Middle School Technology and Engineering 

Education

Citizen 3b.: Establish a learning culture that promotes curiosity and critical examination of online
resources and fosters digital literacy and media fluency.

Curate a list of online resources to be used with an upcoming unit or lesson by searching, evaluating,
and selecting the most appropriate and relevant resources for your learners. As you present the list to
your students, discuss the searching and evaluation strategies you used and invite students to search for
and evaluate additional resources to add to the list. Submit your final list and a reflection of the
students’ participation in developing it.

2.2 Civil Engineering

Standards
II. Students will evaluate the impact of technology.
III. Students will demonstrate knowledge of and apply the engineering design process to
develop solutions to problems.

Stage 1 – Desired Results

ea(s):
ures are around you every minute of every day. Someone had to design and build those
structures for you to use, using specific materials and techniques to build them. Using the
wrong material or structure could have dire consequences. In order to understand structures
you need to understand civil engineering. 

tial Question(s):  
is the job of a civil engineer?
are the purposes of different structures?
are responsible and irresponsible uses of technology in civil engineering? 
are the cultural and environmental impacts of technology of civil engineering
are the advantages and disadvantages of technology in civil engineering?
s the engineering design process used in civil engineering?

nt I can statements:  
  
Middle School Technology and Engineering 
Education

● I can discriminate between responsible and irresponsible uses of technology in civil

engineering. (​S2.G6-8.a​) 
● I can evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of technology in civil engineering.
(​S2.G6-8.f​) 
●  I can apply the engineering design process to civil engineering.​ (​S3.G6-8.b​) 
●  I can document the engineering design process and solutions in an engineering design
journal. ​(​S3.G6-8.c​)

Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence

ative Assessment(s)​:
sessment(​2.2_Pre_Assessment​)
nge EDJ(​2.3_SR_Bridge_EDJ​)

mative Assessment(s)​:
Assessment(​2.4_Post_Assessment​)
prototype

Stage 3 – Learning Plan

Time:​ 5-7 X 50 minute class period(s)

er Background:
engineering is a field of study that focuses on public works projects or other large projects paid
for by the government. ​Public works projects include roads, bridges, dams, and municipal
water systems to name a few. A civil engineer must have a good knowledge of structures and
the forces that impact them. A ​structure is an arrangement of parts built to remain stable
while with standing forces. Examples of structures are skyscrapers, bicycle frames, cellular
phone towers, boat hulls, and airplane wings. These structures each deal with different forces.
A skyscraper’s structure has to deal with the weight of the building materials, furnishings, and
people, as well as the natural elements like hurricane force winds, earthquakes, and snow. A
bicycle frame has to deal with the weight of the rider and the force that come with traveling
selected terrain.
  
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Education

dless of the structure, all structures must deal with a ​structural load or the forces a structure
must withstand. Firstly, a structure must deal with static load, also known as dead load. A
static load is the weight of the building materials and anything the structure must endure from
normal use. The second load a structure must deal with is ​dynamic loads or sudden impacts to
the structure like high winds, a heavy snowfall, or earthquake. Civil engineers must build
structures to deal with internal forces to counteract the loads (static/dynamic). If an engineer
has done this correctly the structure is in a state of equilibrium. However, if the state of
equilibrium​ cannot be maintained than the structure will fail.

than loads civil engineers must keep in mind forces that a structure’s materials must face known
as structural forces. There are five structural forces to take into consideration. ​Compression is
the force that pushes in on all sides. ​Tension is a force that pills out on all sides. ​Shear is the
force that has two or more opposing forces on a structure; one force could be up while there is
also a down force or push to the right while there is also a push to the left. A ​bending force is
when one force pushes on the center of an object while another force pushes the ends of the
object in the opposite direction of the center. Finally, a ​torque is when there is a twisting of an
object.

are several ​structural components that civil engineers can use in their designs. They can use
columns or vertical structural members that distribute the vertical forces, ​beams or horizontal
structural members distribute load to the columns, and ​joist which are designed to resist
bending forces. ​Braces are a structural member that is used to provide stability to the overall
structure. Braces can be used two different ways. One way to use a brace is as ​a tension tie or
a structural member meant to hold up a load from above. The second way to use a brace is as a
compression strut or a structural member meant to hold load from below. All of these
structural members are held together or joined at a joint. A ​joint ​can be held together by bolts,
rivets, welds, or even glue. Another structural member that civil engineers use are ​trusses or
members used to support other structures from roofs to bridges.

engineers must consider many things for their projects. First and foremost they must consider
environmental impacts. Will building a dam disrupt the natural life of species? Example a dam
that blocks salmon from reaching their spawning grounds or from returning to the ocean after
spawning. Will there be fall out from building a bridge? Such as dead zones under the bridge
where salt from roadway runoff during the winter changes the pH level and chemical
composition of the water making it hard and nearly impossible for aquatic life to survive under
the bridge. Clear cutting a forest and blowing up parts of a mountain to make way for a
  
