STEM Lesson Plans

Engineers often create small-size models of a new product to test its design. This is especially true with airplanes. Model testing tells engineers how a design responds to different air conditions

Students will read the novel, "The Lion of Mars", design & launch paper rockets, and then design a sustainable Mars Colony inspired by the novel. This hands-on lesson is scheduled to take around 15

Students will read an article about new innovative inventions. Students will research an issue they care about. Some examples would be climate change, trash, world hunger, forest fires, pollution, etc

This lesson is based on a Navajo Story: "The Three Little Sheep". The story connects to the famous, "The Three Little Pigs". Students become engineers and create different dwelling models: a grass hut

Students use large building bricks to practice computational thinking, direction giving and being specific in those directions. This lesson can be completed in one 30-45 minute class session. This is

Students will construct a straw rocket launcher that utilizes air pressure as the force to push the rocket through the air. A STEM journal will guide them through planning an investigation. Students

This lesson is about Rapunzel who wants to get down from her tower and explore the world. As engineers, you have to build her a structure to escape safely. This is a fun hands-on activity for students

In this lesson, students will learn about projectile motion and the factors that affect it by designing and building a simple catapult. Through hands-on experimentation, students will investigate how

Students design and test a device for an egg drop in this engaging and hands-on lesson. They will document their data, make modifications to designs, and assess what the outcome is of their own drop

In this lesson, students show what they know about animal adaptations! Students will test out a variety of bird "beaks" and how capable they are of picking up different types of bird "foods". Then

This lesson is an introduction to CAD, possibly leading up to 3D printing. The idea is to be familiar with CAD and more specifically the TinkerCAD application.

The following lesson is an engineering design lesson, with the optional ELA or Math component. Students will use popsicle sticks to construct a Truss Bridge and/or an Arch Bridge. Students will

Designed for three hour-long STEAM Club meetings for scholars from kindergarten - fourth grade. This lesson plan can also be used for fifth-seventh grade scholars. Scholars will learn about

Students design and build air powered gliders in this engaging lesson. This is a fun way to teach and apply principles of force as they apply to flight including lift, gravity, thrust, and drag

This STEM lesson is designed to explore electrical circuits and engage in a hands-on activity to create, label, and identify the differences between parallel and series circuits. Students will develop

Aerospace to Sports explores the concept of how aerospace engineering has impacted sports, specifically exploring the design of golf balls. Students learn about how the industry employs engineering

Students will set off and observe Wack-a-Pack. Then students will create their own version using Alka Seltzer tabs, water, balloons, and Ziploc bags. They will explore effects of pressure on

This is the second lesson plan that goes with the series of four lesson plans for the book Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly. This lesson focuses on vibrations, sounds, and music. The final project is

This lesson includes activities to help build equitable background knowledge before reading the book A Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly. These activities include setting up science notebooks, building

Bridge Design Challenge For this design challenge, each group will build a bridge out of 200 popsicle sticks and 1 bottle of Elmer’s glue. The bridge will span a 12 inch gap between tables. After the

Students will make clay pucks. Fire clay pucks and put into various fibers, materials, paper while still hot to see the effect of thermal shock on clay and the design each of the different materials

This first grade lesson includes the life cycle and survival of a seed. Students will participate in observing the life cycle of a seed, asking questions, writing about the life cycle, and listening

In this STEM Challenge, the student’s task is to listen/read the story "Not a Box" by Antoinette Portis and use their imagination to create their own unique designs and structures using simple

This lesson compares and contrasts different hydroponic systems and their benefits and setbacks. Then, the plan walks the students through the hands-on activity of creating a Kratky bin for hydroponic