2020 Lessons & Supply Lists
Week 1 - 2020
Monday: Mathematics
Cookies, TikTok, and Slime...Oh My! Using Ratios and Proportions
This module explores the use of ratios and proportions delivered through the lively conversation of a group of young mathematicians on their lunch break. Baking cookies, tackling a TikTok challenge, and celebrating with slime present unique ways of showcasing scale factors and proportions through unit conversions with the aid of the Math Magician. View Lesson
Tuesday: Life Science
Cells, Cells and More Cells!
This module allows students to learn about one of the most basic units of life-the cell! In this activity students will learn that the cell is made of many parts that all have a special job to do. Then, students will have the option to make a model of a plant or animal cell. View Lesson
Wednesday: Earth & Environmental Science
Journey to the Center of the Earth
This module explores the compositional and mechanical layers of Earth through modeling using your very own homemade modeling material. Be sure to look for the hidden challenge as you watch the video. View Lesson
Thursday: Engineering Design & Innovation
Simple and Clean Machine
This module explores the six different types of simple machines in order to design and build a compound machine that can help reduce surface contact. This may decrease viral transmission from person to person. Our student engineers will be challenged to create a Rube Goldberg machine composed of multiple simple machines. The goal of the Simple and Clean Machine is to minimize contact with surfaces in order to help prevent the spread of viral diseases such as COVID-19. View Lesson
Friday: Physical Science
Quarantine Theme Park Adventure
This module explores roller coasters! Students will build a roller coaster using insulation pipes and marbles to explore many physics principles, such as velocity, acceleration, conservation of energy, work and energy theorem, kinetic and gravitational potential energy, and gravitational pull. View Lesson
Week 2 - 2020
Monday: Mathematics
MEGA Legends - Financial Literacy in the Digital Age
This module explores the trending video game, MEGA Legends, centered on the lives of three young successful social media influencers who are faced with life-altering decisions, yikes! They each get exposed to different career fields within STEM, and their financial decisions impact the age at which they can retire. Dive into key considerations in making financial decisions, such as wages, sales taxes and income taxes. The effects of paying interest will also be investigated in a classic arcade-style game... choose your player! View Lesson
Tuesday: Life Science
Backyard Bingo: Exploring Abiotic and Biotic Factors
This module allows students to define and identify abiotic factors (nonliving things) and biotic factors (living things) in their local community. Students will go on a fun scavenger hunt to find examples of abiotic and biotic factors in their home or community. Next, students will have the option of drawing or creating a 3D model to represent abiotic and biotic factors in the ecosystem. View Lesson
Wednesday: Earth & Environmental Science
Around the World in < 15 Minutes
This module explores the movement of tectonic plates and the geographic features we observe on Earth as a result of these interactions. Be sure to look for the challenge of the day as you watch the video. View Lesson
Thursday: Engineering Design & Innovation
Let’s Filter it Out
This module explores the scarcity of clean water during different severe water crises. It proposes water filtration devices as a solution. Our student engineers will be challenged to create an effective and cost-efficient water filtration device built from household materials. The goal of the filtration device is to reduce the levels of turbidity (cloudiness or haziness of water) while still being affordable and accessible to anyone with scarce resources. View Lesson
Friday: Physical Science
Kitchen Chemistry
This module explores chemical and physical changes! Things change. Ice melting, your body changing oxygen to carbon dioxide, and iron turning to rust are all examples of things changing. Some of these changes are physical, like breaking a rock into smaller pieces. Some are chemical changes that give you a new product different from your starting materials, like burning a piece of paper. Today, you’ll be working with common household ingredients to learn about chemical and physical changes. You’ll be making your own chemistry laboratory in your kitchen and learning how to tell the difference between what makes a change chemical vs. physical! View Lesson
Week 3 - 2020
Monday: Mathematics
Eenie MEANie Miney MODE
This module explores using data to determine relationships between occurrences. Adejoke, Theo, and Janey are having a tough time after receiving their final grades on a recent math test. They have an idea of the culprit; however, they need evidence to support their claims. For this reason, they decide to conduct research (using a survey) with the help of two special mathematicians. Your task as a mathematical researcher will be to critically analyze the data they provided and determine whether their claim was correct. View Lesson
Tuesday: Life Science
Roots, Shoots, and Plants, Oh My!
This module allows students to learn about the two major systems in a plant: the root system and the shoot system. Students will learn about the structure and function of the root and shoot system. They will also color a diagram of the plant’s root and shoot system to familiarize themselves with the parts of the plant. Students will do two hands-on science experiments to learn about root and shoot systems. In the first experiment, students will use a celery stalk to create an amazing visual of how water moves through plants. Lastly, students will grow their very own plant from a seed! This lesson will spark a student’s curiosity and provide several meaningful experiences with life science! View Lesson
Wednesday: Earth & Environmental Science
Our Ever-Changing Planet
This module explores short-term and long-term changes to the environment caused by human activity and natural disasters. View Lesson
Thursday: Engineering Design & Innovation
Drop, Shock, and Roll
This module explores the use of shock-absorbing devices to help land astronauts safely. Our astronauts are in trouble and need help landing their rocket, but the shock-absorbent device is malfunctioning! The aerospace engineers propose the design and creation of a new shock-absorption device. They are asking our student engineers to pitch their design and prototype to a committee. The committee will be looking for a creative and cost-effective design. View Lesson
Friday: Physical Science
Watt Are Circuits?
This module continues exploring the Law of Conservation of Energy even further! Electrical circuits can store and use energy in different ways. Energy can be stored in batteries, capacitors, and inductors. It can be converted to thermal energy (heat) in a wire, used in a magnetic field, or converted to light energy in an LED or light bulb. In today’s lesson, we’ll be exploring how chemical potential energy in a battery is converted into useful electrical energy. We will also explore how to build simple (low voltage and safe) circuits to light up a light bulb. View Lesson