Multi-Week Lesson Plan: Engineering Rockets and Rovers (Grades 4-6)
Unit Title: Rockets and Rovers
Duration: 8 weeks, 45 minutes per session
Tools: Chromebooks/iPads, Makey Makey, Engineering Journals, Dash Robots, Keva Planks, and Stomp Rocket Launchers (from the CSCOE STEM Inventory).
Catholic Integration: Emphasizing stewardship, teamwork, perseverance, and ethical responsibility through the design and engineering process.
Available Resources:
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Rockets and Rovers Educator Guide
A comprehensive guide for educators detailing lesson plans, activities, and instructional support for the Rockets and Rovers unit.
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Rockets and Rovers Video and Resource Links
A collection of video links and additional resources to support the concepts and activities introduced in the unit.
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Rockets and Rovers Engineering Journal (English)
An engineering journal template for students to document their experiments, observations, and reflections throughout the unit.
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Rockets and Rovers Family Letter (English)
A letter designed for families, providing an overview of the Rockets and Rovers unit and encouraging family engagement in the learning process.
Week 1: Prep Adventure 1 - What is Engineering? (Tower Power)
- Objective: Introduce students to the concept of engineering and the Engineering Design Process (EDP).
- Activity: Students work in teams to design a tower using index cards and tape to hold a small stuffed animal at least 10 inches off the ground. This activity introduces the EDP steps: Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, and Improve.
- Catholic Connection: Discuss how engineers are stewards of God’s creation, solving problems for the common good. Emphasize the importance of building with purpose, inspired by the parable of the wise and foolish builders (Matthew 7:24-27).
- Homework: Research and find examples of structures in communities, like bridges or shelters, and their impact.
Week 2: Prep Adventure 2 - What is Technology? (Technology Detectives)
- Objective: Define technology as anything designed by humans to solve a problem, expanding students’ understanding beyond electronic devices.
- Activity: Students explore everyday objects to determine if they are technologies based on whether they were engineered by humans to solve problems.
- Catholic Connection: Reflect on our responsibility to use talents in creating technology that benefits others, connecting to stewardship principles.
- Homework: Identify a daily technology that positively impacts their family or community, and reflect on its benefits.
Week 3: Adventure 1 - Out of This World
- Objective: Introduce aerospace engineering, rockets, and rovers. Students test how weight affects rocket flight using stomp rocket launchers.
- Activity: Students test rockets by adjusting variables like weight and launch angle. They record their data in Engineering Journals to understand the impact of these changes.
- Catholic Connection: Discuss marveling at God’s creation through space exploration, reflecting on Psalm 8:3-4.
- Homework: Research a NASA mission exploring a planet or moon and its benefits to humanity.
Week 4: Adventure 2 - Boost Your Knowledge
- Objective: Explore rocket variables and test their impacts on flight.
- Activity: Groups test different variables (rocket length, width, material) and record data to share findings. This activity emphasizes understanding trade-offs in engineering.
- Catholic Connection: Emphasize the Catholic value of collaboration and the importance of sharing knowledge for the common good, inspired by St. Paul’s teachings on unity.
- Homework: Reflect on how trade-offs are necessary in life and engineering, linking to biblical examples.
Week 5: Adventure 3 - Shoot for the Moon
- Objective: Design and build model rovers to explore chosen space destinations.
- Activity: Students work in teams to choose a destination and create a rover model. They consider the trade-offs of adding tools, understanding how weight affects rocket launch capabilities.
- Catholic Connection: Relate the trade-offs and decisions to the concept of discernment in Catholic teaching, discussing how we balance resources and needs wisely.
- Homework: Write a short reflection on how the EDP helps make improvements in life and engineering.
Week 6: Adventure 4 - Create a Rocket
- Objective: Use knowledge from previous activities to engineer rockets that can carry rovers to their destinations.
- Activity: Students build and test rockets, iterating based on performance and peer feedback. They apply their understanding of variables and trade-offs to optimize their designs.
- Catholic Connection: Discuss perseverance, inspired by Philippians 4:13, and the value of continually improving one’s work.
- Homework: Document improvements made to their rockets and reflect on a personal area where they can apply perseverance.
Week 7: Adventure 5 - Countdown: Improve a Rocket
- Objective: Improve rocket designs based on group collaboration and peer feedback.
- Activity: Groups share their rocket designs, offer improvement suggestions, and test the modified rockets. They record the outcomes and analyze the results.
- Catholic Connection: Highlight the importance of humility and openness to feedback, linking to Proverbs 27:17: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
- Homework: Write about a time when receiving advice led to a positive change.
Week 8: Adventure 6 - Engineering Showcase: Liftoff!
- Objective: Celebrate and present students’ rockets and rovers in a showcase event.
- Activity: Students present their designs, explaining the engineering process and improvements. They launch their rockets for an audience, demonstrating their learning outcomes.
- Catholic Connection: Celebrate students’ achievements as gifts from God, reflecting on how using our talents serves others and builds community.
- Homework: Final reflection on what they learned about stewardship and engineering, focusing on how they can continue being stewards of God’s creation.