Course Curriculum
For this class, there are separate curricula for seventh and eighth grade. The content for both class levels follows the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Frameworks.
Throughout the course, students will perform several hands-on projects or “design challenges” to allow them to gain a greater understanding of the content discussed in class. Students will be split into “teams” that will be given real-world problems to solve such as organizing a school locker. Following a systematic approach (i.e., the Engineering Design Process) student teams will model actual engineering principles to develop their own solutions. One of the goals of the course is for students to make connections between their own lives and the topics discussed in class.
Each class session consists of a combination of lectures, researching assignments on the computer, and/or other hands-on experiments. There is no textbook for this class; instead, students receive handouts. When homework is assigned, it is recorded on the easel in the classroom. Students are directed to copy it into their assignment notebooks.
Curriculum - 7th Grade
Curriculum - 8th Grade
Building on the technology/engineering topics covered during seventh grade, the eighth grade curriculum addresses the following topics:
Throughout the course, students will perform several hands-on projects or “design challenges” to allow them to gain a greater understanding of the content discussed in class. Students will be split into “teams” that will be given real-world problems to solve such as organizing a school locker. Following a systematic approach (i.e., the Engineering Design Process) student teams will model actual engineering principles to develop their own solutions. One of the goals of the course is for students to make connections between their own lives and the topics discussed in class.
Each class session consists of a combination of lectures, researching assignments on the computer, and/or other hands-on experiments. There is no textbook for this class; instead, students receive handouts. When homework is assigned, it is recorded on the easel in the classroom. Students are directed to copy it into their assignment notebooks.
Curriculum - 7th Grade
- Review what “technology” is and how it impacts our everyday lives.
- Identify the basic properties and the appropriate use of different building materials.
- Review of the different uses for hand tools.
- Research the different steps in the Engineering Design Process and how to apply them to a real-world problem.
- Explore different types of engineering drawings and how to create them.
- Review the different steps in the Universal Systems Model.
- Discuss the different components within a typical communications system.
- Compare and contrast different forms of communications.
- Review different types of international symbols and graphics and discuss the background that went into their creation.
- Discuss the differences between something that is custom made versus mass produced.
- Review some of the different departments within a company and their roles and responsibilities.
- The importance of robots within industry and our lives.
Curriculum - 8th Grade
Building on the technology/engineering topics covered during seventh grade, the eighth grade curriculum addresses the following topics:
- Discover the major components within a structure.
- A review of the components in a typical bridge and the forces that act on the different members.
- To compare and contrast different forms of transportation and when to select the appropriate mode.
- Solve a real-world transportation issue that impacts students' everyday lives.
- Explore the different types of subsystems that comprise a transportation vehicle.
- Review the forces – like gravity, drag, friction, etc. – that act on different modes of transportation.
- Discuss how technology can be modified to assist a person with a disability.