The League's K-5 Units

Aligned with the NGSS engineering design standards for grades K-5, our units provide curriculum for specialists and classroom teachers who want to create an innovation lab in their classroom.

A teacher and student with paper structure model.

Our Units

Our units each includes multiple lessons, and are designed as part of a spiraling curriculum series, where content and experience is deepened with each consecutive year. This series structure supports whole-school initiatives that build a culture of invention from Kindergarten through 5th Grade.

Toy Design Series

Gravity! Lift! Buoyancy! Inertia! Young inventors will tinker and experiment to design their own toys, seeing everyday (yet mind-blowing) science concepts in action through their own hands-on builds and experimentation. Each unit contains 8 lessons.

Floating Boats

Kindergarten

Balancing Mobiles

1st Grade

Spinning Tops

2nd Grade

Rolling Marble Runs

3rd Grade

Rubber Band Paddle Boats

4th Grade

Linkage Puppets

5th Grade

Future World Series

How do bridges stay strong under heavy loads? How do neighborhoods meet the changing needs of the people who live there? What shapes and structural features make buildings stay strong against forces generated by weather? In these units, students will experiment with engineering solutions from around the world to explore some of the main challenges faced by urban centers – including population increase, pollution, and traffic congestion. Each unit contains 8 lessons.

Neighborhoods

Kindergarten + 1st Grades

Building Bridges

2nd + 3rd Grades

Sustainable Homes

4th + 5th Grades

Simple Machines Series

What force pulls you down a slide? How can a fulcrum help you fling things further? How does friction affect you when you play? In this unit, young inventors will explore these science concepts, and more, hands-on. Young Inventors will uncover the magic behind the simple machines that make the everyday easier.

The Lever

2nd Grade

The Wedge

3rd Grade

The Wheel + Axle

4th Grade

Automata

5th Grade

Taking Flight Series

Why are airplanes designed in so many different shapes? How do kites stay in the sky without motors? How can you fold a faster paper airplane? In this unit, young inventors will explore the history and science behind many of the gravity-defying machines that have lifted humans to heights never thought possible.

Parachutes

Kindergarten

Seeds

1st Grade

Gliders

2nd Grade

Helicopters

3rd Grade

Kites

4th Grade

Rockets

5th Grade