STEM Lesson Plans

I can use the engineering process to create a shock absorbing system that will protect two “astronauts” in a lander as it is dropped from various heights on the moon.

This engaging lesson allows students the opportunity to employ prior knowledge while demonstrating knowledge of various standards in an inter-disciplinary, hands-on lesson. The utilization of data

This is a phenomena-based lesson where students will create a model to demonstrate the earth’s rotation during each season to investigate the change in light during the seasons. Links to resources are

This hands-on lesson uses a Modeling Instruction approach to experimental design and analysis leading students to develop the graphical and mathematical relationships for accelerated motion, or

Students will look at structures that allow animals to safely cross a roadway in this lesson. After reading "Crossings: Extraordinary Structures for Extraordinary Animals", they will research an

Students will learn about what a batting average is in baseball. They will learn how you calculate it and represent it as they do in baseball. Students will also track hits and what results from them

SUMMARY: This lesson challenges 3rd grade students to apply their knowledge of the physics of light by having them design, create, and test an obstacle course that their beam of light must navigate

Students will discuss current baseball teams names and mascots. Then students are tasked to design a new team name/logo/mascot for a city/state that does not currently have a major league team

This lesson has students build a half adder, a fundamental building block for digital computers. This is a hands-on lesson that includes resources.

After learning about solar, students will create a solar-powered device that can be used by the community. Students work in groups to engineer a device and present the final product to the class.

In this creative lesson, students will design and build a Rube Goldberg Energy Transfer Project. They will work within a group over 1-2 weeks and create a presentation to demonstrate the energy

Students utilize the Engineering Design Process to create a sailboat! Students must design and build a sailboat that will get them from one end of the channel where they are stranded to the other. It

Students will experiment with electromagnets and building them using a 3D model. They will collect data and analyze the data. Students will experiment with 4 different types of batteries and create

In this STEM lesson, 5th grade students will apply what they have learned about the affect gravity and friction have on an object’s mobility by engineering simple machines to change the ending of the

Students will listen to the story "Iggy Peck Architect" and create a bridge using available materials to see if it can carry weight. They will explore engineering as they plan, construct, and test

This is the 1st lesson in a series of 4 covering the rainforest. As a class, we research the abiotic and biotic factors of the whole rainforest. Students jigsaw and research the abiotic and biotic

This is lesson 2 in a series of 4 lessons about the rainforest. In jigsaw groups, students create a food web about one of the 4 layers of the rainforest on a Google Slide or Prezi. Students go back to

This is the 3rd lesson in a series of 4. Students will discuss a slow reveal graph about the amount of forest destroyed each year. Students compare two graphs and decide which is better at

This is the 4th and final lesson in a series of 4 about the rainforest. In this creative lesson, students write a summary about the layer they have been studying. They create an animal and organism

Students will use the engineering design process to design, build, and test three different paper airplane designs. The goal will be to create one that can fly the fastest, one that can fly the

After reading the picture book: "What Do You Do with an Idea?", students will create a table game using basic supplies. This hands-on lesson can be used when talking about force and motion, a 5th

This is the first lesson in a series of 2. In this first lesson, students learn about the ongoing water crisis in Arizona and how rainwater harvesting can help drought regions. Students will watch a

Students are introduced to the idea that matter is made up of tiny particles called atoms and molecules. In this lesson, students will determine the difference between the three states of matter

This is the second lesson in a series of 2. In this lesson, students will learn about what watersheds are and then take a tour of the school campus looking at it through the lens of being a watershed