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...

Most have felt a static electricity shock, but what actually causes it? Scholars observe, develop a hypothesis, experiment, and learn about static electricity. Through multiple short writing samples, they describe static electricity in...

Emerging engineers read about Arduino software and how it can be used. Then they follow a nine-step tutorial to connect an Arduino board to a computer and put it to work! The objective is to code a program that will cause an LED to...

Take young scientists into the depths of the world's ocean with the second lesson of this three-part earth science series. After first drawing pictures representing how they imagine the bottom of the ocean to appear, students...

Explore color through an examination of pointillism and light. Class members view Georges Seraut's famous painting on a computer, zooming in and out to see the details and effects of the technique. They then cover how light and color are...

Quit repeating yourself ... you can make this simpler! Rather than repeating the same set of code over and over, class members learn to build and call functions in a series of challenges in App Lab. In the end, they combine...

Got milk? Only two cultures have had it long enough to develop the tolerance of lactose as an adult. Learn how the responsible genes evolved along with the cultures that have been consuming milk. This rich film is supplied with a few...

This optional lesson introduces the class to the idea of a minimum spanning tree. The activity focuses on determining an algorithm that will find the most efficient path in a network to transfer data. 

Pairs work through two scenarios that require them to generate an algorithm. The first activity requires pairs to define a common language to use; the second comes with the language. The pairs then must determine how to code the...

Some interesting reading on the history of barcodes opens this technology lesson plan. Readers find out how engineers contribute, and then they gather into groups to discuss possible improvements to our current UPC barcode system. Know...

Binary graphing ... bit by bit. Pairs work together to develop a protocol in order to send the points of a graph. One partner sends the points and the other receives them and tries to recreate the graph. The pupils use the rubric to...

Encoding What I did Last Summer. Class members develop a way to encode a personal experience using a top-down approach to determine components and sub-components of their experience They then pick one portion of the experience and go...

Students examine the concepts of computer and mechanical engineering. They dissemble a computer mouse and create a new design for the mouse. They also design new enhancements for the mouse over time.

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...

Animals and plants develop relationships and rely on each other to survive. Pupils learn more about symbiosis through a video, a hands-on matching activity, and a game. They differentiate and describe each type on a written evaluation.

Study velocity while examining graphical representations. As scholars work with the animation, they discover the effect the height of an incline has on the velocity of the biker. They make conclusions about the slope of the...

Time to witness the effects of sound. Learners analyze different materials to determine their abilities to absorb sound waves. They use free software to monitor the amplitude of the waves to verify results.

Silver pennies and copper nickels are made possible by applying some chemistry. Learners use electrolysis to coat a penny with zinc sulfate and a nickel with copper sulfate. Their investigation builds an understanding of electroplating...

Stability is key when building a bridge. Scholars explore the forces acting upon bridges through an analysis of Newton's Laws and Hooke's Law. The activity asks individuals to apply their learning by building a bridge of their own.

Explore the connection of surface area to bonding within atoms. Learners complete lab investigations to model changing surface area with different sizes and concentrations of atoms. A flour fireball demonstration follows the labs to...

Airline mechanics must be precise, or the consequences could be deadly. Their target ranges alter with changes in temperature and pressure. When preparing an airplane for flight, you must read a maintenance graph. The second lesson of...

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...

If it's on the Internet, it must be true—right? How can someone tell if a website contains less-than-truthful information? Savvy surfers evaluate sources in the fifth of a six-part college and career readiness instructional activity...