STEM Lesson Plans

This lesson is a great introductory lesson to the engineering process. This activity will have the students design and build a glider to go as far as possible. They will also need to collaborate and

After learning about the importance of clean water and different types of filters, students engineer their own water filter.

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

This lesson is intended to teach students about how mass and unbalanced forces affect the motion of objects (inertia) and Newton's First Law of motion. Students will have student-to-student

Students identify the problem with drinking water contamination due to pesticide, prescription medicine, and hormones. They design solutions for a real-world problem that negatively affects the

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.

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 will use science skills to engineer habitats for polar regions as they learn about the polar regions through hands on experiences.

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.

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 unit will pair the popular game of Minecraft with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to develop a safe community for refugees and countries in crisis. Throughout the unit, you will

Students will explore the drought in Arizona and design a solution for it. They will create their design in a 3D design program, write an informational paper, and present the design and information to

This lesson is to be used as a follow up activity when learning about the water cycle. Students are able to play a game either digitally or physically to demonstrate their own journey through the

This is a smaller part of a larger Digital Citizenship Unit. Students will spend time understanding the concept of a Digital Footprint and the long term consequences of a negative Digital Footprint

Students will use geometric reasoning and the engineering design process to construct solar ovens while learning about renewable energy.

This interactive 4th-grade lesson plan focuses on erosion and weathering, key concepts in understanding Earth's geology. In "Dynamic Earth," students use an interactive simulation to explore how

Explore Coal Mine Canyon's wonders! Watch a documentary, read about geology, draw the canyon, and use tech to learn about geological layers. Fun, interactive learning awaits!

Students will be able to obtain, evaluate, and communicate evidence about how natural and human-caused changes to habitats or climate can impact populations. Additionally, they will be able to

This lesson plan has three main objectives. The first is that students will be able to recreate a map of the canal with 3D structures along the way. The largest structure being Casa Grande, or the