7.14B; FL 6.L.15.1 | Living things are grouped by shared features into kingdoms |
| 6 | From kingdom to species | LIF-048–057 | 10 | TEKS 7.14A; FL 6.L.15.1 | Groups nest inside groups down to the species; a key walks the nest |
| 7 | Ecosystems and food webs | LIF-007–009, 085–094 | 13 | TEKS 6.12A, 7.12A; NGSS MS-LS2-1, LS2-3; FL 7.L.17.1, .2; AZ 6.L2U1.13, .14 | Who eats whom, and what happens to the rest of the web when one population changes |
| 8 | Energy flows, matter cycles, and living things interact | LIF-095–104 | 10 | TEKS 7.12A, 7.12B, 6.12B, 8.12A; NGSS MS-LS2-3, LS2-4 | Energy is lost at each step; nutrients come round again; three ways two living things interact |
| 9 | Traits and how living things reproduce | LIF-110–121 | 12 | TEKS 7.13C, pre-8.13B; NGSS MS-LS3-2; FL 7.L.16.1, .3 | Some features are inherited, some acquired; one parent copies, two parents mix |
| 10 | Genes, DNA and chromosomes | LIF-122–130 | 9 | TEKS 8.13B; NGSS MS-LS3-1; FL 7.L.16.2, .4; AZ 8.L3U1.9 | Inherited features travel as genes; a gene can come in versions and can change |
| 11 | Dominant, recessive and the Punnett square | LIF-131–137 | 7 | FL 7.L.16.2; AZ 8.L3U1.9 (TEKS: none) | Which version shows, and how likely each offspring is |
| 12 | Adaptation and natural selection | LIF-138–148 | 11 | TEKS 8.13C, 6.13C, 7.13D; NGSS MS-LS4-4; FL 7.L.15.1, 7.L.16.3; AZ 8.L4U1.11 | Variation plus survival makes a helpful version more common over generations |
| 13 | Evidence for change, and change when the environment changes | LIF-149–154 | 6 | NGSS MS-LS4-1, LS4-2, LS4-6; FL 7.L.15.2, .3; TEKS pre-7.10A, 7.13D | Fossils and shared bones record change; a changed environment changes which version wins |
Totals: 126 atoms, 124 lessons (two merges, Card 7), 13 practice sets, 13 PP100 banks of 50, 3 checkpoint tests. Two atoms may need a second lesson once blueprinted — LIF-057 (following a two-way key) and LIF-137 (the Punnett square) — so plan for 124 to 126.
Why this grouping
- Every prerequisite edge in the register points backwards in this order. Checked atom by atom (all 126); no forward reference.
- Sub-domain 1c (organism to cell, 11 atoms) joins 1a (the life processes) because the ladder answers the question 1a raises: what is a living thing built from? Sub-domain 1b (the needs) is split across Topics 3 and 7 — Card 3.
- Sub-domain 2 (classification, 18 atoms) and sub-domain 5c (genes, 16 atoms) are each split in two: a 20-item PP100 over 16 atoms certifies nothing. The Linnaean chain of eight definitions plus two routines is one topic; the alleles-and-Punnett block is another.
- Sub-domain 5d (evolution, 17 atoms) splits at its natural seam: the natural-selection story (138–148) then the evidence and the environment-change case (149–154).
- Topics 3 and 4 follow the cell topic because chloroplasts and mitochondria (Topic 2) are the two cell parts whose jobs Topics 3 and 4 explain.
- Classification (Topics 5, 6) comes after food because the kingdoms are defined by how they feed (plants make food; fungi break down material; animals take food in).
What changes: the course folder gets one topicNN_build/ folder per topic; Topic 1's blueprint is written; nothing else is authored until you approve it.
Card 2 — Topic 1 is the pilot, at 13 lessons
The call: pilot "Alive, and built from cells" end to end — 13 lessons, quiz after each, mixed practice, summary video, PP100 bank of 50 — before any other topic starts.
