STEM Lesson Plans

This is the 2nd lesson is a 2-part series. Students will expand their knowledge of Newton's laws while building, launching and changing the design of paper rockets. This design and modeling exercise

Students will expand their knowledge of Newton's laws while building, launching and changing the design of paper rockets. This design and modeling exercise by JPL/NASA starts students off with a

In this creative lesson, students focus on inertia while exploring the magnetic compass and its errors while flying an aircraft.

In this lesson, students will research to plan and design an "energy store" (battery) that will utilize potential and kinetic energy to power a city.

In this hands-on lesson, students explore unbalanced forces through a variety of learning experiences and reading material. They then create simple machines to demonstrate unbalanced forces.

Today we are engineering marble runs. To do this we will: Share ideas Brainstorm and sketch plans Count and measure Collaborate and communicate effectively with others

Today we will engineer air powered rockets. To do this we will: Watch a video and note the shape of rockets and learn about countdown and liftoff Name shapes as we brainstorm and sketch plans Build

In this hands-on lesson, students learn about the discipline of structural engineering by using the engineering design process to create a load-bearing structure. The purpose of this lesson is to

In this hands-on lesson, students will test how long an ice cube takes to melt in the classroom. They will then design and build a structure that will prevent a 1-gram ice cube from melting completely

In this hands-on lesson, students explore force and motion. They will plan the construction of a slide for a marble that will show how the unbalanced force of gravity will act on the marble in order

In this lesson students will engineer paper airplanes. They will run 20 trials measuring and recording distance of flight. Students will make a histogram with the given data.

In this engaging lesson, students will program Edison robots to travel forward for 3 seconds. They will run 5 trials to measure distance, collecting data each time. They will compare data with

In this lesson students will find the diameter of M&Ms. They will enter their data into a class data bank using Microsoft Excel. They will analyze the class data set and then find the mean diameter of

In this engaging lesson, students complete 2 labs to investigate and analyze how the force of gravity impacts objects. The lesson is formatted for Argument Driven Inquiry design, which means it starts

In this engaging lesson, students will model a standing transverse wave using a slinky and collect measurements to find the amplitude, wavelength, and frequency of their wave in order to calculate the

In this creative lesson, students will use a slinky to model two types of waves: longitudinal/compression waves and transverse waves. Through class exploration, students will first practice making the

In this engaging and creative lesson, students get a feel of what it is like to be a chemical or materials engineer. Each group will make their own bioplastic using cornstarch, vinegar, water, and

In this creative and engaging lesson, students will create a card that incorporates a circuit design to add a light component.

In this engaging lesson, students construct a real solar oven, cook food, gather data, and analyze the data to interpret if their oven was successful or not. The lesson culminates with a presentation.

In this hands-on lesson, students will model transfer of kinetic energy by preparing and measuring the temperature of two equal quantities of water, before mixing them together and then measuring the

This hands-on lesson is geared towards an introduction to engineering and electronics in creating a simple nanobot from cardboard, a coin battery, and vibrating motor. Students use the engineering

In this hands-on lesson, students will plan, build and create a roller coaster from random materials that a Ping Pong ball can travel through. Students engage in the engineering design process as they

The scenario is that you are heading to the moon to do a year residency program. You desire a “radio tower” to be built so that you can communicate with your friends back on Earth. This Challenge

Students will learn about balanced vs unbalanced forces by trying to rescue bears from the "Lava" (the table) using certain given supplies.