This open-ended boat building exercise is meant to be part of a three-lesson series on ships. Links to the other two lessons are included. This particular part is mostly a group lab activity in which they build a boat, find its load line...

What did the sea say to the boat? Nothing, it just waved. An inquiry-based lesson starts with a simple concept on the Archimedes Principle and challenges pupils to make something out of clay that floats. Then, they design...

What are the basic first aid supplies that should be on a boat? What should be done when someone stops breathing and/or their heart stops beating? Lesson three is only one of twenty-two lessons on boat safety. This lesson is about first...

Learners design, build, and test the specifications (water displacement and load line) for a model boat. The lesson focuses especially on integrating design principles with inquiry-based experimental skills.

Bridge the gaps in your knowledge of bridges. Individuals learn about bridge types by building models. The activity introduces beam bridges, arch bridges, truss bridges, and suspension bridges.

Students investigate the trip Christopher Columbus took to the new world.  In this U.S. History lesson, students create a fictional ship from cardboard and construction paper simulating the ship Columbus used to get to the New...

Young scholars define the purpose of several different types of boats. They develop a list of materials one would ideally use in the construction of a particular type of boat. Students work cooperatively in a group to decide what type of...

Don't let the resource blow you away. Scholars build airboats from basic materials and collect data on how far the boats move. They refine their designs taking Newton's laws into consideration.

Fourth graders, in groups, experiment with density and the displacement of water by creating and designing their own boats and seeing which boat holds the most centimeter cubes without sinking..

Sailboat design requires more than a half-circle and triangle sketch. After viewing a slideshow presentation that outlines the requirements for sailboat design, learners draw a design, perform the needed...

Students research examples of different types of sailing ships, investigating the vessels as well as the politics, economy, and people at the historical time and place the boat was launched. They create displays for a museum exhibit...

Who said teaching a STEM lesson had to be challenging? Incorporate a career and technology-centered car build into your upcoming force lesson plan, and your class will be moving down the road in no time! Pupils practice...

Here are a variety of lessons geared for young children with Autism. There are 12 short activities intended to build attention, imitation, communication, independent living, social, motor, and literacy skills. Each skill is geared toward...

Building on young mathematicians' prior knowledge of three-sided shapes, this lesson series explores the defining characteristics of different types of triangles. Starting with a shared reading of the children's book The Greedy...

Children explore what life might be like for refugees and people migrating to a different country. Each student lists the five most precious items he/she owns and is then given an extreme scenario to consider. By the end of the exercise,...

Seventh graders are given the opportunity to use model-building as a way to help comprehend the forces and phenomena at work in the world around them. They use both successful and unsuccessful models to make inferences, refine...

Students use arm muscle strength to perform a partner activity. In this strength building activity, students work with a partner to create a "boat" with mats and a scooter. Partners take turns being pulled or pulling the scooter boat.

Students build a miniature replica of the Mayflower. They make the boat float in a cup of water while studying the concept of gift giving on Feast Day.

Students experiment with buoyancy as a force. In this buoyancy lesson, students access an assigned website to examine the sailing vessels that came to the New World. They work as teams to build boats out of aluminum foil to see which...

High schoolers use paper plates and detailed directions to build a model of the Michigan Avenue Bridge's gear system. By carefully measuring and cutting "teeth" for the gears of the "Gear Train," they create small gear that will...

Students explore how various ramps affect the rate of speed of a rolling object. In this physics lesson, students work in groups to build a ramp out of various materials. Students test and record the rate of speed of a rolling object by...

Learners discover the Archimedes principle through a buoyancy experiment. They measure the water displacement of a lump a clay which is denser than water then reshape the clay into a bowl which floats but displaces more water.

Learners explore and explain their connection to rivers through watersheds. They break into three groups. Each group needs: Blue enamel paint, Miniature objects to simulate a model river system, modeling clay, Tempera paint, Toothpicks...

Students experiment with the concepts of surface tension. They participate in a number of different experiments that introduce them to surface tension. They work in a small group in order to conduct these experiments.