Students apply what they have learned about the engineering design process to a real-life problem that affects them and/or their school. They chose a problem as a group, and then follow the engineering design process to come up with and test their design solution. This activity teaches students how to use the engineering design process while improving something in the school environment that matters to them. By performing each step of the design process, students can experience what it is like to be an engineer.

Students are introduced to a systematic procedure for solving problems through a demonstration and then the application of the method to an everyday activity. The unit project is introduced to provide relevance to subsequent lessons.

Students learn about the concept of pushing, as well as the relationship between force and mass. Students practice measurement skills using pan scales and rulers to make predictions about mass and distance. A LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robot is used to test their hypotheses. By the end of the activity, students have a better understanding of robotics, mass and friction and the concept of predicting.

Students analyze a cartoon of a Rube Goldberg machine and a Python programming language script to practice engineering analysis. In both cases, they study the examples to determine how the different systems operate and the function of each component. This exercise in juxtaposition enables students to see the parallels between a more traditional mechanical engineering design and computer programming. Students also gain practice in analyzing two very different systems to fully understand how they work, similar to how engineers analyze systems and determine how they function and how changes to the system might affect the system.

Working in small groups, students complete and run functioning Python codes. They begin by determining the missing commands in a sample piece of Python code that doubles all the elements of a given input and sums the resulting values. Then students modify more advanced Python code, which numerically computes the slope of a tangent line by finding the slopes of progressively closer secant lines; to this code they add explanatory comments to describe the function of each line of code. This requires students to understand the logic employed in the Python code. Finally, students make modifications to the code in order to find the slopes of tangents to a variety of functions.

Play a game of concentration by matching terms used in the scientific method to their proper description.

In this inquiry lab activity, the students will attempt to layer 6 different kinds of soda pops in a large test tube. The students will have to use prior knowledge of the physical properties of liquids, in particular density, to accomplish this task.

Kids take on the role of a bird and create a nest. Working in teams, kids apply their problem solving skills to create birds' nests without using their hands. [1:47]

KIDS Clubhouse Adventures kids read and discover more about junk! When dismantling their junk, kids find many shapes, textures, simple machines and other tiny parts that make up old electronics! [1:39]

Contains plans for two lessons designed to help primary students' reading comprehension with mathematical story problems. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to sites used in the lessons as well as assessment and reflection activities.

In this fun song from The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That!, children learn about planning and carrying out investigations. Nick and Sally learn to keep an open mind about accidents, and all the new discoveries they can lead to! [1:30]

This activity is an investigation where students experiment with reflection using plane mirrors.

Students solidify their understanding of the terms "circumference" and "rotation" through the use of LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robotics components. They measure the circumference of robot wheels to determine how far the robot can travel during one rotation of an NXT motor. They sharpen their metric system measurement skills by precisely recording the length of a wheel's circumference in centimeters, as well as fractions of centimeters. Through this activity, students practice brainstorming ways to solve a problem when presented with a given scenario, improve their ability to measure and record lengths to different degrees of precision, and become familiar with common geometric terms (such as perimeter and rotation).

Rock out with Ruff Ruffman as he reflects on his problem-solving skills in a "new-wave, upbeat dance party" song. [2:24]

This activity could be part of a bigger theme under pollution. The activity could be the water part and the bigger focus could contain all other types of pollution.

Students develop an understanding of the concepts of "push" and "pull" as they "save" stuffed animals from danger using LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots. After learning more about the concepts through a robot demonstration, students explore the concepts themselves in the context of saving stuffed animala from the table edges. They choose to either push or pull the animal to safety, depending on the orientation of the robot and toy. They see the consequences of their choices, learning the importance of understanding these force concepts and the differences between them.

This activity is a forensic based physical science inquiry investigation where students collaborate in groups and use observations to determine how Newton's Laws of Motion are applied in finding evidence in a car and truck trailer accident. Their evidence will be used in a presentation to verify consistency in police and witness reports to support the plantiff or defendent in the court case.

This activity is a year long project observing the changes in a specific tree. It includes using all the senses in the observation and making two different booklets to record what we observe. It also includes several picture story books that enhance the lesson.

This is an activity in which students use their senses to describe their garden. This is a guided inquiry lesson.

Bakers Bert and Ernie are on a great adventure! A customer has ordered a very big order: 10 loaves of bread, 20 pies, and the world's tallest chocolate cake. And he's on his way to pick them up! Will Bakers Bert and Ernie complete the order in time? This resource focuses on problem solving. [4:59]