What’s So Cool About Manufacturing Lesson Plans
Lesson Plans
Worksheets are attached to the lesson plan PDFs.
- Bottle Cap Art Activity
- Design a Scale Model of Your Ideal Study Space
- Engineering Building Activity
- Engineer a Better Airplane
- Communications in Manufacturing
- English and Literacy Activity
- History Exploration 1
- History Exploration 2
- Math Building
- House Building
- Play-Doh Activity
- Green Science Activity

About
WQED has teamed up with Catalyst Connection to use these videos to create STEAM lesson plans for educators. STEAM-based lesson plans with supplemental videos from the What’s So Cool about Manufacturing student video contest. There are twelve lesson plans with the following subjects: Art, Engineering, English, History, Math, and Science.
The annual What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? video contests excite students to explore cool manufacturing careers and produce profiles of companies throughout Pennsylvania. Judges in each regional contest bestow a variety of awards, and each contest features an online vote at WhatsSoCool.org for its Viewers Choice Award.
Credits: WQED and What’s So Cool About Manufacturing
Standards
Career Education & Work
- 13.1.3.B / 13.1.5.B Identify job requirements and responsibilities of various occupations
- 13.1.3.A / 13.1.5.A Relate personal interests and abilities to career choices.
- 13.1.3.E / 13.1.5.E Identify a variety of career options and how they relate to skills and interests.
- 13.2.3.D / 13.2.5.D Identify and use resources for career exploration.
- 13.3.3.A / 13.3.5.A Demonstrate teamwork and cooperation.
- 13.1.5.C Explain how skills contribute to career success.
Science & Technology
- 3.2.3 / 3.2.5 Apply problem-solving and design processes.
- 3.6.3.C / 3.6.5.C Explain how manufacturing systems produce goods.
- 3.2.3 / 3.2.5 (Inquiry & Design) Use observation, questioning, and research to investigate problems.
- 3.6.3.A / 3.6.5.A Describe how technology systems (including manufacturing) are used in daily life.
- 3.2.3 / 3.2.5 Design solutions to solve problems.
- 3.8.3.A / 3.8.5.A Explain how technology is used to meet human needs and wants.
ELA
- CC.1.5.3.A / CC.1.5.5.A Participate in collaborative discussions.
- CC.1.2.3.A / CC.1.2.5.A Determine the main idea of informational text and explain key details.
- CC.1.5.3.C / CC.1.5.5.C Ask and answer questions about information presented.
- CC.1.4.3.S / CC.1.4.5.S Use writing to develop questions and responses.
- CC.1.4.3.B / CC.1.4.5.B Write informative texts to examine a topic.
- CC.1.5.3.D / CC.1.5.5.D Report on a topic using facts and relevant details.
- CC.1.2.3.B / CC.1.2.5.B Use text features to locate information.
- CC.1.4.3.V / CC.1.4.5.V Conduct short research projects.
- CC.1.5.3.A / CC.1.5.5.A Engage effectively in collaborative discussions.
Math
- CC.2.4.3.A / CC.2.4.5.A Measure and estimate quantities.
- CC.2.4.3.A / CC.2.4.5.A Interpret measurement data.
- CC.2.1.3.B / CC.2.1.5.B Solve problems using mathematical operations.
- CC.2.4.3.A / CC.2.4.5.A Use measurement in problem solving.
- CC.2.3.3.A / CC.2.3.5.A Use geometry to model and solve problems.
- CC.2.4.3.A / CC.2.4.5.A Solve problems involving measurement and estimation.
Arts
- 9.1.3.E / 9.1.5.E Use media to communicate ideas.
- 9.3.3.A / 9.3.5.A Analyze works of art using vocabulary.
- 9.1.3.A / 9.1.5.A Know and use the elements and principles of art in creation of works.
- 9.1.5.B Recognize elements of art in works.
- 9.1.5.D Use visual media for expression.
- 9.1.5.C Collaborate to create artistic work.