STEM Lesson Plans

Involving themes of biology, ecology, and conservation, this engineering lesson introduces students to the behavior of immersed bodies within the realm of fluid mechanics. Utilizing the phenomena of

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

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 engaging lesson, students explore the concept of position (Hayu') vs. time (nkez) graphs through a hands-on car motion (Buggy) activity. Using the Buggy on a marked track, students measure and

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

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

Launch into a fun activity! Students will be building a rocket, then blow into the straw inserted and watch how high their rocket flies. This fun activity can be done indoor or outdoor. Students can

In this lesson plan, students will make use of their knowledge about gravitational force and factors affecting it to design a stuffed mini parachute that will land the slowest from a given height

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.

This lesson plan is part 1 of 4. This lesson focuses on how Newton's Laws apply to rocket launches as well as what forces are present at three different stages of launch. Additional lessons will be

This lesson includes having students design and build a wing to put onto a pre-built RC plane and fly it in circles (tethered). Requires previous RC knowledge.

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

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