After reading up on the history of sports racquets, engineering teams design and construct a racquet for batting a Velcro-striped ball at a target. Teams evaluate their design by aiming for the target three times each and answering...

Small groups work together to create a tower out of 15 pipe cleaners under a set of imposed limitations. First, restrict team members to use only one arm, and then remove the use of spoken language. There is also a time limit. The...

Is a STEM career the right choice for me? Lesson four in a six-part career and college readiness series introduces seventh graders to the world of STEM occupations. Individuals use their Holland code results to select, research, and...

Use food coloring in electrophoresis. The last segment in a four-part series mimics DNA fingerprinting by using chromatography. Teams conduct chromatography on food coloring to find colors that use similar pigmentation in their makeup.

Both GPS and GIS are now used regularly in agricultural careers. Explore the new technologies that require higher education for those interested in agri-science careers. Upper graders examine how agriculturalists use new technologies by...

A bite of bits. The first lesson plan in a unit of 15 introduces the class to the byte. Pupils learn about other standard units for measuring file sizes, develop an understanding of relative sizes and the kind of units used to...

Have your class draw the plans and design a structure. Learners discuss and investigate the variables in the stability of a 2D and 3D model. They also consider how to add a circuit to the design. Afterwards, they present their work.

Shake things up in your STEM or earth science classroom when you have small groups construct their own seismographs. A reading assignment on the history of seismographs, the Richter scale, and current technology sets the stage for the...

It's time to save endangered species through engineering. The third lesson plan in a nine-part Life Science unit has young environmentalists study species extinction. An engaging discussion leads to some ideas on how to use engineering...

Young scientists present their experimental designs from the previous experiment. The ninth lesson in the series outlines what learners should present, what class discussions should happen, and the solution NASA came up with for the same...

After reading about how engineering has made adaptive devices possible for people with disabilities, pupils work in groups to discuss different devices to determine whether or not they are adaptive. They also disassemble a pair of...

Get the class up and going with a instructional activity that discusses how airplane wings provide lift. Pupils use their knowledge of Bernoulli's Principle to develop an explanation of how it creates lift on airplane wings.

Under pressure! The second lesson of the series introduces the class to blood pressure and the impact of high blood pressure on the cardiovascular system. It helps learners make the connection between blood pressure and how the heart...

Make fast food restaurants even faster. Groups consider trade-offs when maximizing efficiency in fast food restaurants. Restructuring schedules and floor plans, as well reassigning job duties, all fall under this directive.  

Keep everything under control. The lesson, the 16th segment in a 22-part unit, provides a more detailed look at the parts of a plane, specifically the control surfaces. Pupils learn about the construction of the wings and the tails and...

Are your household devices eating up a lot of energy? Pupils investigate household energy efficiency through a set of activities. They find ways to improve energy efficiency and reduce consumption. This is the 21st installment of a...

Teach your class how to get out of a cell — or break in. The third installment in a seven-part series introduces the class to cell membranes and their functions. The lesson plan includes information to present to the class,...

Stick this resource in the "Use" column. In the second installment of a six-part series, learners use glue sticks to demonstrate forces. Using glue sticks, instructors can demonstrate tension, compression, and torsion.

Does a tennis ball have energy? What about a bowling ball? Demonstrate concepts of different forms of energy forms and states with a variety of objects. Using the equations for potential and kinetic energy,...

Stop and drop what is in your hand! Pupils investigate how form effects drag in the 12th part of a 22-part unit on aviation. Groups create equally weighted objects and determine which one falls the fastest by collecting data.

The plot thickens to get a functional understanding. After a short review of plotting points on the coordinate plane, class members learn the difference between functions and relations in the second lesson plan in a series of nine....

The potential of the energy in the class is moving. The third segment in a six-part unit on energy provides a deeper understanding of kinetic and potential energy. Learners understand the relationship between mass, speed, and energy and...

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!" Through this assignment, emerging engineers examine how failed experiments are simply part of the process of an outstanding design. They begin with some reading about the microwave oven,...

Moving along the line. Class members research how a conveyor belt works in order to gain background information. Groups then design a conveyor belt that will carry a piece of candy four feet and along a 90-degree turn. The groups...