Middle School Resources

www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig
www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/educator/act_index.html – Classroom hands-on activities. Excellent materials! Over 20 printable activities illustrating principles involved in the design of big structures such as dams, bridges and skyscrapers.
www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/educator/index.html – Teacher and Volunteer training materials. Guide to leading classroom activities.

www.pbskids.org/designsquad – An excellent PBS series where teams of high school students tackle interesting design challenges. All episodes are available on line, broken into small segments that follow the engineering problem solving method. Specifically geared toward upper Elementary and Middle School students, but entertaining and educational for any age.
Classroom Hands-On Activities: www.pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators
Training materials for Engineers: www.pbskids.org/designsquad/engineers
Training materials for Educators: www.pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators/training

www.discovere.org/ – Links to numerous web resources for students, teachers and engineers. The site is also the portal for three new videos targeted to middle school age students; the videos were produced by the National Engineers Week Foundation, designed to showcase the “cool” aspects of engineering and feature middle school students.

www.discovere.org/our-programs/engineers-week – Numerous resources and links to many others.
www.discovere.org/discover-engineering/what-engineers-do – Selected fun and exciting profiles
www.discovere.org/discover-engineering/cool-engineering-projects – Engineers are working to change life for the better in ways that we can hardly even imagine. Check out some of the cool ideas they are bringing to life.
http://www.discovere.org/our-activities – Classroom hands-on activities. Over 20 printable activities that focus on math and science more than engineering, but most can be easily adapted to an engineering presentation.

www.tryengineering.org – A site with a lot of detailed lessons and resources. Not as entertaining as other sites, but offers greater depth of information.
Detailed lesson plans and curriculum guides for Educators: www.tryengineering.org/teachers/lesson-plans
Online games for students: www.tryengineering.org/students/games
Information about engineering careers and educational requirements: www.tryengineering.org/students/engineering-computing-and-technology-fields

www.lessonplanz.com – They are lesson plans pages, with the right search criteria you can find some good science/math/physics demonstrations.

www.swe.org/k-12-outreach/youth-advocacy/outreach-toolkit – It has hands on projects that students can do, and provides lesson plans, how to instructions, material lists, background information and links. It covers all age ranges (with projects listing what National Science Standards the project covers and for what grades). The age range is stated in the lesson plan. This is a one stop shopping for fun hands on activities.
www.swe.org/k-12-outreach/swenext/swenext-clubs/-middle-school-club-resources – Middle School Club Resources

www.secme.org/home/activities.html – Activities that SECME sponsors, such as the Brain Bowl, Bridge Building, Pressurized Water Rocket Launch, Mousetap Cars, Egg Drop, and Robot Hands.
www.secme.org/home/opportunities.html – Scholarships

www.techbridgegirls.org – Inspiring girls to recognize their potential and pursue opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Middle school students can see how their math and science skills measure up against other students worldwide.

Tutorials, practice opportunities and reasons why math and science matter in the world today.

Students and teachers can experience math in ways that mathematicians and scientists do.
Fun activities and real world applications (tied to the NCTM standards). Students see what mathematicians actually do.
www-k6.thinkcentral.com

Raytheon’s MathMovesU is an innovative program designed to engage middle school students with math at an age when their interest in the subject typically declines. Middle school students can enter a “virtual world” of math and engage with games, polls, flash cards, word problems, and factoids all centered on their passions: music, sports, and fashion. Site features a glossary of math terms and a large number of hands-on worksheets for students looking for additional help and support.
http://www.mathmovesu.com/

http://www.engineergirl.org/ – From the National Academy of Engineering