Teach Engineering
Model Heart Valves
Small groups use the knowledge learned about the heart to design and build a prototype of an artificial heart valve. The teams demonstrate the functionality of their valve. They are also responsible for creating a pamphlet that describes...
Teach Engineering
Pill Dissolving Demo
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh that one is the fastest. The teacher demonstration is the second part of a four-part series. The class observes how different pill types dissolve in simulated stomach acid. They determine which one dissolves...
Personal Genetics Education Project
Protecting Athletes with Genetic Conditions: Sickle Cell Trait
Should school and professional teams test athletes for sickle cell trait? Will it protect them by providing knowledge or lead to discrimination by not allowing them to participate in sports? After learning about this genetic disorder,...
Teach Engineering
Optimize! Cleaner Energy Options for Rural China
What are the trade-offs when looking to get the most benefit from an energy source? Small groups compare the cost-to-emission levels of several energy sources by looking at the information graphically. The groups utilize this information...
Curated OER
An Arm and A Leg
Middle schoolers examine how the movements of bones are dependent on the interaction of pairs of muscles. They design and construct a prototype of an artificial limb using a syringe system, and determine whether water or air makes the...
Teach Engineering
Copycat Engineers
It's often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Young engineers learn about biomimicry, which uses nature to generate engineering ideas, in the fifth lesson of nine in a Life Science unit. Working in groups, they select...
Teach Engineering
Tell Me Doc—Will I Get Cancer?
Can you beat the odds of cancer? In the first installment of a seven-part series, future biomedical engineers consider how to detect and diagnose cancer. An article on biosensors provides useful information toward this goal.
Teach Engineering
Grow Your Own Algae!
Develop a model of a wastewater treatment center. The last activity of the unit has pupils mix a lake water sample into a tank of water containing fertilizers. Over time, the algae from the lake water grows and removes the nutrient-rich...
Teach Engineering
Extinction Prevention via Engineering
It's time to save endangered species through engineering. The third lesson in a nine-part Life Science unit has young environmentalists study species extinction. An engaging discussion leads to some ideas on how to use engineering design...
Teach Engineering
Dress for Success
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...
Teach Engineering
Thinking Green!
Encourage your class to solve local environmental issues. Groups brainstorm environmental issues that are affecting the community, choose one they want to solve, and design a product or service to solve their chosen issue. They then...
Teach Engineering
Red Cabbage Chemistry
Using the natural pH indicator of red cabbage juice, groups determine the pH of different everyday liquids. As they work, pupils gain an understanding of pH that may help deal with contaminants in the water supply.
Teach Engineering
Constructing Sonoran Desert Food Chains and Food Webs
Investigate desert biomes by creating food chains and food webs. Groups first research feeding habits of organisms in the Sonoran Desert. This information helps pupils draw food chains and webs to determine relationship between organisms.
Teach Engineering
Algae: Tiny Plants with Big Energy Potential
My, what big energy potential you have! Scholars learn about the energy potential of using algae as a biofuel. A PowerPoint presentation first describes the structure of algae and then how researchers use algae as biofuel to produce energy.
Curated OER
Firstgov for Kids
Students examine kids.gov, FirstGov for Kids website, which provides links to both Federal kids sites and sites from other organizations. They complete a worksheet by finding answers at the website.
Curated OER
Producing a skit for the morning announcements
Students produce a skit to appear on their morning announcement that is in lined with their franchise topic. In this producing lesson plan, students produce a 2 minute skit including originating, scripting, editing, directing, and...
Curated OER
TE Lesson: Out of Breath
Learners study the parts of the human respiratory system while examining the gas exchange that takes place in the lungs. They make a model lung. They look at how the respiratory system is affected by spaceflight.
Curated OER
Good News - We're on the Rise!
Students build and observe a simple aneroid barometer to discover changes in barometric pressure and weather forecasting. They graph changes in barometric pressure for two weeks and make weather predictions.
Curated OER
Interactions Everywhere!
Learners examine interactions within the environment and environmental engineering careers. They discuss and view photos of natural and manmade environments, explore various websites, create a web to identify interactions between living...
Curated OER
TE Activity: The Beat Goes On
Young scholars determine what the pulse is before examining how to measure the heart rate in different situations. They build a simple device that measures the heart rate, take heart rates, and record them on a worksheet. They discuss...
Curated OER
All the President's Men and Women
Students research responsibilities, programs and government departments of leaders that make up the presidential cabinet, in the form of a Web Exploration, after reading "Dueling Power Centers" from The New York Times.
Curated OER
Deadly Disease among Us
High schoolers recognize that infectious diseases are a continuing problem among all human populations. They define and give examples of emerging infectious diseases. Students define and give examples of re-emerging infectious diseases.
Curated OER
For Your Eyes Only
Students identify two major types of visible pollutants, smog, and particulate matter, They explain that air pollutants are generated during incomplete combustion. They measure and rank collectors from the most pollutants to the least...
Curated OER
Cleaning the Air
Students investigate how engineers design methods of removing particulate matter from industrial sources to minimize negative effects of air pollution. In small groups they design and construct a filter with the goal of removing pepper...