Teach Engineering
You've Got to See it to Believe It!
Youngsters develop an understanding of how smog is produced, and how exhaust from automobiles is one of the major sources of smog. They explore the roles that engineers play in developing technologies that reduce smog, then work in teams...
Teach Engineering
Solar Power
Elementary schoolers discover how engineers use solar energy to heat buildings. They take a close look at some of the materials used: sand, salt, water, and shredded paper and evaluate the efficiency of each material. An incredible...
Teach Engineering
Capturing the Sun's Warmth
Passive solar heating is a technology that's been in use for thousands of years. Here, elementary schoolers are exposed to this type of heating, the materials that are used in passive solar heating, and they study how engineers design...
Curated OER
Time for Design
Students are introduced to the design process used in engineering. They compare and contrast this process with the steps followed in the scientific method. Students then participate in a brainstorming session that asks them to design a...
Curated OER
A House is a House for Me
Students evaluate the impact climates have on the building of structures. They research the different types of materials used to build houses in various climates and build small models of houses which are tested against different climates.
Curated OER
Design a Bicycle Helmet
Students are introduced to the biomechanical characteristics of helmets. They incorporate these characteristics into designs for helmets for various applications. They understand that using a bicycle helmet helps to protect the brain and...
Curated OER
Cooking with the Sun
Learners explore using energy from the sun for heating and cooking as they build and compare the performance of four solar cooker designs. This excellent two-day lesson has groups of students build and test a variety of solar cookers....
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
Manufacturing Technologies: Making a Picture Frame
Learners use cereal boxes, paint, buttons and glue to design and make a frame for a photograph. They consider the different processes involved in making the frame and discuss how their observations apply to manufacturing systems that are...
Curated OER
Design Packing to Safely Mail Raw Spaghetti
Students investigate and determine a way to mail raw spaghetti. In small groups, they package their raw spaghetti using various packing materials, mail the package through the postal system, and evaluate their packing design after...
Curated OER
Trig River
Students calcute distances using trigonometry and angle measurements. They estimate the width of the Trig River, measure it and compare their results with their classmates. They collaborate with a group to research and find the results.
Curated OER
Saving Sponge Bob Square Pants
Students apply the use of technology to real life scenarios. In this technology lesson, students discuss and identify a method to move sponge bob from one location to the next, without touching the floor. They share the same landmark and...
Curated OER
What a Drag
Students learn examples of friction and drag, and suggest ways to reduce the impact of these forces. The equation that governs common frictional forces is introduced, and during a hands-on activity, students experimentally measure a...
Curated OER
All About Computers
Students discover facts about computers. In this technology lesson, students find out how to locate information on the Internet. Students choose a topic to research and search several sites for information.
Curated OER
Wright Again: 100 Years of Flight
Aspiring aeronautical engineers demonstrate different forces as they construct and test paper airplanes. This lesson plan links you to a website that models the most effective paper airplane design, an animation describing the forces...
Curated OER
Mapping the Brain
A virtual 3-D tour leads high schoolers to developing icons representing the function of various parts of the brain. These icons are then used to label hand-drawn maps of the brain. A worksheet, assessment, and detailed procedures are...
Curated OER
It Takes Two To Tangle
Students utilize strategies to comprehend literature. They write stories with diverse vocablulary that incorporate the difference between internal and external conflict. They make sure that the stories use methods of managing and...
Curated OER
Snail Car
Young scholars design and create robotic cars using Legos and the Robolab program. They hold a "snail race" where the slowest car that can be determined to be actually moving is the winner.
Curated OER
Career & Technology Education Introduction to Farming: Seeds of Successful Marketing
Learners play an agronomy game. In this agriculture lesson plan, students explore modern farming practices pertaining to the cultivation of grains as they play a game that requires them to act as agronomy specialist as they...
Curated OER
Cell Wall Recipe: A Lesson on Biofuels
Biotech engineers discover that changes in the DNA code for cell wall formation can help create crops better suited for biofuel production. They extract DNA from wheat germ. They decode paper strips with codes and relate the activity to...
Curated OER
Basic GPS
Students discuss benefits of global positioning systems (GPS) and practice using them on the school grounds. A personal navigator, such as, the Garmin eTrex is necessary for this lesson.
Curated OER
Boolean Search Techniques
Learners search using the Boolean search model. In this navigating the Internet lesson, students narrow their searches using and, or ,not and parentheses. Learners recognize the differences in a one word search and one of...
Curated OER
Go with the Flow
Students demonstrate a sequence of events through the creation of an animated flowchart. Students research the internet and select parts involved in assembling a car. They animate the model and the parts. Students create a flow chart...
NASA
The X-1 Paper Glider Kit
After reading an interesting account of how the X-1 aircraft was designed, built, and utilized, young engineers try their hand at constructing a paper glider version of the airplane. They cut out the plane out of a nicely designed...