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This kit has samples from the Engineering is Elementary curriculum for grades K-6. Includes the teacher guide and storybook for each of the following units: An Alarming Idea: Designing Alarm Circuits - How do electrical circuits work? The lessons in this unit will get students thinking like electrical engineers, starting with the storybook A Reminder for Emily, about a girl living in the Australian outback who needs an alarm to remind her when it’s time for chores around the ranch. The hands-on activities in this unit reinforce science concepts including conductors and insulators, schematic diagrams, and and circuits. For the final engineering design challenge, students plan, create, and improve their own alarm circuit. The Best of Bugs:Designing Hand Pollinators - Insects pollinate many kinds of plants. What if the right insects aren’t around to do the work? The storybook Mariana Becomes a Butterfly shows how one girl solves a pollination problem. In this unit, students become agricultural engineers. They’ll apply their knowledge of insects, insect life cycles, pollination, and natural systems as they test a variety of materials, then engineer their own technologies for pollinating plants by hand. Thinking Inside the Box: Designing Plant Packages - Just look at the shelves in any store: almost everything you buy comes in a package that keeps it fresh or safe from damage, or gives information for consumers. This unit introduces students to the field of package engineering. The storybook A Gift from Fadil sets the scene by introducing two children in Jordan who want to give their older sister a plant from their garden as a wedding gift. Students will use their knowledge of plants, their problem-solving skills, and their creativity to design a package that can keep a plant alive and healthy for several days. Now You're Cooking: Designing Solar Ovens - In Botswana, where firewood for cooking fuel is in short supply, people are turning to solar-powered cookers as an alternative. The storybook Lerato Cooks Up a Plan introduces the idea of using the sun as a renewable energy source and sets a framework for this unit’s activities. Students are introduced to the concepts of thermal insulators and thermal conductors, then they test different materials to find the best insulators. They consider the life cycle and environmental impacts of each insulator, then design and test their solar ovens and do some solar cooking! A Sticky Situation: Designing Walls - Wood, stone, metal, plastic . . . if you want to build something, materials matter! Different materials have different properties: they may be more useful for one purpose and less useful for another. This unit explores earth materials—including clay, sand, and soil—as they’re used in mortar to build a stone wall. The storybook Yi Min’s Great Wall sets the scene; Yi Min uses her knowledge of earth materials to design a rabbit-proof wall to protect the school vegetable garden. Drawing on their knowledge of the properties of earth materials, students will plan, build, test, and improve walls of their own. Water, Water Everywhere: Designing Water Filters - The water you drink is clean and safe thanks to the environmental engineers who design and manage our water supply and water treatment systems. In this unit, the storybook Saving Salila’s Turtle introduces students to the problem of water pollution—and to some solutions. Students will investigate the properties of filter materials, apply their knowledge of water, and think like environmental engineers as they plan, construct, test and improve their own water filters. More information can be found at http://www.eie.org/ | |