The 2023 Summer Institute focused on Chemistry and Engeneering. The content of this institute will be repeated in 2029.
All NGSS performance expectiations that have an asterisk* are intended to integrate Engineering Design (ETS) with disciplinary core ideas in science. Each Summer Institute we will try to feature one or more of these integrated lessons.
Life Science Engineering Lessons
Earth Science Engineering Lessons
Physical Science Engineering Lessons
Lesson Plans: Life Science
Grade Level |
NGSS Performance Expectation(s) |
Lesson Title and Description |
Lesson Materials |
Presenter(s) |
| 1 |
1-LS1-1* K-2 ETS1-1 |
Copy Cat In this lesson, students will explore external parts (adaptations) that help animals survive, grow, and meet their needs for their environment. Students are challeneged to think about external features of plants and animals that humans have copied to improve their lives. Students then apply their engineering skills to design a jacket using external features from animals that help to keep the animal warm. In addition, this activity introduces students to scientific argumentation and allows students multiple opporunities to practice these skills. |
Darby Feldwinn Summer 2020 |
|
| 2 |
2-LS2-2* K-2-ETS1-3 |
Hitchhiking Seeds In this lesson, students will explore the different methods for seed dispersal and the effect that humans can have on this process. Students will also practice their engineering skills by designing and building a seed that can be dispersed by either wind or by animal. They will then evaluate their classmates’ designs to learn what properties of seeds make them ideal for each dispersal mechanism. |
Kyla Rightmer Darby Feldwinn Summer 2019 |
Lessons: Earth Science
Grade Level |
NGSS Performance Expectation(s) |
Lesson Title and Description |
Lesson Materials |
Presenter(s) |
| TK |
K-ESS3-3* K-2-ETS1-1 |
Solving Problems "R" Way This lesson begins with students listening to a book (My First Book of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) that introduces the three R’s (reduce, reuse, and recycle). Students then observe three photos which highlight negative ways in which humans have changed the air, land, and water. For each photo students describe what caused the negative impact and relate how one of the three R’s could solve the problem. Students then carry out three activities to learn more about each of the R’s. The reducing activity has students go on an exploriment of their school to identify things that can be reduced. The reusing activity brings in engineering. This allows students to solve a problem (keeping a stuffed animal warm, providing a house for an animal, or producing music) by building something out of reused materials. The recycle activity has students learn about what can be recycled and what these recycled materials turn into. Students then make recycled paper. Each of the R’s is then revisited by students listening to another book (The Three R’s Reuse, Reduce, Recycle) and making connections between what they learned in previous activities and the book. The activity culminates with students making a poster about one of the three R’s and the effects on Earth if humans do not do that R. Students |
Janis Spracher Darby Feldwinn Summer 2023 |
|
| 3 |
3-ESS3-1* 3-5-ETS1-2 |
Levees In this lesson, students will read and answer questions to learn about levees and their uses. Students will then explore how five materials interact with water. Using these findings, students will design and build a levee in groups. As a class, they will develop an evaluation tool to help them assess three levees based on both cost and performance. The levees will be tested by allowing it to rain on the levee and having water raise to the ½ maximum predicted flood height, followed by the maximum predicted flood height. Students will also discuss how building a levee can have a negative effect on surrounding areas. |
Darby Feldwinn Summer 2019 |
Lessons: Physical Sceince
Grade Level |
NGSS Performance Expectation(s) |
Lesson Title and Description |
Lesson Materials |
Presenter(s) |
| K |
K-PS3-2* K-2 ETS1-1 |
Animal Engineers This lesson builds on what students have already learned about animal needs and the warming effects of sunlight on a surface. Students will be presented situations in which animals have built things to solve problems. They will start by defining the problems that animals face in meeting their needs and identify the solutions that they designed. Then, students will be presented with pictures of wild bunnies, in which they will define problems wild bunnies face, specifically, they need to be shaded from the sun so they don’t overheat. They will design solutions based on a given set of materials to determine which material works best as their design solution to shade the bunny from the sun. Then, they will extend their learning to think about other natural materials animals may use to help them stay out of the sun. Finally, students will be engineers as they put their learning into practice by designing and building a bunny burrow to shade their bunny from the sun. |
Sammi Lambert Summer 2023 |
|
| 1 |
1-PS4-4* K-2 ETS1-3 |
