Happy 50th Earth Day!
Design challenges are all about solving problems, which is why they’re so great for the new world of distance learning we’re now in. You can assign these challenges to your students with an exciting story around what problem they need to solve, and then send them off to work independently to solve it!
Because design challenges work best when they’re tied to real-world situations, we’ve pulled together some of our favorite environmentally-themed design challenge lesson plans to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day this April 22.
Have fun, and share your students’ creation with us at #thetechathome!
DESIGN CHALLENGE
Solve the Fall
This single-session lesson is a great place to start. Your students will design and build a device that can survive a drop and deliver emergency supplies.
Duration: 50 minutes
Grades: K-12
Lesson Plan Video
Save the Fruit
Create a device that will harvest fruit from a tree and examine points of failure for iteration.
Duration: Five 60-minute sessions
Grades: 3–5
Lesson Plan
Bridging the Gap
Build a bridge over a variety of terrains to determine how different designs affect stability and strength.
Duration: Five 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4–8
Lesson Plan
ELA
Coastal Erosion: Designing and Debating Solutions
Design a solution to the environmental issue of coastal erosion.
Duration: Five 60-minute sessions
Grades: 6–8
Lesson Plan
Escape the Lava
Design a device to rescue researchers from a lava flow.
Duration: Four 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4–8
Lesson Plan
Animal Rescue
Teams gather information and scientific evidence to design a device that will help move endangered animals from one protected area to another.
Duration: Eight to ten 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4–8
Lesson Plan
MATH
Catch It, If You Can
Explore challenges associated with drought in California and how water conservation can be part of a solution.
Duration: Five or six 60-minute sessions
Grades:4–7
Lesson Plan
Traverse the Terrain
Create a moving object that can navigate a map on a coordinate plane.
Duration: Four 50-minute sessions
Grades: 4–8
Lesson Plan
SCIENCE
No Soil, No Problem
Using scientific evidence and knowledge, develop arguments on what plants need for growth.
Duration: Three to five 60-minute sessions
Grades: 4–8
Lesson Plan
TECH FOR GLOBAL GOOD
The Tech for Global Good Design Challenges engage your students in taking a systematic and empathetic approach to addressing social and engineering problems faced around the world. Each challenge includes background videos, booklets, lesson plan and standards connections.
Save the Species Challenge
Develop a solution that assists governments in protecting species in designated areas.
Duration: One four-hour session or multiple shorter sessions
Grades: 7–12
Videos:
Student Booklets:
To see how this design challenge can be organized, review these slides.
