Curated OER
Building for the Big One
Learners build and test structures that can best withstand earthquakes. They create their structures from playdough, cornstarch, grape-nuts and popsicle sticks and place their structures on a "shake table."
Curated OER
Amazing Triangles
Student scientists investigate triangle structures. In this building lesson plan, students explore how to design triangle braces in the construction of structures in order to build a stronger base.
Teach Engineering
Fairly Fundamental Facts About Forces and Structures
Don't twist and turn looking for a resource. The first installment of a six-part series teaches young engineers about the five fundamental forces of compression, tension, shear, bending, and torsion. These forces help explain different...
Berkeley Engineering and Mentors
Marshmallow Challenge
Here is a lesson in collaboration cleverly disguised as an engineering design activity. There is no background material for you to teach here, just instructions about materials and rules for participating groups. Use this as an...
Curated OER
Out of the Box
Students think creatively. In this out of the box lesson, students explore the Frederic C. Hamilton Building at the Denver Art Museum, examining the work of architect Daniel Libeskind and his team. Students discover structural shapes...
Curated OER
Stable Structures
Consider what it means to create a stable structure. The words stable and structure are defined, then stable objects are depicted and discussed in terms of their design features. Learners are asked to design a photo frame that includes...
Curated OER
Egg Structure Project
Students investigate the physical structure of an egg and the functions of the seven parts. They create a diagram and discuss each part of the egg while looking for the information, Complete instructional activity materials are found at...
Curated OER
Cell City Analogy
For this cell analogy worksheet, students are given a story about a city that produced widgets. They compare this to a cell and identify the parts of the cell that are analogous to the parts of the city. They then create their own cell...
Curated OER
Sweet 16 Cell Biology Tournament
In this cell structures worksheet, students review the parts of a cell using a "tournament" with brackets. They follow rules for each bracket to determine which cell structures "advance" to the next round.
Curated OER
Tiny Town- Structures And Movement
Students investigate the concept of structures and how they are used in nature and the world of human civilization. The structures have various types and functions that are identified. They create mechanisms to help move objects during...
Curated OER
Architecture: Homes All Around
Students listen to a book, "This is My House" and sing a song to the tune of Home on the Range. They use the internet to view examples of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture. Students take pictures of architectural details of their homes...
Curated OER
Castles and Fortresses of the World
Students work in groups to study castlers and fortresses of the world. They study pictures and models of well known castles and fortresses. Students construct a 3-D model of a castle or fortress using materials of their choice.
Curated OER
Building Bridges
Students, in groups, design and test a scale bridge. They use the Internet to research three basic bridge designs -- beam, arch, and suspension -- and the forces that act upon them.
Curated OER
Problem Solving/ Holistic Lesson Plan: Paper Structure
Young scholars observe geometric relationships in buildings and structures. They reason why structures are constructed in a specific way by applying geometric concepts. They construct a shelter using their geometric knowledge.
Curated OER
Shapes That Make Structures Strong
Learners study the various shapes engineers choose to make structures strong -- in particular, triangles, arches, and domes. They construct a variety of forms, and discuss how tension and compression are distributed by triangles,...
Curated OER
Design and Construct a Road Sign Support
Young scholars design, build, and test a model of a free-standing structure used to support overhead road signs.
Curated OER
Putting it All Together
Young scholars explore the design of structures. In this science instructional activity, students use various items to build structures. Young scholars discuss the structures they build.
Curated OER
Strong as Newspaper
Students explore architecture. In this science lesson, students build a structure from newspaper. Students place weight on the structure to measure how strong the structure is.
Curated OER
Performing Well Under Pressure
Students examine the properties of minerals and show examples of the functions. In this minerals lesson plan students create models of different minerals.
Curated OER
Stable and Unstable Structures
Middle schoolers consider ways to create stable bridges. In this bridge design lesson, students view pictures of bridges that have collapsed. They use the information to work in small groups creating a blueprint for a bridge of their...
Curated OER
Ancient Mediterranean Lands: Greece
Learners study maps and structures of Ancient Greece and realize how these structures impact times. In this structures lesson plan, students view the structures of how Ancient Greece was put together and discuss how these structures...
Curated OER
Cell Structure and Function
Students identify the main ideas of different cell theories. Using a microscope, they compare and contrast the structures and functions of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. They also compare and contrast animal and plant cells and complete...
Curated OER
Putting It All Together
Students create, design, and evaluate different structures. Students will use Lego blocks to create several different designs. They will evaluate the various steps involved in creating their structures. They then will think about...
Curated OER
Nature's Polyhedrons
Students are introduced to polyhedrons through using straw models to explore geometric solids and constructing Christmas tree ornaments using Epsom salt crystals. Students will view interactive videos and investigate and retrieve...