YES Middle School Units

YES Middle School engages students in grades 6–8 in hands-on engineering challenges and integrated computer science modules. As they work with peers to generate original solutions, youth see themselves as future STEM professionals. The YES Computer Science Framework invites students to explore computational tools and understand the algorithms that underlie them, equipping them with the skills to succeed in a tech-driven world.

YES Middle School Units

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Grades 6–8

Engineering Medicine Coolers

Students explore heat transfer as they engineer chemical cold packs and insulation for a container that keeps medicine cool.

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Grades 6–8

Engineering Eco-friendly Slippers

Students investigate balanced and unbalanced forces with a focus on friction as they engineer an affordable, eco-friendly slipper with a safe amount of traction.

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Grades 6–8

Coming Soon: Engineering Landing Pads

Students prepare for the future of drone deliveries by engineering a cushioned landing pad that absorbs kinetic energy during a collision with a dropped item.

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Grades 6–8

Coming Soon: Engineering Vision Extenders

Students use what they learn about the reflection of light as they engineer devices that extend users’ vision behind them.

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Grades 6–8

Coming Soon: Engineering Wearable Alert Systems

Students investigate circuits, switches, and systems as they engineer a wearable technology that signals when the user is in “text neck” position.

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Grades 6–8

Coming Soon: Engineering Earthquake-Resistant Buildings

Students apply their knowledge of the relationships between building height, soil type, and building technologies to design an earthquake-resistant building.

Computer Science (CS)

Two CS Modules accompany each engineering unit. Students deepen and extend their understanding of the engineering topic by using computational thinking, tools, and practices to solve problems.

Standards Alignment

YES units integrate with science ideas and standards. We carefully design engineering challenges so students develop and use science knowledge as they generate solutions.

YES Middle School Resources

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

 

Resource Description
Teacher Guide

Contains nine 45–60-minute lessons with a common structure:

  • Introduction: Introduces the lesson’s guiding questions.
  • Exploration: Engages students in the lesson’s main activity.
  • Wrap-Up: Connects learning to the engineering challenge.
Slides Facilitate classroom projection of guiding questions, discussion
prompts, sentence frames, and images.
Engineering Notebook Records students’ observations, sketches, plans, and reflections.
Print Materials Include print materials for group activities such as cards or signs.
Spreadsheets Scaffold data collection and analysis.
Multimedia Videos and images help students connect their work to an authentic, real-world context
Vocabulary Cards Introduce new vocabulary through visual cards that can be posted on an engineering vocabulary wall.
Family Resources Spur conversations about engineering at home and connect students’ learning to their communities
Video Playlist Shows how to prepare and test materials.
Materials Kit Supplies the physical materials needed to teach each lesson.
Computer Science Modules Contain two to three 45-minute lessons that connect to the engineering unit.

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Our funders

Major support for this project has been provided by MathWorks

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