STEM Lesson Plans

This is the first lesson in a series of four that are designed to help guide students to design and implement their own independent STEM research project.

In this lesson, students will work in groups to design a model that will demonstrate the best erosion techniques for the model of a road experiencing flooding or heavy rainfall. Students will be given

This lesson combines math, science and art in a sparkling and engaging activity. Student will learn about rock classifications and draw an example using geometry. Students will gain an understanding

After completing a unit on weather, students will be challenged to research, design, construct and attach a snow plow to their Edison robot. Then they will create a scratch code that will navigate

In this lesson, students use the Kepler’s Laws PhET Simulation to collect data on the period and average radius of the planetary orbits. They graph and analyze that data to derive Kepler’s 3rd Law.

This lesson uses a PhET Simulation to allow students to collect data on the orbits of planets around our Sun, then summarize and share their results. It is designed for students in Grades 9-12.

This lesson is the beginning stages of planning for a greenhouse. Students work to gather data and information about possible locations for the greenhouse by using their perimeter skills.

Students will use the Sphero bots to collect and graph data to make a prediction.

Students will be using simple equipment to demonstrate the 3 laws of motion. They will be incorporating technology, math, and the scientific method to demonstrate what they know.

This lesson allows students to explore why volcanoes are shaped differently and why they erupt differently. Students will investigate viscosity, silica content of igneous rock samples, and perform

Students will explore how gravity plays a role in orbits and the attraction between objects in space, using online simulations. In addition to the online simulations this lesson contains ideas for

The students construct and interpret an HR Diagram to better understand the significance and usefulness of the diagram.

This is a high-school level hands-on project that allows students to build their own working sundial, make predictions and assess their accuracy. This lesson ties in with the study of Kepler's Laws.

This lesson teaches students how and why it rains. They will have student-to-student interactions and hands-on learning opportunities. They will also be practicing their counting skills during the

Including themes of natural resources, art, and geography; this engineering lesson introduces students to the idea of mass conservation. While using the phenomena of the water crisis in Arizona,

In this lesson, students will learn about Wilson Bentley, the "farmer scientist" who pioneered photomicrography to photograph snowflakes and share them with the world. Students will then design and

Students in 4th grade learned about natural disasters through this interactive STEM lesson focused on the creation on a 'tsunami-proof' home. Students used the Engineering Design Process to create a

Students will learn about water availability in Arizona and design and build a prototype/model of a rain-catchment/recycling system to provide water for a school garden.

In this unit, students will use their knowledge of weather and climate patterns to construct, place, and collect data from a rain gauge for one month. The beginning of the school year would be the

How old is Earth? How big is 1 million years compared to 1 billion years? Students will use three models to organize geologic time and practice cross multiplication to solve for a variable.

Students learn about the Colorado River watershed and the impact of water rights and usage. They will read about the past and present water flow data, build a model of the watershed, calculate data

A review of types of rocks and the rock cycle and tectonic movement. The creation of minerals. Using Associative Geology, legends, and probabilities, hunt for possible locations of the Lost Dutchman’s

Three day lesson on garbage, recycling, and composting. Day 1: Students are provided a garbage bag and no instruction on recycling. *Collect all of your disposable garbage for 24 hours. Bring it back

This is a hands-on, collaborative lesson that allows the students to include art and presentation skills in the project. The students research various aspects of a selected planet and then presents