Why
- The vertical-slice rule asks the pilot to stress the most machinery at once. Topic 1 has a list fact tested by typed recall (the seven life processes), three example-sequence sorts with hard boundary cases (which process; living or not; the icicle and the seed), one why-lesson, five coined terms in a chain (organism, organ, tissue, cell, organ system), one ordering routine, and two categoricals read off a supplied ladder.
- It is the first topic that needs licensed microscope photos (onion skin, cheek cells, pond water), so the photo path is tested at the pilot, not at Topic 9.
- It is the course's foundation: every later topic reuses "living thing", "organism" and "cell", and the zoom-in picture from organism to cell.
- The only calculation-free gap: Life Science has no numeric routine until the Punnett square (Topic 11). The pilot cannot test numeric entry; Topic 11's blueprint will say how the worked-form rules apply there.
The alternative is a 9-lesson cut: stop Topic 1 at "every living thing is made of cells" (LIF-001–004, 010–016) and open Topic 2 with the ladder routine and the cell parts (017–031, 15 atoms). I kept the ladder in Topic 1 because ordering the levels is the payoff of coining them, and because a 15-atom Topic 2 would be the biggest in the course.
What changes: the Topic 1 blueprint is the next thing you read.
Card 3 — What living things need is taught where it is used
The call: the five "needs" atoms (sub-domain 1b) do not form a topic. Food (LIF-005, 006) opens Topic 3; water, air and a suitable place (LIF-007, 008, 009) open Topic 7.
Why
- Four of the five are one-sentence facts a grade 3 course already states (LIF3-003–006). As a topic they would be a list with no headache.
- "Animals take in food; plants make their own" (LIF-006) is the exact headache of photosynthesis: where does a plant's food come from? It is also the prerequisite of the plant kingdom atom (LIF-043, Topic 5), which stays downstream.
- "Every living thing needs water, air and a suitable place" is what the ecosystem definition (LIF-085) calls the non-living surroundings, and what the environmental-change atom (LIF-104) varies. The register's own standards tag for these atoms is TEKS 6.12A, the ecosystem code.
- Every edge still points backwards: LIF-005 → 006 → 070 inside Topic 3; LIF-007–009 have no dependants inside the strand.
What changes: Topic 3 has 8 lessons and Topic 7 has 13; sub-domain 1b keeps its tags in the register, untouched.
Card 4 — Checkpoints at three seams
The call: three static checkpoint tests, each with some free response, at the ends of Topics 4, 8 and 13; the third doubles as the end-of-course test and is anchored to released grade-8 STAAR, Florida SSA and AZSCI items.
Why
- The seams are natural: Topics 1–4 are the single organism (alive, cells, food, energy); 5–8 are living things together (classification, ecosystems); 9–13 are inheritance and change over generations.
- No state tests middle-school science before grade 8, so there is no per-grade instrument to anchor to (knowledge-graph HANDOFF, recommendation 1). Each atom's TEKS stamp (6.x / 7.x / 8.x) still allows a grade-level slice later without re-atomising.
- Five interchangeable forms per test is the standing ruling for topic tests; whether checkpoints also get five forms is your call.
What changes: nothing yet. Checkpoints are built after the topics they cover.
Card 5 — Delivery: your 25 September rulings, applied
The call: every atom ships as BOTH a video script and an article, learner's choice; every video ends "Okay, now your turn." with one easy attached question; a quiz of about ten follows; each topic has an intro video (≤120 words, teaches nothing) and a summary video (≤300 words, everything taught, just before the PP100); the PP100 is 20 four-option MCQs drawn from a bank of at least 50, tagged easy / medium / hard by depth of reasoning.
Why
- These are your standing rulings for the grade 3–8 courses (vault: PP100 mastery tests and lesson checks are different jobs; Videos: one summary per topic…, grade 3–8 variant). They are applied, not re-asked.
- One addition from the same day's ruling: the strand itself opens with one short intro video (≤60 s, teaches nothing) — the ladder from a single cell to a whole ecosystem, and why anyone wants to know. It is written with Topic 1.
