TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Where Are the Plastics Near Me? (Field Trip)
An adult-led field trip allows students to be organized into investigation teams that catalogue the incidence of plastic debris in different environments. These plastics are being investigated according to their type, age, location and...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Marine Mapping
The marine environment is unique and requires technologies that can use sound to gather information since there is little light underwater. The seafloor is characterized using underwater sound and acoustical systems. Current...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Newton's Law of Cooling
Middle schoolers come to see the exponential trend demonstrated through the changing temperatures measured while heating and cooling a beaker of water. This task is accomplished by first appealing to students' real-life heating and...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Sound for Sight
Echolocation is the ability to orient by transmitting sound and receiving echoes from objects in the environment. As a result of a Marco-Polo type activity and subsequent lesson, students learn basic concepts of echolocation. They use...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Energy Transfer in Musical Instruments
This lesson plan covers concepts of energy and energy transfer utilizing energy transfer in musical instruments as an example. More specifically, the lesson plan explains the two different ways in which energy can be transferred between...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Habitat Mapping
The marine environment is unique and requires technologies that can use sound to gather information since there is little light underwater. In this lesson, the students will be shown benthic habitat images produced by GIS. These images...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Environments and Ecosystems
Students explore the biosphere and its associated environments and ecosystems in the context of creating a model ecosystem, learning along the way about the animals and resources. Students investigate different types of ecosystems, learn...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Product Development and the Environment
In this activity, students investigate the life cycle of an engineered product and how the product impacts the environment. They analyze a product using a simple life cycle assessment that assigns fictional numerical values for different...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Planting Thoughts
Young scholars gain an understanding of the parts of a plant, plant types and how they produce their own food from sunlight through photosynthesis. They also learn about transpiration, the process by which plants release moisture to the...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Go With the Energy Flow
Students learn about energy and nutrient flow in various biosphere climates and environments. They learn about herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, food chains and food webs, seeing the interdependence between producers, consumers and...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Animals and Engineering
Young scholars are introduced to the classification of animals and animal interactions. Students also learn why engineers need to know about animals and how they use that knowledge to design technologies that help other animals and/or...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Wasting Energy at Home
People use energy in all aspects of their lives - for cooking, lighting and entertainment. Much of this energy use takes place in buildings, such as our homes. To save money and reduce the impact on our environment, many people are...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Moebius Strips
In this activity, students make Moebius strips and use them to demonstrate the interconnectedness of an environment. They will explore the natural cycles (water, oxygen/carbon dioxide, carbon, nitrogen) within the environment.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Not So Neutral Views
Students are introduced to acids and bases, and the environmental problem of acid rain. They explore ways to use indicators to distinguish between acids and bases. Students also conduct a simple experiment to model and discuss the...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Energy Conservation
Students are introduced to the idea that energy use impacts the environment and our wallets. They discuss different types of renewable and nonrenewable energy sources, as well as the impacts of energy consumption. Through a series of...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Solid Waste Takes Over
In this lesson, students explore solid waste and its effects on the environment. They will collect classroom trash for analysis and build model landfills in order to understand the process and impact of solid waste management. Students...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Splish, Splash, I Was Takin' a Bath!
In this instructional activity, learners will explore the causes of water pollution and its effects on the environment through the use of models and scientific investigation. In the accompanying activities, they will investigate...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Map a Buddy
This activity serves to introduce the concept of tracking and spatial movements of animals in relation to the environment in which they live. The following activity will aid student understanding of animal tracking and how technology...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What Trickles Down?
Permeability is the degree to which water or other liquids are able to flow through a material. Different substances such as soil, gravel, sand, and asphalt have varying levels of permeability. In this activity, students will explore...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: I've Gotta Get Some Air
Students identify types and sources of indoor air pollutants in their school and home environments. They evaluate actions that can be taken to reduce and prevent poor indoor air quality. In an associated literacy activity, students...
PBS
Kqed Quest: A Different Kind of Science and Nature Adventure
A multimedia offering for teachers and learners to explore the latest science, nature, and environment stories.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Making Decisions: Packaging and the Environment
This activity has students redesign and justify the packaging currently used in some consumer products. Design criteria include reducing the amount of packaging material by 25%.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Environmental History Timeline
Students develop critical thinking skills by interviewing a person who has perspective on environmental history. Students explore the concept of a timeline, including historical milestones, and develop a sense of the context of events.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Acid Rain Effects
Students conduct a simple experiment to model and explore the harmful effects of acid rain (vinegar) on living (green leaf and eggshell) and non-living (paper clip) objects.