Teach Engineering
Copycat Engineers
It's often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Young engineers learn about biomimicry, which uses nature to generate engineering ideas, in the fifth lesson of nine in a Life Science unit. Working in groups, they select...
NASA
Developing an Investigation
Watch as your class makes the transition from pupils to researchers! A well-designed lesson has scholars pick a solar wind characteristic to research. They then collect and analyze official data from the LANL website. This is the third...
PBS
Inventions
Use this lesson plan to discuss inventions that have changed your class's world and have impacted society. Middle schoolers investigate important inventions of their time and design an invention in a simulated business atmosphere. Modify...
Curated OER
PowerPoint Prairie
students create a PowerPoint presentation to both inform and assess the knowledge of the prairie. This project must have the cooperation of the technology teacher or the teacher must be able to instruct Students on PowerPoint presentations.
NPR
Chinese American Women Lesson Plan
The National Women's History Museum provides a plan designed to accompany their online CyberExhibit, Chinese American Women; a History of Resilience and Resistance. After examining a series of primary and secondary source documents,...
Kenan Fellows
The Little Stuff Can Make a Big Difference
Great things come in small packages! What better way to illustrate this point than a week-long look at nanotechnology? Earth science scholars explore water quality issues through lab activities, then research new innovations in nanotech...
US Department of Energy
Building the Basic PVC Wind Turbine
Here is a comprehensive and well-written lesson plan that results in learners building a standard wind turbine. Once built, teens can design a variety of experiments to test different factors. This activity is a noble undertaking that...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Portraits That Capture Character
One of the great things about technology is that it lets youngsters visit museums that may be many miles away. With this resource, middle and high schoolers can visit the portrait galleries at J. Paul Getty Museum, located in Los...
Teach Engineering
Concentrated Solar Power
The seventh segment in an eight-part unit promotes the idea of concentrating the sun to increase the power of a photovoltaic panel. Pupils learn about devices used such as reflectors or lenses.
Kenan Fellows
Analyzing Speed from Different Modalities
Show us your moves. Using sensor equipment, scholars track the motion of different movements, such as jogging, skipping, or jump roping. They analyze velocity and acceleration and create graphs representing each movement.
Curated OER
Do You Know the Story of Pomp?
Students examine and read about Pomp, the infant son of Sacagawea. They research the Lewis and Clark expedition, create a storyboard presenting important events, and design a Powerpoint presentation.
Curated OER
Snack Attack: Food Packaging Activity
Learners design and create packaging material for food. For this snack attack lesson, students design a package to protect a food item from heat and water. Learners consider costs of materials, design, and test the package to see if it...
Curated OER
A Good Boat is Hard To Find
Eighth graders design and construct a safe and efficient human powered watercraft that can be used on a trip on the Great Lakes. Students utilize math and measurement skills to design and cut the pieces for their boat. Working in...
Curated OER
Babes in Electronic Toyland
Students read a New York Times article in order to explore the use of handheld electronic devices in schools. They investigate, through surveys and essay-writing, the pros and cons of this technology.
Curated OER
Computer Technology Bingo
Students review new vocabulary from their computer technology class. In groups, they participate in a bingo game in which they define terms from a worksheet. They are assessed based on an attached rubric and discuss any terms they are...
Curated OER
Wright Again: 100 Years of Flight
Aspiring aeronautical engineers demonstrate different forces as they construct and test paper airplanes. This lesson plan links you to a website that models the most effective paper airplane design, an animation describing the forces...
Curated OER
Pens, Paper and ... Cellphones?
Students consider the benefits that so-called disruptive technology can have in the classroom, then design class activities that feature such technology prominently. They write essays responding (as students) to their classmates'...
NASA
The X-1 Paper Glider Kit
After reading an interesting account of how the X-1 aircraft was designed, built, and utilized, young engineers try their hand at constructing a paper glider version of the airplane. They cut out the plane out of a nicely designed...
Curated OER
Hey - It's a Rainy Forest Out There!
Elementary schoolers take part in a very good lesson which has them watch video, conduct experiments, complete hands-on activities, and work in cooperative groups. The educationally-rich activities are clearly-explained, and the group...
Curated OER
The Scientific Search for the Loch Ness Monster
Students gain an understanding of the real world applications of the scientific method. They design their own experiments to prove or disprove the existence of other modern legends, and they design and carry out an experiment to test a...
Curated OER
www.Me.Com
Create a graphic autobiography integrating images and text. Working within the structure of the programs Comic Life and Photoshop, pupils integrate the Principles of Design. They focus on balance, rhythm, proportion, and text structure....
Teach Engineering
Capturing the Sun's Warmth
Passive solar heating is a technology that's been in use for thousands of years. Here, elementary schoolers are exposed to this type of heating, the materials that are used in passive solar heating, and they study how engineers design...
Curated OER
Can You Measure Up?
Here is a well-designed lesson on common standards of measurement for your young mathematicians. In it, learners calculate measurements in standard and non-standard units. They make predictions, record data, and construct and design...
Curated OER
Structures And Mechanisms
Eighth graders explore and demonstrate an understanding of the factors that contribute to the efficient operation of mechanisms and simple machines. They design and make a mechanical toy device that moves a given object a specified...