Unit 7 — Structures and Engineering Design
Description
Students apply the engineering design process to structural challenges. Units include designing towers, shelters, and building structures that meet specific criteria such as height, strength, or cost constraints. Students learn about load-bearing, stability, and aesthetic design. They test structures, collect data on performance, and iterate designs based on results.
Essential Questions
- What makes a structure stable and strong?
- How do constraints affect design decisions?
- How do engineers balance multiple requirements in one design?
Learning Objectives
- Understand structural engineering principles
- Identify constraints and criteria in design challenges
- Design structures that meet specified requirements
- Test structures for stability, height, or load capacity
- Collect and analyze performance data
- Iterate and improve designs based on testing
- Present design reasoning and test results
Supplemental Resources
- Index cards and tape for structure building
- Rulers for measuring height and dimensions
- Chart paper for displaying design iterations
- Markers for labeling structures and plans
- Graph paper for scale drawings and designs
Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science
Engineering Design
Crosscutting Concepts
Disciplinary Core Ideas
Digital Literacy
Geometry
Measurement
Number and Operations in Base Ten
Operations and Algebraic Thinking
Science and Engineering Practices
Standards for Mathematical Practice
Students engage in scientific and technical writing throughout STEM investigations. They document observations, create digital reports of findings, communicate design solutions, and record data using word processing and presentation tools. Students develop vocabulary through exploration of natural and engineered systems.
Students apply mathematical skills to analyze and interpret data from STEM investigations. They measure distances, record heights of plants, create graphs and line plots, calculate area and perimeter of structures, and use mathematical reasoning to solve design problems. Students employ data collection strategies and statistical analysis.
Formative Assessments
- Design sketches with labeled measurements
- Stability and strength testing observations
- Data recording during performance tests
- Comparisons of different design approaches
- Reflection on design choices and constraints
Summative Assessment
Completed structure meeting all specified criteria; test results documenting performance; presentation of design decisions and improvements
Benchmark Assessment
— not configured —
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate understanding through a teacher-guided interview where they explain their structural design choices and describe how their structure meets the criteria, with visual aids or the actual model present for reference. Simplified data collection sheets with checkboxes or drawings may replace written observations of stability and strength testing.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
During design and testing phases, provide graphic organizers or visual planning templates to help students organize their structural ideas, label measurements, and record observations without relying solely on written output. Students may verbally explain their design reasoning or use sketches with teacher-scribed labels as alternatives to written reflections. Break the engineering design process into clearly sequenced steps with visual cues at each stage, and offer frequent check-ins during building and data collection to help students monitor their progress and stay on task.
Section 504
Provide extended time during testing and data recording phases, where precision and focus are essential. Preferential seating or a low-distraction workspace supports students during the planning and reflection portions of the unit, and printed step-by-step directions for the design process should be available throughout so students can reference expectations independently.
ELL / MLL
Support understanding of key structural engineering vocabulary — such as load, stability, constraint, and criteria — with visual word walls, labeled diagrams, and real-world examples that make abstract concepts tangible. Directions for design challenges should be given in clear, simple language and accompanied by visual models or teacher demonstrations so students can access the task without relying on language alone. Where possible, allow students to discuss design ideas with a partner who shares their home language before sharing with the group.
At Risk (RTI)
Connect structural concepts to familiar real-world examples, such as buildings or objects students encounter daily, to activate prior knowledge and build confidence before introducing more abstract engineering principles. Simplify entry points into design challenges by starting with fewer constraints and gradually increasing complexity, and provide sentence frames or graphic supports to help students articulate their observations during testing and reflection. Celebrate incremental design improvements to reinforce that iteration is a natural and valued part of the engineering process.
Gifted & Talented
Challenge students to introduce and balance multiple competing constraints simultaneously — such as optimizing for both maximum height and minimum material cost — requiring more sophisticated trade-off analysis than the baseline task. Encourage students to research real-world structural engineering principles or historical structures and incorporate those ideas into their own design reasoning. Students may also extend their work by developing a more rigorous data analysis of their test results, identifying patterns across multiple iterations and proposing evidence-based design improvements that go beyond what was tested in class.