Teach Engineering
Design Step 2: Research the Problem
How do you get started designing a product to meet your engineering design goals? Here, learners gain understanding of an important aspect of the engineering design process: background research. Through brainstorming and worksheets,...
Lincoln Public Schools
Cereal Box Project
Challenge your class with this fun and engaging engineering design project. The goal, to create a brand new cereal complete with a list of ingredients, a name and logo, and a box to hold it in. Starting with a survey to determine the...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Tennis Anyone?
After reading up on the history of sports racquets, engineering teams design and construct a racquet for batting a Velcro-striped ball at a target. Teams evaluate their design by aiming for the target three times each and answering...
Curated OER
Cell Game
Make a prototype of a game based on cell biology. Researching game design and working in groups to create a game will activate knowledge of cell biology. The review task will help students learning as they test out the games and their...
Curated OER
Design in Production
Students are introduced to product design. In this social studies and technology lesson plan, students examine the historical role of mass production in the development of American business and industry and then apply their knowledge in...
Curated OER
A Never-Before-Seen Creature
Students construct a never-before-seen creature in part of an analysis of societal injustices and discrimination. In this societal issues lesson, students create a creature called a Man-Droid as a study about the differences among...
Curated OER
Archaeological Study
Students analyze the difference between archaeology and anthropology while studying the evolution of different products. In this archaeology and anthropology lesson, students trace the progression of a certain tool or product and come up...
Curated OER
Symbolism in China's Material Goods
Students make a generalization about the process of 'looking' and 'grouping', hoping to show that we, as Americans, show preferences and shared choices. They study examples of American art through time and create a class chart...
Education World
Monster Mash
Students brainstorm ideas for an original product with the same name, "Monster Mash" and find a unique way to market their invention. They create a prototype of the package in which their product could be sold and focus on marketing...
Curated OER
Product of the Future Activity
Students predict what computers, games, or products be like in 2030. They think about and design futuristic products.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Simple Solutions
Amy Smith is an engineer who designs simple and inexpensive solutions to real-world problems. This video produced for Teachers' Domain features her innovative design for testing the safety of drinking water in the developing world.
Technology Student
Technology Student: Product Design
This site describes the process of taking a product idea from design to production.
Buck Institute
Pbl Works: Creativity & Innovation Rubric (Ccss Aligned)
[Free Registration/Login Required] The first part of this rubric helps teachers guide students in grades 3-5 in using an effective process for innovation in various phases of a project, and it can be used to assess their performance....
Other
Fantasy Design
Fantasy Design is a European school project that introduces the concept of product design to participating schools. You can learn about the program, see the resulting student product ideas, and get useful teaching resources to try...
PBS
Pbs Online News Hour: The Stuff of Life: u.s. Design 1975 2000
PBS profiles the exhibit at the Denver Art Museum about how design is relevant in our society. There are interviews, images, and video--enough for developing your own lesson plan.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Engineer a Coin Sorter
Students learn about the engineering design process and how it is used to engineer products for everyday use. Students individually brainstorm solutions for sorting coins and draw at least two design ideas. They work in small groups to...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Design Step 1: Identify the Need
Students practice the initial steps involved in an engineering design challenge. They begin by reviewing the steps of the engineering design loop and discussing the client need for the project. Next, they identify a relevant context,...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Design Step 3: Brainstorm Possible Solutions
Brainstorming is a team creativity activity that helps generate a large number of potential solutions to a problem. In this activity, students participate in a group brainstorming activity to generate possible solutions to their...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Design Steps 5 and 6: Create and Test a Prototype
Students learn about the importance of creating and testing prototypes during the engineering design process. They start by building prototypes, which is a special type of model used to test new design ideas. Students gain experience...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Design Step 7: Improve and Redesign/manufacture a Product
As young scholars learn more about the manufacturing process, they use what they learned from testing their designs in the previous activity to continue to improve and redesign. Students also have the opportunity to manufacture their...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Design Inspired by Nature
Students discover how engineers can use biomimicry to enhance their designs. They learn how careful observation of nature can lead to new innovations and products. In this activity, students reverse engineer a flower to glean design...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Wristwatch Design for the Visually Impaired
Students are given a fictional client statement and required to follow the steps of the engineering design process to design a new wristwatch face for a visually impaired student at their school.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Creative Engineering Design
Students are introduced to the world of creative engineering product design. Through six activities, teams work through the steps of the engineering design process (or loop) by completing an actual design challenge presented in six...
Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences
Powerhouse Museum: Australian Product (Industrial) Designer at Work
From the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia, this is "Australian Product Designer at Work" from the exhibit "Australian Designers at Work". Product design or Industrial design is presented with an exploration of the career of...