Content Area: Technological Literacy

 

Index: 8.2C Grade 8 CPI 2

 

Standard:8.2 - Technology Education

 

Strand: C - Systems in the Designed World

 

Cumulative Progress Indicator: 2 - The student will explain reasons why human-designed systems, products, and environments need to be monitored, maintained, and improved to ensure safety, quality, cost efficiency, and sustainability.

 

Grade: 8

 

Framework Activities

 

·       Climatic conditions have changed in the twenty-first century. Research scientists are looking at the oceans to create habitable communities. Create an underwater community.

 

·       Earth is becoming uninhabitable.

 

·       Although New Jersey is well known as the Garden State, it certainly could be recognized as the Invention State. We now live in an increasing complex "global society" with demands for increased invention, design, and manufacturing to make people's lives and work more productive while meeting personal and family needs

 

·       Feedback Systems: (Group brainstorming activity one period) Identify the systems in a car that allow monitoring of operations inside and outside the car. Break into groups to make lists without talking and compile ideas into one list for the group. Each group posts the list on the board. Class reviews the lists. Class discussion on what was left out from all the lists. Examples: feedback for applying the brakes, making turns, controlling speed… Have a class discussion on the importance of monitoring feedback.

 

·       Space Shuttle Fuel Gauge: Divide the class into teams. Use a one-gallon milk jug as a fuel tank. Each team must design and construct a device that will indicate when the milk jug is full of water, half full, and empty without looking into the container.

 

·       Resources: Research Space Shuttle STS114 and it’s fuel sensor problems at www.NASA.gov.

 

·       Structures

 

·       Electronic Toys

 

·       Engineering Motion

 

·       Energy