- When video and article are alternatives, each must teach the whole part (vault rule), so the script and the article are written from the same blueprint row and reviewed against each other.
Figures: monochrome SVG on one depiction register (defined in Topic 1's figures.py docstring and reused by every topic) where the point is a label, a level or a comparison; a licensed photo — including microscope photos — where a real organism or scene carries the point. Every item drawing carries a plain-words <!--blind: …--> comment for the blind bundler, and its accessible label never names what the item asks for.
What changes: the blueprint carries a "video adds" line and an SVG-or-photo call on every figure.
Card 6 — Forty-six prerequisites are taught in other courses
The call: the 45 grades 3–5 atoms and one Earth Science atom below are not taught in MS Life Science. Each lesson that leans on one states the idea in one sentence and asks one recall question before using it.
| External atoms | What they say | Leaned on by (topic) |
|---|---|---|
| LIF3-001, 002, 007, 008, 009 | living things grow, feed, move, make more of their kind; sort living from non-living by what it does | LIF-001, 003 (Topic 1) |
| LIF3-003, 004, 005, 006 | living things need food, water, air, a place that suits them | LIF-005, 007, 008, 009 (Topics 3, 7) |
| LIF3-010, 012, 014 | group by shared features; place a vertebrate; sort plants by seeds or spores | LIF-040, 042, 043, 047, 048 (Topics 5, 6) |
| LIF3-030, 041 | every life runs in a cycle; same kind, small differences | LIF-115 (Topic 9), LIF-141 (Topic 12) |
| LIF4-010, 011, 012 | plants make their own food; animals cannot; trace the energy from the Sun | LIF-006, 070, 076 (Topics 3, 4) |
| LIF4-020–025 | producer, consumer, decomposer; read a food web; decomposers feed the soil | LIF-087–093, 099 (Topics 7, 8) |
| LIF4-030, 031, 032, 034 | inherited and acquired traits; when both play a part | LIF-111, 114, 130 (Topics 9, 10) |
| LIF4-041, 051 | pollen lets the seed form; some kinds are extinct | LIF-117 (Topic 9), LIF-150 (Topic 13) |
| LIF5-001, 003, 004, 005 | what an ecosystem is; living and non-living dependence; how two living things affect each other | LIF-085, 086, 100–102 (Topics 7, 8) |
| LIF5-010, 011 | a plant's body comes from air and water; the pot test | LIF-071, 075 (Topic 3) |
| LIF5-016, 017, 022 | predict the next link's change; the ripple; habitat change | LIF-094, 104 (Topics 7, 8) |
| LIF5-030, 031, 032 | match offspring to parents; parents pass instructions; different instructions, different individuals | LIF-110, 120–122 (Topics 9, 10) |
| LIF5-040, 041, 042 | survival structures; predict who pulls through and say why | LIF-138, 145, 146 (Topic 12) |
| EAR4-037 | a fossil is as old as its layer | LIF-149 (Topic 13) |
Why
- Stand-alone entry rule: no student has taken the grades 3–5 courses or the sibling middle-school courses, so every lesson stands alone.
- One consumer in the other direction: MS Chemistry's MAT-072 (photosynthesis as a conservation-of-mass example) leans on this course's LIF-073, the photosynthesis word equation. Both courses write it identically: carbon dioxide + water → glucose + oxygen.
What changes: the blueprint's "leans on" column names the external atom wherever it applies.
Card 7 — Register observations, no edits made
The call: eleven observations for your atomisation pass. I changed nothing in the register. The first two are asked as decisions in the Topic 1 blueprint.
- LIF-013 and LIF-014 overlap. LIF-013 says a tissue is "a group of similar cells doing the same job"; LIF-014 says a tissue "is made up of cells". A student who has LIF-013 already has LIF-014 (the redundancy check). Candidate merge. Likewise LIF-011 (what an organ is) and LIF-012 (an organ is built from tissues) read as one lesson: what the thing is, then what it is built from. Topic 1's blueprint asks you to merge each pair into one lesson.
