Lesson Plans (Page 19)

From Farms to Phytoplankton

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-11th

"Morganza Spillway" © 2011 NASA Earth Observatory Can we use a model to predict the impacts of nutrient pollutants on an aquatic ecosystem? In this activity, students participate in a kinesthetic simulation to illustrate how nutrient pollution from agricultural runoff can lead to a dead zone at the mouth of a drainage basin. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-ESS3-4. Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems.

Greywater Gadgetry

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-12th

Create a two-part system for filtering greywater. Teams will focus on communication and systems engineering as they build separate components to filter solid and liquid waste and then combine them into one device. Learning Objectives Students will: Consider the potential effects of drought and how greywater could be part of the solution. Design a system for filtering out solid waste or liquid waste. Consider effective communication strategies with their team. Collaborate on their design… Read more

Happy or Sad? Exploring Bias in Machine Learning

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

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Classifying happy and sad faces is an easy task for most humans, but can we teach a machine to do it? In this fun lesson, students will use machine learning to try this out and see how easy it is for bias to creep in. This experiment requires no computer programming skills! In an optional extension, students will also use their imaginations to explore the potential benefits and dangers of artificial intelligence solutions. This lesson will give students an awareness of how prevalent artificial… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

How Big is Big? Understanding Scale in Nature

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-12th

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"He's too tiny to measure up."© 2006 Patty O'Hearn Kickham Some organisms, like whales and redwood trees, are so large that it's hard for us to picture just how big they are! In this lesson, students practice mathematics and computational thinking to create scale models of themselves, and then apply these skills to create models of other large organisms. This activity works best when stretched out… Read more

How Do Engineers Solve Problems?

Video Lesson Grade: 3rd-5th

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In this fun video lesson, students will pretend to be engineers at an engineering company that constructs paper airplanes. They will identify the criteria for success from provided readings and define the constraints on their solutions. Using the engineering design process they will prototype, test, and deliver their best paper airplanes. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.

How High Can a Super Ball Bounce?

Lesson Plan Grade: Kindergarten-5th

Students determine the coefficient of restitution (or the elasticity) for super balls. Working in pairs, they drop balls from a meter height and determine how high they bounce. They measure, record and repeat the process to gather data to calculate average bounce heights and coefficients of elasticity. Then they extrapolate to determine the height the ball would bounce if dropped from much higher heights.Engineering Connection Mechanical engineers select materials that meet… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

3-PS2-2. Make observations and/or measurements of an object's motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.

How Our Immune System and Vaccines Protect Us From Diseases

Lesson Plan Grade: 9th-12th

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What happens in our bodies when we get sick? How do vaccines protect us from certain diseases? These are some questions that students will learn to answer in this lesson plan. Through a series of activities, students will be introduced to our immune system. They will learn how vaccines make use of our adaptive immune response to fight diseases. Read more

How R Naught (R₀) Shapes an Epidemic

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-12th

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What is R naught (R₀), what factors influence it, and how does it shape the infection curves of an epidemic? Students will explore these questions and more in this lesson plan. They will then use SimPandemic, a free online tool, to model what a COVID-19 outbreak looks like in communities with different R₀ values. Remote learning adaptation: This lesson plan can be conducted remotely. Students can work independently on the Explore section of the lesson plan using the Student… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
HS-LS2-8. Evaluate evidence for the role of group behavior on individual and species' chances to survive and reproduce.

How Rain Gardens Fight Pollution and Flooding

Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd

Students might think rain gardens are only there to make an urban area look nice. In this lesson, students will make mini rain gardens and discover how these can filter out pollution and soak up excess rainwater. Will they find how rain gardens help prevent natural disasters? Try out this fun lesson and see! Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

3-ESS3-1. Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of a weather-related hazard.

Immunotherapy: How Antibodies Can Be Used to Treat Diseases

Lesson Plan Grade: 8th-12th

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In this lesson, students will do a series of activities to explore the role of antibodies in our immune system. They will also investigate how doctors use monoclonal antibodies as part of immunotherapy to treat diseases like cancer. Read more

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