Flood Rescue Mission: An EngrTEAMS Curricular Unit
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Abstract
Flood Rescue Mission is an engineering design-based STEM curricular unit. The unit aims to facilitate the learning of major science and mathematical concepts and skills within the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Common Core State Standards (CCSS) respectively. The unit includes teacher guides, class activities with solutions, and assessment guidelines.
Grade Level: 4-6
Approximate Time Needed to Complete Unit: Twelve to seventeen 50-minute class periods
Unit Summary: In this unit, students will learn science, mathematics, and engineering concepts to learn about buoyancy through an Engineering Design Challenge. This challenge asks students to create prototypes of watercraft for the National Guard to use in flood emergencies. In this, students need to have an understanding of volume, mass, forces, and maximum capacity in order to address the challenge. Students work both in small teams and as a class to provide letters to the National Guard about what designs work the best.
| Science Connections | Technology & Engineering Connections | Mathematics Connections |
| force, volume, buoyancy, maximum capacity, density |
engineering design process | volume |
List of Lessons:
- Lesson 1: Introduction to Flood Rescue Mission
- Objectives: (1) Students will be able to state the problem they are solving for the challenge; (2) Students will be able to identify the key math and science concepts needed to complete the challenge. These concepts include: Mass, Maximum Capacity, Volume, Gravity, and Buoyant Force; (3) Students will complete a KWL of concepts that have been mastered and concepts that need more understanding; (4) Students will identify criteria and constraints in their engineering design challenge.
- Lesson 2: Introduction to Volume
- Objectives: (1) Students will understand how to calculate the volume of rectangular prisms by measuring length, width, and height; (2) Students will understand how to measure the volume of liquids using graduated cylinders.
- Objectives: (1) Students will understand that 1 cm3 of water = 1 mL of water = 1 g of water; (2) Students will understand that objects submerged in water displace a volume of water equal to the object’s weight in grams.
- Lesson 4: Forces and Buoyancy
- Objectives: (1) Students will be able to understand the relationship between the volume of an immersed object and the upward force (buoyant force) exerted by the water on that object; (2) Students will use graphs to understand this relationship; (3) Students will be able to understand different types of forces including balanced, unbalanced, and buoyant forces.
- Lesson 5: Engineering Design Challenge (Plan, Try, Test, Decide)
- Objectives: (1) Students will be able to use an engineering design process to design, build, and test a watercraft prototype to be used in flood conditions; (2) Students will be able to work in teams to come up with a watercraft design; (3) Students will develop communication skills by working with small groups; (4) Students will calculate the maximum capacity of their watercraft prototypes using their knowledge of volume and buoyancy; (5) Students will learn how to reflect using an engineering notebook; (6)Students will use evidence-based reasoning to communicate with their client.
Unit Standards:
- NGSS: 5-PS2-1, MS-PS2-1, MS-PS2-2, 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-2, 3-5-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2, MS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-4.
- CCSS: 5.MD.3, 5.MD.4, 5.MD.5.a, 5.MD.5.b, 6.G.2, 6.G.4, 6.RP.1, 6.RP.3, 6.EE.6, 6.SP.4.
Sponsored by
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant NSF DRL-1238140. Any opinions, findings and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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Purdue University