Parachute Design
This journal article demonstrates great ways to ask probing questions and define problems. It gives examples of 8 science and engineering practices required by NGSS. It shows an example of... See More
This journal article demonstrates great ways to ask probing questions and define problems. It gives examples of 8 science and engineering practices required by NGSS. It shows an example of a data collection worksheet. It discusses how and why to develop and use models. It gives specifics on planning and carrying out investigations. It discusses analyzing and interpreting data to generate evidence for scientific theories. It shares information about engaging in evidence based arguments, constructing explanations, designing solutions, and evaluating and communicating information. I thought this article was full of useful information and a great read.
Engineering in the Elementary Classroom
This article shows how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics can be integrated, as the NGSS encourages. Students are asked to design a parachute to land a payload on a planet. T... See More
This article shows how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics can be integrated, as the NGSS encourages. Students are asked to design a parachute to land a payload on a planet. This leads to several experiments that include all eight steps of engineering design. They experiment with one variable at a time such as parachute size, parachute payload, length of strings, etc. After comparing all their data results, they can ultimately come to a conclusion on what would be the best parachute to use on the planet. This unit would take at least two weeks to complete, but all of the skills the students would employ and the science concepts they would learn and practice would be worth the time!!!