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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Light but Strong: A Lesson in Engineering

For Teachers K - 5th Standards
Aspiring space engineers design a rocket launch platform together to explore materials. The platform needs to be lightweight so that it can be transported easily, but super strong so that it can support the weight of the rocket and its...
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Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Engineer a Dam

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
To begin the learning about dams, learners read (or are read to, depending on the age group) a passage about how dams work. Next, they work in groups to use the materials provided to build a small scale working dam. After the experience,...
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Lesson Plan
Teach Engineering

Strength of Materials

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Pupils examine a stress-strain diagram that compares the advantages and disadvantages of the two common bridge building materials, concrete and steel. The also consider the factors that influence the materials builders choose for their...
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Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Ship the Chip

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Here is a tasty challenge, especially for middle school engineers: design a container that meets mass and volume criteria, and will safely transport a tortilla or potato chip through the mail without damaging it! Mostly, this is a crisp...
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Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Engineered Music

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Sound engineers investigate the structural design of a musical instrument, the recorder. They work in collaborative groups to choose an instrument to build out of everyday craft materials. It must be able to repeat a three-note sequence...
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Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Spring Scale Engineering

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
After examining how a spring scale works, teams work together to design their own general measurement device. Reading material provides background information, but there is no part of the procedure in which learners handle an actual...
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Lesson Plan
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Tech Museum of Innovation

Engineering Takes Flight

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Groups explore concepts of flight by creating paper airplanes from different types of paper and testing their flight. They use the results to identify the optimal material.
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Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Interactive Gumball Machine

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Sure, you may be able to build a better mousetrap, but what about a gum dispenser? In a fun engineering challenge, teams must design and build a working interactive gumball machine with specific constraints and criteria.
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Engineering Lessons Adapted for Special Education

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Modifying engineering lessons from NASA makes them accessible to a wider variety of learners.
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

'Hunger Games' Science: Investigating Genetically Engineered Organisms

For Teachers 7th - 12th
In The Hunger Games novel and movie, a futuristic, dystopian society is the setting. In it, a genetically engineered bird escapes control of the government. Using this as a starting point, teenagers examine the realistic possibility of...
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Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Keep it Cool

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
This cool lesson plan is ideal for elementary engineers or physical scientists, especially when learning about heat transfer and insulation. After reading a page of background information, engineering teams collaborate to design and...
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Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Biomimicry in Engineering

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Take a look with your class at how nature supplies inspiration to engineers. In cooperative groups, youngsters research biomimicry and then develop a system that would help support people living on the moon. Each team also considers...
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Lesson Plan
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NASA

Pop Can Hero Engine

For Teachers K - 8th
Hang a soda can from a string and watch it spin by the force created by water streaming out of slanted holes. This plan provides background information, detailed materials and procedures, discussion questions, a lab worksheet, and...
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Lesson Plan
National History Day

Helping Life and Aiding Death: Science, Technology, and Engineering at Work during World War I

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Science, engineering, and United States history? Pupils research collections of artifacts from the Smithsonian to learn about historical scientific innovations. At the end of the lesson, they write an essay to discuss technology's...
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Lesson Plan
Teach Engineering

Fun Look at Material Science

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Introduce materials science with a class demonstration. After showing a PowerPoint presentation on materials and their properties, instructors provide a ceramic tile, a Popsicle stick, a paper clip, and a plastic bag as examples of...
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Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

Clutter Cutter

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Challenge young learners to cut the clutter with this fun engineering project. As employees of a home and office supply company, young engineers are asked to develop devices that organize everyday items. After participating in a...
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Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Working with Wind Energy

For Teachers 2nd - 12th Standards
After reading about how wind turbines work to collect clean energy, groups brainstorm and design their own windmill. Within the provided financial and physical constraints, groups must build a working windmill using only the materials...
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Lesson Plan
TryEngineering

Search Engines

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Introduce search engines with an activity that models how search engines work and the different algorithms they employ. Working in groups, class members then build search queries to demonstrate the knowledge learned.
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Activity
Teach Engineering

Super Slinger Engineering Challenge

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
How well can you launch a ping-pong ball? Small groups design launchers that can launch a ping-pong ball 20 feet into a target. The teams follow the engineering design process as they develop a solution that meets the design...
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Activity
DiscoverE

Arts and Engineering Activity Packet: Grades 3-5

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Art and science sometimes go hand in hand. A set of four activities for learners in grades 3-5 teaches engineering concepts as part of art projects. Class members build homemade robots, elastic puppets, musical instruments, and...
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Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Dispenser Designs

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
After reading about the history of tape dispensers, learners compare and contrast different dispenser designs. Next, teams work within budgetary and time constraints to design a better dispenser. When finished, each engineer reflects on...
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Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Get it Write

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
In an effort to practice engineering design, STEM classes break out into teams and endeavor to make a working ink pen. To prepare, they read about writing implements through history, patents, and viscosity of liquids. Armed with this...
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Activity6:37
Bonneville

How to Build a Turbine

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Here is a six-minute video of a pair of electrical engineers that illustrate how to build a wind turbine. A list of materials is provided, along with general guidelines for your class. Use this to introduce turbine design to your...
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Activity4:34
Bonneville

The Great Marble Drop

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Mike and Kellie, a team of electrical engineers, demonstrate how to to design a contraption that accurately drops a marble onto a target. The materials needed and general instructions are provided on the website or via a downloadable...