Lesson Plan
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Coast-to-Coast Book Design-Part 4: Let's Create the Pages!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students work in groups to share their lists of A-B-C ideas they came up with from the previous activity. They review page layouts taught during lesson two. Students complete a rough draft of their page. They create a colored...
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Changing the World: Social Entrepreneurs Part Two

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the work of social entrepreneurs. In this entrepreneurship activity, students research a specific entrepreneur and create a presentation introducing him or her to the class. Students design a seminar on social...
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When Getting There is More Than Half the Battle

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners investigate the 'Design for the Other 90%' exhibition about low-cost solutions to give the "other 90% of the world's population" access to services and amenities many of us take for granted. In this technology design...
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Design a Latin American Restaurant

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students investigate the culture of a Latin American country to design a new restaurant. In this Latin American lesson plan, students identify social classes, geographical locations, cultural practices, and monetary systems of a Latin...
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Seating Device Design

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research and analyze different seating devices. Once research is completed, information is compiled into a research paper including examples, images, and descriptions of seating devices. Students use research to sketch and...
Lesson Plan
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Roll It! Creating an Entrance Ramp

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the concept of triangles.  In this triangles activity, students are to propose a plan for a ramp at their school.  Students use the Pythagorean Theorem and trigonometry to determine the length, height, and...
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Emergency Shelter Project: Empathy Unit

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers design emergency shelters.  In this designing emergency shelters lesson, students discuss living conditions of people after a natural disaster.  High schoolers discuss the tsunami that struck East Asia. ...
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Time Management

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students are taken through the design process to develop a system of time management for themselves and others. They practice participating in a critique of other students' time schedules and modify and improve their initial time...
Lesson Plan
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Innovations That Stand the Test of Time

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students create a class presentation that explains the value of an innovation to society. In this design innovation lesson, students discuss relationships among math, science, technology, and engineering, read a story about design...
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Neighborhood Rubrics

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use a rubric to analyze their neighborhood and write a persuasive essay about changes that should be made. In this writing lesson plan, students use a rubric to grade their neighborhood and brainstorm improvements. Students...
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Then, Now, and Tomorrow

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students will use this unit to investigate the past, present, and future of the architecture and plan of New York's Lower East Side. Students will research the history of the Lower East Side neighborhood in photographs used from the...
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A Tall Ship and a Star to Steer Her By

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students create a water transportation device powered by wind. In this wind power lesson, students research transportation concepts after reading the poem "Sea Fever" by John Masefield. Students design the fastest sailboat they can...
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Every Object Tells a Story

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers read the story behind objects in the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and create a story about an object in the exhibit. In this design lesson, students explore the "Design for the Other 90%" exhibition and create a...
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Science TV: Making it Real

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explore the ways science is presented in a children's television show. Students conduct internet research, and then create and design a skit that highlights the problem-solving process.
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Microbiology Design Challenge

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students discover dangers to human health by researching what's in our drinking water.  In this water purification lesson, students discuss the conditions of water in undeveloped countries and why it is unsafe to drink....
Lesson Plan
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Changing the World: Social Entrepreneurs Part One

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students analyze the purpose of a social entrepreneur. In this entrepreneurship activity, students create a "help wanted" advertisement and graphic organizer to provide information on how a social entrepreneur seeks long-term change by...
Lesson Plan
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Murals in my Neighborhood

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use rubrics to grade murals in their city. In this mural design lesson plan, students learn about the design of murals and explore their city to find murals. Students grade the murals based on design and representation of the...
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Tour + Workshop = DESIGN: Form Follows Function

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars design a chair with function in mind. In this design lesson, students design a chair out of newspaper that is strong enough to hold a "peanut ball". Young scholars discuss how the form follows the function. This lesson...
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Redesigning the Classroom

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students redesign the classroom space. In this geometry instructional activity, students part take in making classroom rules and assigning value to the space in the classroom. They investigate measuring and problem solving in this...
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Designing A Mythical Creature

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Pupils study mythology and why human cultures require them.  In this investigating myths lesson students design a creature that fits an explanation of a natural phenomena then demonstrate the concept of "myth" and "legend".
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Fastest Way to a Full Belly

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students create a scale model of a cafeteria. In this scale lesson, groups improve their actual school cafeteria layout by taking measurements of the structure and redesigning furniture and food serving lines. They create a scale drawing...
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BIOMIMICRY, Housing Naturally: Habitat as Model

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students explore natural animal habitats. In this lesson on biomimicry and habitation design, students will use classroom and field examples to examine animal habitats. Students will construct a model of a natural animal habitat. This...
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Exploring the West Using Fiction

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students explore post Civil War development of the American West. They investigate the conflict among various groups involved in the settlement of the West and select a novel by a western writer and complete questions from the Exploring...
Lesson Plan
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Let's Learn About Numbers

For Teachers 1st
First graders participate in a variety of drill and practice activities as they study numbers. They play with numbers, write about numbers and have opportunities to manipulate and match up numerals, number words, and sets of objects.