Curated OER
Steam Engines
Students investigate the invention of the steam engine. In this technology instructional activity, students investigate the advancement of technology over time. They relate science and technology together.
Curated OER
Where's the Energy
Students research energy conversions. In this energy lesson plan, students describe the basic operation of a steam engine. They explain the energy conversions in the steam engine's operation.
Curated OER
All Steamed Up
Students examine the energy conversions and simple machines are involved in the operation of a steam engine. They make a replica of a small steam engine.
Curated OER
How Do Car Engines Work?
Students perform an experiment which simulates what happens inside an internal combustion engine. They explain how the chemical reaction they witnessed is similar to what happens inside the car engine.
Curated OER
Machines: Designing Form and Function
Students design a boat model with simplified steam engine. In this ecology lesson, students compare renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. They determine the efficiency of their boat model.
Curated OER
Hybrid Vehicles: Cut Pollution and Save Money
Math and science meet in this lesson on hybrid electric automobiles. This 24-page resource provides everything you need for teaching a lesson that compares the use of internal combustion engines to hybrid electric engines. Participants...
Curated OER
Poetry Through Digital Storytelling
Bring digital storytelling to your language arts class! To begin, learners select their own topic, such as a poem that reflects a life experience they had or a historical figure who interests them. Then they work to create a storyboard...
Curated OER
Car Engines
Students create piston systems and explore the conversion of linear to rotary motion that propels a car. In this motion lesson, students build and test a model piston/crankshift system and discover why there is a maximum limit to how...
Carnegie Mellon University
How Power Plants Work 2
In this second of three lessons on power plants, future engineers find out how we generate electricity and how coal-powered plants operate. They work in small groups to make electromagnet generators to light LED bulbs. A set of...
Curated OER
"Finding" Horsepower
Students investigate horsepower as a unit of power. They examine history and discover that scientists and engineers of high achievement are considered to be among the most valued contributors to their culture.
Curated OER
Applied Science- Built environment Lab (Trains)
Students examine transportation. In this train design lesson, students study how trains work and how to efficiently design a track by working with an electric train set. As a class they compare various types of trains and work...
California Department of Education
Possible Careers
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...
Curated OER
Types of Trains
Third graders explore different types of trains. In this science lesson, 3rd graders study the "Orphan Train" and write a paragraph about what it would feel like to be riding a train during this time period.
Curated OER
Energy Conversion
Sixth graders study energy conversions. They watch a demonstration of a working engine and make a chart explaining the energy conversions taking place. They build a simple electric motor and research other types of electric generators.
Curated OER
Breathing Victory
Students know that participation in sports requires energy. They comprehend that we get energy form the foods that we eat and the air thta we breathe. Converting food and air into usable energy is defined as celluar respiration. Students...
Cornell University
Catapults
Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome.
Curated OER
Up in the Air
Students evaluate the impact of volcanic ash on the surroundin environment. Through discussion, videos and activities, they identify the various ways in which volcanic ash can be more detrimental than volcanic magma and lava.
Curated OER
Steamship Portland: Where's the Energy?
Students examine how steamships operate. They describe the necessary energy conversions. They construct a model paddlewheel ship. They use rubber bands as examples of potential and kinetic energy as they unwind and set the models in motion.
Curated OER
Simple Thermodynamics of Transportation
Young scholars watch videos about various modes of transportation, they examine the energy transformations that occur in each, and they be introduced to the laws of thermodynamics.
Curated OER
Electrical Generators
Learners study what an electric generator does and its history. In this energy lesson students complete several experiments including building their own electric generator.
Curated OER
Bread in a Bag
Students explore wheat. In this bread making instructional activity, students make their own loaf of bread and discover the history behind wheat. They work in pairs to follow step-by-step instructions for making the bread. This...
Teach Engineering
Energy Efficiency
Using the resource is probably the most efficient way to learn about efficiency. The 18th installment of a 25-part Energy Systems and Solutions unit has pupils investigate energy efficiency through discussions and associated activities....
Curated OER
Inventors and Scientists
Students research a scientific breakthrough. In this science activity, students write an essay on a technology that has changed the world.
Curated OER
Rollin' on The River - the Hudson River!
Students examine how the Hudson River was important to the development of the United States. They examine the role of steamboats played in the development of the Hudson River Valley.