Resources for Educators

Resources Created by Engineering Outreach

Looking for resources to help teach coding to your elementary school class? Engineering Outreach has created detailed Coding Unit Plans for Kindergarten to Grade 8!

Kindergarten to Grade 8 Coding Unit Plans

Explore free Kindergarten to Grade 8 coding unit plans developed by Engineering Outreach. Informed by the Ontario curriculum and relevant pedagogical practices, these classroom-ready resources feature engaging, hands-on lessons.

Each downloadable unit plan includes:

Specific Ontario curriculum connections
Required materials
Preparation guidance
Multiple lessons
A culminating task

These unit plans are designed to help educators confidently bring coding concepts into the classroom!

Kindergarten to Grade 8 Coding Unit Plans

Each downloadable unit plan includes:

Specific Ontario curriculum connections
Required materials
Preparation guidance
Multiple lessons
A culminating task

These unit plans are designed to help educators confidently bring coding concepts into the classroom!

Kindergarten to Grade 8 Coding Unit Plans

Each downloadable unit plan includes:

Specific Ontario curriculum connections
Required materials
Preparation guidance
Multiple lessons
A culminating task

These unit plans are designed to help educators confidently bring coding concepts into the classroom!

Kindergarten to Grade 8 Coding Unit Plans

Each downloadable unit plan includes:

Specific Ontario curriculum connections
Required materials
Preparation guidance
Multiple lessons
A culminating task

These unit plans are designed to help educators confidently bring coding concepts into the classroom!

Kindergarten to Grade 8 Coding Unit Plans

Each downloadable unit plan includes:

Specific Ontario curriculum connections
Required materials
Preparation guidance
Multiple lessons
A culminating task

These unit plans are designed to help educators confidently bring coding concepts into the classroom!

Kindergarten to Grade 8 Coding Unit Plans

Each downloadable unit plan includes:

Specific Ontario curriculum connections
Required materials
Preparation guidance
Multiple lessons
A culminating task

These unit plans are designed to help educators confidently bring coding concepts into the classroom!

Kindergarten to Grade 8 Coding Unit Plans

Each downloadable unit plan includes:

Specific Ontario curriculum connections
Required materials
Preparation guidance
Multiple lessons
A culminating task

These unit plans are designed to help educators confidently bring coding concepts into the classroom!

Kindergarten to Grade 8 Coding Unit Plans

Each downloadable unit plan includes:

Specific Ontario curriculum connections
Required materials
Preparation guidance
Multiple lessons
A culminating task

These unit plans are designed to help educators confidently bring coding concepts into the classroom!

Kindergarten to Grade 8 Coding Unit Plans

Each downloadable unit plan includes:

Specific Ontario curriculum connections
Required materials
Preparation guidance
Multiple lessons
A culminating task

These unit plans are designed to help educators confidently bring coding concepts into the classroom!

Other STEM Resources

U of T Engineering Outreach has created a database of online resources that connect directly to the Ontario Ministry Science Curriculum. This database can be used freely as a means of supplementing and supporting online and in-class science education for grades 1-8.

Grade 1

Structures and Mechanisms: Materials, Objects, and Everyday Structures

Basic expectations for this strand:

assess the impact on people and the environment of objects and structures and the materials used in them
investigate structures that are built for a specific purpose to see how their design and materials suit the purpose
demonstrate an understanding that objects and structures have observable characteristics and are made from materials with specific properties that determine how they are used

Resources

Great link to a variety of activities on material classification for young kids:
- Full Lesson: The Young Scientist Investigates topic book on Materials

Understanding Matter and Energy: Energy in Our Lives

Basic expectations for this strand:

assess uses of energy at home, at school, and in the community, and suggest ways to use less energy
investigate how different types of energy are used in daily life
demonstrate an understanding that energy is something that is needed to make things happen, and that the sun is the principal source of energy for the earth

Resources

Full, highly detailed lesson on sunlight and energy:
Note: Learn Bright provides one free science lesson a month but requires you (the teacher) to sign up for a free membership
- Full Lesson: Learn Bright: Sunlight and Earth

Grade 2

Structures and Mechanisms: Movement

Basic expectations for this strand:

assess the impact on society and the environment of simple machines and mechanisms
investigate mechanisms that include simple machines and enable movement
demonstrate an understanding of movement and ways in which simple machines help to move objects

Resources

Activity linking the lesson above to incline planes with examples of their use in daily life:
- Full Lesson: The Benefits of Inclined Planes: Heave Ho!

Understanding Matter and Energy: Properties of Liquids and Solids

Basic expectations for this strand:

assess ways in which the uses of liquids and solids can have an impact on society and the environment
investigate the properties of and interactions among liquids and solids
demonstrate an understanding of the properties of liquids and solids

Resources

Explore material properties by making your own recycled paper!
- Full Lesson: Make Your Own Recycled Paper
Full short lesson explaining the characteristics of different states of matter:
- Full Lesson: Chemical Wonders: Materials and States of Matter

Grade 3

Structures and Mechanisms: Strong and Stable Structures

Basic Expectations for this strand:

assess the importance of form, function, strength, and stability in structures through time
investigate strong and stable structures to determine how their design and materials enable them to perform their load-bearing function
demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of structure, strength, and stability and the factors that affect them

Resources

Lesson explaining the relationship between stability and strength using a "jello earthquake":
- Full Lesson: Testing Model Structures: Jell-O Earthquake in the Classroom

Understanding Matter and Energy: Forces Causing Movement

Basic expectations for this strand:

assess the impact of various forces on society and the environment
investigate devices that use forces to create controlled movement
demonstrate an understanding of how forces cause movement and changes in movement

