Mr. Le’s Classroom Edit display name

About my class

The new science standards for 8th-grade physical science is focused on engineering design and space science. I hope to implement a year-long project-based learning curriculum with a space exploration and colonization story-line incorporating design challenges, conceptual physics and space topics. Students are currently studying speed through paper airplanes and will be designing bottle rockets to study forces and escaping orbit. Their second unit involves space, planets, and building “planetary probes” to learn about electricity, circuits and energy conversion using simple materials. They’ll finish out the fall semester with a probe landing design challenge (egg drop) to review gravity and forces. With funding, we can incorporate robotics in the second semester to study simple machines and programming to learn complex problem-solving in building their space colonies. The year will finish out with students figuring out how to generate power for their colonies (wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, etc.), connect communication towers/satellites, design architecture and write the laws governing their planet such as immigration policy between colonies and planets in collaboration with other teachers. While materials for the other engineering projects are relatively cheap, our class needs help getting versatile robotics kits. I hope this curriculum will empower marginalized students to re-imagine society and the world in their own ideals. Project-based learning can help engage students in the engineering design process to create tangible products that they can be proud of. It will also develop collaboration, problem solving and communication skills that are transferable outside the classroom. If students become more invested in pathways into STEM fields and careers, it can open opportunities for social mobility for the students, their families, and the community. Building these robots may be the first step towards future engineers, astronauts, and leaders of new worlds and possibilities.