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Recycling PLA Plastic using Green Chemistry
Lesson Plan Grade: 9th-12th
Educational Goal To understand: How polylactic acid (PLA) plastic is an example of green chemistry technology particularly pollution prevention and designing safer chemicals Student Objectives Students will: Learn about renewable "corn" plastic is made from polylactic acid Recycle the polylactic acid cup into a new product: a cleaning solution Conduct a saponification reaction Analyze PLA against the 12 principles of green chemistry (Optional) Verify the contents of their… Read more
Rocks, Rocks, Rocks: Test, Identify Properties & Classify
Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th
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Student teams test rocks to identify their physical properties such as luster, hardness, color, etc., and classify them as igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary. They complete a data table to record all of the rock properties, and then answer worksheet questions to deepen their understanding of rock properties.Engineering Connection Civil and geological engineers, for example, design tunnels through rock, build roads on the sides of mountains, and construct skyscrapers rooted… Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • MS-ESS2-1. Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth's materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.
Satellite Shield
Lesson Plan Grade: 4th-7th
Learners explore the properties of materials by designing a barrier that will protect a satellite from colliding objects. They test out multiple combinations of materials and collect data on the results to determine which materials are the most effective at shielding the satellites from the hazards of space debris. Learning Objectives Students will: Design a barrier that can protect the satellite from high-velocity impacts with space debris. Explore design considerations based on… Read more
Saving a Life: Heart Valve Replacement
Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th
Students use their knowledge about how healthy heart valves function to design, construct and implant prototype replacement mitral valves for hypothetical patients' hearts. Building on what they learned in the associated lesson about artificial heart valves, combined with the testing and scoring of their prototype heart valve designs in this activity, students discover the pros and cons of different types of artificial heart valves based on materials, surgery requirements,… 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.
  • MS-ETS1-4. Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.
Send That Signal!
Lesson Plan Grade: 4th
Here is a challenge for your students: you need to send a number to someone on the other side of the classroom. The twist? You are not allowed to talk, write the number down, or use gestures or sign language! How would you do it? In this project, your students will explore different means of transmitting information by sending a message to a phone that can graph light, sound, and vibrations using a specific sensor app. They will learn about different sensors and interpreting graphs, and use the… Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • 4-PS4-3. Generate and compare multiple solutions that use patterns to transfer information.
Solar Power
Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd-5th
In this activity, students learn how engineers use solar energy to heat buildings by investigating the thermal storage properties of some common materials: sand, salt, water and shredded paper. Students then evaluate the usefulness of each material as a thermal storage material to be used as the thermal mass in a passive solar building.Engineering Connection Engineers design technologies that can turn sunlight into electricity to power households and businesses. For example,… Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • 4-PS3-2. Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.
Solar Sails: The Future of Space Travel
Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th
Working as if they were engineers, students design and construct model solar sails made of aluminum foil to move cardboard tube satellites through "space" on a string. Working in teams, they follow the engineering design thinking steps—ask, research, imagine, plan, create, test, improve—to design and test small-scale solar sails for satellites and space probes. During the process, learn about Newton's laws of motion and the transfer of energy from wave energy to… Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • MS-ETS1-4. Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.
  • MS-PS2-2. Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object's motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.
  • MS-PS2-1.. Apply Newton's Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.
Sports Equipment Engineering Challenge
Lesson Plan Grade: Kindergarten-2nd
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Give your students a chance to practice their engineering skills in this fun sports-themed activity! Your motivation: You want to play a game in which you use something to hit a ball (hockey, mini golf, whiffle ball, etc.)... but you don't have any equipment. The students will need to use recycled materials (and some creativity) to build their own! Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • K-PS2-2. Analyze data to determine if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a push or a pull.
  • K-2-ETS1-1. Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
Studying Evolution with Digital Organisms
Lesson Plan Grade: 9th-12th
Students observe natural selection in action and investigate the underlying mechanism, including random mutation and differential fitness based on environmental characteristics. They do this through use of the free AVIDA-ED digital evolution software application.Engineering Connection Computer scientists and engineers work together to create software and hardware to model complex systems and create new technologies. The digital evolution software, Avida, was created by a… Read more
Sustainable Fishing
Lesson Plan Grade: 4th-12th
"Boats" © 2016 Dennis Jarvis By using a model for how fishing affects marine life populations, students will construct explanations for one of the reasons why fish populations are declining. They will then work to design solutions for ways of making fisheries more sustainable for the animals and the people who depend on them. Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
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