STEM Lesson Plans

Introduction to how a solar panel works. Students get to explore how to power a fan and lights using a solar panel and a motor. Students get to see a diagram of a solar panel and start to make a model

In this lesson, students will build on what they understand about heat/energy transfer to research, design, and construct solar cookers.

Hot Air Ballooning in Arizona is a two day science and engineering lesson. Students explore how to create a model hot air balloon and talk about the science behind it. This lesson compliments the

In this challenge students will use various materials to build a flood barrier that will protect their home during a flash flood.

What is a geometric shape? Observe and discuss a variety of geometric shapes. Similar/different? Mathematical geometry vocabulary/activities with shapes Engineering a geometric playground Share or

Students will be learning about the Fibonacci mathematical design pattern. They will learn about the 3 different mathematical Fibonacci sequence designs, vocabulary, and creating their own art

This lesson and accompanying activity are designed to introduce students to the celestial coordinate system used for location objects and locations in the sky. This lesson will also introduce students

An introduction to Kepler's 1st Law and ellipses. The lesson includes some guided notes for students as well as a hands on activity where students will draw, measure, explore, and conduct calculations

This two-part lesson models STEM instruction in the context of an ELD classroom. In this lesson (part 2), students pose a research question about clouds, weather, and/or climate, and address it with

Students will learn about the atmosphere and what causes it to form layers. Then, students will identify how the atmosphere interacts with the geosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Students design an

This two-part lesson models STEM instruction in the context of an ELD classroom. In part 1 (this lesson), the goal is to promote scientific academic discourse in an ELD classroom. Students use a

By 2028, NASA plans to send a mission to Mars to retrieve samples collected by rovers and return to Earth. Student teams are challenged to build a rover and design a way to retrieve as much cargo as

In this lesson, students explore glow-in-the-dark materials using regular flashlights and UV flashlights. They then add phosphorescence and the emission of EM energy to previous models of light and

Students will discover the relationship between mass and volume in relation to density through an inquiry lab. Students will take mass and volume data of several different solid substances and compare

In this lesson students will create a model to investigate how a location's temperature may change during an El Niño year. Students will construct landforms in a tray and then fill the tray with water

In this lesson, students will be given a region where they will need to research and collect data with their groups to determine patterns and formulate predications about the types of disasters that

Students will learn about the history of the National Parks Service and the different biomes and environments within the United States. Then, they will choose a National Park to research and present a

~Students apply the engineering design process as they learn the advantages and disadvantages of the greenhouse effect. ~Students will work collaboratively to construct a miniature greenhouse to

Students are challenged to clean up an oil spill in a river environment. Students create the river environment in a container and add water, plants, sand, and animals. They will spill 1/4 oil into

This design challenge was open for any interested students from grades 9-12. Students met afterschool over the course of the second semester. This is the 3rd sequence lesson in a set of 4. This lesson

In this 7 week unit, students will utilize resources around them to create a garden for a culminating taco party! Students will work on science, math, and ELA within the unit. Feel free to host this

Students will be identifying the unknown minerals by looking at cleavage, fracture, luster, streak, hardness, and density. This is a hands on activity where students will place their data on a data

Students will explore the different types of mouth parts and how their feeding needs are met. Students will 'pretend' to be insects with different mouth types and collect data on their success on

In this lesson, students will read about volcanoes (using teacher chosen books and Readworks.org passages) as well as watch videos to see them in real life. They will then create their own volcano and