Curated OER
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Compost
Students expand their understanding of solid waste management. They examine the effects of packaging decisions. They study engineering advancements in packaging materials and solid waste management.
Curated OER
TE Lesson: I've Got Issues!
Students study environmental issues from different perspectives. They look at the issues from the view of both preservationists and conservationists as they identify themselves with one group or the other. They determine how teamwork...
Curated OER
TE Lesson: Renewable Energy
Young scholars examine renewable energy sources such as solar, water, and wind. They experiment to determine how renewable energy is transformed into electricity. They investigate the role of engineers who work in the field of renewable...
Curated OER
Falling Water
Students drop water from different heights to demonstrate the conversion of water's potential energy to kinetic energy. They see how varying the height from which water is dropped affects the splash size. In seeing how falling water can...
Curated OER
This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land
Students review and evaluate the ways land is covered and used in their local community. They consider the environmental effects of the different types of land use. Students act as community planning engineers to determine where to place...
Curated OER
Splish, Splash, I was Takin' a Bath!
Students explore the causes of water pollution and its effects on the environment through the use of models and scientific investigation. In the accompanying activities, they investigate filtration and aeration processes as they are used...
Curated OER
In the Mix
Students construct a water filter. In this engineering lesson, students discover how to construct a water filtration system. Students work in groups to sort tools by their properties. Students analyze and construct a water filtration...
Curated OER
MAISA and the REMC Association of Michigan
Students complete online research to study geography's impact on weather. In this geography and weather lesson, students research weather in their city for ten days using an online website. Students bookmark the site, enter data into a...
American Institute of Architects
Architecture: It's Elementary!—Fifth Grade
Young citizens construct an understanding of urban planning in this cross-curricular unit. Covering every aspect of city development from the political, economic, and social influences to sustainable building practices, this 10-lesson...
Curated OER
An Exploration of Cradle-to-Cradle Design Thinking
Introduce cradle-to-cradle design thinking. Scholars first discuss the importance of natural laws and rights. They then use a variety of online and print resources to research eco-efficiency and cradle-to-cradle design.
DiscoverE
Harmless Holder
Here's a lesson that's not for the birds! Scholars design and build packaging for soda cans that is environmentally friendly. These packages must be durable, easy to carry, and have no environmental impact.
DiscoverE
A Clever Way to Water
Your plants will survive without you. Scholars create a device that can water plants using a coiled string. Along the way, they learn about adhesion and cohesion of water. The challenge is to keep the plants alive for at least a week.
Curated OER
Naturally Speaking
Learners identify the Earth's natural resources and classify them as renewable or non-renewable. They simulate the distribution of resources and discuss the fairness and effectiveness of the distribution. They identify ways that they use...
Curated OER
Groundwater Detectives
Students measure the pH of soil samples from a hypothetical site to locate a contaminant spill and will predict the direction of groundwater flow using mathematical modeling. They use the engineering design process to develop...
Curated OER
Acid Attack
Students explore the effect of chemical erosion on statues and monuments. They use chalk to see what happens when limestone is placed in liquids with different pH values. They also discover several things that engineers are doing to...
Curated OER
Landfills: Building Them Better
Middle schoolers investigate the three methods of waste disposal. They listen to a teacher-led lecture, answer discussion questions, and write a letter to the E.P.A. from the viewpoint of an environmental engineer.
Curated OER
Eek, It leaks!
Students construct model landfill liners out of two-inch strips of garbage bags within resource constraints. The challenge is to construct a bag that will hold one cup of water without leaking. This represents similar challenges that...
Curated OER
Got Dirty Air?
Young scholars study air pollution and its effect on air quality. For this environmental science and engineering lesson, students watch a demonstration of incomplete combustion as it contributes to air pollution, study the importance of...
Curated OER
Composting -- Nature's Disappearing Act
Studenst work together to discover the concept of biodegradability. They build a model of a landfill and how different items decompose. They examine how engineers use this information for better waste management.
Curated OER
Environment: Wild Wind Direction
Students examine the different types of wind patterns. Using common materials, they construct weather vanes to measure and record wind direction over a two-week period. After analyzing the data, they draw conclusions about the...
Curated OER
Farming: It's a Fact!
Students use worksheets, food items, and computer programs to learn about the path of food from the farm to their meals. For this agriculture lesson, students use a provided worksheet to learn facts about farming. They use a bag of...
Curated OER
Is That Legal? A Case of Acid Rain
Develop an environmental case study! Elementary learners discover how a case study is used as an analysis tool. The goal of this activity is to show pupils how techniques of persuasion (including background, supporting evidence,...
Curated OER
Transportation Fuels: What Car Will You Drive?
How many different types of biofuels are out there? Seventh graders watch a series of videos and participate in a series of activities in order to better understand all the transportation options available. They consider what type of car...
Texas Instruments
TI-Nspire™ CAS
When it comes to rating educational calculators, this calculator is always near the top of this list. Now it's available as an app. There is a lot of calculator power wrapped up in this app. Not only is this a fully functioning...