This article assembles free resources from the Polar Plants issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine into a unit outline based on the 5E learning cycle framework. Outlines are provided for Grades K-2 and 3-5.

This article features children's literature about plants and the plants found in the polar regions.

This article provides an overview of the geography, characteristics, and life of the Arctic and Southern Oceans.

Students investigate the accuracy of sundials and the discrepancy that lies between "real time" and "clock time." They track the position of the sun during the course of a relatively short period of time as they make a shadow plot, a horizontal sundial, and a diptych sundial. (The activity may be abridged to include only one or two of the different sundials, instead of all three.)

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.

Building on their understanding of graphs, students are introduced to random processes on networks. They walk through an illustrative example to see how a random process can be used to represent the spread of an infectious disease, such as the flu, on a social network of students. This demonstrates how scientists and engineers use mathematics to model and simulate random processes on complex networks. Topics covered include random processes and modeling disease spread, specifically the SIR (susceptible, infectious, resistant) model.

This article highlights professional development books about the polar regions, pedagogy, and best practices in science and literacy instruction.

In computer science, program analysis is used to determine the behavior of computer programs. Flow charts are an important tool for understanding how programs work by tracing control flow. Control flow is a graphical representation of the logic present in the program. In this lesson, students learn about, design and create flow charts for different scenarios, including a game based on the Battleship® created by Hasbro©. In the associated activity, Flow Charting App Inventor, students apply their knowledge from this lesson and gain experience with a software application called App Inventor. This lesson and its associated activity can be stand-alone or used as a launching point for the Android Acceleration Application unit or any lesson involving App Inventor.

In this video segment from Cyberchase, the CyberSquad breaks down an action into a series of steps in order to program a robot to do what they need it to do.

Projections and coordinates are key advancements in the geographic sciences that allow us to better understand the nature of the Earth and how to describe location. These innovations in describing the Earth are the basis for everything that is done in a GIS framework. Shape of the Earth is a critical starting point because in fact the Earth is not round but rather a more complex shape called a geoid. Coordinate systems are often referenced to a particular model shape of the Earth, but many different formats exist because not all coordinates work equally well in all areas. While projections and coordinates are abstract concepts in themselves, students eventually find them interesting because 1) it causes them to challenge their current ideas of the Earth's shape and 2) it is much easier to visualize these ideas for learning through interactive GIS such as Google Earth.

In this lab students will make qualitative observations of flame color, a property of metals, to identify unknown metals in salt compounds.

Students experience the steps of the engineering design process as they design solutions for a real-world problem that could affect their health. After a quick review of the treatment processes that municipal water goes through before it comes from the tap, they learn about the still-present measurable contamination of drinking water due to anthropogenic (human-made) chemicals. Substances such as prescription medication, pesticides and hormones are detected in the drinking water supplies of American and European metropolitan cities. Using chlorine as a proxy for estrogen and other drugs found in water, student groups design and test prototype devices that remove the contamination as efficiently and effectively as possible. They use plastic tubing and assorted materials such as activated carbon, cotton balls, felt and cloth to create filters with the capability to regulate water flow to optimize the cleaning effect. They use water quality test strips to assess their success and redesign for improvement. They conclude by writing comprehensive summary design reports.

Students are introduced to the (hypothetical) task of developing an invisible (non-intrusive) security system to protect the school's treasured mummified troll! Solving the challenge depends on an understanding of the properties of light. After being introduced to the challenge question, students generate ideas and consider the knowledge required find solutions. They watch a portion of the "Mythbuster's Crimes and Myth-Demeanors" episode ($20), which helps direct their research and learning toward solving the challenge. They begin to study laser applications in security systems, coming to realize the role of lasers in today's society.

During this lesson, students will meet Tiempa, the course’s narrator. Tiempa is a time travelling cat from the future and will guide the students on this time-travel themed adventure. Finally, students will create sketches of their three favorite innovations from the present and submit their sketches.

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

In Lesson 2, students will learn about paper prototyping by re-creating a paper model of one their innovation sketches from Lesson 1. They will capture a photo or video of this paper prototype and submit it to their teacher.

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

In Lesson 3, students will learn about the different technology they will use in DPI: hands-on prototyping, graphic design with Gravit, 3D modeling with TinkerCAD and OnShape, and 3D printing. They will watch videos and answer questions about the various technology, and then use cardboard prototyping to create a model of a digital product.

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

In this lesson, students will learn about entrepreneurship, and how any ideas they come up with can empower them to create real change in the world. Students will watch a video about Maya, a 13-year-old entrepreneur, to learn the importance of mindset and branding. Finally, students will complete an entrepreneurial activity where they create a logo to brand Tiempa’s Time Machine.

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

In this lesson, students will define sustainability and its three “pillars”. Next, students will learn about the sustainability concept of “upcycling” by watching a video and then creating a prototype of a time machine using upcycled materials.

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

Students learn how simple machines, including wedges, were used in building both ancient pyramids and present-day skyscrapers. In a hands-on activity, students test a variety of wedges on different materials (wax, soap, clay, foam). Students gain an understanding of how simple machines are used in engineering applications to make our lives and work easier.

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.