Computer Science Unplugged
Computing: Databases Unplugged
How do databases store and retrieve information? The activities in the resource provide fundamental concepts of databases by introducing an approach that teaches the basics without using computers. The pupils act as the actual data...
Teach Engineering
Concentrating on the Sun with PVs
Concentrate to determine the best reflector design. Pairs use the engineering design process to build a reflector to increase the current output of a photovotaic panel. Teams arrive at a final design and present it to the class along...
Google
Online Safety Roadshow Activity
What does it mean to have digital citizenship? A set of lessons teach middle schoolers how to be safe and productive online. From sharing posts to creating secure passwords, learners discuss the importance of remaining diligent—and...
Teach Engineering
Force on a Current Carrying Wire
What do electrical currents have to do with an MRI? Using a simple wire setup and a magnet, class members explore forces used in an MRI by investigating the magnetic force acting on a wire carrying a current.
Messenger Education
Can You Hear Me Now?—Communicating with Spacecraft
Radio signals transmitted to Pluto take five hours to reach their destination! In these two activities, young scientists explore data communication in space. In activity one, pupils learn how data is gathered and sent back to Earth....
Tech Museum of Innovation
Lighter than Air
Scholars participate in two design challenges concerning flight in the second instructional activity of the series. They design balloon crafts that have neutral buoyancy and forward motion.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Binary Basics
Back to the (binary) basics. The resource provides a simple overview of binary code and gives two different activities to introduce it to elementary and middle school learners. Classmates write and decode messages to each other in binary...
Teach Engineering
Hydrogen-Oxygen Reaction Lab
High schoolers conduct an experiment using the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. After pairs balance the chemical equation for making water, they mix different ratios of hydrogen and oxygen in a chemical reaction. Classmates...
College Board
2018 AP® United States History Free-Response Questions
Learners explore the the Age of Imperialism using primary sources and an authentic College Board documents-based question. Other prompts explore the economic changes brought about by the American Civil War, technology, mercantilism, and...
College Board
2010 AP® Macroeconomics Free-Response Questions Form B
Currency depreciation, technology, an increase in the price of oil, or an increase in consumer spending have powerful impacts on an economy. Learners evaluate these effects using authentic materials from College Board. Other questions...
Code.org
Algorithms Detour - Minimum Spanning Tree
This optional lesson plan 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.
Discovery Education
Cushion It!
Sugar cubes, collide! Groups design protection systems using bubble wrap to protect sugar cubes from being destroyed by falling batteries in the STEM lesson plan. They consider how the experiment relates to collisions in real-world...
Krzysztof Haft-Szatynski
Move the Turtle
Turtles are not known to be speedy movers, but have you ever tried to get them to move in a specific direction? How about getting them to move in a perfect circle? With this app, young computer programmers have to be on their toes to...
Code.org
Creativity in Algorithms
Groups work with the program they built in the previous lesson to make it more creative. The resource challenges pupils to add functionality to their existing programs by adding a new command.
Kenan Fellows
Effects of a Golf Course on Stream Health
Is the golf course causing issues in the stream? Find out with a resource that has groups perform chemical water tests to analyze the effects of a golf course on a stream. Pupils collect water above and below the course and analyze the...
Rochester Institute of Technology
Skateboard Performance Testing
Perform an activity on performance testing with a lesson focused on the purpose of wheel bearings on skateboards. Learners conduct performance testing on a skateboard to collect and interpret data.
DiscoverE
Dance Pad Mania
You'll dance for joy at finding a helpful resource. Learners use their knowledge of electric circuits and currents to create a dance pad. Buzzes or flashes should occur when dancers step on the dance pads—a sure sign they have all the...
DiscoverE
Kicking Machine
Don't kick the resource to the curb; you'll definitely regret it. Future engineers devise a kicking machine that launches a ping-pong ball toward a target. They can use a pendulum, a rubber band, or both, depending on whether they want...
DiscoverE
DiscoverE Challenge: Pen Factory
Manufacture a great lesson on industrial manufacturing. A fun resource has learners use the production of pens to consider how assembly lines work. They write out a set of instructions for assembling a pen, test it out, then determine if...
NASA
3...2...1...Puff!
Which will make it fly better? Individuals build paper rockets with fins that are launched using straws. After determining an average flight distance, they make adjustments, such as size and location of fins, and try again. A second...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Radio Reception and Transmission
After reading about radio transmission, application, and the difference between AM and FM, small teams of engineers use a kit to construct an FM radio and then send and receive broadcasts. This is an ideal activity for middle school STEM...
Code.org
The Need for Algorithms
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...
Beauty and Joy of Computing
Building Your Own Blocks
Isn't building with blocks an activity for toddlers? The third lab of a five-part unit teaches young computer scientists how to create their own block instructions for programming. They use these blocks to create geometric figures, spell...
DiscoverE
Design a Folding Solar Panel
Solar energy is an amazing alternative ... but, not always particularly portable! Challenge young scientists to a folding solar panel build-off with an easy-to-execute activity. Scholars brainstorm around specific design needs, construct...