Each Thursday on the EiE blog, we answer your questions or offer handy teacher tips.

Q: I want my middle schoolers to do some engineering. Will the Engineering is Elementary curriculum work for me?

A: The short answer is, "Possibly!"

Even though EiE's design is based on research on what "works" for STEM education for grades 1–5, we often hear from teachers who are using EiE units in their middle school classrooms with great success . . . not to mention kindergarten and high school!

In the hit movie The Martian, Matt Damon plays NASA scientist Mark Watney, who gets marooned on Mars. The situation is dire, but Watney shows grit (plus extreme science and engineering skills) as he jury-rigs devices to make oxygen and water, repair his shelter, and communicate with the folks back on Earth. Who knew that problem-solving and the engineering design process could make for a thrilling Hollywood spectacle?

Each Thursday on the EiE Blog we offer helpful teaching tips or answer your questions about classroom and materials management.

Are you planning to teach the Engineering is Elementary unit “Now You’re Cooking: Designing Solar Ovens”?  Here are two handy tips from EiE professional development provider Jason Brewer for Lesson 3 (“What’s Hot and What’s Not”).

Think back to when you were in elementary school. What do you remember most vividly? Was it listening to a lecture, watching a demonstration, or filling out a worksheet?  Probably not! Personally, I’ll always remember the time in fourth grade when I installed a light bulb in a cardboard box to make an incubator and hatched baby chicks for the school science fair.

http://www.eie.org/eie-classroom-videoDo you teach the Engineering is Elementary (EiE) unit "Solid as a Rock: Replicating an Artifact" or “A Slick Solution: Cleaning an Oil Spill?" You’ll want to check out the brand-new Classroom Videos for these units.

If you haven’t taught an EiE unit in a while, Classroom Videos are great for a concise refresher. They help you see what each activity looks like when real kids are working through it. Use the helpful reflection questions that accompany each video to identify highly effective pedagogical practices you can put to work in your own classroom.