Problem: Design a replacement bridge and evaluate it based on several factors including budget.

Age: Middle school students (6th grade)

Math Content: calculating costs, area, making comparisons

Science & Engineering Content: bridge construction (types, materials, design, safety, cost)

Lesson Structure:

• (35-45 min)  - introductory newspaper article and youtube video about bridge collapse, intro article about bridge types, individual questions

• (80-90 min) - group work on problem to generate and refine models

• (40-50 min) - group presentation of work to class and concluding class discussion

Source: English, L. D., & Mousoulides, N. G. (2015). Bridging STEM in a real-world problem. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 20(9), 532-539. https://doi.org/10.5951/mathteacmiddscho.20.9.0532 

Problem adapted from Guzey, S. S., Moore, T.J., and Roehrig, G.H. (2010). “Curriculum Development for STEM Integration: Bridge Design on the White Earth Reservation.” In L. E. Kattington (ed.), Handbook of Curriculum Development, (pp. 347–66). Nova Science.