Materials and Structural Properties Teacher Resources

Students explore the composition and practical application of parallel circuitry, compared to series circuitry. They design and build parallel circuits and investigate their characteristics, and apply Ohm's law. They recognize that...

Eleventh graders study the relationship between economic level and material culture: markers of gentility (architecture, material goods) as demonstrated by a single structure.

Students analyze how medical devices that help the human body function. They work in pairs or groups to draw multiple views of the medical device and describe how engineering is used by biomedial engineers.

Students investigate the three types of material stress related to rocks. They watch a PowerPoint Presentation, view an online animation of the three types of rock stress, identify the various types of rocks, answer true or false...

Students explore through experimentation how choice of materials affects structures.

High schoolers conduct an experiment using the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. After pairs balance the chemical equation for making water, they mix different ratios of hydrogen and oxygen in a chemical reaction. Classmates...

A neat handout immerses learners in the history of canoe making. After reading, small groups of mini engineers work to craft a canoe that will not be immersed! This is an ideal exercise in engineering design for your STEM curriculum or...

Dressing for success is not always about looking sharp. Sometimes it is about staying warm and dry. Present your class with an activity that challenges groups of pupils to design a layered material for blizzard conditions. The teams test...

Introduce materials science with a class demonstration. After showing a PowerPoint presentation on materials and their properties, instructors provide a ceramic tile, a Popsicle stick, a paper clip, and a plastic bag as examples of...

If you think you can do better, feel free to give it a try. Pupils learn about the work on Temple Grandin and consider ways to improve animal handling facilities. They work in groups to build models to showcase their ideas.

Energize an environmental science unit on natural resources with this collection of instructional materials. From simple coloring sheets for primary grade children, to guiding questions for a high school research...

Curious minds want to know: How do hard drives work? It's the question everyone has been asking, and here is a short video with the answer. And you don't have to be a quantum physicist to understand the explanation.

Seventh graders review and discuss architecture from South Asia. They then study images of various buildings from North Africa/Southwest Asia, and make comparisons

Students study the law of sine and cosine. In this pre-calculus lesson, students create a triangle and identify the different ratios of a non-right triangle. They use the properties of sine and cosine to solve.

Second graders explore different engineering careers. In this math lesson plan, 2nd graders create a winning cooking recipe. They role play a mock cookie sale during the culminating event.

Learners research energy conversions. In this energy lesson, students describe the basic operation of a steam engine.  They explain the energy conversions in the steam engine's operation. 

Students discuss the drilling process. For this engineering lesson, students get into small groups and drill their own core samples in a sandwich using a plastic tubing, a jumbo straw, a slim straw and a offee stirrer predicting...

Students examine how steamships operate. They describe the necessary energy conversions. They construct a model paddlewheel ship. They use rubber bands as examples of potential and kinetic energy as they unwind and set the models in motion.

Learners play an agronomy game. For this agriculture lesson plan, students explore modern farming practices pertaining to the cultivation of grains as they play a game that requires them to act as agronomy specialist as they...

Students use worksheets, food items, and computer programs to learn about the path of food from the farm to their meals. In this agriculture lesson plan, students use a provided worksheet to learn facts about farming. They use a bag of...

High schoolers analyze Spain's architecture.  In this art and history lesson, students discuss the definition of architecture, then select either a writing assignment or a drawing assignment depicting Spain architecture to complete...

Learners study the contributions of the Larrabee family. For this Iowa history lesson, students listen to a lecture regarding William Larrabee's governorship and the building of Montauk home.

Students discuss the risks and benefits associated with biotechnology. In this biotechnology lesson, students discuss the role of genes in the body and brainstorm ethical issues relating to biotechnology. They read about an ethical issue...

Students use interactive geometry exploration software (GES) to create a two-point perspective drawing. They explore basic geometry concepts in and geometric transformations of the model of a rectangular prism viewed from different...