Teach Engineering
Airplane Tails and Wings: Are You in Control?
Keep everything under control. The instructional activity, the 16th segment in a 22-part unit, provides a more detailed look at the parts of a plane, specifically the control surfaces. Pupils learn about the construction of the wings and...
NASA
Heavy Lifting
Accept NASA's challenge to design heavy lifting vehicles. Groups of three design balloon-powered rockets to carry as much payload to the ceiling as possible. The teams are encouraged to launch several times while making improvements to...
University of Minnesota
C. elegans and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
Introduce the topic of astrobiology in a unit that's out of this world. Biology scholars examine the search for extraterrestrial life by culturing roundworms, a species that has been key in helping researchers understand the challenges...
NASA
Roving on the Moon
Take a rover out for a test drive. The challenge is to build a rubber-band-powered rover out of cardboard. Individuals or groups work at making modifications to a prototype rover to increase its efficiency.
Curated OER
My Wet Robot
After hearing about the 2006 PHAEDRA mission that explored the Aegean Sea, middle schoolers work in groups to create a robotic vehicle. They must consider power, propulsion, and other vital systems. Use the multitude of external...
Curated OER
Aerodynamic Design
Students research aerodynamic design. In this aerodynamic design lesson, students investigate wind resistance on a car. Students explore the reasons necessary for aerodynamic design.
Teach Engineering
Combustion and Air Quality: Emissions Monitoring
Help your class determine the types of pollutants coming from vehicle exhaust. Groups use an air quality monitor to determine the emissions from different vehicles, to gain knowledge about combustion energy, and to predict how the...
Scholastic
Final Project: The Earth, Inside Earth
Follow in Jules Verne's footsteps and take a journey to the center of the earth! Middle schoolers work together to design a trip inside the earth using their knowledge from the previous lessons in the unit.
Teach Engineering
Android App Development
Building an accelerometer app for your Android device. Groups develop an app that uses the accelerometer on an Android device. The purpose of the activity is to reinforce the programming design. The post activity assessment challenges...
Curated OER
Submersible Designer
Students work in groups to design, build, and test a submersible prototype. In this engineering lesson, students learn about the importance and design of submersible vessels and apply their knowledge by building one of their own. They...
Curated OER
A Human-Powered Vehicle for Trans-Glacial Transport
Students practice problem solving skills and experimental design. They build a vehicle that can traverse "glacial" ice capable of carrying a specific load and glide smoothly, creating as little effort as possible for the skier pulling...
Wild BC
Greenhouse Gas Guzzlers
Teams of six to eight players imagine that they are driving in a vehicle and collect balls that represent carbon dioxide emissions based on their different activities. "Greenhouse Gas Guzzler" cards tell teams how many balls to collect...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Water Rocket Launch
How do rockets fly? Teams design, build, and launch a rocket made from a two-liter bottle to explore forces on a rocket such as Newton's Laws of Motion. During the design phase, young engineers draw a diagram of their rocket and include...
Curated OER
Vitamin D and Me
Young scholars create a graphic organizer showing the importance of Vitamin D intake. In this Vitamin D lesson, Students list problems with Vitamin D deficiency and create poster boards in small groups. Individually, young scholars will...
Hello-Hello
Portuguese – Learn Portuguese
Marcos and Paulo have just met Ana. Watch as they use Portuguese to introduce themselves and get to know each other. Language learners then complete a series of activities designed to help them master each brief conversation.
Bonneville
Photovoltaic Solutions "Shark-Tank Style"
Come up with a great idea and change the world for the better. Working in groups of three, learners apply their knowledge of photovoltaic systems to design a battery-powered electric vehicle capable of replacing gas-powered cars. They...
PLS 3rd Learning
Vehicle Comparison Shopping
This is part of a larger unit on cars (financing, insurance, budget, etc.). Before comparison shopping for their ideal car, teens fill out a survey on their transportation preferences. In related lessons, they consider financing,...
D-Day Normandy 1944
D-Day Normandy 1944
No study of World War II would be complete without an in-depth examination of the events of June 6, 1944. Pascal Vuong's D-Day Normandy:1944, is the perfect vehicle to convey the sheer magnitude of the events that have been called the...
Curated OER
Lifting Bodies: Designing Your Own Spacecraft
Students work cooperatively with classmates to design a wingless vehicle that can fly back to Earth from space, landing like an aircraft. Students plan and describe their models. Also, they will research facts about the lifting body...
Teach Engineering
Battle of the Beams
Make the strongest beam possible using taffy? Groups mold a taffy-water mixture into a beam and a reinforcing material of their choice. To finish the final installment of a two-part series, participants test its strength by adding...
Curated OER
Wheels for Jack and Jill
Students design, make and appraise a model wheeled vehicle that is capable of carrying a small load. This activity is part of the unit `Wheels in motion'.
Curated OER
The Robot Fisherman
Students examine the use of robotic vehicles for fish surveys. In this ocean life lesson, students discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using underwater robots and the requirements an underwater robot must meet in order to observe...
Teach Engineering
You've Got to See it to Believe It!
Youngsters develop an understanding of how smog is produced, and how exhaust from automobiles is one of the major sources of smog. They explore the roles that engineers play in developing technologies that reduce smog, then work in teams...
Curated OER
Frontal Impact Safety Challenge
Students create a vehicle that can withstand frontal impact. In this vehicle building lesson plan, students design a vehicle from paper, card stock, a rubber band, and a dowel rod. This vehicle must protect a raw egg when it is smashed...