Unit Plan
Virginia Middle School Engineering Education Initiative

Save the Penguins: An Introduction to Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Heat things up in your physical science class with this interactive lesson series on thermodynamics. Through a series of class demonstrations and experiments, young scientists learn how heat is transferred through conduction,...
Lesson Plan
Lesson Plans

Photosynthesis Activity

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
When is the last time pupils did a happy dance in class? Scholars act out photosynthesis and dance excitedly in front of the class. The resource also comes with a worksheet for those waiting or who have already completed the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

All Steamed Up

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students examine the energy conversions and simple machines are involved in the operation of a steam engine. They make a replica of a small steam engine.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Does a Liquid Become a Solid?

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore the energy changes from a liquid to a solid. They model the arrangement of a solid and the change in states due to changes in energy using desks and chairs. Assessment questions are provided in lesson plan.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Is the Freezing Point?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students remove heat energy and determine how it causes a phase change.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Newton's Laws

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders distinguish between and apply Newton's Laws. They take a quiz reviewing Kinetic and Potential Energy. Students explain that they have just demonstrated Newton's three laws of motion. They also explain what forces are...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sorting

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students examine Library organization. In this logic lesson, students watch a Between the Lions episode and consider how the library has been organized. Students each list their 3 favorite book titles and how they would classify them....
Worksheet
Curated OER

Chemistry Review

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
In this chemistry overview activity, students review stoichiometry, states of matter, thermochemistry, gas laws, chemical bonding, molarity, chemical equilibria, and kinetics. This activity has 41 problems to solve.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Heat Transfer and Pollution

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students perform computer simulations on air dispersion. In this chemistry lesson plan, students calculate energy transfer based on specific heat and temperature change. They explain the causes of smog.
Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Interactive Gumball Machine

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Circle of Pong

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students, in groups, use given materials to devise a way to deposit a ping-pong ball into a paper cup that is located in the middle of a 6-foot diameter circle, while standing outside the circle.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Design a Bobsled

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students apply their knowledge of friction, drag, mass and gravity as they design, build, and test mini-bobsleds.
Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Engineering Lessons Adapted for Special Education

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Modifying engineering lessons from NASA makes them accessible to a wider variety of learners.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Types of Reactions

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
In this reactions worksheet, students complete the given reactions by writing the products. Students do examples of composition, decomposition, single replacement, double replacement, and combustion reactions. This worksheet has 54...
Worksheet
Shmoop

Functions Worksheet 6

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Instead of the typical function application problems, learners think a little deeper through these ten problems. Multiple types of functions are represented and the questions add a variety of thinking to practice their skills. 
PPT
Curated OER

Temperature

For Teachers Pre-K - 11th
Several slides compare different temperature scales. Thermal expansion, heat transfer, and Maxwell speed distribution are also explored. The last two slides seem unrelated to the topic of heat, but are easily left out of this otherwise...
PPT
Bowels Physics

Direct and Inverse Relationships

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Viewers learn to recognize direct and inverse relationships in the world of physics with a presentation that reveals how to recognize a direct versus an inverse relationship from a formula or graph. After showing basic examples, the...
PPT
Urbana School District

Waves

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
What is a physicist's favorite part of sports? Doing the wave. The presentation covers longitudinal, transverse, surface, and standing waves. It includes in-depth information on frequency, wavelength, period, amplitude, reflection,...
Activity
DiscoverE

An Egg-Citing Ride

For Teachers K - 8th
Wheeeee! Young thrill seekers build a bungee jump—not for themselves, though, but for an egg. The egg must fall from a height of five feet and rebound within two inches of the ground or floor.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Slam On the Brakes!

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders study the concept of momentum and its application by Newton in his studies. They view a demonstration and complete an experiment with toy cars on a racetrack that shows them the properties of momentum and how velocity and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rates of Chemical Reactions-The Iodine Clock Reaction

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars investigate the reaction rate of iodine and soluble starch. In this rates of chemical reactions lesson plan, students study the effects of varying concentrations of reactants and varying temperatures of reactants on the...
PPT
Urbana School District

Electrostatics

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Why did lightning shock the man? Because it didn't know how to conduct itself. Presentation covers electric charges, insulators, conductors, electroscopes, lightning, generators, grounding, static electricity, and more. Presentation...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sports and Science

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Using footballs, basketballs, tennis balls, and more, learners conduct experiments to illustrate Newton's Laws of Motion.  The experiments are conducted outside, and require them to throw, kick, and hit a variety of balls. Your...
Lesson Plan
Teach Engineering

Things That Matter to Flocculants

For Teachers 10th - 12th
How does the dirt get out of your drinking water? A hands-on activity introduces the use of flocculants to help clear solid particles out of water. The plan walks learners through the process of setting up an experiment that...

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