Written by teachers for teachers, these ready-to-use, hands-on projects for technology education and applied science classes are great curriculum enhancement tools. They really get students motivated!
Simply duplicate and use for as many students—and for as many times—as desired. Our high-quality activities save you time and help your students really understand the principles of technology and applied science. Projects include teaching tools such as procedures, vocabulary words, quizzes, photos, illustrations, and much more.
Projects are intended for unlimited copying and use by purchaser only. For multi-teacher use, site licenses are available. Hard copies available at an adjusted price. Please contact Vanessa Revelli at 734-975-2800 x306 or vanessa@techdirections.com for information.
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©2013 by Tech Directions/Prakken Publications, Inc.
Project
Samplers
A $14.85 value, only $9.95 each!
Each sampler contains three full projects—ready for immediate classroom use. Samplers available:
ON
DEMAND
CLASSROOM PROJECTS
Applied
Academics 1
Cardboard
Boat Challenge
Students research, design, construct
and race cardboard boats, gaining substantial math, science, communication
and engineering experience in the course of the activity. Includes 10 student
work sheets, plus an evaluation sheet.
Applied
Mathematics
Architects, designers, engineers
and technicians routinely make mathematical calculations for construction
and production. The activities provided here give students experience in calculating
perimeter, circumference, area and volume.
Write
Right!
Creating an owner’s manual
for a product sharpens students writing skills and their ability to communicate
clearly and effectively. This activity also gives educators tips on producing
both writing prompts and grading rubrics—and provides a rubric for use
with the owner’s manual project.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Applied
Academics 2
Forensics
101—Applying Physics to Solve Crimes
Capitalize on CSI mania! Students apply math and science knowledge to solve
a class "murder case" that shows how forensic experts use physics
principles.
The
Bicycle: A Great Vehicle for Learning
Students learn about the bicycle’s evolution, manufacturing processes
and physics concepts, then rank bikes on a spreadsheet in this activity that
kids can really relate to.
Launch
Pad Design
Student teams design and construct a device that will launch
a Ping Pong ball into a large cup. Features extensive problem-solving, physics,
and mathematics content.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Communications
1
Cereal
Box Design
This interdisciplinary activity
introduces students to graphic design; basic drawing; sketching and rendering;
measuring area, volume and weight; oral and written technical communication;
applied problem solving; marketing; consumer research; environmental education;
recycling; and considerations of form, function, and aesthetics.
Digital
Photography
Getting started with digital photography
is easy. Using Photoshop Elements, a "lite" version of Photoshop,
you can introduce your students to the subject with some good hands-on projects.
Here are details on everything you need, plus activities with detailed step-by-step
procedures.
Silk
Screening Across the Curriculum
Teaching silk screening can integrate
design, art, science and history in the technology education classroom. This
activity provides ample background on the subject, along with step-by-step
silk-screening procedures.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Communications
2
Candy
Bar Activity Teaches CAD, Math, and Design
Students develop, design, and produce candy bars and wrappers,
moving from concept through production. Includes step-by-step student directions.
Project
Gizmo
Students learn the design
process used in industry and use CAD to create appropriate packaging for products
of varying shapes.
Industrial
Design: Packaging Design
Students
develop a solution to a packaging design problem by first creating a design
portfolio of sketches, then a technical drawing of the best solution, and
finally the package itself using simple, inexpensive materials.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Construction
Technology 1
Model
Deck Construction
Background on the structural elements of decks, plus procedure for constructing
scale model decks.
Toothpick Experiment:
Investigating Construction Strength
Students
experiment with the strength of various kinds of joints, then design and test
bridges made from toothpicks.
General Challenges
Nineteen puzzlers to develop
your students’ logical-thinking skills.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Construction
Technology 2
Conduct
Load Test Experiments Using Simple Materials
Experimenting
with simple paperboard, students learn how engineers conduct load tests. They
start with a simple strip, add a strut support system to improve their results,
and finally design their own support. Worksheets for recording and charting
results included.
Designing
Playgrounds
Background on the many
safety concerns involved in design and construction, plus a hands-on activity
in which students design and construct a small-scale playground.
Patio
Stone Project
Background on the composition, history and uses of concrete,
plus a hands-on activity in which students mix concrete and design and pour
a patio stone for use at home.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Design/Drafting
Project Gizmo
Students learn the design process used in industry and use CAD to
create packaging for products of varying shapes.
