Simple machines are devices with few or no moving parts that make work easier, and which people have used to provide mechanical advantage for thousands of years. Students learn about the wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane, screw and pulley in the context of the construction of a pyramid, gaining insights into tools that have been used since ancient times and are still important today. Through numerous hands-on activities, students imagine themselves as ancient engineers building a pyramid. Student teams evaluate and select a construction site, design a pyramid, perform materials calculations, test a variety of cutting wedges on different materials, design a small-scale cart/lever transport system to convey building materials, experiment with the angle of inclination and pull force on an inclined plane, see how a pulley can change the direction of force, and learn the differences between fixed, movable and combined pulleys. While learning the steps of the engineering design process, students practice teamwork, creativity and problem solving.

Students learn about energy, kinetic energy, potential energy, and energy transfer through a series of three lessons and three activities. They learn that energy can be neither created nor destroyed and that relationships exist between a moving object's mass and velocity. The associated activities give students hands-on experience with examples of potential-to-kinetic energy transfers. The activities also provide ways for students to apply the core concepts of energy through engineering practices such as building and testing prototypes to meet design criteria, planning and carrying out investigations, collecting and interpreting data, optimizing a system design, and collaborating with other research groups. The fundamental concepts presented in this unit serve as a good foundation for future lessons on energy technologies and electricity production.

Students explore the methods engineers have devised for harnessing sunlight to generate power. First, they investigate heat transfer and heat storage through the construction, testing and use of a solar oven. With a lesson focused on photovoltaic cells, students learn the concepts of energy conversion, conservation of energy, current and voltage. By constructing model solar powered cars, students see these conceptual ideas manifested in modern technology. Furthermore, the solar car project provides opportunities to explore a number of other topics, such as gear ratios and simple mechanics. Both of these design and construction projects are examples of engineering design.

A university-level course that examines the atmospheres and interiors of extrasolar planets, or exoplanets. The course also looks at the search for planets that could support life. Includes lecture notes and assignments.

This financial literacy content package is a collection of educator-curated instructional materials to support the planning and money management strand of the Ohio Financial Literacy Learning Standards for the middle grades 7-8. Click View Resource to explore the package or Remix to make a copy for your own use. 

This is a full 18-week curriculum organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. The resources, lessons and activities in this guide are aligned with Ohio’s high school Model Financial Literacy Curriculum. The guide covers 18 weeks (1 semester) and is divided into 3-week long units for each of the six topics. Each topic’s content statements have been sequenced so that new subject matter builds on concepts already covered. Learning expectations are found under each day's lesson selection.

This guide contains resources drawn primarily from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’s Econ Lowdown® economic education website, with additional material from the Cleveland Fed and other Federal Reserve System websites, and from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Multiple resources are provided for teaching each content statement to allow for more choice when tailoring lesson plans.

Students are introduced to the important concept of density with a focus is on the more easily understood densities of solids. Students use different methods to determine the densities of solid objects, including water displacement to determine volumes of irregularly-shaped objects. By comparing densities of various solids to the density of water, and by considering the behavior of different solids when placed in water, students conclude that ordinarily, objects with densities greater than water sink, while those with densities less than water float. Then they explore the principle of buoyancy, and through further experimentation arrive at Archimedes' principle that a floating object displaces a mass of water equal to its own mass. Students may be surprised to discover that a floating object displaces more water than a sinking object of the same volume.

Students are presented with an engineering challenge that asks them to develop a material and model that can be used to test the properties of aortic valves without using real specimens. Developing material that is similar to human heart valves makes testing easier for biomedical engineers because they can test new devices or ideas on the model valve instead of real heart valves, which can be difficult to obtain for research. To meet the challenge, students are presented with a variety of background information, are asked to research the topic to learn more specific information pertaining to the challenge, and design and build a (prototype) product. After students test their products and make modifications as needed, they convey background and product information in the form of portfolios and presentations to the potential buyer.

In the first of two lessons of this curricular unit, students are introduced to the concept of friction as a force that impedes motion when two surfaces are in contact. Student teams use spring scales to drag objects, such as a ceramic coffee cup, along a table top or the floor, measuring the frictional force that exists between the moving object and the surface it slides on. By modifying the bottom surface of the object, students find out what kinds of surfaces generate more or less friction. They also discover that both static and kinetic friction are involved when an object initially at rest is caused to slide across a surface. In the second lesson of the unit, students design and conduct experiments to determine the effects of weight and surface area on friction. They discover that weight affects normal friction (the friction that results from surface roughness), but for very smooth surfaces, the friction due to molecular attraction is affected by contact area.

