Sure, you may be able to build a better mousetrap, but what about a gum dispenser? In a fun engineering challenge, teams must design and build a working interactive gumball machine with specific constraints and criteria.

Learners evaluate a hypothetical experimental design and attempt to improve upon it. In this scientific method activity, students are presented with an experiment and are instructed to determine its flaws. They conduct their own...

Those corn husks can be put to good use. Future engineers design and build a new, biodegradable bag for potato chips out of corn husks. They test out their bags by shaking, dropping, and tossing them, as well as placing them in water.

Here is a physics lesson plan that your 5th graders should love. They explore the physics behind roller coasters by viewing roller coaster simulations online. Then, they work in pairs in order to design their own roller coasters and...

Three, two, one, blast off to a better understanding of force and motion with this exciting science lesson plan! Beginning with a discussion about rockets and gravity, young scientists go on to complete a series of worksheets...

Writing a paragraph from details found directly in a text is the central focus of this thorough and explicit lesson plan. Using the stories Nasreen's Secret School and Rain School, third graders are lead step-by-step...

Classes will definitely not be sinking after a buoyant instructional activity! A project-based assessment helps highlight the importance of prior knowledge as individuals design a floatation device for a cell phone. They use their...

Time to soak up some learning! A hands-on lesson teaches learners about the absorbency properties of substances. They conduct tests by dipping different materials in water to determine which hold water and then complete a handout to...

The London Bridge should not have fallen down. And here's why. After a brief history of bridges and the three main types, class members are introduce to the concepts of tension and compression, the two main forces acting upon bridges. 

Students build electrical circuits. In this lesson teaching pre-service teachers how to use the 5E instructional model, students use materials to explore how to create an electrical circuit.

Students watch demonstrations of paper folded designs that do and do not fly and discuss their observations. They identify problems that they, the Wright Brothers, or NASA scientists face when designing an aircraft, and identify...

It's okay to play with your food—just this once! Scholars design and create meshes and chutes to sort pasta by size and shape. They test their designs and make improvements as necessary.

Does writing the name of a color in a different colored ink affect one's ability to read it? Scholars design an experiment to answer this question. They collect the data, analyze the statistics, and draw a conclusion based on...

Get things moving with this extensive collection of physical science resources. Covering the fundamentals of measurement, graphing, lab safety, and experimental design as well as the specific scientific concepts...

Wrap up an engineering lesson with a worthwhile project. An engineering design task challenges groups to develop a package for a pharmaceutical company given constraints on the volume. Learners then create a presentation to highlight...

Young engineers consider how to apply accelerometers and sensors to help prevent falls in elderly people. They consider forces of motion and gravity as part of the engineering design process.

High schoolers review the principle elements of design along with the sequence of colors on the color wheel. In groups, they assign a feeling or mood to each color and share it with the class. To end the lesson, they use the internet to...

Pupils examine the role of texture in various fashion designs. After watching a PowerPoint presentation, they identify the different types of textures they saw in photographs. To end the lesson plan, they create a portfolio using their...

Let's go sailing! An instructive unit includes six lessons with multiple activities to teach scholars about density, center of gravity, buoyancy, and the Archimedes Principle. They can complete the final project of building a boat...

Seventh graders simulate probability experiments. Using a graphing calculator, 7th graders design, conduct, and draw conclusions from simulations or probability experiments. Students construct frequency tables and compare the...

Collaborative groups work together with a variety of materials to design an eight-inch canoe that floats for at least three minutes. There is no direct instruction involved in this plan, just a list of materials and a procedure for...

People don't all get the same amount of sun at the same time of the year. Collaborative groups explore how the motion of Earth contributes to the idea in an inquiry-based STEM lesson. Learners first investigate how the rotation of Earth...

What an incredible collection of ideas for teaching about the 2014 World Cup in Brazil! This resource is packed with news articles and instructional activities on a wide variety of topics, from the global popularity of soccer and the...

Follow Texas history from Native Americans all the way to the 21st Century. Teachers analyze the creation of a year-long course on Texas history and use a wide range of teaching subjects and materials to guide them through the state's...