The following is a introductory unit that was used for the first two weeks of our 9th grade physical science course. We found it to be a great way to build classroom culture, set group work expectations, and weave in engineering concepts right away at the beginning of the year. Click for more information about each day of the unit.

Week 1

​An introductory group activity to challenge students to seek patterns in data
​Discussing identity and how individuals work in groups by reflecting on personality assessments and completing the cup stacking challenge.
Introducing students to google docs through a scavenger hunt that requires students to navigate the school and work in groups
​Practicing different techniques to communicate information

Week 2

​Engineering design project where students work in groups to design, build, and test a modular building toy that can satisfy a variety of consumer requests