STEM Lesson Plans

By the end of this lesson, students will understand the unique adaptations of desert tortoises and the importance of conserving their habitat. Students also engineer a habitat for the desert tortoise.

The Parachute design lesson involves students learning about the engineering design process, air resistance, and parachute principles before planning and constructing their own parachutes. Through

This is the culminating activity of the 8 part lesson series on simple machines. Students will put together everything they have learned about each individual simple machine to create a complex chain

In this lesson students will: Identify screws in our world; Discuss how screws make work easier; Plan and construct an Archimedes Screw Provide and receive feedback through peer critiques

In this lesson students will: Identify wedges in our world; Discuss how wedges make work easier; Plan and construct a canoe of their own design that incorporates a wedge shape to make it more

In this lesson students will: Identify wheels and axles in our world; Discuss how wheels and axles make work easier; Plan and construct a wind powered care of their own design that uses wheels and

In this lesson, students will: Identify levers in our world; Discuss how levers make work easier; Plan and construct a catapult that uses a lever Provide and receive feedback through peer critiques

In this lesson, students will: Identify inclined planes in our world; Discuss how inclined planes make work easier; Plan and construct a marble maze of their own design that uses inclined planes

In this lesson, students will: Identify pulleys in our world Discuss how pulleys make work easier Plan and construct an elevator of their own design that incorporates a pulley Provide and receive

This lesson serves as the introduction to an 8 lesson series or unit on simple machines. This series will present dozens of activities to introduce your students to simple machines, culminating in the

The owl pellet dissection is an engaging lesson where students will be looking closely at regurgitated pellets and discovering energy transfer through the owl and their prey. Students will be creating

Using the book "Those Darn Squirrels" by Adam Rubin, students will design and create a bird feeder to let the birds IN and keep the squirrels OUT! Communication, collaboration, and creativity are key

Using the engineering design process, students will collaborate to plan and build a tower...but not just any old tower! This "Tower with a Twist" has to include a suspended cup that can also hold

This is part 2 of a two part lesson called Sailing Down the Road. In this lesson students will design a sail that can successfully catch the wind and cause their cardboard car (from part 1) to drive

This is a lesson designed for 4th and 5th grade. It would come at the end of the unit on Force and Motion. It describes a wonderful machine called a Rube Goldberg Machine. Who was Rube Goldberg? Why

Design and create a space rover using recycled materials.

Students get a tst of building with non-traditional building materials. Afterwards, a brief description of columns and why they are useful/strong is given. Students then complete a second, simpler

In part one of this two part lesson series, students will learn about (or review) the force of push and pull and how this applies to energy transfer. Students will gain an understanding of these

Students will understand the basic concepts of magnets and magnetic interactions. Students will be able to apply their knowledge to create and solve simple design problems using Magna-Tiles. Students

Students will use engineering skills, critical thinking, math and balance, and collaboration to build a home for a visiting Hedgehog. The materials are straws, string, wooden blocks, material/fabric

Students will build a bridge out of toothpicks or craft sticks by using gum drops, marshmallows, and/or wood glue. The purpose is to have it stay upright between two chairs without breaking. Students

What are we learning? We are learning about the history of the Mars Rover program and how scientists had to work together to solve problems and make sure the rover landed safely on the Red Planet. We

First Grade teams of students (3 first grade students) will work cooperatively with Fifth Grade students (1 fifth grade student per team) to explore Newton's Laws of Force and Motion by constructing

Students will design a wind powered coach to take Cinderella to the ball using paper, straws, and life savers. They will be able to work with a group to design, test, and revise their idea before