5-8 Lesson Plans

Topic: Women's Contributions to Civil Engineering Level: Grades 5-8 Materials: Internet connection, reference books, paper, pencil, building materials such as Legos, blocks, toothpicks, spaghetti, marshmallow, coins Brief Description: Students will read about and discuss the importance of bridges, which occupation is most involved in bridge construction, and females who contributed to the design and development of bridges and other structures. Students will design and build a bridge using commonly found materials. Standard: National Educational Technology Standards VIII. Science, Technology, and Society: "Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of relationships among science, technology, and society, so that the learner can: a. identify and describe examples in which science and technology have changed the lives of people, such as in homemaking, childcare, work, transportation, and communication." (http://cnets.iste.org/currstands/cstands-ss_viii.html)
Objectives: Identify several features of bridges. Identify the occupation most involved in bridge building. Identify a woman involved in bridge building.
Resources	Civil engineer http://www.engineergirl.org/nae/cwe/egcars.nsf/Web+-+Career+Lookup/CGMH-4TN387?opendocument This section of the Engineer Girl website defines the job of a civil engineer and provides education, salary, and work environment information. Click on the women's picture in the top right hand corner and read about her experiences as a civil engineer. This resource is appropriate for all users, particularly for girls and women, because it uses inclusive images of girls or women, identifies women....... View Full GSDL Record
Steps	1) Allow students to explore the Bridges portion of the Building Big website. Ask students to identify several features of bridges including pier, beam, span, truss, arch, and suspension.
	2) Allow students to explore the Who Builds Big portion of the Building Big website. Ask students to identify the occupation(s) most involved in bridge building.
	3) Introduce the Civil Engineering web page and ask students to identify one woman involved in bridge design/ development/ building. Ask students to record their name, occupation, and which bridge they helped to build, if possible.
Objective: Write a brief biography about a woman who helped build a bridge or other structure.
Resources	Civil engineer http://www.engineergirl.org/nae/cwe/egcars.nsf/Web+-+Career+Lookup/CGMH-4TN387?opendocument This section of the Engineer Girl website defines the job of a civil engineer and provides education, salary, and work environment information. Click on the women's picture in the top right hand corner and read about her experiences as a civil engineer. This resource is appropriate for all users, particularly for girls and women, because it uses inclusive images of girls or women, identifies women....... View Full GSDL Record History and heritage of civil engineering http://www.asce.org/history/bio_roebling_e.html This section of the ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) website features a biography of Emily Roebling who had an influential roll in the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge. This resource is appropriate for all users, particularly for girls and women, because it acknowledges women's contributions to STEM. ....... View Full GSDL Record Emily Roebling http://www.engineergirl.org/nae/cwe/egmain.nsf/(weblinks)/KGRG-5382YX?opendocument This section of the Engineer Girl website provides a synopsis of Emily Roeblings involvement in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. This resource is appropriate for all users, particularly for girls, because it identifies a female engineering role model, acknowledges women's contributions to STEM, and shows how engineering can be used to solve real-world problems........ View Full GSDL Record Catherine Walshe, Civil Engineer http://www.engineergirl.org/nae/cwe/egdir.nsf/Profiles+By+UNID+-+GF/EBE8444C226B94E0852569EA0004216A?Opendocument Catherine Walshe describes her life and career as a civil engineer in this section of the Engineer Girl website. Click on links to read a description of the civil engineer field and to access a form to contact Catherine. This resource is appropriate for all users, particularly for girls, because it identifies a female role model, acknowledges women's contributions to STEM, and shows how engineering....... View Full GSDL Record
Steps	1) Ask students to explore the provided resources, find a woman who helped design/ develop/ or build a bridge or other important structure.
	2) Ask students to write a brief biography of a woman of their choice and a description of the structure she helped create. Students should relate as much of the following information in their biographies as possible: Name, Occupation, Education/ Degree, Bridge/ Structure Name, Special Features of Structure, Contribution/ Role in Building, Early Life: Why is it important to know about the woman involved in these construction projects?
Objectives:Create a bridge using common materials.
Resources	Build and test a paper bridge http://www.tryscience.org/experiments/experiments_begin.html?paperbridge Make a bridge out of a folded piece of paper and two blocks. Test your structure by stacking coins (and other things) on it. How much weight can your bridge support before it crashes? This resource is appropriate for all users, particularly for girls and women, because it uses STEM to solve real-world problems........ View Full GSDL Record
Steps	1) Choose a building method from among the given resources.
	2) Collect the appropriate materials.
	3) Create groups of 3 to 4 students who chose the same structure or woman to write about, if possible.
	4) Explain the task to students: You are to build a bridge (or the structure you wrote about) using the provided materials. Provide written directions or allow students access to the appropriate website.
	5) Remind students about the features of bridges discussed earlier
	6) Ask students to test their bridges to see how much weight they can hold.
	7) Reflection: Ask students to write a brief reflection on their bridge/ structure building experience. Students should answer the following: How did you contribute to the construction of your group's bridge? How did the inclusion of boys and girls in your group help the project? How would you build your structure differently next time? What do you think you would need to know in order to build a real bridge?