Let There Be Light The activity begins with a reading which allows students to review that light is needed to see an object and objects can be transparent, translucent, opaque, or reflective. These concepts are then applied in Part 1 of the activity by having students observe four materials (toilet paper, plastic wrap, cardboard, and foil) and how they interact with light. These observations allow students to determine how the structure of the materials allows them to function. Students then move onto exploring properties of light by engaging with light in three hands-on stations. These stations allow students to learn that light can change brightness, color, and direction. In Part 2, students review the properties of light and learn how to communicate these via symbols. They then practice using the symbols by predicting and then testing how six materials interact and change the light that is shined on them. In Part 3, students are given the challenge to alert a student to turn on the lights to start a surprise birthday party. To achieve the challenge, students can only use flashlights and mirrors. In addition, there are the added constraints that require all four students to be involved in the process as well as be at certain locations, facing different directions. After designing the solutions, students test and then compare and contrast their methods. In Parts 4 and 5, students are introduced to another problem, (choreographing a dance from across the room). Using a variety of materials, partners design, create, and test a device they can use to communicate four different dance steps (kick, jump, move hips, and jazz hands) to their partner. Students then evaluate the different design solutions on both time and accuracy. The activity culminates in Part 6, where students discuss some real-world problems which light has been used to solve and think of other problems that light could be used to solve. Lastly, they learn about historical ways that light has been used to communicate. |
Ashley Griffin Darby Feldwinn Summer 2023 |
|
| 3 |
3-PS2-4* 3-5-ETS1-2 |
Move That Metal! Students start off by reviewing the definition of force, how to draw forces, and the relationship between balanced/unbalanced forces and movement. They then will review how magnets can either attract or repel an object depending on the position of the magnetic poles. Students will finish their review by drawing the forces between magnets and with magnetic objects. Then, students will be introduced to their engineering design problem: they are visiting a junkyard on a field trip and need to help the workers design a magnet that will pick up a car and move it to a car shredder quickly. They will then come up with their success criteria and design constraints for the project and argue over which criteria they believe to be the most important. After this, they will practice creating a system diagram for the real-world junkyard magnet. Students will then be given their design materials and allowed to create their first design of the magnet. They will construct their design as well as fill out a design poster that asks them to include what materials they used, how those materials relate to each other, and a drawing of what their design looks like. Following this, they will be given a metal car to test their design on and determine if it meets the success criteria. They will receive a score for how well their design works, decide on what to revise, and create a revised and, ultimately, final version of their design. During the final tests, the tests are done in front of the whole class. Students then construct an argument to support the design they think did the best job at meeting the criteria and constraints. They will move into jigsaw groups to hear other students’ ideas before ultimately stating why they believe another option they heard is not as good as the design that they picked. Finally, students will have to argue between two different design choices of a magnet that could pick up a firetruck. |
Ryan Helsel Summer 2023 |
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| 4 |
4-PS3-4* 3-5 ETS1-1 |
Stay on Target! In this lesson, students will apply their knowledge of energy conservation and energy transfer to build stomp rockets. They will plan and carry out an investigation that will allow them to act as engineers to send a rocket to a designated target space. They will have the opportunity to revise their rocket design, then present which rocket design they think is “best.” |
Sammi Lambert Summer 2023 |
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| 6/MS |
MS-PS3-3* MS-ETS1-2 |
Sweltering Swans The lesson starts with students reviewing forms of energy and how energy is transferred from one place/object to another. Students then imagine they are an engineer who needs to build an icebox that allows an ice sculptor to transport their sculpture on the back of their bike without it melting. In groups, students get to select and test four different insulating materials. After testing the materials, students will determine the rate of melting of the ice, calculate the percentage of ice left, and graph the change in mass versus time. Given evaluation criteria (the rate of melting and the client acceptance of the ice sculpture, as well as the ability to reuse the icebox multiple times) groups pick two insulating materials to use in the construction of their icebox. Before completing their final design, groups plan and carry out one more experiment with their chosen insulating materials. Groups are then given a swan ice sculpture to put in their icebox and proceed to collect data on the icebox’s performance. Groups present their results to the class. The activity culminates with students deciding which icebox best met the criteria and make a recommendation of which engineering firm (group) the ice sculptor should buy their icebox from. |
Laura Spracher Darby Feldwinn Summer 2023 |