How important is aviation? Using the background information, teachers provide the class with a brief history of aviation. The class discusses how airplanes are important to the area of transportation in the 17th installment of a...

Do not let friction drag you down! The 11th segment in a series of 22 focuses on the fourth force acting upon an airplane—drag. Pupils learn about the effects and causes of drag.

Force the plane through the air. The lesson introduces the force on an airplane that makes it go forward. Pupils learn how Newton's laws of motion apply to flight in the eighth segment of a 22-part unit on flight.

On one condition ... explore how to use conditionals within conditionals. Scholars apply conditional statements to improve upon the app they built during a previous lesson. They also learn about nested conditionals in the 11th lesson of...

Explore decision-making logic in programming computer games. The 10th installment of a 21-part unit teaches scholars how to apply conditional statements and Boolean expressions. They use these concepts to create a "Guess My Number" game...

How does a computer recognize voice commands? Scholars learn about digital assistants and natural language processing (NLP) algorithms in the ninth lesson of the series. They begin building a simple digital assistant and work on this...

Pupils learn to apply strings in computer science. They master two new user interface elements and also use string type data to represent ASCII characters. Finally, individuals create an app for Mad Libs in the eighth lesson of the series.

Investigate the benefits of using global variables. The seventh installment of a 21-part unit continues the study of variables from the previous lesson. Young computer scientists modify two existing apps by adding variables and learn how...

Not all variables are created equal. Discover how variables in computer science are different from variables in math class. Scholars learn to work with variables in computer programming by developing a mental model for how variables...

Scholars continue their study of event-driven programming by creating a multi-screen app in the fifth lesson of the series. They incorporate previously learned elements and events in the mini-project.

Move beyond buttons when designing user interfaces. In the fourth installment of a 21-part unit, young computer scientists learn to apply design mode, which gives users options for colors, fonts, etc. They learn to incorporate these...

Knowing the temperature coefficient allows for the calculation of voltage output at any temperature. Groups conduct an experiment to determine the effects of temperature on the power output of a solar panel. The teams alter the...

Teach your class how to get out of a cell — or break in. The third installment in a seven-part series introduces the class to cell membranes and their functions. The lesson plan includes information to present to the class,...

The last activity in a nine-part series has teams create a Google Earth map using the data they collected during a field trip. Using the map, groups analyze the results and make adjustments to the map to reflect their analysis. A short...

Teams must determine the size of cavern needed to house the citizens of Alabraska to protect them from the asteroid impact. Using scaling properties, teams first determining the number of people that could sleep in a classroom and then...

To go or to not to go — the question for a mission to Mars. This resource provides details for a possible manned mission to Mars. Details include a launch schedule, what life would be like on the surface, and how the astronauts would...

Help your class understand the importance of exploration using robots. with a resource that provides a short history of robotics as a lead into looking at Martian robotic exploration missions. The activity specifically looks at the...

Speaking of the Internet. The culminating lesson for the unit on the Internet challenges pupils to prepare short, two-minute speeches on an issue facing society. The pupils chose from three topics that connect the Internet and...

Data, data everywhere. Challenge your class to begin thinking about data, the ways people collect information, and what we can learn from this data. Class members discuss sources of data and then individuals answer questions in the...

Imagine drawing with zeros and ones. The third lesson in a unit of 15 introduces the class to creating black and white images. Pairs get together to create an encoding scheme in order to make these images. They move on to a...

Introduce your class to the layers of abstraction of the Internet with a lesson on the HTTP protocol. Pupils review previous lessons on levels of the Internet, then investigate new high levels by examining the HTTP traffic on...

This optional lesson introduces the class to the idea of a minimum spanning tree. The activity focuses on determining an algorithm that will find the most efficient path in a network to transfer data. 

Encoding What I did Last Summer. Class members develop a way to encode a personal experience using a top-down approach to determine components and sub-components of their experience They then pick one portion of the experience and go...

I'm compressed. Groups do a rapid research of different file types to determine what kind of compression the formats use and how it works. They share their information with the rest of the class until everyone has all the information for...