This eight-week module focuses on a “science and society” topic, engaging students in reading compelling informational text about adolescent brain development and the effects of entertainment screen time on the brain.

In Unit 1, students first read various texts that will build their background knowledge about adolescent brain development in general. Their learning will center around three areas of the brain, namely the prefrontal cortex, the limbic system, and the developing neurons. Students determine main ideas and evidence in diverse media and clarify their learning about this complex content. Then they begin to focus on the issue of screen time and how it may affect teenagers.

Find the rest of the EngageNY ELA resources at https://archive.org/details/engageny-ela-archive .

In order to assist educators with the implementation of the Common Core, the New York State Education Department provides curricular modules in P-12 English Language Arts and Mathematics that schools and districts can adopt or adapt for local purposes. The full year of Grade 7 Mathematics curriculum is available from the module links.

Find the rest of the EngageNY ELA resources at https://archive.org/details/engageny-ela-archive .

In order to assist educators with the implementation of the Common Core, the New York State Education Department provides curricular modules in P-12 English Language Arts and Mathematics that schools and districts can adopt or adapt for local purposes. The full year of Grade 7 Mathematics curriculum is available from the module links.

Find the rest of the EngageNY ELA resources at https://archive.org/details/engageny-ela-archive .

In order to assist educators with the implementation of the Common Core, the New York State Education Department provides curricular modules in P-12 English Language Arts and Mathematics that schools and districts can adopt or adapt for local purposes. The full year of Grade 7 Mathematics curriculum is available from the module links.

Find the rest of the EngageNY ELA resources at https://archive.org/details/engageny-ela-archive .

In order to assist educators with the implementation of the Common Core, the New York State Education Department provides curricular modules in P-12 English Language Arts and Mathematics that schools and districts can adopt or adapt for local purposes. The full year of Grade 7 Mathematics curriculum is available from the module links.

Find the rest of the EngageNY ELA resources at https://archive.org/details/engageny-ela-archive .

In order to assist educators with the implementation of the Common Core, the New York State Education Department provides curricular modules in P-12 English Language Arts and Mathematics that schools and districts can adopt or adapt for local purposes. The full year of Grade 7 Mathematics curriculum is available from the module links.

Find the rest of the EngageNY ELA resources at https://archive.org/details/engageny-ela-archive .

In order to assist educators with the implementation of the Common Core, the New York State Education Department provides curricular modules in P-12 English Language Arts and Mathematics that schools and districts can adopt or adapt for local purposes. The full year of Grade 7 Mathematics curriculum is available from the module links.

Find the rest of the EngageNY ELA resources at https://archive.org/details/engageny-ela-archive .

A university-level course in basic observational procedures in astronomy. Covers how to use a telescope, and includes lecture notes.

Quality, grade-level, standards-aligned instructional materials are important for student learning and success. Learn how to find the best materials to meet the needs of your students using free tools and resources, including those from INFOhio. Choose to complete individual classes in this INFOhio Learning Pathway, or complete the full High-Quality Instructional Materials for Each Child Learning Pathway to earn up to 18 contact hours.

Learn more about what makes instructional materials high-quality, including those labeled Open Educational Resources (OER). Participants will learn why instructional materials matter and where to find high-quality instructional materials to supplement curricula. The class includes a focus on curriculum literacy and the use of the Ohio Curriculum Support Guide. Earn a certificate for 5 contact hours after successfully completing the final quiz.

Introducing engineering concepts with Hour of Engineering website is an engaging way to get students thinking about a STEM future. Hour of Engineering is designed to inform and inspire students in upper elementary through high school about engineering. Helping your students build an innovation mindset with the adaptive tools to solve problems starts here!

By participating in the Hour of Engineering students will: Define STEM vocabulary; Display engineering literacy; Explore the engineering design process; Experiment with practical engineering skills; Solve real-world engineering challenges; Link concepts between science, technology, engineering, and math; Build engineering habits of mind like creativity, systems thinking, and collaboration.

There are three parts to the Hour of Engineering website: landing page with inspirational content, learning modules, and engineering design challenges. (1) The landing page features clickable items to inspire students about the connection between engineering, art, science, math and even music! Students can freely explore the videos and models to learn about each object before moving on to deeper learning. (2) Learning modules allow students to explore a specific engineering topic. Students can explore learning modules on their own or you can pair them with connected engineering challenges to guide a sequence of learning on a topic. (3) Engineering challenges are a gamified way for students to explore various topics, activities and objects within fields of engineering. Students participating in engineering challenges earn stars based on their interaction with learning elements. There are knowledge checks and interactive models for students to explore during a challenge.