iBlocks Project Based Learning Objective:

Across the globe, billions of people lack access to clean water. Among the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, goal number six is to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.” Throughout this Clean Water and Sanitation PBL (Project-Based Learning) iBlock, students will explore where drinking water comes from, identify contaminants, and ultimately design and engineer their own water filtration system.

An iBlock matches skills to standards (like Common Core or NGSS).

Here is a sample content standard for this iBlock:

Typically, as human populations and per-capita consumption of natural resources increase, so do the negative impacts on Earth unless the activities and technologies involved are engineered otherwise. (NGSS: MS-ESS3-3; MS-ESS3-4)

iBlocks Project Based Learning Objective:

Are you looking for a creative, project-based way to teach your students about computer-aided design? In this iBlock, students will construct a geometric self-watering planter in Tinkercad. This Geometric Self-Watering Planter PBL (Project-Based Learning) iBlocks project will utilize advanced skills in CAD software and challenge students to think mathematically while designing.

Here is a sample NGSS standard for this iBlock:

Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem. (NGSS: MS-ETS1-2)

iBlocks Project Based Learning Objective:

Agriculture has always been one of the building blocks of human civilization. Humanity has changed a lot since civilization first began, and that includes the way we grow our plants. In this Growing a Hydroponic Garden PBL (Project-Based Learning) iBlock, students will explore different agricultural structures and incorporate emerging resources to cultivate a technologically enhanced botanical space. Students will also tackle challenges like growing plants in space-conscious environments for a rapidly growing population, and together discover the future of sustainable gardening.

An iBlock matches skills to standards (like Common Core or NGSS).

Here is a sample content standard for this iBlock:

Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems. (NGSS: HS-ESS3-4)

iBlocks Project Based Learning Objective:

When the United Nations created its Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, they stressed the importance of addressing world poverty and hunger. The first goal aims to eliminate poverty, while the second goal aims to end hunger, achieve food security, and promote sustainable agriculture. In this No Poverty and Zero Hunger PBL (Project-Based Learning) iBlock, students will work to help the UN achieve these goals by designing a window planter that will produce low-cost, high-yield crops in the most efficient manner possible.

An iBlock matches skills to standards (like Common Core or NGSS).

Here is a sample content standard for this iBlock:

Changes in biodiversity can influence humans’ resources, such as food, energy, and medicines, as well as ecosystem services that humans rely on— for example, water purification and recycling. (NGSS: MS-LS2-5)

iBlocks Project Based Learning Objective:

What’s in the water? The world’s rivers and streams are a priceless resource, but various forms of pollution pose a threat to water quality. Scientists carry out studies to determine physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water to get an accurate understanding of water quality. It’s critical that we know the current status of water-quality conditions and how and why those conditions have been changing over time. With a better understanding of water quality, the growing need to protect the world’s water resources may be better understood. So how do scientists assess whether river ecosystems are being protected? What does it entail to study a river’s “health”? In this River Management: Assessing Health PBL (Project-Based Learning) iBlock, students will engineer a device or system that will sample an environmental parameter that indicates water health.

An iBlock matches skills to standards (like Common Core or NGSS).

Here is a sample content standard for this iBlock:

Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect Earth’s resources and environment. (NGSS: 5-ESS3-1)

iBlocks Project Based Learning Objective:

The Earth-Sun-Moon system impacts our tides, seasons, and perceptions of time. In ancient times, engineers created some of the very first tools to measure time, including the sundial. In this Space Systems: Light and Shadows PBL (Project-Based Learning) iBlock, students will be challenged to design their own device to track time. Using CAD software, they will first design, and then 3D print, their device.

An iBlock matches skills to standards (like Common Core or NGSS).

Here is a sample content standard for this iBlock:

Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and theseasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky. (NGSS: 5-ESS1-2)

iBlocks Project Based Learning Objective:

Calling all creative minds and game enthusiasts! Get ready to combine the power of physical education, health, and recreation through a project-based exploration that follows the engineering design process! This pathway will guide you in creating a solution that promotes healthy living and movement. Are you ready to combine the power of physical activity, mental challenges, and focus-boosting activities into a brand new physical activity? Get your athletic shoes ready and your innovation caps on. We’re about to develop a fun and engaging way to get our bodies moving and even sharpen our minds and focus!

Here is a sample content standard for this iBlock:

Identifies/ applies strategies to improve health-enhancing behaviors. (NY Phys. Ed Learning Standards: 3.2.6-7)