Curated OER
Naturally Speaking
Students identify the Earth's natural resources and classify them as renewable or non-renewable. They simulate the distribution of resources and discuss the fairness and effectiveness of the distribution. They identify ways that they use...
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Seismology in the Classroom
Students work together to use a sample seismograph. They role play the position of an engineering firm that is to analyze the machine. They discover how engineers develop new machines to take measurements.
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Learn to Build a Rocket in 5 Days or Your Money Back
Students discover the entire process that goes into designing a rocket for any customer. They study important factors such as supplies, ethics, deadlines and budgets. Also, students explore about the Engineering process, and recognize...
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Groundwater Detectives
Students measure the pH of soil samples from a hypothetical site to locate a contaminant spill and will predict the direction of groundwater flow using mathematical modeling. They use the engineering design process to develop...
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Turbojet Thrust
Learners, after reading the Web page Turbojet Thrust and completing the activity, explain how jet engines use air to produce thrust. The educational software ""FoilSim" is used in this activity to help students calculate thrust.
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Nerve Racking
Fifth graders study the components and function of the nervous system. They investigate how engineers design biomedical equipment to assist the nervous system and explain how the five senses are affected during spaceflight.
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GPS Scavenger Hunt
Students go on a GPS scavenger hunt. They use GPS receivers to find designated waypoints and report back on what they found. They compute distances between waypoints based on the latitude and longitude, and compare with the distance the...
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Cruising the Internet
Students identify the parts of an engine using a graph. In this statistics lesson, students make a graph from their collected data. They calculate the volume of a cylinder using a line of regression and a scatter plot.
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TE Activity: Stream Consciousness
Fourth graders study how environmental engineers monitor water quality. They use environmental indicators to determine the quality of stream water in their area. They count the number of macroinverabrates and use the information they...
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Tenochtitlan Needs a Drink
Learners engineer a way to provide drinking water using Aztec technology. For this engineering a way to provide drinking water using Aztec technology lesson, students find a way to deliver fresh water to a city surrounded by salt...
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Building Straw Towers
Students apply their knowledge of technology to help them build. In this science and technology lesson, students build straw towers and investigate the strength and form of the structure. They analyze the best design the make the...
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Unlocking the Endocrine System
Fifth graders use an analogy to the mail delivery system to study the workings of the human endocrine system. They discover the interrelationships between the human body systems while comparing them to engineering communicating with...
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What is Energy?
Young scholars define energy and identify the different types that exist. They identify places they see, hear or feel energy. They understand the role of engineering in finding and testing sources of energy for the production of...
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Acid Attack
Students explore the effect of chemical erosion on statues and monuments. They use chalk to see what happens when limestone is placed in liquids with different pH values. They also discover several things that engineers are doing to...
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TE Activity: Choosing a Pyramid Site
Students determine how engineers decide on choices for final designs and sites for construction. They look at a surveyor's report while they evaluate sites where a pyramid could be build. They consider the distance the pyramid would be...
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TE Activity: Pitch and Frequency
Students experiment with a vibrating ruler and a kazoo to study the different pitches and frequencies they produce. They create both high and low pitch sound waves. They examine how engineers use sound energy when designing electronic...
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Landfills: Building Them Better
Pupils investigate the three methods of waste disposal. They listen to a teacher-led lecture, answer discussion questions, and write a letter to the E.P.A. from the viewpoint of an environmental engineer.
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Catapults!
Students work together to discover the relationship between the angle of catapults and the flight of different objects. They discover the heavier the object the more force is needed. They examine how engineers use this information to...
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Computer Accuracy
Students work together on computers to practice measuring for navigation. They discover that errors in their calculations can lead them in the wrong direction. They examine the need of computers by engineers.
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Magnitude of the Richter Scale
Students examine how a Richter scale operates. They create a booklet illustrating each rating on the scale. They discover how engineers use different measurement tools.
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Solar Power
Students discover how engineers use solar energy to heat buildings. They investigate the thermal properties of different materials. They evaluate the usefulness of each material.
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Eek, It leaks!
Students construct model landfill liners out of two-inch strips of garbage bags within resource constraints. The challenge is to construct a bag that will hold one cup of water without leaking. This represents similar challenges that...
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The Search for Secret Agents
Students embark on a scavenger hunt around the school looking for indoor air pollution and mapping source locations. They predict and observe sources of indoor air pollution, understand and give examples of technologies we use related to...
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Air -- Is It Really There?
Students work together to perform simple experiments discovering the properties of air. They share their results with their classmates. They examine how engineers use the properties of air to clean the air of pollutants.