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Grand Challenges for Engineering - National Academy of Engineering
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): carbon (15), critical thinking (112), engineering (120), mars (26), medicine (55), nuclear energy (19), problem solving (225), scientific method (47), STEM (265)
In the Classroom
Use Grand Challenges for Engineering topics as class conversation starters in science, biology, and engineering classes and an inspiration to make STEM a possible career choice. Stimulate a rich discussion by previewing the topic to students at the beginning of a week and discussing at the end of the week. Share the videos on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Encourage them to research the idea outside of class, and provide this website as a major source. Have students summarize the concept and the new things that they have learned through the discussion on an exit slip before they leave for the week. Challenge your students to think of other Grand Challenges that we face. In a gifted program these challenges could serve as themes for extended investigations or individual projects.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Squishy Circuits - AnnMarie Thomas
Grades
2 to 10tag(s): circuits (20), electricity (59)
In the Classroom
Budgets are tight and times are tough, but using these activities, we can still keep the lights on electrical engineering. Have students make the play dough in lab or make it in advance for them. Color the recipes with different food colors so that you can easily identify which recipe is which. Explain how the battery packs and indicator lights work, and then let them play with the play dough and the battery packs. Please advise students of safety hazards and caution them against putting sensors directly against the battery pack. Once they have had time to play, have them identify different circuit parts using correct electrical terminology. Challenge students to create more and use their imaginations to try different situations and scenarios. Have different groups share their findings with the class, and allow the groups to share ideas to reach even further.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Stem Career - Rich Feller
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Share some of the infographics on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Allow time for students to search careers to report to the rest of the class using conventional or multimedia posters and other products. Use an online poster creator, such as Padlet, reviewed here. Include the skills required for the job, the education needed, and what that person does. Challenge students to create an advertisement for a STEM career they might enjoy.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Marshmallow Challenge - Tom Wujec
Grades
K to 12tag(s): creativity (91), design (79), engineering (120), problem solving (225), structures (18)
In the Classroom
This engineering challenge would be great during a unit on structures. However, in ANY classroom it would be a solid and creative way to teach design process, group skills, and creative problem solving. This activity is so versatile that it could be use in any grade, even at the college or business level. Of course in younger elementary grades, more instruction would be necessary and possibly some parent volunteers. Its lessons are multiple, from fluency, flexibility, possibility thinking, and promoting originality. In science classes, try including this activity in a lesson on gravity or forces. Prior to implementing this lesson, watch the TED talks video link for yourself. (These links are available at this site.) It is a worthwhile investment of seven minutes, and download and read the adobe acrobat file on the project. It may be a good idea, depending on the age of your students to create a short PowerPoint with the rules and instructions. Also, a visual timer and musical timer would be a great idea for this challenge. Use a site such as the Online Countdown Timer (reviewed here). Show the timer on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) so students are aware of how much time remains. The materials are best given to teams in a small brown bag so that there is an element of surprise and suspense during the instructional period. Another idea is to share this with your administrators, it would make a great challenge for a interactive faculty meeting especially if team building and thinking skills are trying to be built by the administration between faculty members.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CIESE Tele-Collaborative Classroom Projects - The Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): animals (284), engineering (120), genetics (76), light (51), plants (147), scientists (63), sun (70), water (101)
In the Classroom
Use these collaborative projects to teach students more about science and engineering. Even though some of the start dates have passed, teachers can still access the information and lessons. Many projects offer the future dates. If you choose to participate during the time frame or not, you can use the materials to collaborate with a class in the same school or in another state.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Women @ NASA - NASA
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): careers (139), scientists (63), space (214), STEM (265), women (138)
In the Classroom
Share this site with students when researching careers or space exploration. This is a perfect site for Women's History Month! There is plenty of information on the site for students to use as a model for researching career information. Challenge students to trace the life events of one of the women using an animated timeline tool like Time Graphics Timeline Maker, reviewed here. Describe events, display images, and embed videos at different points with this timeline tool. Be sure students share the location where their researched woman is originally from.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Engineering Bones - Teach Engineering
Grades
5 to 8This site includes advertising.
tag(s): body systems (40), engineering (120), medicine (55), science fairs (19)
In the Classroom
Try using this lesson plan as part of a health unit on accidents and amputations. Or, in biology class talk about the mechanics of the muscles in the leg and the advances that medicine has taken to help create better prosthetic devices. Link scientific inquiry to "real" problems. Consider inviting a guest who works with amputees to meet with your class via Skype as part of this lesson.This would also make a great extension activity for those students who love science and work well independently. Gifted students would enjoy the challenges of this very complete lesson package. If your school participates in a science fair, this would be an ideal project. Thinking about an after school science club? This would be a perfect activity to engage both male and female middle schoolers.
