http://teachers.egfi-k12.org Blog about the growing role of engineering in K-12 education. Sat, 31 Jul 2010 05:04:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/navy-sail-design/ http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/navy-sail-design/#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:00:45 +0000 ASEE http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/?p=16743 Students learn about sailboat design and how the shape of sails affects their movement. They apply what they learn about sailboat design to their math lesson, which involves the basic postulate of right triangle trigonometry and the Pythagorean Theorem. The lesson provides a fun, hands-on way to demonstrate that the Pythagorean Theorem can be tested and proved. ]]> http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/navy-sail-design/feed/ 0 http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/ballast-systems-in-submarines/ http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/ballast-systems-in-submarines/#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 10:00:19 +0000 ASEE http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/?p=20530 This lesson helps students understand how a submarine controls its buoyancy through the use of ballasts. Students construct a model ballast system, and then learn to control its vent valves to make it submerge and surface.]]> http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/ballast-systems-in-submarines/feed/ 1 http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-egg-drop/ http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-egg-drop/#comments Mon, 05 Jul 2010 12:00:36 +0000 ASEE http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/?p=19551 The egg drop is a fun and dramatic way to get students involved in engineering design. After a discussion of safety features, students experiment packaging an egg to produce a design that will allow it to fall from a considerable height without cracking.]]> http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-egg-drop/feed/ 1 http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/pollution-and-lung-health/ http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/pollution-and-lung-health/#comments Mon, 07 Jun 2010 12:00:04 +0000 ASEE http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/?p=17904 In this lesson from the California Academy of Sciences, students study the effects of pollution upon human health and consider how we can protect ourselves from the effects of carginogens. They build a lung model to learn how their lungs and diaphragm work to make them breathe. The lesson features a demonstration on how incomplete combustion of fossil fuels releases particles into the air that can harm humans.]]> http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/pollution-and-lung-health/feed/ 0 http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-plan-oil-spill-solutions/ http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-plan-oil-spill-solutions/#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 10:00:20 +0000 ASEE http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/?p=16013 In this lesson, students in grades 3-12 work in teams to analyze an "oil spill" in the classroom, then design, build, and test a system to first contain, and then remove the oil from the water. Students select from everyday items to build their oil containment and clean-up systems, evaluate the effectiveness of their solution and those of other teams, and present their findings to the class.]]> http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-plan-oil-spill-solutions/feed/ 0 http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-landfills-and-contamination/ http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-landfills-and-contamination/#comments Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:00:34 +0000 ASEE http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/?p=15125 What happens to garbage? In this lesson, students grades 9-12 derive the answer by building their own landfill. While observing how household waste can leach into soil and groundwater, they also learn the importance of well supervised, sanitary disposal sites.]]> http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-landfills-and-contamination/feed/ 0 http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-sound-wave-reflections/ http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-sound-wave-reflections/#comments Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:00:50 +0000 ASEE http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/?p=14849 In this activity, students determine the path traveled by sound waves as they reflect from room surfaces and the time it takes to travel each path. Assuming the role of acoustic engineers, students gain an overview of sound mechanics that involves rate calculations, working with number systems, and a bit of geometry.]]> http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-sound-wave-reflections/feed/ 2 http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-package-design/ http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-package-design/#comments Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:41:13 +0000 ASEE http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/?p=14288 Who hasn’t been frustrated by hard-to-open, clumsy containers? Assuming the role of engineers, students learn about the design process and examine the packaging of everyday products. They then analyze a specific product and devise a better design, producing a written report that recommends helpful changes.]]> http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-package-design/feed/ 0 http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/curriculum-learningroomba/ http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/curriculum-learningroomba/#comments Mon, 29 Mar 2010 09:00:26 +0000 jxs http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/?p=11074 The Learning Roomba educational toolkit attempts to address robotics usability issues by keeping total costs down while making the tools as easy to use as possible. This toolkit is a collection of resources and tools to facilitate teaching robotics to pre-college students. Through these resources, students can learn about science, math, and engineering topics in a fun and exciting way.]]> http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/curriculum-learningroomba/feed/ 0 http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-wind-power/ http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-wind-power/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:00:51 +0000 ASEE http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/?p=11801 This lesson plan from PBS helps students discover the basics of wind power technology in having them build and refine a wind turbine. Students examine the concept of renewable energy, identify the benefits and drawbacks of wind power, and compare its costs and impact on the environment with other energy sources.]]> http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/lesson-wind-power/feed/ 2