Some time ago the National Science Foundation (NSF) published an extensive list of resources for "what should be taught in 9th and 10th grade science" that I thought were good. I thought they were so good that I downloaded most of them. I can no longer find them on the web, sadly, and that is what motivates me to publish them here in the hopes that some teachers will find them and use them and spread the word about what is available and to use it! So use, borrow, take whatever you want! Attribute the credit to the NSTA who led the development and the NSF who funded their design and implementation.
What every 9th grader should learn in Science
901 Classification Schemes
Study of methods of classifying especially with reference to biological classification.
902 Variation and Heredity
What causes variation in a single species and how is that transmitted from generation to generation?
903 Variation in Organisms
What causes individuals in a single species to differ in traits from each other?