Beyond Benign
Build-A-Math
We can't build our dream house yet, but we can definitely build a model. Scholars use floor plans to build models of their dream homes. Cardboard is as good as any material for this purpose.
American Institute of Architects
Architecture: It's Elementary!—First Grade
Build an interest and appreciation for architecture in your young learners with this fun 10-lesson art unit. Engaging children in using their five senses, the class first observes the environment around them, paying...
DiscoverE
Dome Home
Homes come in many different shapes and sizes. Building a model of a geodesic dome is the ultimate goal for the activity. Cutting and folding is the way to go here.
EngageNY
Analyzing Residuals (Part 1)
Just how far off is the least squares line? Using a graphing calculator, individuals or pairs create residual plots in order to determine how well a best fit line models data. Three examples walk through the calculator procedure of...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Waterproof that Roof!
Learners design and build model houses, with an emphasis on waterproof roofs. They perform tests to see if their models are as waterproof as they think.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Waterproof that Roof!
Stop the raindrops from getting into the house! Eager engineers learn about roofing history and waterproofing by nanotechnology. They get into groups and work on designing a waterproof roof for a small model house. The accompanying...
BioEd Online
Arm Model
Arm your young scientists with knowledge about anatomy as they build their own model of the elbow joint. Help them get a firm grasp on how muscles and bones interact to allow movement as they try different positions for the muscles on...
Curated OER
Traditional Desert Homes
Students go to a traditional style desert home and then build their own model of a home to scale. In this desert home lesson plan, students conduct their research in New Mexico.
Scholastic
STEM Challenges and Activity Sheets for Grades 6–8
From 3-D cities to building bridges, young engineers engage in innovative STEM challenges that promote brainstorming and collaboration. Learners take on the roles of different types of engineers as well as become familiar...
Curated OER
3-D Cell Model
Life science laureates choose a plant or animal cell to construct a model of as an at-home project. This handout provides guidelines, suggested materials, and a grading rubric for their reference. A full-page letter to parents is also...
Curated OER
Building a Native American Home
First graders explore different types of Native American shelters. In this Native American homes lesson, 1st graders compare the shapes of shelters used by Native Americans. They build a home using the program "Community Construction...
TryEngineering
Choose Your Best Way
Find the best path through town. The lesson teaches future computer programmers about networks and paths in graph theory. They develop a network of their towns to determine the most efficient path to visit each of their homes.
Curated OER
Neighborhoods
Students examine homes around the world. In this multicultural lesson, students read the book A World of Homes and Homes Around the World. Students compare and contrast the homes in the books to their own homes. Students construct a...
PBS
Around the Block
Arthur and his friends help children explore the concepts of family, community, and diversity in a fun series of activities. From performing peer interviews to mapping out the different places students have lived or visited, this...
Curated OER
Wonders of the World
Third graders examine two-dimensional objects and create a 3-D image of the object. They make models of the Taj Mahal and buildings in Delhi.
Curated OER
Circles, Rectangles, Squares, Triangles
Students identify, compare and classify the various shapes. For this shapes lesson, students listen to descriptions of shapes with words such as sides, angles, congruent, and parallel. Students then give the teacher examples of shapes...
Arizona State University
Roundup Shapes
Let's study 2-D shapes! Young mathematicians compare and classify shapes according to attributes. They evaluate shape riddles and predict the shape being described. Here is the website where you can find the...
Curated OER
Bringing Young Architects to Surface
Students work in pairs to design a building. In this architecture instructional activity, students take on the role of head architect to design and construct a 3-D scale model a building for a client. Students' goal is...
Curated OER
Building Log Cabins
Fourth graders design and create a log cabin in this lesson. They use ratios to help make dimensions of a house. They draw out how they want their house to look and gather the materials they need to complete the house. The log cabins...
Curated OER
The Very Busy Spider
Youngsters explore visual arts by participating in a geometry identification activity. They read the book The Very Busy Spider and identify the techniques spiders use to create webs. Have you ever noticed that their webs are geometric...
Curated OER
The Envelope System: A Partial Solution
Studnet identify examples of conduction, convection and radiation. They develop an example of a building envelope. They also describe how heat transfer mechanisms can affect home energy costs.
Curated OER
Polygons in Real Life
Fourth graders identify and label different types of polygons in real life situations. Using a digital camera, they take pictures of polygons on the school grounds, tally the number of shapes found, and answer discussion questions.
Curated OER
Snow Day
Eighth graders work in small groups to design and build a snow remover while looking at a snow design brief. They combine 2 or more simple machines to form a compound machine following the design brief in order to meet the required...
Curated OER
The Fault Line
Students use cardboard models of the North American and Pacific plates and sand to investigate what happens when there is an earthquake or movement along the boundaries of the plates.