Student Handouts
A Society in Transition
Cover the 1980s in your class with a brief informational text and seven related questions. The one-page reading passage includes general information about jobs and skills, population patterns, and the AIDS epidemic.
DiscoverE
Trophy Triathlon Design Challenge
Build a trophy and be a winner. Pupils build trophies that can support a sports ball of their choosing. Based on the ball choice, they figure out how the height requirement changes.
DiscoverE
Design a Catapult
Just this once, it's okay to throw things in class. Out of craft sticks and rubber bands, pupils build catapults to launch an object of choice. This can be a ping-pong ball, a marshmallow, or any other small item. As long as it hits the...
DiscoverE
Heart Valve Replacement
Put your heart into it. Scholars design and build replacements for mitral heart valves. Obviously, they can't test their creations on a real heart, so a box with marbles (to represent blood cells) will suffice.
DiscoverE
Harmless Holder
Here's a lesson that's not for the birds! Scholars design and build packaging for soda cans that is environmentally friendly. These packages must be durable, easy to carry, and have no environmental impact.
DiscoverE
Human Suspension Bridge
When is it okay to be suspended in school? When you're part of a human suspension bridge! Learners first model tension and compression in pairs. Once complete, they get together as a class to model a suspension bridge.
DiscoverE
Dome Home
Homes come in many different shapes and sizes. Building a model of a geodesic dome is the ultimate goal for the activity. Cutting and folding is the way to go here.
DiscoverE
Wind Farm
A wind turbine is essentially just a giant pinwheel, right? Individuals first create pinwheels from paper, pins, and pencils. In groups, they model a wind farm along a coast and then test out their designs using an electric fan.
DiscoverE
Spaceship to Mars
Feel like a rocket scientist for the day. Using only paper and tape, scholars create a framework for a spaceship to Mars. Each sheet of paper costs $10 million and each piece of tape costs $100,000. Make sure you stay within budget!
DiscoverE
Let's Make an Elastic Puppet
Create bending joints—but don't break! The activity shows how to make a puppet using straws and fishing line. Pupils create cuts to make joints that rely on the elasticity of the straw to bend and return to their original shapes.
PBS
Helping Hand
Reach out and grab something. Given the task of picking up objects at least two feet away, pupils design and build a grabber. The last activity in a series of five challenges requires learners to use information about fulcrums and levers.
EngageNY
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 15
What do a cheetah, Audi commercial, and air have in common? They're all topics of an engaging inquiry-based, hands-on workshop for educators about background knowledge, reading strategies, the CER model, and argumentative writing. The...
Curated OER
Biomedical Engineering and Diabetes
Students discuss diabetes, it causes, and old and current technology to control the disease. They discuss biomedical engineering and new technology to control the disease. The examine the various types of insulin delivery systems and...
Curated OER
Genetic Technology
In this genetic worksheet, students will match 6 terms associated with gene engineering to their correct definition. Then students will complete a table indicating if the vector is mechanical or biological. Finally, students will...
Curated OER
Tornado!: Types and Formation
Students discuss the different types of tornadoes and how they form. Working in groups, they record journal entries by conducting experiments with water bottles simulating vortex formation.
Curated OER
Topos, Compasses, and Triangles, Oh My!
Students triangulate using a compass, topographical (topo) map and a view of outside landmarks. They take a field trip to another location away from school and mark discernible landmarks (like mountains or radio towers) and changes in...
Curated OER
Energy Balance: The Ins and Outs
Students review data from a 24-hour dietary recall to gain a practical understanding of information regarding energy intake and macronutrients.
Curated OER
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Compost
Students expand their understanding of solid waste management. They examine the effects of packaging decisions. They study engineering advancements in packaging materials and solid waste management.
Curated OER
Engineering For The 3 Little Pigs
Students engage in a lesson plan which demonstrates the importance of rocks, soils and minerals in engineering and how using the right material for the right job is important. The students build three different sand castles and test them...
Curated OER
TE Activity: Hot Cans and Cold Cans
Students work on problems in which they investigate conduction, convection, and radiation. They attempt to maintain the warmth in one can of soda while cooling the other as much as possible in a thirty minute period. They examine how...
Curated OER
The Three Gorges: Should Nature or Technology Reign?
Students participate in a debate regarding the Three Gorges Dam in China. In this research skills lesson, students prepare for a debate regarding the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in China. Students participate in the dam taking...
Curated OER
Engineering: Which Roof Is Tops?
Students determine regional climates by examining photos of house roofs. They observe teacher-constructed examples of roofs and make predictions as to which style is best for snowy climates. After evaluating the examples, they record...
Curated OER
The Case of the Biological Biosphere: Health, Math, Technology
Students investigate various aspects of the human body in this imaginative Tree House Detective episode about the biological biosphere. In a series of They take measurements, analyze data, and use technology. The lessons...
Curated OER
Engineering - Solid Rock to Building Block
Students role-play as engineers designing wedge tools. They devise methods for shaping quarry rocks into pyramid blocks. Following a teacher demonstration, they use materials such as soap, clay, and foam for blocks and wood, plastic,...