+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forces and Balloons

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate the forces of compression, tension and torque on common birthday balloons.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Strong as the Weakest Link

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students apply knowledge of stresses and forces by building model structures. In this force lesson, students consider skyscrapers and bridges in the world around them and the stresses that these structures endure. They use their...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Build and Test a Paper Bridge

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners investigate making strong structures from paper. In this paper bridge lesson, students experiment making bridges out of paper. Learners fold paper many different ways to test its strength. Students discuss what they tried and...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stable and Unstable Structures

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research three major bridge collapses. In this Physical Science lesson plan, students will sketch a bridge design for their area after their research. All bridge designs will be presented to the class to discuss strengths and...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

TE Activity: Testing Fundamental Loads

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students experiment with the five fundamental load types that can act on structures. They use foam insulation blocks to which they apply the forces and draw the fracture patterns. They determine the telltale marks of failure that is...
+
Activity
1
1
Teach Engineering

Stop the Stretching

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Stretch your teaching repertoire with an experiment on the elongation (stretching) and failure (break) of several materials. The point of the experiment is to design a composite material for chair webbing.
+
Worksheet
Curated OER

Forces Inside the Earth

For Students 7th - 12th
In this faults activity, students identify the three types of faults and the characteristics that define a normal fault, reverse fault, and a strike-slip fault. This activity has 3 fill in the blank and 3 short answer questions.
+
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Bridge Building

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
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.
+
Activity
DiscoverE

Build a Straw Bridge

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Build teamwork skills while building a bridge. Scholars work together in groups to create a bridge out of 20 straws and tape. There is a minimum span length of 25 centimeters, but otherwise, let creativity run wild.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stressed and Strained

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Young scholars explore stress and strength in engineering design. In this engineering instructional activity, students become familiar with terminology associated with stress and strain on building material. They will have a class...
+
Activity
Teach Engineering

Trust in the Truss: Design a Wooden Bridge

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Obviously, a sturdy bridge is the desired outcome. Pupils select from one of four different types of truss bridges, then construct a model of the bridge from craft sticks and glue, making sure that it satisfies certain constraints. They...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stress and Strain

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students use working models to show the stress and strain in the movements in the earth's crust.  In this stress lesson students complete a lab in which they construct a model. 
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shapes that Make Structures Strong

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students construct a variety of forms, test their strength, and discuss how tension and compression are distributed by triangles, arches, and domes.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Strong as the Weakest Link

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Young scholars discover the types of stress that materials undergo. They examine how bridges and skyscrapers are built to withhold the tension. They create their own structure out of marshmallows and spaghetti.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Structural Geology Laboratory

For Teachers K - 12th
Students explore modeling of geologic structures in experiments. They study how compressive and tensile forces produce these structures. The compression makes the flatlying strata shorter and tension make the strata longer.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forces, Loads, Materials, Shapes

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students investigate forces, loads, materials and shapes as they relate to science. In this science lesson, students differentiate between the basic definitions required to perform a scientific experiment. They answer questions dealing...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wind Effects on Model Building: Building Project Overview

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students design their own building according to certain criteria. In this semester long physics activity, students calculate forces, compression and tension. They present their finished model in class.
+
Lesson Plan
EduGAINs

Form and Function

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Will that structure survive the force? The differentiated activity allows pairs to choose the structure they would like to construct and the building materials they wish to use. Individuals record their findings in the observation chart...
+
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

A Model of Plate Faults

For Teachers 6th Standards
The San Andreas fault is one of the longest fault zones in the world. In a series of 20 lessons, the fourth lesson has pupils use a paper model to recreate various types of plate faults. Each is held in position then drawn into a science...
+
Assessment
Science Matters

Earthquakes and Volcanoes Post Assessment

For Students 6th Standards
The final lesson in the 20-part series is a post assessment covering earthquakes and volcanoes. Twenty-three questions incorporate each of the previous lessons through multiple choice, justified multiple choice, expanded multiple choice,...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
Teach Engineering

Investigating Torque

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Torque--a teachable moment? Here's a lesson plan on torque (or moment) and variables that include size, reinforcement, structural bracing, and material that affect torque.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Circle of Pong

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students, in groups, use given materials to devise a way to deposit a ping-pong ball into a paper cup that is located in the middle of a 6-foot diameter circle, while standing outside the circle.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Model of Three Faults - Part One

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Learners construct a fault model using the Fault Model Sheet imbedded in this plan. They create a 3 dimensional model of the Earth, and use dashed lines to illustrate where the fault lies. A discussion of faults follows the completion of...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Magnet Circus

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore the properties of magnets by designing a device that can move as far as possible using only magnets to move it, and design a machine that will stay in motion for the greatest period of time.

Other popular searches