3-5-ETS1-1 lessons
Define a simple design problem that includes criteria for success and limits on materials, time or cost.
The Next Generation Science Standards code 3-5-ETS1-1 asks students to: “Define a simple design problem that includes criteria for success and limits on materials, time or cost.” These Fieldbook lessons teach it hands-on, with everyday materials, a printable teacher guide and a student sheet.
Build It, Launch It Grades K–5
- Can you drop an egg without breaking it? 60 min
Kids design an egg protector on a materials budget, test it from a low height first and work up, and fix what fails. They finish able to explain why a soft, slow stop saves the egg.
Your Senses: How Does Your Body Know? Grade 4
- How do animals sense what we can't? 60 min
Students read about whiskers, echolocation and owl ears, build a paper cone 'owl ear' and test whether it helps them find where a sound comes from. Then they define a problem and invent a sensor or tool inspired by an animal.
Simple Circuits: Make It Light Up Grade 4
- Can you build a burglar alarm? 60–75 min
Teams design and build a homemade switch from a clothes peg or foil and cardboard that closes a circuit when a door or box lid opens, sounding a buzzer or lighting an LED. They test it, improve it and use evidence to argue their alarm is the most reliable.
Earth Day Investigations: Make Your School Better Grades 4–6 · partly supports this standard
- Where would a new tree help most? 50–60 min
Teams measure air and ground temperature in sun and shade, on grass and on pavement, to see how much shade cools the schoolyard. They use their numbers to recommend where the school should plant a new tree.
Monsoon Science: Rain, Sun and the Nón Lá Grades 3–4
- How does a nón lá keep a rice farmer dry? 60 min, or two 35-minute periods
Science and English together, for English learners at CEFR A2–B1. Teams build paper cone hats of three shapes, test them under 'monsoon rain' and 'midday sun', and measure how far each one sends the water and how much shade it makes. Then they design the best hat for a rice farmer.
NGSS is used as written in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, so the code 3-5-ETS1-1 matches there. Other states word and number their own versions: see curriculum alignment for your state's codes.
More NGSS standards for Grades 3–5
All standards we teach · Curriculum alignment by state and province
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