STEM Lesson Plans

This lesson is about exploring Arizona's state bird, the cactus wren, that lives in the desert, has special body parts and behaviors that help it survive in its harsh environment. Students will learn

In the novel Shiloh, Marty must leave Shiloh in the woods overnight. He quickly finds materials in his shed to build Shiloh a fence and structure to protect him from elements in the woods behind his

Using my backyard chickens as inspiration, this 5th grade lesson asks children to graph egg production and build a model of a chicken coop and run.

Students use a 2-D physics sandbox, called Algodoo, to simulate the factors that might affect the period of a circular orbit of a planet about a star. Students develop Kepler's 3rd Law conceptually by

In this unit, students will explore the interdependencies in a system and uncovers circular causal connections. Students will use a stock-flow game, specifically the “Mammoth Game” to simulate how

In this unit students will observe how elements within a system changes over time, generating patterns and trends that affect the ecosystem of bees. Students will use Stock-Flow Maps to show the

Students will learn about hibernation and adapting to the winter cold. They will build shelters with different insulating materials so that their animals do not get cold. They will then do a gallery

Students will be able to utilize multimedia resources, such as online simulations and interactive videos, to explain the process of natural selection and provide examples of how it leads to species

Students will apply STEM principles to design and build a working circuit in the shape of a heart, incorporating science concepts, technology tools, engineering skills, and mathematical calculations.

This lesson is the second lesson of a two-part series where students investigate concepts of biomimicry and apply them to the real world with issues like resource scarcity. In this lesson, students

In this lesson, students will learn about desert plant and animal adaptations and the concept of biomimicry. Students will discuss examples of biomimicry in nature and in the real world and will

Students use test strips and research to solve the issue of a fish death in our classroom tank. This would also work well for the initial setup of a tank. Students see a tangible, observable, real

Students measure the temperature of water as it cools to learn about heat transfer and thermal properties while using line of best fit, linear regressions and/or quadratic regressions.

This investigation provides a fun and engaging way for students to learn about data collection, graphing, and proportional relationships while exploring the power of renewable energy. By applying

Water Troughs on the Rez is a lesson plan to help students understand the mathematical perspective of everyday items around our homes on the reservation. Students are to share different types of water

Students will continue to learn about the mining process and will get the chance to do some mining in this lesson. They will get to determine the best area to mine using core samples. Students will

Students will explore bird habitats and research how natural and human-caused changes to habitats or climate can impact populations. They will participate in an engineering design challenge to model a

This lesson introduces the students to what are antibiotics, how they work, and why they are important. At the same time, it also talks about how an organism becomes antibiotic resistant. The students

This lesson is designed around competition. Competition is a driving force behind natural selection. If something can survive to reproduce, the traits are passed on. Students will be completing

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

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.

Student teams design insulated beverage cups with the challenge to test them to determine which material works best as an insulator to keep a hot beverage warm for as long as possible. Students test

This is a junior high lesson on plant grafting that can be done in a classroom setting or with an after-school club such as botany. This lesson can be easily modified for any grade level. In this

This is a 3rd-4th grade STEM lesson. It is part of the Life Science standards. It shows how different plants, animals and people depend on the Saguaro Cactus for survival. The Saguaro also depends on