TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Estimating Buoyancy
Students learn that buoyancy is responsible for making boats, hot air balloons and weather balloons float. They calculate whether or not a boat or balloon will float, and calculate the volume needed to make a balloon or boat of a certain...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Bernoulli's Principle
Bernoulli's principle relates the pressure of a fluid to its elevation and its speed. Bernoulli's equation can be used to approximate these parameters in water, air or any fluid that has very low viscosity. Young scholars learn about the...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Engineering Bones
Middle schoolers extend their knowledge of the skeletal system to biomedical engineering design, specifically the concept of artificial limbs. Students relate the skeleton as a structural system, focusing on the leg as structural...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Muscles, Oh My!
Students are introduced to how engineering closely relates to the field of biomechanics and how the muscular system produces human movement. They learn the importance of the muscular system in our daily lives, why it is important to be...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Body Circulation
Learners are introduced to the circulatory system, the heart, and blood flow in the human body. Through guided pre-reading, during-reading and post-reading activities, students learn about the circulatory system's parts, functions and...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Breathe In, Breathe Out
Learners are introduced to the respiratory system, the lungs and air. They learn about how the lungs and diaphragm work, how air pollution affects lungs and respiratory functions, some widespread respiratory problems, and how engineers...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Digestion Simulation
To reinforce middle schoolers' understanding of the human digestion process, the functions of several stomach and small intestine fluids are analyzed, and the concept of simulation is introduced through a short, introductory...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: My Mechanical Ear Can Hear!
Students are introduced to various types of hearing impairments and the types of biomedical devices that engineers have designed to aid people with this physical disability.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Biomedical Devices for the Eyes
Middle schoolers examine the structure and function of the human eye, learning some amazing features about our eyes, which provide us with sight and an understanding of our surroundings. Students also learn about some common eye problems...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: We've Come a Long Way, Baby!
Students discuss several human reproductive technologies available today--pregnancy ultrasound, amniocentesis, in-vitro fertilization and labor anesthetics. They learn how each technology works, and that these are ways engineers have...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Dna: The Human Body Recipe
As a class, students work through an example showing how DNA provides the "recipe" for making our body proteins. They see how the pattern of nucleotide bases (adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine) forms the double helix ladder shape of...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Bone Fractures and Engineering
Students learn about the role engineers and engineering play in repairing severe bone fractures. They acquire knowledge about the design and development of implant rods, pins, plates, screws and bone grafts. They learn about materials...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Launch Into Learning: Catapults!
Learners learn about catapults, including the science and math concepts behind them, as they prepare for the associated activity in which they design, build and test their own catapults. They learn about force, accuracy, precision and...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Cell Celebration!
Students look at the components of cells and their functions. The lesson focuses on the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Each part of the cell performs a specific function that is vital for the cell's survival....
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Cellular Respiration and Bioremediation
Students learn about the basics of cellular respiration. They also learn about the application of cellular respiration to engineering and bioremediation. And, they are introduced to the process of bioremediation and examples of how...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Cloning of Cells
Middle schoolers continue their education on cells in the human body. They discuss stem cells and how engineers are involved in the research of stem cell behavior. They learn about possible applications of stem cell research and...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Introduction to Environmental Challenges in China
Through an overview of some of the environmental challenges facing the growing and evolving country of China today, students learn about the effects of indoor and outdoor air pollution that China is struggling to curb with the help of...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Homes for Different Climates
Students learn about some of the different climate zones in China and consider what would be appropriate design, construction and materials for houses in those areas. This prepares them to conduct the associated activity(ies) in which...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Rural Energy in China: How Can Engineers Make a Difference?
Young scholars learn about five types of renewable energy that are part of engineering solutions to help people in rural communities use less and cleaner energy for cooking and heating. Specifically, students learn about the pollution...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Shoes Under Pressure
Students explore the basic physics behind walking, and the design and engineering of shoes to accommodate different gaits. They are introduced to pressure, force and impulse as they relate to shoes, walking and running. Students learn...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Why Do We Build Dams?
Students are introduced to the concept of a dam and its potential benefits, which include water supply, electricity generation, flood control, recreation and irrigation. This lesson plan begins an ongoing classroom scenario in which...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Water and Dams in Today's World
Students learn about the importance of dams by watching a video that presents historical and current information on dams, as well as descriptions of global water resources and the hydrologic cycle. Students also learn about different...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Locks and Dams
Students are introduced to the structure, function and purpose of locks and dams, which involves an introduction to Pascal's law, water pressure and gravity.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Clean Energy: Hydropower
Hydropower generation is introduced to students as a common purpose and benefit of constructing dams. Through an introduction to kinetic and potential energy, students come to understand how a dam creates electricity. They also learn the...