Students explore slope as a rate of change. For this eighth grade mathematics lesson, students investigate real-world problems to determine rate of change and transform it into a linear representation, thus determining slope. Students...

Watch your marshmallows fly. The engaging STEM activity has groups create a catapult to launch marshmallows. After testing their prototypes, they consider improvements and redesign their catapults.

Twisting and turning through the sky, roller coasters are popular attractions at amusement parks around the world, but how exactly do they work? Explore the physics behind these thrilling rides with an engineering design activity....

Looking for an engineering project that will tower above the rest? Try a design experiment that has built-in fun! Groups examine a variety of skyscraper designs, then compete to create their own slender towers. The teacher's guide is...

Fifth graders classify triangles. In this triangle lesson, 5th graders learn about the characteristics that make up a triangle. They are instructed through video, PowerPoint slides, and teacher-led demonstrations.

Can my windmill pick up a weight? Given the same set of materials, groups design and build the most efficient windmill. On the first day, groups concentrate on getting a windmill to spin, while on the second day, they modify their...

Show your class how to develop a protocol to solve a problem. Pupils then continue with working with binary messages but refine a protocol to assist with the distinction of individual bits by including a bit rate. Finally, the pairs...

Heat up your lessons on boiling points. The resource provides a three-part activity: first, groups find the boiling point of solutions; second, they create boiling point curves for salt and sugar solutions; and third, they mix a solution...

Sixth graders study the food web in a bay. In this food web lesson, 6th graders investigate the SAV- submerged aquatic vegetation of a bay including their predators, and how the organisms eat, have proper living space and water. They...

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...

Use your tablets to participate in a culture-sharing project with a class in a foreign country. Your class can communicate and share ideas with a class in another country, swapping information regarding language and culture. Together you...

Young scholars examine web sites to determine point of view and bias in information sources. They determine the usefulness of information based on these biases or limitations.

Don't cast a great hands-on resource aside! Scholars learn about the process of casting by actually trying out an example. Plaster of Paris and cookie cutter molds help them complete the activity.

A messy fountain is potentially an energy experiment in disguise. Groups investigate the variables in creating a fountain from soda and Mentos. The last activity in a six-part series on energy has the class observe the fountain in terms...

"By the hair on your chinny-chin-chin, I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in," says the big, bad wolf! Engineering hopefuls are challenged to design and construct a hurricane-proof building from simple office and craft...

Two activities work with a fiction and nonfiction book about robots‚—Robot Dreams by Sara Varon and Robot by Roger Bridgman. Scholars read each story, then build a robot out of found objects, examine robot sensors, and search for...

Engineering design projects serve as great opportunities for collaborative problem solving. In this case, students work in small groups designing, building, and eventually testing a structure that meets a teacher-specified objective. It...

Students compete in a Lego Robot Competition. In this after school lesson, students design and compete in the Lego Robot Competition. This lesson includes time-lines and guidelines for an after-school club.

Don't drop the ball on the resource ... drop an egg instead! A teacher-led demonstration has the class consider how to drop eggs into glasses when a tray is in the way. Hint: If you've ever seen a magician pull a tablecloth off a table,...

How does dirty water get clean enough to drink? After viewing a PowerPoint that outlines the process water goes through at a water treatment plant, groups work together to design a chlorination chamber for a treatment plant.

Students explore wolves. In this ecology and wolves instructional activity, students research predator-prey relationships on the Internet and complete a related worksheet with a partner. Students interpret data on bar graphs to determine...

Help create confident and competent Internet users for research purposes. Middle schoolers conduct Internet research and compose a paper on the computer. They learn how to properly cite Internet references and explore net etiquette.

Secondary carpenters apply their skills to improve display spaces in classrooms at their campus. Includes a contract between workers and teachers who sign on for improvements in the their rooms. Concurrent exploration of building and...

Students determine the common denominator of two unlike fractions. They practice adding fractions and finding equivalent fractions of numbers. They compare and contrast different types of equations involving fractions and construct...