Unit 2 Lesson 1
Teacher Guide

Lesson Title: So you want to be an engineer...

Pathway( Addressed: IET

Submitted by:Janet Warbuton

Date: June 2000

Age(s): 6th -8th graders

Recommended: Online, Teacher Directed

Time frame: one to two periods

Alaska State Content Standards:

English/Language Arts

D. A student should be able to think logically and reflectively in order to present and explain positions based on relevant and reliable information.

A student who meets the content standard should:

1) Develop a position by

a. Reflecting on personal experiences, prior knowledge, and new information

b. Formulating and refining questions

c. Identifying a variety of pertinent sources of information

d. Analyzing and synthesizing information; and

e. Determining and author's purposes

Mathematics

B. A student should understand and be able to select and use a variety of problem-solving strategies.

A student who meets the content standard should:

4) Develop and apply strategies to solve a variety of problems

Science

B. A student should possess and understand the skills of scientific inquiry.

A student who meets the content standard should:

3) Understand that scientific inquiry often involves different ways of thinking, curiosity, and the exploration of multiple paths

Technology

B. A student should be able to use technology to locate, select, and manage information.

A student who meets the content standard should:

3) Select relevant information by applying accepted research methods.

C. A student should be able to use technology to explore ideas, solve problems, and derive meaning.

A student who meets the content standard should:

1) Use technology to observe, analyze, interpret, and draw conclusions.

Employability / (Scans)

A. A student should be able to develop and be able to use employability skills in order to effectively make the transition from school to work and life-long learning.

A student who meets the content standard should:

5) Understand how an individual job fits into the overall organization and how the organization fits into the overall economy.

Overview:

This is a wonderful web site that explores the field of engineering. There is loads of information and several online games. A note of caution - this site has lots of links to other pages on the Internet. The online team that put the site together tries to do quality control of all the associated links but teachers need to be aware that not all may be, as they seem.

Objectives:

To better understand specific career fields within the pathway of Industrial Engineering and Technology.

Classroom Setting:

Individual and small groups for games

Activities:

• Have the student open up the following page to read about what engineers do....
  http://www.discoverengineering.org/eweek/about_eng.htm
• Once students have read the page about engineers, they will play a scavenger hunt to explore the web page further and get more details about engineers.
•  To start the scavenger hunt, have the students either select "Games" from the menu bar or then select "Scavenger Hunt".

                Read the Welcome page and print a copy of the list of items for the
              search.
                Click the Let's Get Started button to begin.

• Let the students randomly select items from the "Cool Stuff" category since many of the scavenger items are located in this area.

Extensions:

• Have the students play the other games: engineering puzzles and the technobabble.
• Research http://www.engineeringsites.org/

Community Connections:

• Have the student pair up with an industry person and play the technobabble game.
• Have an industry partner come to the classroom and discuss their career after learning about what engineers do from this site.

Assessment:

Class Discussion

Write a paragraph evaluating what was learned.  Students must include at least five facts discovered on the worksheet "Cool Things".