Lesson plan

Rising Waters: Engineering Solutions for the Real World

Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of flooding by identifying its causes, impacts, and mitigation strategies through active participation in collaborative activities, multimedia engagements, and data interpretation from simulations and case studies, ultimately constructing evidence-based explanations about future flood risks.

Grades 6–8Grades 9–12EngineeringMathematics
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Overview

Students investigate flooding, the most common natural hazard worldwide, in an extended unit that combines science, engineering, mathematics, and computer science. The unit opens with interactive videos on recent floods, including the summer 2025 floods in Kerr County, Texas. Students then use the Flood Explorer simulation and real-world case studies to examine how precipitation, topography, permeability, and water table level, along with human factors such as urban development, shape flood risk. In the engineering phase, students use micro:bit devices and the Climate Action Kit to design hands-on solutions: a flood alarm that detects rising water and an automated sump pump prototype. The plan times engagement at 21-27 minutes, exploration as five 45-minute units, and explanation at 65-95 minutes.

Lesson Objectives

  • Identify potential natural and human causes of flooding based on prior knowledge and lived experiences.
  • Describe the general impact of flooding on people and communities.
  • Make personal connections to the risks and severity of flooding through a math-based reflection.
  • Collaborate with peers to brainstorm flood causes, effects, and prevention strategies.
  • Respond to multimedia prompts that introduce key flood-related vocabulary and concepts.
  • Identify and describe the key environmental and human factors that influence flood risk.
  • Analyze how environmental and human factors influence flood risks in different regions using a simulation model.
  • Interpret data from digital simulations and real-world case studies to identify trends in flood frequency, intensity, and impact over time.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of flood mitigation in reducing damage to people, infrastructure, and the environment.
  • Construct an evidence-based explanation that predicts how flood risks and impacts may change over the next 100 years due to urbanization and climate change.

Standards

NGSS · 15

  • 3-ESS3-1Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of a weather-related hazard.
  • 4-ESS2-2Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features.
  • 4-ESS3-2Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans.
  • 5-ESS3-1Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.
  • 3-5-ETS1-1Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
  • 3-5-ETS1-2Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
  • MS-ESS2-2Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth's surface at varying time and spatial scales.
  • MS-ESS3-2Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.
  • MS-ESS3-3Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
  • MS-ETS1-1Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
  • HS-ESS3-1Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.
  • HS-ESS3-4Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.
  • HS-ESS3-5Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth's systems.
  • HS-ETS1-3Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
  • HS-ETS1-4Use a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex real-world problem with numerous criteria and constraints on interactions within and between systems relevant to the problem.

CCSS Math · 2

  • MP2Reason abstractly and quantitatively
  • MP4Model with mathematics

CCSS ELA · 10

  • RST.6-8.7Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).
  • RST.9-10.7Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g. in an equation) into words.
  • CCSS.ELA.WHST.6-8/9-10/11-12.2: Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes
  • SL.6-8.4Present claims and findings, sequencing ideas logically and using pertinent descriptions, facts, and details to accentuate main ideas or themes; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.
  • SL.9-10.4Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.
  • SL.11-12.4Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.
  • SL.6-8.1Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and
  • SL.9-10.1Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
  • SL.11-12.1Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11–12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
  • W.6-12.10Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences

CSTA · 11

  • 1B-DA-07Use data to highlight or propose cause-and-effect relationships, predict outcomes, or communicate an idea.
  • 1B-AP-09Create programs that use variables to store and modify data.
  • 1B-AP-11Decompose (break down) problems into smaller, manageable subproblems to facilitate the program development process.
  • 1B-AP-12Modify, remix, or incorporate portions of an existing program into one's own work, to develop something new or add more advanced features.
  • 2-CS-02Design projects that combine hardware and software components to collect and exchange data.
  • 2-AP-12Design and iteratively develop programs that combine control structures, including nested loops and compound conditionals.
  • 2-AP-17Systematically test and refine programs using a range of test cases.
  • 2-AP-18Distribute tasks and maintain a project timeline when collaboratively developing computational artifacts.
  • 2-AP-19Document programs to make them easier to follow, test, and debug.
  • 2-CS-01Recommend improvements to the design of computing devices, based on analysis of how users interact with the devices.
  • 2-IC-20Compare tradeoffs associated with computing technologies that affect people's everyday activities and career options.