YES Out of School Units

YES Out of School Units

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Lower Elementary

Engineering Bandages

Youth engineer bandages that can cover and protect a model cut.

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Lower Elementary

Engineering
Sails

Youth engineer a sail that catches wind energy to move a vehicle across a distance.

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Upper Elementary

Engineering Sock Assistive Devices

Youth engineer an assistive device that helps people with limited mobility put on their socks.

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Upper Elementary

Engineering Rescue Shuttles

Youth design a shuttle to land a rope near a person who needs a rescue.

YES Out of School Resources

YES works closely with teachers to develop a suite of resources for each unit. These include:

Resource Description
Educator Guide Contains 4 core and 5–6 optional 45-minute activities with a common structure:

  • Introduction: Introduces the activity’s goal.
  • Exploration: Engages youth in the main activity.
  • Wrap-Up: Connects learning to the engineering challenge.
Dynamic Poster or Comic Introduces the engineering problem students will solve.

  • (K–2) A short story is read aloud at the start of each activity. Images and vocabulary are added to the poster illustration.
  • (3–5) Comics that preview the engineering work youth will do open each activity.
Engineering Notebook (3–5) Records youths’ observations, sketches, plans, and reflections.
Print Materials Include print materials for group activities such as cards or signs.
Slides (3–5) Facilitate classroom projection of comic images, discussion prompts, and sentence frames.
Vocabulary and Materials Glossaries (3–5) Introduce new vocabulary through visual cards that can be kept at youths’ tables.
Family Resources Spur conversations about engineering at home and connect students’ learning to their communities.
Video Resources (3–5) Help youth connect what they do in the unit to real-world engineering and problem solving.
Materials Kit Supplies the physical materials needed to teach each lesson.

Our funders

Major support for this project has been provided by the National Science Foundation.