Resources

Full lesson explaining how cars are built with efficiency of movement in mind:
- Full Lesson: Form vs. Function
Activity illustrating the above principals of cars and movement that lets kids test simple vehicular designs at home:
- Full Lesson: Cars: Engineering for Efficiency

Grade 4

Structures and Mechanisms: Pulleys and Gears

Basic expectations for this strand:

evaluate the impact of pulleys and gears on society and the environment
investigate ways in which pulleys and gears modify the speed and direction of, and the force exerted on, moving objects
demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles and functions of pulley systems and gear systems

Resources

Full lesson examining pulleys and the ways in which they convey a mechanical advantage:
- Full Lesson: Powerful Pulleys
Activities related to the above lesson on pulleys:
- Activity: Pulley'ing Your Own Weight

Understanding Matter and Energy: Light and Sound

Basic expectations for this strand:

assess the impact on society and the environment of technological innovations related to light and sound
investigate the characteristics and properties of light and sound
demonstrate an understanding of light and sound as forms of energy that have specific characteristics and properties

Resources

This is a full, interactive digital lesson on light:
- Full Lesson: PBS Learning: Explore How Light Is Needed to See Things

Grade 5

Structures and Mechanisms Forces Acting on Structures and Mechanisms

Basic expectations for this strand:

analyse social and environmental impacts of forces acting on structures and mechanisms
investigate forces that act on structures and mechanisms
identify forces that act on and within structures and mechanisms, and describe the effects of these forces on structures and mechanisms

Resources

Full lesson focused on renewable vs. nonrenewable energy. Build your own windmill:
- Full Lesson: PBS Learning: Energy!
Full lesson examining how a variety of simple machines are used to convey mechanical advantage:
- Full Lesson: Simple Machines and Modern Day Engineering Analogies

Understanding Matter and Energy: Properties of and Changes in Matter

Basic expectations for this strand:

evaluate the social and environmental impacts of processes used to make everyday products
conduct investigations that explore the properties of matter and changes in matter
demonstrate an understanding of the properties of matter, changes of state, and physical and chemical change

Resources

Another fun state of matter lesson that using oobleck slime as an experiment focus to illustrate the different states of matter:
- Full Lesson: PBS Learning: Ooh, Oobleck!

Grade 6

Structures and Mechanisms: Flight

Basic expectations for this strand:

assess the societal and environmental impacts of flying devices that make use of properties of air
investigate ways in which flying devices make use of properties of air
explain ways in which properties of air can be applied to the principles of flight and flying devices

Resources

Airplanes in Society
- Full Lesson: Airplanes Everywhere: Land, Water, Sky, Oh My!

Understanding Matter and Energy: Electricity and Electrical Devices

Basic expectations for this strand:

evaluate the impact of the use of electricity on both the way we live and the environment
investigate the characteristics of static and current electricity, and construct simple circuits
demonstrate an understanding of the principles of electrical energy and its transformation into and from other forms of energy

Resources

What is Electricity?
- Full Lesson: What Is Electricity?

Grade 7

Structures and Mechanisms: Form and Function

Basic expectations for this strand:

analyse personal, social, economic, and environmental factors that need to be considered in designing and building structures and devices
design and construct a variety of structures, and investigate the relationship between the design and function of these structures and the forces that act on them
demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between structural forms and the forces that act on and within them

Resources

Structures Unit, Lessons, activities, exercises, and handouts with a very global theme
- Website: TechnologyStudent.com

Understanding Matter and Energy: Pure Substances & Mixtures

Basic expectations for this strand:

evaluate the social and environmental impacts of the use and disposal of pure substances and mixtures
investigate the properties and applications of pure substances and mixtures
demonstrate an understanding of the properties of pure substances and mixtures, and describe these characteristics using the particle theory

Resources

Separating Mixtures - Recycling Challenge Activity. In this lesson, students create a device or tool to sort recycling at their school, reducing the strain on their municipal recycling facility. Students will need an assortment of materials that are common in homes, including cardboard and plastic bottles
- Lesson Plan: Separating Mixtures Lesson Plan
- PPT: Separating Mixtures Presentation
- Handout: Separating Mixtures Handout

Grade 8

Structures and Mechanisms: Systems in Action

Basic expectations for this strand:

assess the personal, social, and/or environmental impacts of a system, and evaluate improvements to a system and/or alternative ways of meeting the same needs
investigate a working system and the ways in which components of the system contribute to its desired function
demonstrate an understanding of different types of systems and the factors that contribute to their safe and efficient operation

Resources

Physics of Roller Coasters
- Full Lesson: Physics of Roller Coasters
- Video: Building Roller Coasters

Understanding Matter and Energy: Fluids

Basic expectations for this strand:

analyse how the properties of fluids are used in various technologies and assess the impact of these technologies on society and the environment
investigate the properties of fluids
demonstrate an understanding of the properties and uses of fluids

Resources

Bernoulli's Principle
- Full Lesson:Studying Bernoulli's Principle
Physics of Fluids
- Full Lesson: Khan Academy: Physics

More Resources for Educators

Resources for Educators

A database of online resources that connect directly to the Ontario Ministry Science Curriculum.

Learn more

Workshops for Educators

Online sessions for teachers interested in learning how to approach the new coding elements in the Ontario 1–8 curriculum.

Learn more

Educator Mailing List

Subscribe to be kept up-to-date on programs, events and other professional development opportunities organized by Engineering Outreach.

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Other Engineering Outreach Programs

Elementary School Programs

Discover, explore and create with our STEM program offerings for students in Grades 3-8.

High School Programs

Explore a world of scientific discovery and engineering innovation alongside other bright young minds in our immersive programs for Grades 9-12.

Barrier Breaking Programs

Our Barrier Breaking Programs are designed to foster inclusivity and increase diversity in STEM education.