STEM Lesson Plans

Students use the engineering design process to create paper rocket protoypes and complete a cost-benefit analysis to help choose the best one.

Context: This lesson takes place in a classroom for two or more class periods Students may work in small groups of 2-4. An emphasis on the experiment of making an indestructible Edison robot Creative

Students will create an inclined plane using Pythagorean Theorem and will experiment with rolling objects and try to find a solution to reduce the speed through friction, or air resistance or weight.

This lesson plan provides material for two 90-minute periods. Day one provides guided opportunities to explore chemical equations and day two consists of 10 hands-on stations practicing and applying

Students will be reading an article and answering questions on Solar Panels to help them complete their model of how the solar panel converts the sun's energy into electricity,.

An introduction to Newton's Laws of Motion. Students will utilize two or three options to move a balloon across a tethered line. Students will compare and contrast two different size balloons moving

In this lesson students will be able to make their own slime using chemistry and chemical reactions then use their slime as a model for fractions while reading a short story called, "Slimey is Half."

Students are challenged with making a simple hoop glider and then altering it to achieve the greatest possible distance before being given the opportunity to change hoop materials and achieve the

Student groups will collaborate to design, build, and test solutions to move a container of "toxic popcorn" into a decontamination vessel before the city is destroyed!

The students design and test a catapult using simple materials like popsicle sticks and rubber bands. They learn about the history of catapults and also about the physical science concepts related to

Rad Roller Coasters Part 2 comes at the end of our paper roller coaster project. Students will collect data on their coaster and use that to calculate velocity, potential energy and kinetic energy

This lesson is for a multi-day project where student groups will plan, design, and build roller coasters out of paper and tape. It tests their knowledge of Physics and Engineering Design.

Students are provided with recycled materials and given the challenge to built a boat that will carry weight and sail across a container without sinking. Students will learn about buoyancy and what

Students will learn about the history of the Ferris wheel while engineering their own out of Popsicle sticks. Students may work individually to create their own spinning ferris wheel An emphasis on

This lesson will implement chain reactions and simple machines into a Rube Goldberg invention. Students will learn about the Rube Goldberg and his crazy inventions. They will then create their own

This Lesson Plan demonstrates how sound waves work. It also helps kids work with their peers and expand their understanding of how sound waves can cause vibrations which can cause matter to move

This Lesson demonstrates and helps students understand the concept of non-contact forces with a hands-on-activity. In the experiment, the students will be making a magnetic car in groups of 2-4. After

Mixtures and Solutions: Students investigate how various mixtures can be separated. While making a mixture of salt and water, connections are made to global water supplies and the amount of fresh and

Students determine the period of rotation for the flying pig toy using formulas derived throughout the circular motion unit.

By 2028, NASA plans to send a mission to Mars to retrieve samples collected by rovers and return to Earth. Student teams are challenged to build a rover and design a way to retrieve as much cargo as

Students will design paper gliders to develop an understanding of the principles of flight. This is a low-tech lesson that does not require extensive/expensive supplies. It can be scaled up or down

2nd grade students will work collaboratively to describe, illustrate, and communicate their understanding of the states of matter involving liquids, solids, and gases. The lesson includes extension

Day 2 - The students are then challenged to design controlled experiments to identify the substances responsible for the observed chemical and physical changes.

Day 1 - The purpose of this inquiry-based demonstration is to have students make observations about the changes that occur when several substances are mixed.