What energy conversions occur in the operation of a device? Small groups investigate devices and the energy conversions that occur. The groups create energy flow diagrams with added conversion processes for each of the devices...

Do you have an energy hog in your home? Individuals pick at least one room at home to determine the amount of energy the appliances consume. Using that information, pupils fill out a worksheet to determine the cost of running each...

You can eat a solar cell? A unit on solar energy begins with a discussion about organic solar cells, followed by directions on how to build your own. After following the teacher's directions to build an anthocyanin...

Can my windmill pick up a weight? Given the same set of materials, groups design and build the most efficient windmill. On the first day, groups concentrate on getting a windmill to spin, while on the second day, they modify their...

Students examine the roles of the immune system in keeping the body healthy. They see how engineers contribute to this process by creating antibiotics, and vaccinations. They discuss how an astronauts' immune system may be suppressed...

Your routers don't seem to be routing correctly. To figure out why, pupils act like routers, talk to their direct connects in order to determine as much information about the simulated network as possible. As they learn more about...

Science can be quite tasty. A delectable unit from NASA shows learners why it's important to consider food, nutrition, and health in space. Four lessons explore the idea in great depth, including testing cookie recipes. Along the way,...

Tired of waiting for hot water? Groups of three determine the efficiency of an electric water-heating device. They calculate the amount of energy it takes to heat the water and the theoretical amount of energy required to heat the water....

Pupils work in cooperative groups to explore communication needs of our world. They are assigned a demographic area and asked to create ways to solve communication problems with innovative ideas. They also explore areas that can help...

Is electricity created in the outlet? Using posters of several energy systems, collaborative groups identify and describe the parts of their systems. The groups also look at the environmental impacts of the systems and present...

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...

A bite of bits. The first lesson in a unit of 15 introduces the class to the byte. Pupils learn about other standard units for measuring file sizes, develop an understanding of relative sizes and the kind of units used to measure...

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...

Students navigate Doodle Splash to create a painting.  In this doodle splash lesson, students explain their splash painting relationship to a piece of literature.

Here is a case study for high school or college-level learners about space exploration equipment that has failed. The class reads about the Mars Climate Orbiter that was destroyed in 1999 and discusses the costs and benefits of space...

Students explore natural decomposers. In this decomposing lesson, students participate in a WebQuest to discover how nature handles decomposition. Students compare natural methods for decomposition with recycling efforts.

Students explore Native American tribes in Maryland. In this Maryland history lesson plan, students investigate Native American tribes in a webquest. After completing the webquest students create a triarama.

Students write a mystery poem about an animal, which they share with others who try to guess the identity of the animal.

Fourth graders research natural disasters that have occurred in the US in the 20th Century. They create a computer database of the disasters and write a paragraph with the information.

Students identify hypotheses related to static electricity, to begin to test the hypotheses, to begin to develop conclusions related to observations, to demonstrate that like charges repel and unlike charges attract each other, to name...

Students design and create a chair. Students look at current stool design and come up with a prototype from donated materials. Students then test their chair in various settings.

Students explore blogging. They research internet blog sites and read articles on blogging. Students discuss what makes a good blog. They study pros/cons to placing personal information in a public space.

Students learn about rotary encoders and discover how they operate through hands-on experimentation. Rotary encoders are applied in tools to determine angle measurements and for translations of angular motion. One common rotary encoder...