Larry Bob's Blocks
Students
learn how to make isometric and orthographic drawings and flat pattern layouts,
then build a puzzle block using their new skills
Math
Challenges
Twenty mathematical mind-benders
that engage and enrage young minds.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Electricity/Electronics
1
Electronic Ear
With a few basic electronic components
and a standard earphone, students explore the principles of sound amplification.
Building
a Simple Jeopardy Circuit
Students design a real-life electronic
circuit, using several methods of digital design, and overcome problems with
interfacing digital designs with components outside the digital control.
Miniature
Seesaw Project
Teaches
Basic Electricity and Magnetism. Students build an electrically-operated seesaw
that serves as an excellent model for visualizing magnetic repulsion and also
helps with understanding the left-hand rule of current flow.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Electricity/Electronics
2
LED
Flashlight
Students can learn electronics basics—Ohm’s law, series and parallel
circuits, use of the VOM, and more—while building a very useful product.
Fiber
Optic Communication: The Firefly Communicator
Using simple components that include
a battery, light-emitting diode, momentary switch, and fiber optic cable,
students build an LED communication transmitter.
Basic
Electronics and Computer Programming Project
Students build simple electronics projects using a BASIC Stamp development
board and then write program code to control the circuits they have built.
Includes four student projects, culminating in a door bell circuit. (Requires
purchase of development board.)
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Grading/Rubrics
Industrial Technology
Project Grading Rubric
Sample rubric you and your students can use as a guide to grade industrial
technology projects.
Portfolio Grading
System
Includes forms for students and tips on managing evaluations of students’
projects.
Rubrics for Drafting
and Engineering Classes
Allows students to better
evaluate their own performance. Includes tips on how to use the rubrics.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Manufacturing
Skateboard Project Really
Rocks!
Students design, construct and decorate skateboards while learning
about the machines and processes involved in working with plastics.
Mass
Producing a Paper-Cup Dispenser
Teaches both mass-production procedures and woodworking skills.
Toy
Truck Project
Uses inexpensive 2 x 4 lumber and
is well suited for mass production
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Manufacturing
2
Four
Handy Metal Kitchen Tools
Project provides instructions for making
a bottle opener, pizza cutter, meat tenderizer, and salt and pepper shakers.
Students gain experience with horizontal and vertical mills, lathe, and drill
press, while working with stainless steel, aluminum, and plastic
Conveyor
Systems
Students learn how the three different
types of conveyor systems work, along with their advantages and disadvantages.
Then, using simple materials, they build a compressed-air conveyor system
and test their design.
Using
Jigs and Fixtures: A Design Brief
Introductory information on the
use of jigs and fixtures in the manufacturing process, plus design of jigs
and fixtures to be used in student manufacture of a Ball Drop Game.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Power/Energy
1
Cookin'
with Sun—Design and Build Solar Cookers
Hot dogs and marshmallows anyone? Bring together math, science and technology
in an activity that teaches students about designing products that address
human needs, along with issues related to health and the environment.
Skateboard
Park
Introduce middle schoolers to the
concepts of potential and kinetic energy and pendulums and their periods by
having them design, construct and test a skateboard park. Includes test and
project evaluation questions and directions for constructing eight different
skateboard park components.
Wind
Power & Wind Turbines
In this project for middle schoolers,
students learn about torque, build and test their own wind turbines, learn
to calculate kilowatts per hour and measure the power of their wind turbines.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Power/Energy
2
Calculating
Home Electricity Consumption
Students gain greater awareness
of their personal use of electricity and get some excellent experience with
the practical application of mathematics through study of their families’
consumption of electricity.
Energy
Conservation
Teach kids how to save energy—and
money—before they’re paying the bills! A light bulb energy calculation
activity, a home energy efficiency test, and lots of tips and info on how
to be a wise energy consumer are included.
Energy-Efficient
Home Design
Activities give students a practical understanding of the amount of energy
the average home uses and wastes and teaches them about energy-efficient design.
Includes handouts, vocabulary, student quiz, and grading rubric.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Problem
Solving 1
Cardboard Chair Design
Middle school project teaches modeling techniques, modeling materials,
modeling as a part of the design process, teamwork and more.
Egg
Bungee Jump!
Pre-engineering activity gives students experience with the value
of risk, failure and serendipity; the role of calculation; and Newton’s
laws of motion.
Katapultos:
Teaching Basic Statistics with Ballistics
Increase math, science
and technology correlations while giving students a fun way to collect and
apply measurement data.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Problem
Solving 2
Cereal Box Design
Interdisciplinary activity introduces students to graphic design; basic drawing; sketching and rendering; measuring area, volume, and weight; oral and written technical communication; applied problem solving; marketing; consumer research; environmental education; recycling; and considerations of form, function, and aesthetics.
