The Nylon Rush

About this resource

In 1938, the DuPont company said its brand-new thread, nylon, was made from coal, water, and air. In 1946, about 40,000 people lined up for over a mile in Pittsburgh to buy nylon stockings. How can coal, water, and air become a silky thread — and why did people want it so badly? Every synthetic material starts as a natural resource — a chemical process turns it into something new that can change the world. In this one-week, 5-level Synthetic Materials & Natural Resources unit for middle school science (NGSS MS-PS1-3), students investigate a real mystery, then use their evidence to crack the case.

The Nylon Rush is part of Science Unlocked, a series of mystery-driven lesson sets. Every set opens with a real, surprising phenomenon, builds the science one level at a time, and ends with students solving the mystery in a claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) write-up.

Topics: chemical reactions, claim evidence reasoning (CER), science phenomenon, review games.

What's included

• Teacher Deck (86 slides, PowerPoint). Answers are highlighted on the slides. Speaker notes tell you what to say and do, what to watch for, and how to support students or push GT students further. Prep slides and answer keys are hidden, so they skip during a slideshow.
• Interactive Student Deck (52 slides, PowerPoint + PDF). Students type in boxes, drag cards and check marks, and rate their confidence. Assign one copy per student in Google Classroom or your LMS.
• Google Slides versions of both decks. Click a button in the Google Slides Links PDF to make your own copy in Google Drive.
• Teacher Guide (26-page PDF). The standard, a week at a glance, a materials list, misconceptions to watch for, a run-of-show for every level, answer keys and sources.
• Student Printable (16-page PDF + a low-ink greyscale copy). The same tasks on paper in 12 pt type, for students without devices, sub days, or anyone who learns better with a pencil. Slide numbers match the Student Deck.
• Self-grading digital activity. SCORM 2004 and SCORM 1.2 packages for an LMS that accepts SCORM uploads, a web package, and a single HTML file that opens in any browser. Notes, sorts, matches, tables and multiple-choice items grade themselves, and students get a copy-and-paste backup of their work. A 2-page teacher quick start is included.
• Two whole-class review games that open in any browser: a Jeopardy-style game (6 categories, 30 clues) and Trashketball, where teams answer on whiteboards and then shoot for points.
• Kahoot! and Blooket import files. 48 review questions, one file per level plus an all-levels file, with a printable answer key.
• Start Here guide, HTML & SCORM how-to guide and Terms of Use, so you know which file to open first.

The 5 levels (about one 45–50 minute class each)

1. Coal, Water, and Air? Natural resources, natural vs. synthetic materials. Key activities: Nylon mystery, Trace It Back match, 12-card sort.
2. New Stuff From Old Stuff. Chemical processes leads to new substances with new properties. Key activities: Property Detective, Four Synthetic Stories (medicine, food, fuel, plastic), gas-to-jug order.
3. Milk Plastic Lab. Investigation: turn milk into a new material and compare properties. Key activities: Milk Plastic lab, data table, Good Job sort, Lab Conclusion CER.
4. Changing the World. Impacts on society, judging sources for credibility and bias. Key activities: Nylon timeline, Source Check table, Helps or Harms sort.
5. Crack the Case. Stretch HS-PS2-6: molecular structure leads to how a material works. Key activities: Gas or Plastic?, Stretch CER, final Nylon Rush CER.

Built for real classrooms

• Every level follows the same routine: "I can" targets with a confidence check, a warm-up, copy-it notes with a word bank, hands-on practice, a checkpoint students must pass to unlock the next step, and an exit ticket. A 10-item Mini Quiz wraps up the week.
• Level 1 opens with a Power-Up on the earlier-grade ideas this standard builds on (2-PS1-2, 4-ESS3-1, 5-PS1-3, 5-PS1-4).
• The last level includes a high school Stretch (HS-PS2-6) that every student tries and advanced students can take further.
• Hands-on lab (Milk Plastic: The Investigation). Student materials list: 1 cup (about 240 mL) of hot milk — your teacher pours it; 4 teaspoons (20 mL) of white vinegar; Heat-resistant cup, spoon; Strainer or slotted spoon; 6 paper towels, a hand lens; Optional: cookie cutter or mold. Safety notes are on the slides and in the Teacher Guide.
• Support is built in: word banks, sentence starters and support notes on the slides, plus GT extensions.

Standards

• NGSS MS-PS1-3: Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society. (Kentucky 8-PS1-3 uses the same wording.)
• SEP: Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information · DCI: PS1.A, PS1.B · CCC: Structure and Function
• Stretch: HS-PS2-6
• CCSS connections: RST.6-8.1, WHST.6-8.8

Try the digital activity first

• Not sure the self-grading activity will work in your LMS? Download the FREE HTML & SCORM Sample and test it with your students before you buy.

Save with a bundle

• Matter & Chemical Reactions (5 sets)
• Middle School Physical Science + Engineering (23 sets)
• Science Unlocked Mega Bundle (all 89 sets)

Teach next

• Pencil or Diamond? (MS-PS1-1)
• The Fatberg Files (MS-PS1-2)
• The Vanishing Spoon (MS-PS1-4)
• Not One Atom Lost (MS-PS1-5)

More from Mystery Lab Learning

• See every Science Unlocked set, and follow to hear when new ones are added, at Mystery Lab Learning.

Good to know

• The illustrations in this resource were created with AI image tools, and AI tools helped draft the lesson text. Every slide, answer key and lab step was then fact-checked against the sources listed in the Teacher Guide and proofread.
• Kahoot!, Blooket, Jeopardy!, Google Slides and PowerPoint are trademarks of their owners. This resource is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
• License: one teacher, for use with their own students. Please buy an additional license for each colleague who uses it.