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Fold It - UW Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Allow students time to manipulate this site and learn the structures of proteins prior to the discussion of the content of the unit. Brainstorm what students have learned to develop notes or major content points. Identify the specific proteins and functions and determine why certain proteins have specific shapes. Identify the roles of proteins in the bodies of all living organisms. Connect these proteins with proteins in the diet and discuss the importance. Determine protein sources that are more beneficial for the human body. Think you have found the best way to fold the proteins? Register on the site and discuss the pattern.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Re-Energy - GreenLearning
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): climate change (88), design (79), electricity (59), energy (130), engineering (120), heat (15), natural resources (38), sustainability (44)
In the Classroom
The projects outlined are in simple steps to show students how to create their own renewable energy technologies. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to get hands on experience with engineering, design, and sustainable energy technologies. It also could be a resource for science fair projects.If you live in Canada, you can participate in a solar oven design challenge. Teachers from other countries may want to have their class host an on-line collaborative project to compare and contrast the performance of their home made solar ovens
The website provides a unit plan meant to be completed in 11 class periods. You can download free complete lesson plans with detailed instructions. A student planning worksheet outlines research procedures, project guidelines, timeline for completion dates and evaluation criteria they are expected to meet.
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Science IQ - Science IQ. com
Grades
8 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): area (52), carbon (15), carbon footprint (5), chemicals (39), coal (6), earthquakes (45), energy (130), engineering (120), fossil fuels (9), fossils (39), glaciers (17), machines (14), matter (46), moon (71), natural resources (38), ozone (7), ph (2), planets (112), prime numbers (26), pythagorean theorem (18), questioning (32), space (214), square roots (15), stars (68), sun (70), volume (34)
In the Classroom
Try using this site's questions on a weekly or daily basis in science or math class to start discussions and provoke student thinking. Allow students to view the question on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then brainstorm possible answers. Once enough thoughts have been seeded, share the real answers. Or, allow students to work at the answer as the lesson continues for a few days and reveal the correct answer as a finale to the lesson.This site could also be used as a learning station for the question of the day or the week.
Comments
This is a great resource to begin a class. It really helps students to apply science to the natural world.Gia, , Grades: 7 - 12
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NASA Missions A-Z - NASA
Grades
5 to 12In the Classroom
This site is perfect for anyone interested in NASA and space science. Share with students who have an interest in space exploration or engineering. Have students choose a mission and share information through a multimedia report using an online tool like Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Great Stem Cell Debate - TIME
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): dna (44), engineering (120)
In the Classroom
Use this site on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge as you start your study of ethics. As a class, go through some of the information provided that details how stem cell research works, and afterward use the information provided as a spring board to create a classroom debate. Teachers can also use this information to create a lively class debate in politics, biology, and philosophy classes. Because the websites provides so many different perspectives, it is applicable in all of the aforementioned subjects.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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eGFI Magazine Online - American Society for Engineering Education
Grades
K to 12tag(s): engineering (120), tornadoes (15), watersheds (8)
In the Classroom
Share the link to this magazine with your students via your delicious or diigo links that can be posted on your wiki or website. Then have students sign up for an article to read on their own time using your wiki as a sign up location. Then have students share what they have read in class discussion or on an online discussion board or blog post. Modify learning and challenge students to create a multimedia presentation to share their topic. Have your students create an interactive online infographic using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Do As the Romans: Construct an Aqueduct! - Teach Engineering
Grades
6 to 8tag(s): problem solving (225), romans (34), rome (21), water (101)
In the Classroom
For a whole group activity, share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. This site would be great to use with small groups of students. Have students work together and see how long it takes for them to get water to the city. Use the manual to help students identify and learn about the five different structures (covered trench, tunnel, pressurized pipe, wall, and arcade). Compare the ancient structures with the way we move water today, including modern day aqueducts. Have groups share their success stories by narrating a picture using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Shipwreck Challenge - Museum of Science, Boston
Grades
6 to 8tag(s): creativity (91), problem solving (225)
