Middle School Resources
(Grades 6 through 8)

FES Headquarters Resources

• Engineering – Go For It! magazine
• Those Amazing Engineers magazine
• Discovering Engineering PowerPoint presentation, created by Broward County Chapter (Click here to download the presentation. Note: This is an 11 MB Powerpoint file.)
• MATHCOUNTS, a middle school mathematics coaching program

PBS Building Big

• 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.

ASCE Building Big

• www.asce.org/kids/handson.cfm - Classroom hands-on activities. Two activities to supplement the PBS Building Big materials.
• www.asce.org/kids/tips_act.cfm - Training materials for Engineers. Tips for leading classroom activities.

PBS Design Squad

• 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. 
• www.pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators/activities - Classroom Hands-On Activities.
• www.pbskids.org/designsquad/engineers - Training Materials for Engineers.
• www.pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators/educators_guide.html - Training Materials for Educators.

Discover Engineering.org

• www.discoverengineering.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.

National Engineers Week

• www.eweek.org - Numerous resources and links to many others.
• www.eweek.org/site/Engineers/newfaces2006/index.shtml - Profiles of 60 young engineers describing what they do for work and fun
• www.eweek.org/site/Engineers/theengineers/ - Selected fun/exciting profiles
• www.engineeringsights.org/ - Sightseer’s Guide to Engineering: An exploration of famous and not-so-famous engineering sites in the US.
• www.eweek.org/site/DiscoverE/activities/index.shtml - 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.eweek.org/site/DiscoverE/activities/classroom_archive.shtml - Nearly 50 printable classroom hands-on activities focused on math and science that can be easily adapted to an engineering presentation.

Try Engineering

• www.tryengineering.org/home.php - A site with a lot of detailed lessons and resources.  Not as entertaining as other sites, but offers greater depth of information.
• www.tryengineering.org/lesson.php - Detailed lesson plans and curriculum guides for Educators
• www.tryengineering.org/play.php - Online games for students.
• www.tryengineering.org/explore.php - Information about engineering careers and educational requirements.

Free Lesson Plans

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

SWE Internet Activities Center

• www.swe.org/iac - 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.

SECME - www.secme.org

• 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

Expanding Your Horizons Network

• www.expandingyourhorizons.org/workshop/samples.php - Classroom activities and workshop ideas.

Internet Learning Network

• 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.
• http://www.getsmarter.org/index.cfm

MegaMath

• 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.
• http://www.c3.lanl.gov/mega-math/

National Geographic Blue Frontier: Oceans for Life

• Exploration and discovery, scientific research, cutting edge underwater technologies, and public awareness of the marine environment.
• High-quality marine science teaching materials (linked to national standards), a multifaceted approach to teacher professional development, educational opportunities for students and more.
• www.nationalgeographic.com/features/seas/

Raytheon’s MathMovesU

• 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/

Engineer Girl

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