All resources in PA STEM Toolkit Workgroup Round 2 - Sandbox

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Introduction to Computational Media (Grade 10)

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Developed by the NYCDOE CS education team, the Introduction to Computational Media is a yearlong (108 hours) creative computing course for high schools using the open source Javascript library p5.js. By understanding how code can be a medium for creative expression, students will learn the fundamentals of computer science while designing and prototyping interactive projects that run on a browser. Additionally, students will learn how HTML/CSS elements can interact with p5.js to fully take advantage of developing content for a browser. This course has been implemented in NYC schools via CS4All’s Software Engineering Program (SEP), revised by classroom teachers with guidance from the Processing Foundation, and aligns with the CS4All Blueprint for CS education that emphasizes a hands-on CS approach called creative computing. Watch this video and view this fact sheet for more information.

Material Type: Full Course

Natural Disasters

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Students are introduced to our planet's structure and its dynamic system of natural forces through an examination of the natural hazards of earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, tsunamis, floods and tornados, as well as avalanches, fires, hurricanes and thunderstorms. They see how these natural events become disasters when they impact people, and how engineers help to make people safe from them. Students begin by learning about the structure of the Earth; they create clay models showing the Earth's layers, see a continental drift demo, calculate drift over time, and make fault models. They learn how earthquakes happen; they investigate the integrity of structural designs using model seismographs. Using toothpicks and mini-marshmallows, they create and test structures in a simulated earthquake on a tray of Jell-O. Students learn about the causes, composition and types of volcanoes, and watch and measure a class mock eruption demo, observing the phases that change a mountain's shape. Students learn that the different types of landslides are all are the result of gravity, friction and the materials involved. Using a small-scale model of a debris chute, they explore how landslides start in response to variables in material, slope and water content. Students learn about tsunamis, discovering what causes them and makes them so dangerous. Using a table-top-sized tsunami generator, they test how model structures of different material types fare in devastating waves. Students learn about the causes of floods, their benefits and potential for disaster. Using riverbed models made of clay in baking pans, students simulate the impact of different river volumes, floodplain terrain and levee designs in experimental trials. They learn about the basic characteristics, damage and occurrence of tornadoes, examining them closely by creating water vortices in soda bottles. They complete mock engineering analyses of tornado damage, analyze and graph US tornado damage data, and draw and present structure designs intended to withstand high winds.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Elementary GLOBE: Honing in on Hummingbirds

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In this activity, students will record a list of things they already know about hummingbirds and a list of things they would like to learn about hummingbirds. Then they will conduct research to find answers to their questions. Using their new knowledge, each student will make a hummingbird out of art supplies. Finally, using their hummingbirds as props, the students will play charades to test each other in their knowledge of the ruby-throated hummingbirds. The purpose of this activity is to provide students with information on ruby-throated hummingbirds, provide students with the opportunity to conduct research on hummingbirds in topic areas that interest them, and to provide students with opportunities to share their knowledge with other students. By completing this activity, students will gain knowledge about ruby-throated hummingbirds. They will also gain experience researching a topic of their choosing related to hummingbirds and communicating those results in several different formats.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Diagram/Illustration, Interactive, Lesson Plan, Textbook

10X Bigger!

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Students will explore multi-digit numbers and the relationship between ones, tens and hundreds; a digit in one place is 10x the digit in the place to its right. Students will use their bodies to represent digits in multi-digit numbers up to the hundredths place and compare these numbers using <, =, >. Students will use their bodies as multi-digit numbers to add and subtract.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Author: Admin

3RC (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Compost)

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In this lesson, students expand their understanding of solid waste management to include the idea of 3RC (reduce, reuse, recycle and compost). They will look at the effects of packaging decisions (reducing) and learn about engineering advancements in packaging materials and solid waste management. Also, they will observe biodegradation in a model landfill (composting).

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Authors: Amy Kolenbrander, Janet Yowell, Jessica Todd, Malinda Schaefer Zarske

All Caught Up

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Commercial fishing nets often trap "unprofitable" animals in the process of catching target species. In this activity, students experience the difficulty that fishermen experience while trying to isolate a target species when a variety of sea animals are found in the area of interest. Then the class discusses the large magnitude of this problem. Students practice data acquisition and analysis skills by collecting data and processing it to deduce trends on target species distribution. They conclude by discussing how bycatch impacts their lives and whether or not it is an important environmental issue that needs attention. As an extension, students use their creativity and innovative skills to design nets or other methods, theoretically and/or through hands-on prototyping, that fisherman could use to help avoid bycatch.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: Amy Whitt, Matt Nusnbaum, Vicki Thayer

Magnetic Suction

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In this activity about electricity and magnetism, learners discover how a doorbell works. A coil of wire with current flowing through it forms an electromagnet that acts similar to a bar magnet. The coil will magnetize an iron nail and attract it in a remarkably vigorous way.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

The Good, the Bad and the Electromagnet

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Using plastic straws, wire, batteries and iron nails, student teams build and test two versions of electromagnets one with and one without an iron nail at its core. They test each magnet's ability pick up loose staples, which reveals the importance of an iron core to the magnet's strength. Students also learn about the prevalence and importance of electromagnets in their everyday lives.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: Dayna Martinez, James Cooper Patricio Rocha, Mandek Richardson, Tapas K. Das

PBL Snow Project

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This project is for students in second grade who will be asked to further look at snow and how it affects their daily lives. Through this activity they will learn more about hazardous weather. Then they will make a conclusion as a group based on the information they found.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Alex Ventresca

PBL Activity about Safety for Young Students

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This PBL activity teaches young students about stranger safety. By bringing in a guest speaker to the classroom, having students create their own scenarios and responses, and having them write a letter to someone they want to thank for keeping them safe, this activity allows students to practice their writing and listening skills while learning an important real-life lesson about strangers at the same time.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Interactive, Simulation

Author: Jessica Broad

PhET Simulation: Estimation

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This interactive Flash animation allows students to explore size estimation in one, two and three dimensions. Multiple levels of difficulty allow for progressive skill improvement. In the simplest level, users estimate the number of small line segments that can fit into a larger line segment. Intermediate and advanced levels offer feature games that explore area of rectangles and circles, and volume of spheres and cubes. Related lesson plans and student guides are available for middle school and high school classroom instruction. Editor's Note: When the linear dimensions of an object change by some factor, its area and volume change disproportionately: area in proportion to the square of the factor and volume in proportion to its cube. This concept is the subject of entrenched misconception among many adults. This game-like simulation allows kids to use spatial reasoning, rather than formulas, to construct geometric sense of area and volume. This is part of a larger collection developed by the Physics Education Technology project (PhET).

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive

Authors: Michael Dubson, Mindy Gratny

Arithmetic and Travel Planning

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The learner plans a vacation trip to Washington DC focusing on a three of their own selections between the numerous historical sites, monuments or museums. The learner plans where they will visit over those three to four days. Using addition, subtraction and or percentage functions, the learner prepares a budget for lodging, transportation, entertainment, souvenirs and food. The student will be ask to develop a five slide PowerPoint presentation of one of their places chosen and what they plan to spend on the visit to Washington DC. Materials to include in this exercise are computer, books and calculators.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan, Reading

Author: Deborah Madden

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