For this lesson, educators will need LEGO Mindstorms kits. Students will be arranged in groups of approximately 2 to 4 students. Students will create a robot that will pick up and transport a tennis ball to a container.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment
Students design, build and test model roller coasters using foam tubing. The design process integrates energy concepts as they test and evaluate designs that address the task as an engineer would. The goal is for students to understand the basics of engineering design associated with kinetic and potential energy to build an optimal roller coaster. The marble starts with potential energy that is converted to kinetic energy as it moves along the track. The diameter of the loops that the marble traverses without falling out depends on the kinetic energy obtained by the marble.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
Students develop an app for an Android device that utilizes its built-in internal sensors, specifically the accelerometer. The goal of this activity is to teach programming design and skills using MIT's App Inventor software (free to download from the Internet) as the vehicle for learning. The activity should be exciting for students who are interested in applying what they learn to writing other applications for Android devices. Students learn the steps of the engineering design process as they identify the problem, develop solutions, select and implement a possible solution, test the solution and redesign, as needed, to accomplish the design requirements.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
This lesson integrates coding and computer science into English Language Arts for the purpose of fostering appreciation of Shakespearean wit and language and to provide students exposure to coding. Students first choose words that carry insulting connotations from a Shakespearean play and then create a program that randomly generates insults based upon those found words. Swift Playgrounds, Scratch, or Raspberry Pi are recommended resources for creating this project, and links to projects are provided for each of these platforms. Sample code and directions are provided. Students who are beginning to learn coding may complete the code while more advanced individuals may modify the program or create their own.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
This lesson teaches fret spacing on a guitar and walk students through drawing a fretboard using Autodesk Autocad.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
This is a really fun and informative lesson that I do with my high school Programming/technology class to break up the monotony of beginner programming. However; this lesson can be used and applied in essentially any class and for many purposes, and to address many areas. One of the other really nice things about this lesson is that it can be extended to hit many points including physics, math, and advanced engineering. Throughout the building period, I would present teams with a challenge (puzzle, build, etc…) and the first team to complete it would get a prize. It could be more modification time, extra materials, etc…) The materials (including hot glue guns) can be purchased at Wal Mart or a similar store for around $20-25, if ordering through your district isn’t an option. With those purchases, it gives you a lot more materials than needed which can be used for additional similar projects.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
Students construct rockets from balloons propelled along a guide string. They use this model to learn about Newton's three laws of motion, examining the effect of different forces on the motion of the rocket.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
Students learn about homeostasis and create models by constructing simple feedback systems using Arduino boards, temperature sensors, LEDs and Arduino code. Starting with pre-written code, students instruct LEDs to activate in response to the sensor detecting a certain temperature range. They determine appropriate temperature ranges and alter the code accordingly. When the temperature range is exceeded, a fan is engaged in order to achieve a cooling effect. In this way, the principle of homeostasis is demonstrated. To conclude, students write summary paragraphs relating their models to biological homeostasis.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
This lesson walks students through finding guitar part cost and calculating board feet of a guitar body, neck, and fretboard.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
This is a challenge based activity in which students use augmented reality and trial and error in order to determine how changes to a quadratic equation affect the shape of a parabola. Students use the Geogebra AR app to manipulate equations and change the parabola to fit around a physical object.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
Design and engineer a mechanical device that is powered by hydraulic (syringe and water) that includes levers and moving parts that will propel a ping pong ball to complete the 2 levels of the “Hoop Shoot Challenge”.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Unit of Study
After studying the basics of enzyme function, students will be exposed to the history and evolution of lactose intolerance/lactase persistence. Both whole group and individual activities will ask students to interact with the concept. They will conduct a lab to understand the role of enzymes in lactose digestion and communicate their knowledge by creating a public health poster.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Data Set, Lesson, Lesson Plan, Student Guide
Students are tasked with designing their own experiment to discover why you cannot add fresh pineapple to Jell-O. After analyzing their results, they will construct a CER that will be used to assess their understanding of the concepts.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment
This engineering design challenge is a great hands-on activity that utilizes the engineering design process, 3D modeling, and 3D printing technology. The challenge can be completed individually or in groups of 2 to 3. Students will work to complete the following challenge: Using the design process, design, document, model, and produce a toy car with interchangeable parts.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
This series of lessons will teach all of the key features in Tinkercad, a free, web-based 3D design platform. When you have finished the lessons you will have a comprehensive knowledge of how to design/draw in 3D. After that all you need is practice to improve your skills.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Diagram/Illustration, Interactive, Lesson, Lesson Plan, Teaching/Learning Strategy, Unit of Study
Students will have the opportunity to work in groups and investigate the effects of an “oil spill” in a water body. In a simulated “ocean” (a pan of water), students will drop a small amount of oil into the water and see the effects and interaction. In an introduction to the workshop, students discuss sources of pollution and oil contamination in water bodies – from point sources (tanker spills) and non-point sources (vehicle run-off). A brief discussion on preventing and cleaning up oil contamination will lead into the activity, in which the students will use a variety of materials to see what method works best for recovering the most oil from the water.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
Literature Based STEM - Book List & Corresponding Activities: Looking for grab-and-go elementary STEM lessons? Looking for a read-aloud to hook an existing STEM lesson? Trying to build a STEM library? Search the spreadsheet by titles, authors, big ideas, themes, and lessons. Whether you are a STEM specialist or a classroom teacher, these lessons will work for you.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson, Lesson Plan, Reading
In this unit, students will learn about the 4Cs (communication, collaboration, creation, and critical thinking) through literature-based engineering challenges. Each lesson focuses on one "C" and one read-aloud. This unit is geared for grades 2-3 but could be adapted to any elementary grade level. COMMUNICATION - Click Clack Moo COLLABORATION - Iggy Peck Architect CRITICAL THINKING - Rosie Revere Engineer CREATION - Galimoto
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson, Lesson Plan, Unit of Study
Ligers exist! But, why does a liger look like a mystical creature? Students will design a simulated genetically engineered animal for a biotechnology engineering firm, which creates newanimals.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
--In this activity student will create an amusement park ride out of KNEX that displays a certain type of motion. They will describe their ride. They will then place it in the correct spot on the map by writing the name of it on the worksheet. After all groups have their rides labeled on the map- students should fill in the lines section of the worksheet- identifying parallel, perpendicular and intersecting lines.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
