Students use Library of Congress primary sources to examine the images from John White Alexander's mural in the Thomas Jefferson building.

This video from Evolution explores the evolution of humans from a common ancestor of humans, chimpanzees, and other apes.

This video from Evolution highlights Charles Darwin's personal struggle to bring to light his theory of evolution through natural selection.

In this video from Evolution, an exploration of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in the Russian prison system highlights one reason it is important to understand evolution.

How do you make artwork that is conceptual? Artist Robb Godshaw uses technical means to move things that can’t be moved, or make visible things that aren’t normally visible. Watch as Godshaw scavenges electronic waste during an artist residency at SF Recology.

Not all exercise is the same, but all exercise can help you grow strong and keep you healthy. Exercise can also help you with your homework and that science project due at the end of the year.

In this video segment adapted from NASA, students in Matsuyama City, Japan, interview Expedition 8 Commander and NASA Science Officer Mike Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri about life and work aboard the International Space Station.

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, the cast investigates how the pitch of sound changes when they strike a variety of glasses filled with different amounts and types of liquids.

Can a fresh lemon power a digital clock? In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, the cast shows you how this can be done and, in the process, discover how kids can be a part of an electric circuit.

Students use Library of Congress primary sources to examine historical perspectives of nature and the environment.

Date of this Version
2019

Document Type
Portfolio

Citation
Corey, Samantha and Stephen Yaghmour. “Exploring Engineering.” After school club lesson plans. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2019.

Comments
Copyright 2019 by Samantha Corey and Stephen Yaghmour under Creative Commons Non-Commercial License. Individuals and organizations may copy, reproduce, distribute, and perform this work and alter or remix this work for non-commercial purposes only.

Abstract
Exploring Engineering Club provides an introduction to a variety of engineering problems and piques the students’ interest in engineering by accompanying the information with hands-on problem solving activities mainly related to structural engineering. The activities will often be done in teams which will teach good teamwork skills, as well as problem solving and critical thinking.

The lesson will begin by students accessing their prior knowledge of weather and climates by completing a warm-up writing prompt. Students will then move to reading texts on the subjects of tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and droughts to determine if and how climate affects these weather phenomena. In groups, students will create a half-poster that describes their findings in text and pictures. At the end of the lesson, students will view a graph to extend their learning about tornadoes and hint at a future lesson while also completing an "exit ticket" as a means of summative assessment. This unit was created as part of the ALEX Interdisciplinary Resource Development Summit.

What happens when light from the Sun shines on the Earth?

Short Description:
This course is intended for prospective and practicing elementary and middle school teachers. By exploring physical phenomena in class, you will learn science in ways in which you are expected to teach science in schools or in informal settings such as afterschool programs, youth group meetings, and museum workshops. This course also is appropriate for general science students and others interested in exploring some of the physical phenomena underlying global climate change. Data dashboard

Word Count: 178063

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

This lesson allows students to construct solar system models showing the comparative sizes of the planets to a scale. The students will also use their models to carry out an investigation to analyze and interpret the distances between planets in the Solar System. This lesson uses common objects easily obtained by teachers. This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

In this lesson, students will explore and construct forest habitats of plants and animals native to Alabama. In the beginning, students will activate their prior knowledge by reviewing the definition of a habitat and discussing what they know about forests to create a KWL chart. Next, the book A Forest Habitat by Bobbie Kalman is used to further the students learning of the components that comprise a forest habitat and how those components interact with one another. The students will demonstrate their learning through animal sorts, habitat construction, and informational writing using the conventions of Standard English such as capitalization and punctuation. For the conclusion, the students will peer edit their writing using the provided writing anchor chart before presenting their learning to others. This lesson was created as part of the ALEX Gap Project.

Waste disposal is a problem for the entire Earth and must be dealt with in a responsible manner to maintain biodiversity in ecosystems. After investigating the amount of waste they produce as an individual, family, class, school, community, and society, students investigate how items decompose in a landfill and develop arguments to support a solution to the problem. Students engage in argument to defend the effectiveness of a design solution on a proposed method of disposing of waste in their school and community. This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

In this strawberry DNA extraction lesson, students will explore the fundamental building blocks of life by isolating DNA from strawberries. Using simple household materials, they will follow a step-by-step procedure to break down the strawberry cells and release the DNA. This hands-on activity will allow students to see and touch DNA, making the abstract concept of genetic material tangible and engaging. Throughout the lesson, students will develop their scientific inquiry skills, including making observations, forming hypotheses, and discussing their findings.

Join Tarissa and Sabrina as they measure and compare the volume of different sounds across New York City in this video from DragonflyTV.

In this video segment adapted from Interactive NOVA, astronaut John Young experiences extreme temperatures on the Moon that are a result of the Moon's low gravity and lack of atmosphere.

Throughout this lesson, students will discover how the lens in your eye helps focus light. First, students will discuss the parts of the eye and how these parts work together to allow us to see. Then, students will use a clear plastic bag filled with water to create a model of an eyeball to investigate how the lens in your eye helps focus light. This lesson results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.