In the Classroom
Set up this activity by talking about creative ways to solve problems and using one's imagination, connecting it to what scientists and engineers do. Have your students agree on what parts of the classroom will represent different parts of nature. For example, desks could be trees. Then group students into fours, give them a box of materials, and have them think and then create different survival gear. Debrief the class by having them show their designed gear, explain how and why it would work, and their thought process. Possibly have students summarize their design on a video. Share the videos on a site such as SchoolTube (reviewed here). Then, have other groups respond by suggesting improvements or alternative ideas.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lesson: Life After Trash - Teach Engineering
Grades
6 to 9tag(s): critical thinking (112), engineering (120), problem solving (225)
In the Classroom
A week or so before conducting this simulation activity, ask students to bring in recyclables and clean trash from home. This will cut down on the amount of trash you need to collect, and it will add variety to the supplies. Set up the activity by talking about trash, where it comes from and where it goes. Discuss better alternatives for trash "disposal" such as recycling and reusing. Have students think of obvious reuses for materials and then explain that there are other alternatives to obvious uses. Introduce the activity and basic rules and safety to the students. Arrange them in groups of three or four and then allow them to "shop" the classroom "landfill" to create new things out of old trash. Follow up with discussion of group products, uses, and real life applications of this idea such as recycled art.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lesson Plan: Oil Spill Solutions - TryEngineering.org
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): environment (238), oil (24), oil spill (14)
In the Classroom
Introduce the concept by talking about current events such as the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Provide students with the student worksheets. Have the students work through the laboratory, and debrief by having students discuss their answers to questions. Have students relate their solutions to attempts to clean up real life oil spills. Enhance learning by having students create a class wiki using TWiki, reviewed here, to discuss oil spills and clean-up options. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Engineer Girl - National Science Foundation and Berkeley
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): careers (139), engineering (120), STEM (265)
In the Classroom
Find and write about career opportunities as an exploration topic. Discover how many careers use engineering, math, and science and it is not just for boys anymore! Search for other possible engineering related careers and create interactive posters using Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here that informs others of the possibilities, or create using Sway, reviewed here to create interactive presentations across all devices. Have cooperative learning groups create multimedia presentations to share their findings such as an infomercial video using a tool such as Powtoon, reviewed here, or Clipchamp, reviewed here. Share the videos on a site such as TeacherTube, reviewed here. This resource is also terrific for girls spending the Take Your Child to Work Day at a STEM-related workplace. Have the young woman use her workplace visit experience and information from this site to share an interactive newsletter about a STEM career using a tool such as Sway, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Gajitz Science - Gajitz
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): cells (81), engineering (120), inventors and inventions (71), medicine (55)
In the Classroom
Share selected discoveries or a science-in-real-life scenario at least weekly on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Watch the site for real world examples of your current unit or award extra credit to students who lurk on this site to find such connections. Just as your social studies colleagues assign students to write up a current event each week, you can assign students to write a blog post or brief explanation of a recent find on your class wiki. Be sure to include this link on your class web page for students to access both in and out of class, and be sure to include it in your emergency sub plans for students to find and explain an accomplishment of a real scientist found here. If you do a unit on science careers, this is a definite source for student projects. Why not have students create an interactive infographic using a tool like Genially, reviewed here, on a branch of science that interests them after exploring this site?Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kikki's Workshop - Komatsu, Ltd.
Grades
K to 5tag(s): engineering (120), inventors and inventions (71), machines (14), simple machines (17)
In the Classroom
During a physics unit on simple machines, have students look at the various components of the heavy equipment and analyze which simple machines they see as PART of these huge machines. Doing a unit on inventions? Discuss how the inventions of these machines were designed specifically to meet a need. Use this site during a unit on engineering as you learn about how these machines are designed to accomplish a specific task. With older students, discuss the uses of the anti-mine equipment. Create a class "Construction Wiki" where all students contribute after researching specific equipment. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through. A wiki tool suggestion is PBWorks, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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