Lesson Plan
TryEngineering

Program Your Own Game

For Students 6th - 12th
Young computer scientists get to see what it's like to be a software engineer as they use free online software to design a computer game. They play and evaluate games groups created to round out the activity.
Activity
Beauty and Joy of Computing

Building Your Own Blocks

For Teachers 8th - 12th
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...
Worksheet
Davis School District

Computer Parts

For Teachers 6th - 12th
What is inside a computer? Give your budding computer scientists a worksheet that has them label parts of a computer. They use a link included on the sheet to label basic input/output systems, video cards, drives, case fan, and more....
Worksheet
K5 Learning

Space Based Astronomy

For Students 5th Standards
How much astronomy can you study with the naked eye? Learn more about the ways scientists explore the galaxy with a short reading passage and set of short-answer questions.
Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Space Travel Guide

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Neptune takes 164.8 Earth years to travel around the sun. In the fifth of 22 lessons, young scientists create a travel guide to a planet in our solar system. They provide tips for others on what to bring, what they see, and their...
Activity
New South Wales Department of Education

Plant Features

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Pine needles are actually modified leaves. In the 16th installment of 20, young scientists explore plants. Through an analysis of leaves — shape, veins, and edges — pupils see how to classify plants based on structural features.
Interactive
Code.org

Minecraft Hour of Code

For Teachers 2nd - 12th
Devote an hour to computer coding ... it's time well spent! The activity has young computer scientists write code to solve puzzles in the Minecraft game. They learn how to apply block codes and repeat loops.
Lesson Plan
Messenger Education

Can You Hear Me Now?—Communicating with Spacecraft

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
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....
Lesson Plan
Messenger Education

My Angle on Cooling—Effect of Distance and Inclination

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
When exploring Mars, spacecrafts are exposed to 5-11 times more sunlight than when near Earth. Groups of pupils complete a hands-on activity to explore how distance and angle of the sun affect temperature. Through discussions, they then...
Lesson Plan
Messenger Education

Design Challenge: How to Keep Gelatin from Melting

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
The inside of the spacecraft Messenger, which explores Mercury, will experience temperatures from 32 to 91 degrees Fahrenheit. In the final installment of a series of four space-related activities, groups spend time discussing and...
Lesson Plan
Code.org

Introducing Design Mode

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Move beyond buttons when designing user interfaces. In the fourth installment of a 21-part unit, young computer scientists learn to apply design mode, which gives users options for colors, fonts, etc. They learn to incorporate these...
Lesson Plan
Code.org

Using Variables in Apps

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Investigate the benefits of using global variables. The seventh installment of a 21-part unit continues the study of variables from the previous lesson. Young computer scientists modify two existing apps by adding variables and learn how...
Lesson Plan
Code.org

Functions with Return Values

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young computer scientists explore how to use the return command in computer programing by playing Go Fish. They learn about functions that return values and then write a turtle driver app using the return function. 
Lesson Plan
Messenger Education

Dangers of Radiation Exposure

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Gamma radiation, which is harmful, is useful in treating cancers. In the second lesson in a series of four, young scientists take surveys and calculate their yearly exposure to ionizing radiation. Then they read about how harmful their...
Lesson Plan
Code.org

Events Unplugged

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Introduce event-driven programming. Young computer scientists learn the meaning of event-driven programming and how it is different from previous styles of programming. They play a card game to simulate the challenges that occur in this...
Lesson Plan
BBC

Royal Patronage

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
The relationship between European royalty and the artists, scientists, and philosophers they support has been a building block in the artistic and technological progress throughout the world. Learn more about patronage throughout the...
Lesson Plan
Code.org

What is Big Data?

For Students 9th - 12th
Find out why Big Data is a big deal in the first installment of a 12-part unit that introduces young computer scientists to Big Data and demonstrates how it is useful. In pairs, class members research a big data tool to uncover...
Lesson Plan
Code.org

Hard Problems – Traveling Salesperson Problem

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Even computers find this to be a hard problem. In the eighth installment of a 12-part unit, young computer scientists learn about the traveling salesperson problem. They formulate algorithms to solve the problem and find out why it is...
Assessment
Code.org

Practice Performance Task - Security and Hacking in the Real World

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young computer scientists create a visual artifact that represents their research into a computing innovation in the world of cybersecurity. They then work individually to write an essay on the impact of technology on cybersecurity.
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Branching Out – Exploring Dendrochronology

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Tree rings from North America give a continuous history of El Nino intensity over the last 1,100 years. Scholars learn how scientists use tree rings to create timelines demonstrating variations in weather patterns. The cumulative...
Interactive
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Project WET Foundation

Soap and Water Science

For Students 3rd - 7th Standards
Learn about germs without getting sick! An interactive resource prompts learners to identify the dirtiest surfaces on a city street. Class members then participate in a demonstration about washing dirty hands and how using soap can...
Lesson Plan
Energy for Keeps

Going for a Spin: Making a Model Steam Turbine

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Discover the effectiveness of wind, water, and steam as energy sources. The hands-on activity has young scientists create a turbine from common materials. After constructing the turbines, they use wind, water, and steam to turn them and...
Handout
National Institute of Open Schooling

Occurrence and Extraction of Metals

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Steel is a man-made alloy or a mixture of metals. Lesson 18 in this series of 36 focuses on metals and their extraction from Earth. Individuals read about, discuss, and answer questions after learning how people find most metals, the...
Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Albedo, Reflectivity, and Absorption

For Teachers 5th - 6th
What is reflectivity, and what does it have to do with the Earth's climate? As reflectivity is measured by albedo, scientists can gather information on Earth's energy balances that relate to global warming or climate change. Budding...

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