Curated OER
Wind Effects on Model Building: Building Project Overview
Students design their own building according to certain criteria. In this semester long physics lesson plan, students calculate forces, compression and tension. They present their finished model in class.
Curated OER
The Mighty Puff Mobile
Students create a puff mobile. In this design lesson, students use a variety of resources to design and create a puff mobile. They work in teams to write directions for how to build it and test their mobiles.
Curated OER
Draw a Picture to Help Save a Building
Students research building preservation. For this architecture lesson, students discuss how buildings are saved and sketch the special features of a specific building. Students are encouraged to use recycled paper.
Curated OER
Dream Houses
Students explore different types of homes and how the environment effects the types of houses people construct. In this houses lesson plan, students learn about environmental factors and cultural factors that play in to why people build...
Curated OER
Tracing Practice
In this geometry worksheet, students practice tracing the dots to complete each picture. Then they draw their own house and trace the shapes at the bottom of the sheet.
Curated OER
Designing And Costing Your Pool
Students engage in a lesson that uses applied mathematics to find the solution to the design of a pool for a home. They design the pool based upon scale measurements that include perimeter and area of the pool area, water volume, and...
Curated OER
Designing, BUilding & Planting Appropriate Style Plantings in a Planter Box
Pupils explore designing and building a plant box. Based upon desired parameters, students create a set of plant box blueprints. Next, they choose the material and build the box. Agricultural teams select the soil mixture, fertilizer and...
Curated OER
Playground Structure Model
Students, working in groups, design and create a model of a playground shelter, based on specific criteria. Student designs must include research and analysis into weather conditions, safety factors and the cost of the finalized project.
Curated OER
LEGO Mini-Golf
Students work together in teams to build a LEGO golf course. They build holes with sensors on them for the golf balls. They answer questions about their project to end the instructional activity.
Curated OER
Peak Performance
Students design and build a car that is capable of traveling across the floor quickly, and also up a steep ramp.
Curated OER
LEGO Balance
Students design and build a balance using LEGO, string, and a set of standard metric weights.
Curated OER
Henry Builds A Cabin
Students listen to the book "Henry Builds a Cabin." They design a cabin using Lego pieces based on information from the story.
Curated OER
Trades People
Students discuss the names of the people who work on various stuctures. They examine the many different roles people in construction can have. They match tools with the correct job and sing songs about workers.
Curated OER
For All Time
Young scholars explore the oldest building in their community, then if any have gargoyles. They explore the date of the buildings and what types of materials were used to build the building.
Curated OER
Digital Imaging Project: Index of Artists & Architects
A digital imaging project by Mary Ann Sullivan of Bluffton University. There are over 10,000 images of sculpture and architecture indexed, from prehistoric to post-modern.
US Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Construction and Building Inspector
This site explains what construction and building inspector's jobs entail. Learn about such topics as working conditions, employment, pay scale, training, job outlook, and related jobs.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Libraries: Make the Dirt Fly!
This online exhibition takes a detailed look at the construction of the Panama Canal. Content explores why the canal was built, how the route was chosen, how much man power and machine power it took to move all that dirt, hazards of the...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Recycled Towers
Students learn about material reuse by designing and building the strongest and tallest towers they can, using only recycled materials. They follow design constraints and build their towers to withstand earthquake and high wind simulations.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Passive Solar Design
Young scholars are introduced to passive solar design for buildings--an approach that uses the sun's energy and the surrounding climate to provide natural heating and cooling. They learn about some of the disadvantage of conventional...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Shapes of Strength
Students are introduced to brainstorming and the design process in problem solving as it relates to engineering. They perform an activity to develop and understand problem solving with an emphasis on learning from history. Using only...
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Thousands of Tiny Pieces Can Create Something Big!
Simon Rodia built the Watts Towers by gathering fragments of "junk" he found in the neighborhood. He put all of these small pieces together to build a spectacular tower. Students will observe that something BIG can be created from lots...
PBS
Pbs Kids: Chicken Space
Build a space craft for animals traveling to space on this site! Students will use their knowledge of geometric shapes to build a space craft to fit all the animals.
Careers New Zealand
Careers Nz: Architectural Draughtsperson (Drafter)
This site describes the career components needed to be a drafter in New Zealand. While the some of the information is specific to New Zealand, it does offer some valuable information about drafting that does apply to the career in...
University of Virginia
University of Virgina: Structural Behavior and Design Approaches
From the Introduction to Structural Design web site. A page of well-written lecture notes on the various structural qualities of building materials. A comparison is made of the strength, stiffness, stability and ductility of materials,...