Crush-Worthiness—An Introduction to Materials Testing
Using a teacher-made testing device, students experiment with various materials to find how well they stand up under presssure.
Problem Solving Discovery Days
These projects build students’ problem-solving skills, developing their use of creative logic, conflict resolution, organization, and sound judgment in decision making. Perfect for middle schoolers. Includes 15 pages of handouts for six complete projects.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Substitute
Teacher
General Challenges
From the best of the “More
than Fun” archives! Nineteen puzzlers to develop your students’
logical-thinking skills. Includes two sheets of problems and two sheets of
solutions. Perfect one-day project for you or a sub!
General
Challenges 2
Nineteen
more brainteasers and thought-provoking problems from the best of the "More
Than Fun" archives -- guaranteed to test your students' problem-solving
skills! Great for those students who finish activities before the rest of
the class or when lesson plans run short.
Problem
Solving Discovery Days
These projects build students’
problem-solving skills, developing their use of creative logic, conflict resolution,
organization and sound judgment in decision making. Perfect for middle schoolers.
Includes 15 pages of handouts for six complete projects.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Transportation
Cardboard
Wind Tunnel
Middle schoolers on a budget can make their own wind tunnel to test
the aerodynamic qualities of CO2 racers.
Boomerangs!
Studying and making boomerangs teaches
students about four forces that affect an airplane’s flight: thrust,
gravity, drag and lift. Flying the boomerangs is motivating for students and
teachers alike!
Bat
Wing Flyer: A Glider Challenge
Model gliders built from
foam egg cartons introduce students to the parts of an airplane and teach
balance for maximum flight performance.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Transportation
2
Hovercraft
Curriculum
A tech teacher’s experience with having his students build and operate
hovercrafts, plus an extensive curriculum—
handouts on the science and physics involved, homework sheets, lab activities,
and vocabulary. (Hovercraft plans not included.)
Combustion
Rocket
Thrill
and amaze your students while introducing them to the process of combustion
and Newton’s laws of motion with this dramatic teacherbuilt and -demonstrated
rocket made with inexpensive materials. Vocabulary development and extension
activities included.
Up
Periscope
Students learn about buoyancy, propulsion, and control systems in the course
of designing, constructing, and testing a submarine that uses PVC pipe and
a basic dc switching circuit. High school level.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Transportation 3
Cardboard Boat Challenge
Students research, design, construct, and race cardboard boats, gaining substantial math, science, communication, and engineering experience. Includes key definitions, detailed student instructions, 13 pages of student work sheets, plus an evaluation sheet.
Project
X Air Cannon
A student simulation of NASA’s
historic Project X-15 high speed and altitude program. Challenge your middle
schoolers to design, construct, and test models of rockets and aircraft made
from simple materials while learning about aerodynamics, physics, and mathematics.
Hovercraft Design and Testing
Activity uses very inexpensive materials—foam board, a pop-up bottle cap, and a balloon—to teach design and testing procedures. Includes background information on engineering processes and detailed instructions. This project appeared in the August 2011 issue of Tech Directions.
It has been reformatted for easy classroom use and also includes a grading rubric, drawings, and additional photos.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Woodworking
1
Three-Piece
Puzzle
In the course of making wooden puzzles,
students learn about the various roles involved in industrial production (procurement,
product engineering, process engineering, plant engineering, personnel management
and administration), as well as about such concepts as prototype, quality
control, and industrial safety.
Making
a Laser Level
This project gives detailed procedure
for constructing an inexpensive, very accurate level that incorporates a laser
pointer.
Design
and Build Gumball Machines
Students get great experience with
research and design, problem solving, use of jigs and fixtures, and the details
of the mass production process.
Order
online and use them today—$9.95
Woodworking
2
Three
Handy Wooden Kitchen Tools
Project includes instructions for making a spaghetti serving
sizer, a napkin holder, and a set of spice containers. Projects teach hand
tool use, turning on a lathe, and a variety of joinery methods.
Mass
Producing a Paper-Cup Dispenser
Mass-producing this paper-cup
dispenser teaches both mass-production procedures and woodworking skills.
Wooden
Pizza Cutter
A clever wood project teaches students about rotary routing
jigs and mass production techniques—and provides them with a tool for
slicing a treat!
Order
online and use them today—$9.95