Plate to Planet: 00 Complete Unit
Download the Plate to Planet unit PDF complete with the unit summary, teacher background and student sheets. All linked to google sheets designed for easy access and editing capabilities.
Plate to Planet: 03 Building Block Innovation Matching Game
Plate to Planet: 03 Building Block Innovation Matching Game
Students will try to pair the “plant-based building block” with the product that typically comes from animals. The goal is to show them that food scientists are able to use non-animal sources to make products we love, but in a more sustainable way.
Plate to Planet: 02 Student Lab Notebook
Plate to Planet: 02 Student Lab Notebook
The Plate to Planet Student Lab Notebook has been designed in Google Slides as an accompanying support to the student worksheets.
Plate to Planet: 01 Slide Deck
Plate to Planet: 01 Slide Deck
Plate to Planet Lesson Slide Deck is chock full of images and interactive links that support the delivery and implementation of the entire four lesson unit. Google slides linked here.
Animal Adaptations and Engineering Design Unit
Animal Adaptations and Engineering Design Unit
In this unit, students will explore examples of biomimicry technologies and examine traits that have enabled animals to adapt to their environment. Students will then consider how animal adaptations can help them design a shelter that would withstand severe weather conditions.
Properties of Adhesives: A Sticky Situation: 04 Just Glue It!
Properties of Adhesives: A Sticky Situation: 04 Just Glue It!
This lesson wraps up the unit by having students create an advertisement for their homemade glue from Lesson 3. Students will work in groups and present their projects to the class.
Properties of Adhesives: A Sticky Situation: 03 Battle of the Glues
Properties of Adhesives: A Sticky Situation: 03 Battle of the Glues
In this lesson, students will make two different glues using household materials that undergo a chemical reaction when mixed. They will then compare the two glues using the same green chemistry criteria that they used in Lesson 2. This lesson is designed to reinforce their ability to differentiate between mixtures and chemical reactions.
Properties of Adhesives: A Sticky Situation: 02 Testing Tape
Properties of Adhesives: A Sticky Situation: 02 Testing Tape
In this lesson, students will evaluate different kinds of tape using the green chemistry criteria. Students will learn about properties of adhesives from a short background reading and then test the mechanical properties of various tapes using spring scales to measure force. To conclude, students will use the data they have gathered, alongside information on cost and starting materials of each tape, to determine which tape they would recommend.
Properties of Adhesives: A Sticky Situation: 01 What Do We Learn From Animals?
Properties of Adhesives: A Sticky Situation: 01 What Do We Learn From Animals?
This lesson introduces students to biomimicry, first by decoding and defining the word, then by an interactive matching game that challenges students to think like scientists and engineers in considering different aspects of the natural world.
Properties of Adhesives: A Sticky Situation Overview
Properties of Adhesives: A Sticky Situation Overview
This unit investigates the properties of adhesives—from strength to environmental impact—through the lenses of green chemistry and biomimicry (the art of taking inspiration from nature in the design of new technologies). Together, these two fields support development of sustainable technologies to help meet the needs of the current population without impacting our ability to provide for the next generation. Throughout the unit, students will explore how nature can provide ideas to scientists and engineers, consider the properties of adhesives, and make their own “greener” glues.
Animal Adaptations and Engineering Design: 01 Form and Function
Animal Adaptations and Engineering Design: 01 Form and Function
In this lesson, students will take an active role in understanding adaptations and evolution as they evaluate the effectiveness of various bird beaks for different kinds of food. This lesson will set the stage for the rest of the unit, as students learn that function is the intersection of biology, chemistry, and design.
Desalination Design Challenge: 06 Desalination Design
Desalination Design Challenge: 06 Desalination Design
In this lesson, students participate in the engineering design process as they construct their desalinators, capture data, and think critically about the effectiveness of their prototype. They will then propose and justify a change to their design that will improve their device.
Desalination Design Challenge: 05 Salty Solutions
Desalination Design Challenge: 05 Salty Solutions
In this lesson, students will consider how nature removes salt from water, and then design their own evaporation desalinators. The students will use the engineering design process to craft and test their prototypes throughout Lessons 5 and 6.
Desalination Design Challenge: 04 Fresh Filters: Get the Mud Out
Desalination Design Challenge: 04 Fresh Filters: Get the Mud Out
In this lesson, students will build the filters they designed in Lesson 3. They will then test how well their prototype removes mud and salt from water, and use their results to propose and make one change to improve their filter design.
Desalination Design Challenge: 03 Focus on Filtering
Desalination Design Challenge: 03 Focus on Filtering
In this lesson, students will review different types of filters that are used around the world. They will then design a water filter that they’ll build and test with muddy water, using the information on biomimicry and sustainability from Lesson 2. Students will wrap up the lesson by working with their partner to compare sketches and create one final design proposal that uses the best ideas from each partner’s drawing.
