STEM Lesson Plans

This is a lesson designed for 4th and 5th grade. It would come at the end of the unit on Force and Motion. It describes a wonderful machine called a Rube Goldberg Machine. This lesson includes an ELA

DNA, or Deoxyribonucleic Acid, is the molecule of life. DNA exists in every single organism, from the smallest bacteria to the largest mammal, and is the only known molecule that has the ability to

In this high school science/engineering lesson on exploring cracked steel, students will delve into the concept of cracked steel and its impact on structural integrity. They will define composites and

In this virtual reality frog dissection, students get to explore the anatomy of a female frog inside and out. The frog’s respective organs are scientifically accurate models to scale, allowing

In this project, students will create a professional blueprint of their real-life home. Students will then do research to find at least ten places in the home that impact the environment (positive or

In this project, students will choose an environmental problem to research. They will look up why this problem is occurring and how it is harming the environment. Students will then come up with two

In this hands-on lesson, students will attempt two builds. Students will identify weaknesses and strengths in both of their structures. They will then evaluate the effectiveness of their builds.

I use this egg drop/crash lesson as an introduction to Energy and Energy Transfer in physics. Students understand basic kinematics, but I generally conduct this lesson before projectile motion, but it

In this lesson students read about simple machines and learn that simple machines make it easier to lift or move things and that they can change direction and magnitude of force. Students use LEGOs to

In this lesson, students will not only learn about the anatomy of the stomach, but also analyze their eating habits and how their stomach changes throughout their day. They will graph these changes on

Students will learn about the four forces of flight in this introductory lesson. This is lesson one of a four-part unit and provides students with the knowledge they need about flight to engage in a

In part one of this two-part lesson series, students will learn about (or review) the force of push and pull and how this applies to energy transfer. Students will gain an understanding of these

I use this lesson as a fun activity to visualize unit conversions and the immense scale of the universe. I love this lesson because I find it challenging to teach unit conversions with hands-on

Students will use engineering, art, technology, and 21st century skills to create Halloween costumes for their Sphero robots. Costumes will be showcased in a Halloween parade where students will code

Students will compare and contrast homes and technology from 50 years ago to the present day. Students will design a SMART home gadget that can be implemented into SMART homes of the future.

In this lesson, students explore geometric concepts such as shapes, angles, and symmetry. They apply engineering and design principles to create structures using Magna-Tiles. This gives students an

Students will be paired up, or a group of three if one odd number, and create a Mom and Dad creature with Dominant and Recessive Traits that get passed on to two offspring through the flipping of a

Making a wave machine to learn about the parts of the wave. This is the foundational learning piece before heading into the seismic building challenge.

This is a lesson designed to teach students that everything they read on the Internet is not always true.

Imagine being stranded in the wilderness, far away from civilization, with nothing but your wits and a hatchet. You have to find a way to survive, to protect yourself from the elements, and to create

"Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen is a novel about a young boy named Brian Robeson who is stranded in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash. While the book doesn't explicitly teach STEM principles, it

For this lesson students will be exploring/applying the concept of equations of circles. The teacher will place a giant graph in the room and students will make a circular art design to put on the

This lesson aims to introduce the concept of equilibrium point by creating and revising a model. This hands-on lesson encourages students to explore the concepts of equilibrium and balance while

Students will be able to understand proportional relationships with rescaling a drawing. Students will be able to draw a reduced scale drawing and enlarged scale drawing in the end. Students will also