We asked elementary teachers who were already using the Engineering is Elementary curriculum, “What other resources would help you teach your best?” You said you’d like links to additional online resources about the science topics connected to each engineering unit.

Students get really engaged when they’re learning science and engineering . . . and once they get excited about how maglev trains work, or how to protect the environment by cleaning up an oil spill, they naturally want to learn more. But you don’t have time to research the most interesting, age-appropriate short videos and interactives. So our team has done that work for you.

Which EiE teacher are you?

• You need to make a presentation. You just learned about EiE, and you want to encourage your school to adopt the curriculum
• You need funding. You’re already using EiE, but other teachers at your school are interested. The budget is tight! How can you acquire more curriculum units and materials kits? 
• You need to get the word out with a press release. Maybe you’re rolling out EiE in a big way! Or you’re having a STEM event where students will display their engineering projects. 

For all of these scenarios, we’ve got resources to help. We hope you’ll share this toolkit with colleagues who may want to bring EiE to their schools.

Every Thursday on the blog we bring you teaching tips or news about resources you can use in your classroom

Every Engineering is Elementary (EiE) unit starts with a storybook that sets the context for the hands-on engineering design challenge. And every storybook has 15 or more illustrations. During a read-aloud, you can show pictures to your students the conventional way, by holding up the book for everyone to see, or by having students follow along in their own copies. Did you know that storybook illustrations are ALSO available to download on our website? You can use a computer/projector or Smart Board to show illustrations on the big screen as you read the story.

Beyond the convenience and excitement of this approach, storybook illustrations are a terrific teaching tool for English Language Arts, and especially for the English Language Learners in your class. Stories appeal to all kids, regardless of cultural background, interests, or learning style. Instead of reading a storybook word for word, project the illustrations while you retell the story at a language level that’s appropriate for your students. Or, print them out to use in classroom activities.

Every Thursday on the EiE blog, we share tips or resources for classroom teachers.

Do you teach the Engineering is Elementary unit “No Bones About It: Designing Knee Braces”? Great news: We’ve just added a complete set of Classroom Videos for this unit to our online EiE video library!

Whether you’re new to teaching EiE, or an experienced elementary engineering teacher who wants to brush up on the unit before you teach it this semester, our online videos are a great resource. They let you what see what each lesson looks like in a real classroom.

In his 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama charged Congress with making high-quality pre-school available for every child in the country. High-quality preschools have well-trained teachers, small class sizes, and a rigorous curriculum . . . and with regard to curriculum, the National Science Teachers Association strongly advocates for preschool instruction in science and engineering.

That raises a challenge: engineering curricula designed for very young children are so rare as to be almost non-existent. With this need in mind, the EiE project starts work this fall on a new engineering curriculum for ages 3 to 5.