+
Lesson Plan
Intel

Understanding the Design Process

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Can you build a better mousetrap? Broken into two sessions, this plan introduces learners to the design process. The first session has pupils look at the world through a design perspective by redesigning everyday objects. In the second...
+
Unit Plan
NASA

Marsbound! Mission to the Red Planet

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
It's time to go to Mars. Using the provided cards and mat, groups design a mission to Mars. The cards contain information about the different components of the launch and warn about a few mishaps that might occur along the way.
+
Activity
Practical Action

The Wind Power Challenge

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Up it goes! Groups must design and build a windmill able to lift a weight. The packet includes discussion points to use prior to the build that cover topics such as variables, fairness, and the design process.
+
Activity
Computer Science Unplugged

Tourist Town—Dominating Sets

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
As an introduction to using a network to determine the fewest number of nodes that meet a given condition, small groups work together to determine the fewest number of ice cream vans, and their locations, to be able to serve the people...
+
Activity
Computer Science Unplugged

The Poor Cartographer—Graph Coloring

For Teachers 2nd - 12th
Color the town red. Demonstrate the concept of graph theory with a task that involves determining the least number of colors needed to color a map so that neighboring countries are not represented by the same color. Pupils make...
+
Activity
Computer Science Unplugged

The Intelligent Piece of Paper

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
How smart is that piece of paper? The activity introduces the idea of computer programming as a list of instructions written by computer programmers. Two individuals play a game of Tic-Tac-Toe in which one follows the commands written on...
+
Activity
Computer Science Unplugged

Conversations with Computers—The Turing Test

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Will the real computer please stand up? The premise of this activity is for the class to ask questions to a human and to a computer and to determine which is which. The class asks a given set of questions, and the person playing the role...
+
Activity
Computer Science Unplugged

Kid Krypto–Public-Key Encryption

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Class members have an opportunity to experience how to use a public key to encrypt information and a private key to decrypt it. Groups create their own public key and encrypt information then develop private keys to decrypt this...
+
Lesson Plan
Kenan Fellows

Letter Writing to Politicians on Environmental Issues

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Let your voices be heard! Pupils research local and national environmental concerns using the Internet. Class members determine an issue they deem important and draft a letter to a local politician expressing their concern about the...
+
Lesson Plan
Kenan Fellows

Determining the Effects of a Golf Course on Stream Health

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Do golf courses affect the water organisms in nearby streams and ponds? Small groups collect samples of water upstream and downstream from a golf course and analyze the macroinvertebrates found and the stream index values of the two...
+
Lesson Plan
Kenan Fellows

Using Water Chemistry as an Indicator of Stream Health

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Will this water source support life? Small groups test the chemistry of the water drawn from two different sources. They then compare the collected data to acceptable levels to draw conclusions about the health of the source. The...
+
Lesson Plan
Kenan Fellows

The Effects of Environmental Conditions on Aquatic Organisms

For Teachers 8th - 12th
What kind of experiment can your class do to how observe the environment effects on organisms? Groups design and conduct lab experiments to learn about the effects of the environment on aquatic organisms. Based upon knowledge gained from...
+
Lesson Plan
Kenan Fellows

Microorganisms in Pond Water

For Teachers 8th - 12th
That is living in the water? Groups of two to three view pond water with microscopes in order to find microorganisms. They draw pictures of the ones they find in their slides.  The groups compare their drawings to pictures of common pond...
+
Activity
Computer Science Unplugged

Ice Roads–Steiner Trees

For Teachers 4th - 12th
As an introduction to Steiner Trees, class members are challenged to find the shortest paths to connect multiple points. The teacher introduces the problem by showing how to connect three points. Groups then go outside and construct a...
+
Activity
Computer Science Unplugged

The Chocolate Factory–Human Interface Design

For Teachers 4th - 12th
What is this? What is it for? How does it work? Challenge the class to think about to how to design a new chocolate factory for the Oompa-Loompas to make it easy to use. The activity is the first of a three-part series on computer-human...
+
Activity
Computer Science Unplugged

The Peruvian Coin Flip–Cryptographic Protocols

For Teachers 4th - 12th
A digital flip. Introduce your classes to cryptographic protocols using and, or, and not gates. Groups create a complete circuit to convert a binary number into another one. This type of one-way function allows pupils to verify the...
+
Activity
Re Energy

Build Your Own Biogas Generator

For Students 8th - 12th
What is biogas and how is it made? After examining background information about the sources of biogas and biogas generators, class members follow the provided information and build a biogas generator that can be used in the classroom.
+
Activity
Teach Engineering

Optimize! Cleaner Energy Options for Rural China

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
What are the trade-offs when looking to get the most benefit from an energy source? Small groups compare the cost-to-emission levels of several energy sources by looking at the information graphically. The groups utilize this information...
+
Lesson Plan
Kenan Fellows

Effects of a Golf Course on Stream Health

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Is the golf course causing issues in the stream? Find out with a resource that has groups perform chemical water tests to analyze the effects of a golf course on a stream. Pupils collect water above and below the course and analyze the...
+
Lesson Plan
Kenan Fellows

Use of Dichotomous Keys to Identify Stream Organisms

For Teachers 8th - 12th
What kind of organisms are living in the stream? After an explanation on how to use a dichotomous key, groups of three to four use the keys to identify macroinvertebrates from a local freshwater stream. Using the the concept of Stream...
+
Lesson Plan
Kenan Fellows

Assembly Required and the Design Process Too!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
An engineering design lesson plan contains connected activities as a capstone engineering project. The activities revolve around the principle of improving an existing object and designing the manufacturing process in order to do so. The...
+
Handout
Carnegie Mellon University

Technical Sketching Worksheets

For Students 9th - 12th
How do you create a technical drawing? Cover the basics of technical sketching with a few practice sketches of simple shapes. A technical sketching lesson introduces the proper precision measurement techniques. Pupils progress to draw...
+
Activity
PBS

Hands-On Engineering Challenges to Bolster Your Electricity, Sound, and Force Units

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Need some activities to go along with your unit? A collection of hands-on activities from PBS offers opportunities to add to your electricity, sound, and force units. The electricity activities revolve around building a pinball-type...
+
Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Water Rocket Launch

For Teachers 3rd - 10th
How do rockets fly? Teams design, build, and launch a rocket made from a two-liter bottle to explore forces on a rocket such as Newton's Laws of Motion.  During the design phase, young engineers draw a diagram of their rocket and include...