Students will follow along with the slide deck to discuss changes in technology, as well as changes to the U.S. Constitution.  Students will then work to correctly place statements in a Venn diagram.  With extra time, students will do a Roll & Read activity with Plus Plus or Pixel blocks. 

Students will be immersed in a part of each of the 5 ancient civilizations and learn about either architecture or daily life using a VR headset and Youtube App.

Students will conduct an apple investigation that includes if the apple sinks or floats, the number of seeds inside, the weight of the apple, and even a taste test. They will also have the chance to make an apple life cycle spinner.  

Let’s take a look at three Virginia industries (agriculture, technology, and shipbuilding).  Then we will ask an industry expert a question that we have about their particular area.  Some of our questions will be emailed and some will be “snail mailed”.  We will discuss the pros and cons of both of those types of correspondence and talk about networking and the internet. 

This lesson is designed to give students space to collaboratively plan and execute an investigation while having space to design and test something they create. Students will practice the scientific process, engineering skills, problem solving and group work skills while building a balloon car.

In this lesson we will discuss the story of  The Three Little Pigs and the types of houses that they built.  Which ones were stronger and why?   How do people protect themselves?  In Ancient China they used a wall. Did that wall protect them?  How?  What are other ways people protect themselves?  In today’s world we need to protect ourselves using strong passwords.  How do we make a strong password?  Today you will build a strong password.  Then you will build a great wall that is as strong as the password that you created!

We all know that students can retain more knowledge when they have something concrete for it to stick to, why not actually build something that they can build their knowledge upon? Using the MakeDo kits and the stencils that come in this lesson. Let students take some cardboard that is just waiting to be recycled and upcycle it into the Rome Colosseum!!

Looking for a fun way to teach both scientific method and cybersecurity? Well great job, you found it. Students will not only learn 5 characteristics to making a good password but they will also be using all of their 2.1, 3.1, and 4.1 strands to build and rebuild a structure using different materials that are probably inside your classroom right now.  Need a STEM activity for a club day? Need a “Friday and I can’t teach anymore content” lesson? This is for you. Roll up your sleeves and let the students do the work and problem solve in a simple and fun way.

Can you see how far you can catapult a Pom Pom? I want to see! We are going to be building a catapult from scratch. Your goal is to see if you can catapult your Pom Pom at least 3 feet. 

​​​​​​Students will be learning about the importance of building strong passwords! It's great that they will be able to see the real-world application of this concept through building pyramids like the ancient Egyptians. It's interesting to note how using different materials can determine the strength of a pyramid, just like how using different characters, symbols, and numbers can determine the strength of a password. This is a fun and engaging way for students to learn about cybersecurity.

This lesson is designed to help students pay attention to characteristics of people and of objects.  Students wil learn about the uniforms and equipment used by community helpers and about sorting objects by their characteristics. 

Students will classify random animals based on each animal's attributes. They will get to investigate the physical characteristics of each animal during this hands-on sorting activity. Students will strengthen their ability to categorize and classify. 

Compare architecture of three different civilizations by visiting the Great Wall in China, pyramids in Egypt, and the Parthenon in Greece and discuss how these visits are so different from our ability to compare them 3 decades ago when technology wasn’t as advanced.

Let’s learn circuit knowledge while playing!  Students will have access to a variety of electronic components (kits) to design, assemble and troubleshoot different types of circuit designs.  Will you sound a horn, blow a small fan, operate a speaker or make a traffic light?  The possibilities are endless! 

Using microbits have students write a simple code and then debug a similar one.  Then compare that to  editing their writing.

Your opinion matters! You have a responsibility to your classroom to help make decisions through the process of voting. You will make predictions, collect data, and organize data while casting your vote.

In this activity, your students will work in groups using their knowledge about Ancient Mali to solve the clues needed to open a Breakout Box. In an added twist, students will only receive one part of the final clue.  They will need to use technology to communicate with each other in order to get the entire clue, open their box, and open the final Breakout Box. 

Students will practice communicating information to their peers with and without the use of technology.

Students will explore old and new ways to communicate information across long distances.  This lesson includes information on the Virtual Education Programs available through the National Park system.