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This is a video that NASA created about Engineers and explaining what they do. The whole point of my standard (3-5-ETS1-2) is students going through many different possibly solutions to figure out the one that works best. This video demonstrates an engineer going through the process of picking out a solution that works best for his problem out in space. It's a great way to introduce a lesson and could work as the beginnings of an activity idea for students to do in becoming "space engineers".

This is a video resource that I found on Youtube. The many different types of structures and architectural pieces can help students relate more to engineering by showing them structures that they might pass by daily. However, there are also more historical pieces of architecture to allow students to explore just what engineering can create. With all of the historical background, this is also a great way to show connections between science and another area of study. I would use this as an opener to show my students all the different ways in which engineers solved problems for themselves and for society. My science standard is all about students being able to come up with their own solutions to problems and this is a great starting point for that.

Teaching Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Engineering Design Through Media is a collection of activities and professional development resources drawn from programs such as WGBH's Design Squad Nation and the Engineering is Elementary® project at the Museum of Science, Boston. Add your description and what you like/why you chose this resource. How would you use it?

Search engine to student appropriate websites and reading lists on a variety of topics

This is an awesome lesson plan that can connect most students to something that they enjoy watching on TV and playing with - robots! This lesson allows children to understand the basics of robots and how they work, but also give them the chance to make their own robots. In giving them a chance to build their own robots, they would have to ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool. (K-2-ETS1-1) I would use this whole lesson plan as a fun way to understand what team work actually is and engineering at a younger level.

Gamestar Mechanic is my technology resource. This game, available for download and online, teaches kids how to create their own video games. There is a big teacher section online for the program with videos explaining how to use Gamestar Mechanic as well as a place for teachers who use the program to blog about their experiences and share lesson plans using this game. I would like to use this as a tool in problem solving where all my students could help create a "game" or for students to use during free time or inside recess. The pdf file and the ideas for lessons are very interesting and I think this can be used as a tool to open up student's to the many different sides of engineering and creating.

This is an activity resource I found about a robot arm activity for students. The information for the activity along with the full pdf file and the student worksheet are free to download. I liked all the information that the page offered, as well as the complete list of items for each group of students to use to create their robot arm. I think that this is another great way for students to see the many different sides of engineering. It's not all just about space or building skyscrapers. The goal of the project itself is for the robot arm each group creates to be able to grab and carry a foam cup. It's not too much of a daunting task and the goal is clear and is easily viewed when it comes to assessment.

This lesson plan introduces the idea of creating and engineering to solve a problem. Students work in groups to create a flotation device to support a can of soup. There's a pdf for the lesson and then a word document for each group students to use where they draw out their idea and explain the certain steps and conclusions they came to during the whole process. I chose this lesson because it fits into my standard about talking about different solutions to a problem by looking at the confinements and criteria that the activity has in place (3-5-ETS1-2)

The website is a great resource for any elementary school teacher. It is broken down into sections such as organization, search engines, games, activities, etc. While I obviously didn't look at all 100, the ones I did look at seemed like they had great potential. The organization section seemed especially promising because I struggle with keeping things organized. It has websites similar to diigo to provide you with more ideas and inspiration. I think this will be a great starting point for any new lesson that I decide to try. Picking any of the 100 sites is sure to bring up something helpful. It includes free audiobooks, body maps, worksheets, electronic field-trips, etc.

I found several of the links to be faulty--leading to old sites no longer functioning, or to sites that looked questionable. However, I did also find Climate Zone, which allows you to use a clickable map to select a region of the world, and then a country, for which the site then provides latitude, longitude, and climate information about the location. This would be a good resource for students researching regions of the world or biomes.

Offerings and registration information for National Science Teacher Association Webinars.

This could be a wrap up activity on space, where you allow students to create their own rockets using straws and a rocket cut out image. Students can cut out the rockets and tape them together, trying to figure out the best placements for it, and also figure out where the rocket needs to fit on the straw, for a perfect take off. This would allow everyone to make observations and gather information (K-2 ETS 1-1) from one another to decide what is the perfect way to make the best rocket launch.

This is another example, kind of like the other Simple Machines lesson that I posted earlier, where you get the kids involved in making their own simple machines. While the other lesson only allowed them to use their bodies to make replicas of the simple machines, this allows them to use different materials from around the classroom the create their machines.

This video shows how you can relate science to other subjects, especially ones that aren't included on standardized testing. While this lesson takes place in Canada, you can easily relate it to the United States with common objects like scissors and pulleys. This really gets the kids involved because they have to use their bodies to show how simple machines work, with each child in their group acting out the different part of the simple machine. With art, they have to really think about how each machine looks from any view. This can give them chances to think about what could be wrong, even if they can't physically seem the problem.

While I didn't really understand what this lesson was trying to accomplish, it did help me come up with a great idea to connect a science lesson to "The Three Little Pigs." After we read the story, my class could discuss different types of houses that they could build, from material to shape/size. This would be a great activity to think of how the pigs could have stayed safe from the Big Bad Wolf from the beginning.

This could be a lesson that would revolve around a field trip to a local ice skating rink. During our visit, we could discuss what the temperature of the ice is and what would happen if the temperature, wind chill included, was changed. We could discuss what temperatures are safe to skate on and what would happen if the rink wasn't frozen enough. Overall, this would allow them to critically think about what the right temperature should be for the ice when they skate. While I listed this as a free lesson, it might cost money to go to the rink.

This resource gives students the opportunity to explore buildings and how objects are supported and how they stand. Students have a twenty minute lesson, and then they get to build and create supports. I think it would be a good idea to take the students around the school and show them, if there are any, supports to give them a visual of what they are learning and building.

I chose this as an activity resource. This would be a great activity to do with students near the end of the school year after they have gotten the hang of creating their own solutions and putting them to the test to see if they work out well. This particular activity treats a water balloon as a brain and students construct a "skull" made out of different objects to keep the brain safe and secure when it's dropped from a certain height. I would use this with many different materials for students to use so we could study the outcome of all of the materials and then complete some kind of chart or graph to show our findings.

This is the resource I have chosen as a science field trip. After looking over some of the different choices for demonstrations I think that the "Science Goes Splat" would be the best choice for my students. It's a chance for them to help in making predictions and observations about a problem that the whole group is facing which goes along with my standard (3-5-ETS1-2) in that the students are coming up with ideas about what may happen within the constraints of the demonstration. This is also a great way for them to see an exercise in gravity that we may not be able to do in the classroom

The Three Gorges Dam in China has been completed and is considerably larger than the Hoover Dam here in the United States. With this lesson plan students will learn how a dam is constructed, it's purpose, and the dangers associated with dams. I would add some videos to this lesson to show the students how large or small dams can be and I would show a video of a dam breaking and the damage it can cause (Johnstown, Pa - 1889).

This is a lesson plan resource that covers the explanation of simple machines and a couple activities in which students create their own simple or complex machines. The lesson plan also lists some great books and activity pieces to buy that would go great along with each of the lesson sections and also lists a few ideas for homework materials. The only ones that were working correctly were #3 to see the design of a lapbook and #5 to see simple machine coloring pages. Also note that choice #6 under Homework Ideas does cost money. I personally loved the ideas for creating simple and complex machines. It would be a chance for students to work together on creating a solution (3-5-ETS1-2). This would be a great way to breakdown the learning of simple machines into easy pieces that can be organized and taught well.