Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Sticky Engineering Challenge
Learners explore the properties of different adhesives. In this physics lesson plan, students construct a building structure and determine what glue to use in the process. They present their design in class.
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Jet Engine Magazine
Students explore physics by creating a magazine cover in class. In this flight lesson, students identify the motion and force that must be generated in order for a jet engine to lift off the ground. Students create a cover for a...
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Science Habits of Mind
Students study good communication skills. In this communication lesson students write step by step instructions for a procedure.
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Destination Outer Space
Young scholars investigate space travel. In this space travel lesson students examine space exploration history, engineers and scientists involved in space exploration, and Newton's third law of motion. Young scholars make rockets.
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Make Your Own Temperature Scale
Differentiate between temperature and thermal energy. Your class will build a thermometer using simple materials and develop their own scale for measuring temperature. Discuss with your class and consider why engineers need to understand...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Float or Sink?
Experiment with mass and density as scholars figure out what makes things float or sink. First, they watch a podcast introducing these concepts. Be sure to use the comprehension question to test their understanding. Young scientists...
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Liquid Rainbow
Young scholars develop their own techniques for drawing a small sample of solutions into a straw. They hypothesize ways to increase the density of water, and discuss how salt-free rainwater tends to float on top of salty seawater.
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A Closer look at Oil and Energy Consumption
Upper graders analyze basic concepts about the consumption, importation and exportation of the worlds oil production. They create several graphs to organize the data and draw conclusions about the overall use of oil in the world.
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Exploring Buoyancy
Young scholars use materials found at a resource table to design simple devices that will house instruments to take water samples from a tub of water. They design 3 instruments, each varying in density so that one will float, one will...
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Water-holding Capacity of Earth Materials
Students design and conduct an experiment to test their ideas about how to speed up or slow down the rate of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction. They have access to an array of physical and chemical factors that might influence enzyme...
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Engineering in Sports
Students explore physical education by completing a quiz in class. In this engineering lesson, students identify different ways engineering has made sports safer such as stronger padding and helmets, stronger equipment and smarter...
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Falling Motion
Students design and conduct an experiment on Galileo's Rule of Falling Bodies. In this physics lesson, students collect and analyze data. They create a presentation and share it with the class.
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How Electric Current Produces Energy
Fifth graders are introduced to the concept of electric currents. In groups, they develop their own game board to test different circuits to determine if they are complete. They record their observations of the energy transfer between...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Adaptive Device Design
After reading about how engineering has made adaptive devices possible for people with disabilities, pupils work in groups to discuss different devices to determine whether or not they are adaptive. They also disassemble a pair of...
Curated OER
What Does the Sun Give Us?
Pupils study the sun and how solar energy works. To learn about renewable energy, they complete a lab activity using a pizza box as a solar heater. Quite clever!
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What's a Capacitor?
Students explain concepts of charge storage, how a capacitor works and how DRAM uses capacitors to store memory. They construct a capacitor and use a multimeter with capacitance meter capability to measure the stored charge in the...
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Spuds in Space
Learners explore the effects of velocity on an object when it collides with another object. They design and outfit a potato astronaut in a spacesuit to withstand the hazards of high velocity impacts from space debris and meteoroids.
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Pyramid Building: How to Use a Wedge
Students explore the simple machine of a wedge. In this wedge lesson, students test wedges on different materials including wax, soap, clay and foam. They learn how a wedge was used to build the ancient pyramid and modern day skyscrapers.
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States of Matter
Students study the states of matter. In this matter lesson, students use dry ice to study the states of matter. Students observe and answer questions based on the material.
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Magnifiers
Students describe how several different objects magnify a provided sentence and decide if they are good magnifiers or not. They then write a sentence describing two properties an object must have in order to be a good magnifier.
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Attract or Repel?
Students explain why some objects attract and some do not. For this physics lesson, students investigate the magnetic properties of objects using CEENBoT. They give some important applications of magnets.
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Catapults
Young scholars test catapults. In this physics lesson plan, student conduct scientific investigations that require them to test catapults. Students practice their problem solving skills as they employ the use of the scientific method.
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Reading the River
In collaborative groups, young ecologists measure the temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen for three different freshwater samples. They examine each sample with a microscope and record observations on the microorganisms in the pond...
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Let the River Run
Students explore the environment by reading a story in class. In this water formation instructional activity, students define environmental terms such as rivers, streams, gulf, oceans and lakes. Students read the story A River Ran Wild...