"The next time you want to integrate engineering practices into your classes, consider this book your own personal idea-starter. The 13 units in Creating Engineering Design Challenges provide innovative ways to make science and math relevant to middle and high school students through challenge-based learning and the engineering design process. Content areas include biology, chemistry, physical science, Earth science, and environmental science. Topics range from developing a recipe for cement to implementing geocaching to calculating accurate aim with slingshots and water balloons. You can be sure the units are classroom-ready because they were contributed by the same teachers who developed, used, and revised them. The teachers were participants in the Cincinnati Engineering Enhanced Math and Science program, a project funded by the National Science Foundation. They provide detailed accounts of their units as well as lesson plans and handouts. The book also offers guidance on fostering professional development to support and grow your school's engineering education practice. Creating Engineering Design Challenges can help you change your classroom environment, empower students, and move toward a more student-centered classroom culture that leads to deeper learning"--

Explore STEM concepts through making and tinkering!

Science, technology, engineering, art, and math work together to make learning fun in these STEAM lessons!Perfect for Makerspace!This kindergarten teacher resource book includes:- A year's worth of teacher lesson plans- STEAM design challenges that turn elementary students into inventors- Easy-to-follow lesson format (with standards identified for each lesson)- Classroom-tested lessonsThe STEAM Design Challenges in this book follow engineering practices to teach students in kindergarten to solve a problem by designing, creating, and justifying their designs. They also allow art to support and enhance the learning of science and math while the engineering process is followed.These engaging STEAM lessons:- Integrate the Next Generation Science Standards and national standards from other disciplines- Enhance learning across various disciplines- Facilitate students in collaborating to solve real-world scenarios- Promote critical thinking, analytical thinking, and reflective thinking- Incorporate the Five Es Instructional Model (engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate)- Are classroom tested

Jane Yolen poetically reminds young readers that a simple box can be a child's most imaginative plaything as artist Chris Sheban illustrates its myriad and magical uses. Reviews -Booklist, November 2021 “A Box! A box is a wonder indeed. The only such magic that you’ll ever need.” This book offers gentle suggestions for what to do with a cardboard box, from the practical to the fantastical and from solitary to social.”

Design Genius, Jr.: Adventures in Engineering for Kids explores the future through problem solving, design thinking, and engineering in a science-fact world that most parents and kids don’t yet know exists. This book invites kids to take charge of the world they wish to create by designing inventions and solutions to challenges faced in an imaginary City X, the first human settlement on another planet. This adventure takes readers on an epic journey: humans are leaving Earth, arriving at a new planet, and creating the first settlement there, City X. It’s a journey of historic proportions, to a fledgling city on a distant planet, where humanity has a chance to start fresh and design a future that works for everyone. In settling another planet, humans discover a host of challenges, much like those faced on Earth: Challenges related to issues of energy, environment, transportation, security, food, safety, and health. Empowered by design thinking and advanced technology, their problems are to be solved by a vast team of young designers on Earth (your children!). With this book, you and yours will be able to develop the tools to explore, understand, imagine, create, and share your own irresistible futures through accessible real-world activities and awesome ideations. Without limits, what can kids create?

When a tornado leaves a farmer with a heap of scrap metal and no animals, his neighbors are sure it's all over for him. But the determined farmer refuses to admit defeat. His plans are big, and when his neighbors dismiss them with the words, "When pigs fly," they grow bigger still. The farmer sets to work to turn that scrap metal into some rather surprising creatures. Mechanimals will help all of us believe in our dreams, despite what the neighbors may say.

How do you create effective STEM classrooms that energize students, help them grow into creative thinkers and collaborators, and prepare them for their futures? This practical book from expert Anne Jolly has all the answers and tools you need to get started or enhance your current program. Based on the author’s popular MiddleWeb blog of the same name, STEM by Design reveals the secrets to successful lessons in which students use science, math, and technology to solve real-world engineering design problems. You’ll learn how to: Select and adapt quality existing STEM lessons that present authentic problems, allow for creative approaches, and engage students in meaningful teamwork; Create your own student-centered STEM lessons based on the Engineering Design Process; Assess students’ understanding of basic STEM concepts, their problem-solving abilities, and their level of engagement with the material; Teach STEM in after-school programs to further build on concepts covered in class; Empower girls to aspire to careers in STEM and break down the barriers of gender bias; Tap into STEM's project-based learning style to attract and engage all students. Throughout this user-friendly book, you’ll find design tools such as checklists, activities, and assessments to aid you in developing or adapting STEM lessons. These tools, as well as additional teacher resources, are also available as free downloads from the book’s website, http://www.stem-by-design.com.