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Education

highway. Secondly civil engineers need to consider the materials they use for the structures.
You would use reinforced concrete instead of wood to build a skyscraper. 

ms of this unit students will beginning a two-part design challenge for the next two units. For
this unit students will build a static bridge that must handle static and dynamic loads between
three to five pounds in weight. The basic components all bridges share are piers, abutments,
and roadways. Piers are the main vertical structures. Abutments are structural components that
connect bridges to the ground. Roadways are the horizontal structures meant for travel across
the span. 

are several bridges students should consider. Students could consider beam bridge, truss bridge,
arch bridge, and tied arch bridge designs. Advance students could also consider suspension or
cable tie bridges. 

ridge will be made from balsa or base wood depending on your supply preference and use either
wood glue or Elmer's glue to join the wood pieces together. Remember to give students
enough time to build and be sure that you have plenty of space to lay out bridge pieces to dry
overnight. Students will need paper that is between 14-16 inches long for drawing their 1 to 1
designs for bridge construction. You will need to supply groups with old ceiling tiles, foam
boards, or other medium for using pins or finishing nails to hold members in place while
drying. Students will also need wax paper to put over the ceiling tiles, foam board, or other
medium so that the wood pieces and glue adhere to it instead of building platform. 

er Prep:
er: Print EDJs Prep building materials, device, power point, projection system, check video
links to see if they are still working. Sign into safari montage and into district web filter to be
sure permissions are on and active.
to ​2.0_TR_Unit_2_Materials​ for ordering
w vocabulary for unit (​2.0_TR_Vocabulary_List​)

nt: EDJ, access to building materials, reading selection Lesson tiles for links to Force Lab and
videos if possible

gement:
  
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Education

ssessment (​2.2_Pre-Assessment​)
duction to challenge (​2.3_SR_Bridge_EDJ​) (​S3.G6​-​8.b​; ​S3.G6-9.c​) 
he question: ​What is the job of a civil engineer? 
video ​Introduction to civil engineering​ (​Remind students to take notes to answer the
question​) 
nal Videos accessible through discovery ed to all 
files of Scientists and Engineers: Civil Engineer​ (7:33) 
sical Science: Structures​ Segment (4:18) 
Big Brain Theory Final Bridge Challenge​ (42:13) Can be segmented to show design, assembly, 
and deployment. 

ration:
er​ ​Post the question: ​What are the purposes of different structures?​ ​(​S2.G6-8.a​) 
nts complete ​Force Labs 
1. Interactive website where students can do a simulation and receive a real-world
explanation of each type of force a structure faces.
2. Students take notes and begin answering essential question (research) 
a. Teacher may want to create a note taking paper for accommodating IEP students 
ma Narrows Bridge 
quake Resistant Bridges 
he question: ​How is the engineering design process used in civil engineering? 
nts use EDJ to Brainstorm ideas for their design. (​SR Draw Bridge EDJ​) (​S3.G6-8.b;
S3.G6-8.c​) 
e Basics  

Explanation:
1. How we invented the World: Skyscrapers​ (7:31) A change during construction causes
and ethical and moral dilemma. Good area for discussion on responsible and
irresponsible use of materials and building techniques.
2. Post the following questions: 
3. What are the purposes of different structures? 
4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of technology in civil engineering? 
(​S2.G6-8.f​) 
  
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Education

5. What are the cultural and environmental impacts of technology and civil
engineering?​ ​(​S2.G6-8.a​) 
6. Students should take notes while reading to answer the questions above and should be
encouraged to do their own research to answer questions as well. 
7. Read text (​2.2 SR Civil Engineering.docx​) (​S2.G6-8.a; S2.G6-8.f​) 
8. Conduct classroom research discussion to answer the questions and follow student
interest. 
9. Options 
a. Students conduct research on responsible and irresponsible uses of technology
in civil engineering projects 
b. Classroom discussion on the responsible and irresponsible uses of technology
in civil engineering 
c. 2.1_Responsible_and_Irresponsible_Exit_Ticket  
10. Students Design Solutions from EDJ (​2.3_SR_Bridge_EDJ​) (​S3.G6-8.b; S3.G6-8.c​) 
11. Teacher gives input on student designs and offers advice 
12. Students pair up and chose a design that will be built 
13. Students build bridge 
14. Students test bridge using increasing static and dynamic loads to determine if success
criteria have been achieved. 
15. Students present their bridge design results (​2.2_SR_Communicate_Results_Rubric​) 

sion:
student research Civil Engineering specialties(​2.2_SR_Civil_Engineering​)
students build simple structures to withstand hurricane force winds or earthquakes

ation:
Assessment (​2.4_Post_Assessment​)
Prototype
Key to color:
Text ​essential questions for the lesson
Text ​standards being taught or assess
Text ​optional activities
Text​ ​Linked to videos, websites, or documents