Curated OER
Types And Magnitudes Of Earthquakes
Students investigate the concept of earthquakes and the different types of magnitudes. They research the Richter scale and how it is used to measure the intensities of earthquakes. Students then apply the concept by completing a...
Curated OER
Rock Solid
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...
Curated OER
Newspaper Tower
Young scholars design and construct a tower out of newspaper using a limited supply of newspaper, tape, and scissors. After completing their designs, they identify which designs can withstand the self-weight of the newspaper tower as...
Curated OER
Leaning Tower of Pasta
Students experiment with different structures to determine which ones are able to handle the greatest amount of load using spaghetti and marshmallows. They discuss how engineers design buildings, construct their buildings and complete a...
Curated OER
Mineral Mania
In this mineral worksheet, students use an on line source to answer questions about minerals, about resources and their uses, about fireworks and about birthstones.
Curated OER
The Properties of Metals
In this properties of metals worksheet, students read about the history of metal use and their properties. Students read about metallic bonding and answer three questions about bonding in metals.
Curated OER
Tug-Push-Twist-O'War
Students explore through experimentation how choice of materials affects structures.
Curated OER
Using Triangulation to Locate Meteorites from Witnessed Falls
Students participate in a mock investigation in which they must interview and record data given by 3 people ("witnesses") in an effort to triangulate the location of a meteorite.
Curated OER
Mineral Mania
In this mineral worksheet, learners visit http://sciencespot.net and answer 90 questions about mineral uses, mineral groups, fireworks, and minerals found around the home.
Curated OER
Rocking the Boat
Students work together to discover the concepts of stability and equilibrium. They examine how equilibrium is related to an item's center of mass. They create their own action scene in a literacy activity.
Curated OER
Swinging on a String
Young scholars explore how pendulums work and why they are useful in everyday applications. In a hands-on activity, they experiment with string length, pendulum weight and angle of release.
Curated OER
The Day The Earth Shook
Learners explore structural engineering through three design challenges. They examine information about some architectural features that work and those that don't during an earthquake. Students build and test their structure and record...
Curated OER
Shelter/Refuge
Young scholars research shelters and places of refuge for animals and humans. In this shelters lesson, students read paragraphs about animal and human shelters. Young scholars complete an activity about beavers and shelters. Students...
Curated OER
Fantastic Journeys
Students design an amusement park attraction based on a fantastic journey from literature, film, or their own imaginations. Each design team must submit a formal proposal. The proposal should include: a two- or three-dimensional visual...
Curated OER
Strong as the Weakest Link
Learners recognize that compression and tension forces are important considerations in building structures. They construct their own building structure using marshmellows and spaghetti to see which structure can hold the most weight.
Teach Engineering
Rocks, Rocks, Rocks: Test, Identify Properties and Classify
Time is growing short. Teams work together to identify physical properties of rocks in order to determine the properties that would best suit their cavern shelter design.
Teach Engineering
A Simple Solution for the Circus
Class members are challenged to design a device that will move a circus elephant into a train car. Groups brainstorm ideas that use simple machines to load the elephant. They then choose one of their ideas, sketch a plan, and present it...
Teach Engineering
Stop the Stretching
Stretch your teaching repertoire with an experiment on the elongation (stretching) and failure (break) of several materials. The point of the experiment is to design a composite material for chair webbing.
Teach Engineering
Exploring the Lotus Effect
The Lotus Effect ... is it not some kind of yoga pose. In the last installment of a nine-part series, young scientists observe the Lotus Effect on lotus leaves and water-repellent cloths. They observe how motion and damage affect the...
Curated OER
Simple Machines and Modern Day Engineering Analogies
Students apply the mechanical advantages and problem-solving capabilities of six types of simple machines (wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane, screw, pulley) as they discuss modern structures in the spirit of the engineers and...
Curated OER
Streamlines and Breadlines
Students explore the Great Depression. In this Great Depression lesson, students research selected websites and analyze primary sources to conduct inquiries regarding the depression, northern migration, and urbanization. Students author...
Curated OER
Tower Investigation and the Egg
Middle schoolers build three types of towers, engineering them to hold an egg one foot high for 15 seconds. They discover that engineering designs are subject to constraints such as time, money and size specifications. In this activity...
Curated OER
Distinguish Communities by Their Architecture
Students distinguish between a rural community and a city community by observing the architecture in each one. They observe and discuss pictures of buildings. Students write a paragraph explaining the purpose of a particular building....
Curated OER
The Chaos Game
Students measure and predict the behavior of a fractal. In this investigative lesson students divide into groups, and participate in an activity that includes drawing triangles and coloring vertices.