Students learn the metric units engineers use to measure mass, distance (or length) and volume. They make estimations using these units and compare their guesses with actual values. To introduce the concepts, the teacher needs access to a meter stick, a one-liter bottle, a glass container that measures milliliters and a gram scale.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to physical and geographic features of the Great Lakes, including the size, area, amount of water, and locations of each, as well as the significance of the Great Lakes to many aspects of life for the region in which they are located.

The activity is a field trip to Minnehaha Falls where students will observe and record their findings in a science notebook.

Through three lessons and their four associated activities, students are introduced to concepts related to mixtures and solutions. Students consider how mixtures and solutions and atoms and molecules can influence new technologies developed by engineers. To begin, students explore the fundamentals of atoms and their structures. The building blocks of matter (protons, electrons, neutrons) are covered in detail. The next lesson examines the properties of elements and the periodic table one method of organization for the elements. The concepts of physical and chemical properties are also reviewed. Finally, the last lesson introduces the properties of mixtures and solutions. A comparison of different mixtures and solutions, their properties and their separation qualities are explored.

This is the first instructional sequence in a teacher's guide built with the purpose of helping students build a deeper understanding of the Structures and Properties of Matter standard.Students have the opportunity to engage with interactive simulations, create poetry, drawing scientific diagrams, read complex text, develop evidence based explanations and design a model . The instructional sequence described in the lesson uses the 5 E learning model and includes a variety of online simulations, polls and model drawings.

Students are introduced to the field of biomechanics and how the muscular system produces human movement. They learn the importance of the muscular system in our daily lives, why it is important to be able to repair muscular system injuries and how engineering can help.

Join a group of middle-school students on a visit to a laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where they experiment with "mystery mud" and learn about the relationships between magnetism, particle motion, and changes in the state of matter.

This NASA educator's guide provides teachers with an outline for teaching students about rocketry. There are many hands-on activities where students can learn about and build rockets.

This NASA educator's guide provides teachers with an outline for teaching aeronautics activities. Through hands-on activities, students can learn all about flying.

A short tutorial on plate tectonics. Includes a video, background reading, three questions, fast facts, and a vocabulary list. Discusses the publication of the Tharp-Heezen map of the seafloor in 1977 which paved the way for a much better understanding of plate tectonics. [5:47]

Students are introduced to natural disasters, and learn the difference between natural hazards and natural disasters. They discover the many types of natural hazards avalanche, earthquake, flood, forest fire, hurricane, landslide, thunderstorm, tornado, tsunami and volcano as well as specific examples of natural disasters. Students also explore why understanding these natural events is important to engineers and everyone's survival on our planet.

In this lesson, students will explore motion, rockets and rocket motion while assisting Spacewoman Tess, Spaceman Rohan and Maya in their explorations. They will first learn some basic facts about vehicles, rockets and why we use them. Then, the students will discover that the motion of all objects including the flight of a rocket and movement of a canoe is governed by Newton's three laws of motion.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, NASA learns hard lessons from the first American attempt to do work while "walking" in space. The video also explores Newton's third law of motion.

In this lesson designed to enhance literacy skills, students examine the nutritional content of different foods and learn about the health benefits and risks associated with the food choices they make.

Illustrated and animated series of short articles answers the questions, what is gravity? and what does it do?

In the Arcadia Earth app section titled “Sustainability Beneath the Surface,” students are introduced to several factors that impact ocean health. This lesson takes a deeper dive into one specific challenge: overfishing. Through the game, “One Fish, Two Fish,
Overfishing, NO Fish,” students discover how fishing management reformation is necessary to sustain fish populations and prevent permanent supply collapses.

Estimated time required: 1 class period.

Technology required for this lesson: Tablet or Smartphone.

Students learn that charge movement through a circuit depends on the resistance and arrangement of the circuit components. In a hands-on activity, students build and investigate the characteristics of series circuits. In another activity, students design and build a flashlight.

Students work in engineering teams to optimize cleaner energy solutions for cooking and heating in rural China. They choose between various options for heating, cooking, hot water, and lights and other electricity, balancing between the cost and health effects of different energy choices.

Against the backdrop of the devastating 1930's Dust Bowl, this video segment adapted from Interactive NOVA profiles an organic farmer and the techniques he uses to conserve topsoil.

An interactive simulation that teaches about friction, thermodynamics, and heat by making observations while rubbing two objects together. This simulation can either be downloaded or played online and includes handouts, lesson plans, and additional materials.