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Suggested Curriculum Structure and Activities

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Category: Curriculum

The following are SUGGESTED schedules of Activities for the i-MWM's Intro. to the Nanoscale module for the 6-8 grade and 9-12 grade levels. Some teachers take 3 weeks to complete and some 6 weeks. If you have more time, you can extend time for projects and classroom discussion.

6-8 Grade

Week 1:

Activity 1: Measurement & Tools (~ 3 Periods)

  • Intro: Systems of Units
  • Part A—Make Your Own Ruler (classroom activity)
  • Part B—Accuracy & Precision (classroom activity)
  • Part C—IDEAL Tools (classroom activity)

 

Week 2:

Activity 2: Size and Scale (~5 Periods)

  • Intro: Apples to Atoms
  • Part A—Sizing Up the Universe
  • Part B—Powers of 10 Card Game (classroom activity)
  • Part C—Seeing Powers of 10 (classroom activity)
  • Part D—How small is Nano? (classroom activity)
  • Part E—Zooming from Macro to Nano (take-home project)

Week 3-4:

Activity 3: Surface-to-Volume Ratio (~3 Periods)

  • Intro: Surface Volume Ratio
  • Part A—Growing Creatures (classroom activity)
  • Part B—2D: Perimeter vs. Area (classroom activity)
  • Part C—3D: Surface Area and Volume (classroom activity)

 

Activity 4: Size-Dependent Properties (~3 Periods)

  • Intro: Fascinating Behaviors
  • Part A—Effervescent Fountain (classroom activity)
  • Part B—Ways to be Small (classroom activity)

Week 4-5:

Design Project-1 (4 Periods)

  • Activity 2E Project Presentation (classroom activity)
  • CO2 Geyser Design Project (classroom activity)

Optional Design Project-2 (5 Periods)

  • Solar Cell Design Project (classroom activity)

 

9-12 Grade

Optional/Review: Measurement & Tools (~3 Periods)

  • Intro: Systems of Units
  • Part A—Make Your Own Ruler (classroom activity)
  • Part B—Accuracy & Precision (classroom activity)
  • Part C—IDEAL Tools (classroom activity)

Week 1-2: 

Activity 1: Size and Scale (4 Periods)

  • Intro: From the Sun to an Atom
  • Part A—Seeing Powers of 10 (classroom activity)
  • Part B—Human-scale Fantasy (classroom activity)
  • Part C—Zooming from Macro to Nano (take-home project) 

Activity 2: Surface-to-Volume Ratio (3 Periods)

  • Intro: Surface Volume Ratio
  • Part A—2D: Perimeter vs. Area (classroom activity)
  • Part B—3D: Shapes (classroom activity)

Activity 3: Size-dependent Properties (3 Periods)

  • Intro: Size Matters
  • Part A—Disappearing Water (classroom activity)
  • Part B—Effect of Particle Size on Gold Colloid (classroom activity)
  • Part C—Size-dependent Forces (classroom activity)

Wk 3:

Design Project-1 (4 Periods)

  • Activity 1C Project Presentation (classroom activity)
  • CO2 Geyser Design Project (classroom activity)

Optional Design Project-2 (5 Periods)

  • Solar Cell Design Project (classroom activity)