Legacy EiE Products

Legacy EiE® curricula develop students’ engineering habits of mind and their facility with the engineering design process. Teams apply their scientific knowledge, creativity, and collaboration skills as they engage in real-world, hands-on design challenges motivated by a narrative context. By participating in this work, students build their STEM identity.

Designing Shelters

Students engineer a shelter to protect Penny the dog from getting too warm in the sunlight.

Kindergarten Energy

Designing Bridges

Students collect data about three bridge structures and engineer their own bridges.

Lower Elementary Motion & Stability

Designing Windmills

Students explore the forces of wind and weather and engineer blades for a windmill that can lift weights.

Lower Elementary Energy Earth’s Systems

Improving a Play Dough Process

Students explore solids and liquids and develop a process for producing play dough.

Lower Elementary Matter

Designing Model Membranes

Students engineer model membranes that provide water slowly over time.

Upper Elementary Molecules & Organisms Matter

Designing Parachutes

Students test the effects of different variables on parachute performance and engineer a parachute.

Upper Elementary Motion & Stability Earth’s Systems

Designing Plant Packages

Students engineer a package to keep a plant healthy and whole during shipping.

Upper Elementary Molecules & Organisms

Designing Solar Ovens

Students learn about thermal energy transfer, collect data about insulation, and then engineer solar ovens.

Upper Elementary Energy Earth and Human Activity

Engineering an Avalanche Protection System

Kids design a system to hold or divert massive amounts of snow away from a town.

Upper Elementary Motion & Stability Earth’s Systems Earth and Human Activity

Engineering Earthquake-Resistant Buildings G3-5

Kids engineer model buildings that can better withstand the force of an earthquake.

Upper Elementary Earth and Human Activity Earth’s Systems

Engineering Recycled Racers

Kids engineer toy cars out of items that would ordinarily be discarded.

Upper Elementary Motion & Stability Earth and Human Activity

Evaluating a Landscape

Students explore landforms and erosion and propose the best place for a model suspension bridge.

Upper Elementary Earth’s Systems

Engineering Prosthetic Tails

Students design prosthetic devices for animals that have lost a body part.

Middle School Molecules & Organisms

Engineering Safety Helmets

Students design helmets to protect the brain in a crash.

Middle School Motion & Stability

Engineering Vertical Farms

Students design a vertical farm to increase the amount of food that can be grown in a small space.

Middle School Molecules & Organisms

Standards Alignment

See how EiE connects to state and national standards.

We’ve developed each EiE Engineering unit with careful attention to educational standards in both science and technology/engineering. Computer Science units align with state and national computer science standards.

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EiE for Kindergarten Resources

EiE has worked closely with teachers to develop a suite of resources for each unit. These include:

ResourceDescription
Teacher Guide

Contains nine 45-minute lessons with a common structure: 

  • Introduction: Activates students’ prior knowledge and introduces the main activity.
  • Activity: Engages students in the lesson’s main activity.
  • Reflection: Guides students in connecting their experiences to the Engineering Design Process. 
StorybookIntroduces the engineering problem students will solve. 
Print MaterialsInclude print materials such as posters, handouts, cards, and signs. 
Vocabulary CardsIntroduce new vocabulary through visual cards that can be posted on an engineering vocabulary wall. 
Assessment Tools Opportunities and rubrics to evaluate students’ engineering growth. 
Family Resources  Spur conversations about engineering at home and connect students’ learning to their communities. 
How-To Video Playlist Shows how to prepare materials. 
Materials Kit Supplies the physical materials needed to teach each lesson. 

Legacy EiE Resources

EiE has worked closely with teachers to develop a suite of resources for each unit. Student resources and family letters are provided in both English and Spanish. 

ResourceDescription
Teacher Guide

Contains five lessons* with a common structure: 

  • Introduction
  • Activity
  • Reflection 

*Some lessons span multiple sessions.

StorybookSets the context for the challenge through a storybook character who is solving a similar engineering challenge. 
Print MaterialsDifferentiated student handouts and printable classroom resources for implementing the unit 
Teaching SupportsResources to meet the needs of diverse learners: Discussion Supports, English Learner Strategies, Alternative Lesson Progressions
Student SupportsIllustrated resources to support student understanding: Vocabulary Cards, Storybook Character Cards, Materials Reference Sheets, Engineering Design Process Posters
Assessment Tools Lesson rubrics and unit assessments help to evaluate students’ growth as engineers.  
Family Letter  Introduces the unit to families and invites participation of family and community members. 
Classroom Videos  Show each lesson being implemented in classrooms. 
How-To Videos Show how to prepare materials. 
Materials KitSupplies the physical materials needed to teach each lesson.