- The ladder has four rungs in LIF-017 and a fifth in LIF-019. LIF-017 orders organism → organ → tissue → cell; LIF-019 identifies an organ system separately, and every grade-8 test draws five rungs. Topic 1 teaches the organ system before the ordering and orders five levels. Asked in the blueprint.
- Grain is uneven between LIF-001 and the needs. LIF-001 names seven life processes in one atom; the needs are four atoms of one sentence each (LIF-005, 007, 008, 009). Either grain is defensible; flagged so the register is consistent on purpose.
- LIF-031's behaviour contains "and" ("state whether the size difference comes from having more cells or bigger cells, and say which is correct"). It is one verdict written twice; candidate rewording.
- Coverage gap — ribosomes. TEKS 8.13A names the ribosome among the cell parts; the register has no ribosome atom (LIF-021–027 cover seven parts). STAAR grade 8 can ask it. Candidate new Fact atom in SD-1d.
- Coverage gap — "cells come from existing cells". TEKS 6.13A, Florida SC.6.L.14.2 and Arizona 7.L1U1.8 all state it; no atom does. Candidate new Fact atom beside LIF-016.
- Coverage gap — parasitism and commensalism. TEKS 6.12B and Florida SC.7.L.17.2 name mutualism, parasitism and commensalism; the register has only "both-benefit relationship" (LIF-102). Candidate two new atoms in SD-4f, and a decision on whether the course coins the three Latin names.
- Coverage gap — the words prokaryote / eukaryote and autotroph / heterotroph. TEKS 6.13B uses them; the register carries the ideas (LIF-046 bacteria have no nucleus; LIF-006 plants make their own food) without the words. A labelling decision for Topics 3 and 5, or two coining atoms.
- TEKS 7.13D names artificial selection; Florida 7.L.16.4 names biotechnology. Neither has an atom. May be deliberate scope; flagged once.
- Standards mapping — LIF-001–004 carry Florida SC.6.L.14.5, the human body systems benchmark. The content (life processes; living or not) does not match that benchmark's text; SC.6.L.14.5 fits LIF-019 (organ systems) better. Candidate retag.
- Two atoms have no prerequisite at all: LIF-124 (what DNA is) and LIF-151 (a shared bone structure). Both are fine as mid-course entry points; their lessons open on a scene, not a recall.
What changes: nothing until you rule. Atom edits happen in the knowledge-graph repo with a log entry.
About this build (kickoff record)
- Register:
Science Knowledge Graph/data/atoms/06-08/life-science.json, pulled 25 September 2026 (repo at 667755d), 126 atoms in 22 sub-domains. Per-course choices are the register's: K–8 IDs with letter suffixes; Fact / Categorical / Transformation / Routine; bare behaviours; verdict/reason split by default. - Endpoint: grade-8 STAAR, Florida SSA and AZSCI life-science items; NGSS MS-LS1-1 to MS-LS4-6.
- Sources read: knowledge-graph HANDOFF and CLAUDE; vault CLAUDE, 00 Protocol, the PP100 and video rulings, the blueprint rule, the course-build dispatcher; MS Chemistry's CLAUDE, architecture, Topic 1 and Topic 8 blueprints, Topic 4 authoring and adjudication records, and its preview pages; the biology misconception research (photosynthesis, ecology, cells); the standards texts for every code the register cites.
- Coverage check (standards mapped onto this architecture, never the other way): every Life Science atom sits in exactly one topic; every TEKS 6.12 / 6.13 / 7.12 / 7.13 / 7.14 / 8.12 / 8.13 knowledge code in the register appears in at least one topic. Blank cells in the register (TEKS on dominant / recessive / Punnett; NGSS on classification) are register findings, not gaps in this course. The four content gaps inside cited codes are Card 7, items 5–8.
What happens next
You approve or edit the topic table. Then you read the Topic 1 blueprint. Only after that does write-lesson run on Topic 1, one lesson at a time, starting with the first of each lesson type as its exemplar.