Fun, curriculum-aligned and completely free, these lesson plans, complete with supporting materials, are designed to inspire a lifelong passion for STEM. Each resource is suitable for ages 11-14, are low-tech and either inexpensive or free to run. Packed with extenders and differentiators, they are fully adaptable depending on age and ability.
Computing is about more than just using technology, something most young people do naturally, it’s about making technology – or using it in creative ways - to provide innovative solutions to all sorts of problems. The world has become increasingly driven by technology and it is considered that nearly every future career will involve computing skills in some shape or form, making Computing one of the most important STEM subjects.
Bring cyber security to life by showing your pupils what it is like to be in the Royal Military Police as they use personal data to track down a dangerous cyber criminal.
Computing is the thing that drives the modern world and the thing that will drive every future career. If your pupils want to get ahead, being able to use information technology in an efficient, productive and secure way is vital. Studying it at a higher level could also lead to several attractive and lucrative career paths. It is also used extensively by the Army for a number of purposes such as cyber security and analysing data to provide crucial intelligence.
Your class will discover the different types of personal data and how it can be used to a positive and detrimental effect. They will then work in teams to track down a criminal using their personal data. This lesson will involve your class investigating a ‘cyber crime scene’ which contains several clues to enable them to solve the hacking challenge. Whichever team cracks the password first will find the criminal.
There is a dangerous cyber criminal on the run, known only as ‘The Atom Smasher’. They are using their knowledge of the country’s nuclear power plants to wreak havoc on the power grid. Word has it, ‘The Atom Smasher’ has left the country and is planning their next cyber attack. To stop them and find out where they are, your pupils must gather personal data to track them down…
Physics teaches us to identify, simplify and solve problems in a systematic way, developing the skill to analyse all kinds of information and work out creative solutions to problems. Studying Physics also means picking up transferable supporting skills, such as maths and computer programming, which have multiple applications in many fields of study and work.
Learn how to communicate effectively with light using Morse code in this intense, changeable and exciting practical lesson.
Delivering supplies or aid to remote or devastated locations can be a lifesaving measure something the Army are often called upon to do. This lesson will develop your pupils’ knowledge of basic circuitry, light and ability to communicate using code.
Your pupils will use their knowledge to assist soldiers on an important search and rescue mission while learning about basic circuits and communication using light. They will build a signalling lamp and create a basic code to communicate a message to a helicopter pilot. Completion of this lesson will require a foundational understanding of basic circuitry, including the differences between a series and parallel circuit and how to build one using aluminium foil and batteries
In teams, your class will go on a search and rescue mission in a difficult to access remote mountainside. They need a helicopter to deliver supplies from the air, but the visibility is poor. Their equipment is basic so they need to use what is available to communicate their locations from the ground to the air. But the weather is closing in…
Chemistry is the science of discovery and invention. By studying Chemistry, we can fight disease, solve crimes, protect the environment and change the world in all sorts of interesting ways. It is a core subject which provides a solid foundation in the sciences where real differences can be made.
Clean drinking water is essential and, in this gripping and hands-on lesson, your class will learn how vital safe drinking water is and how to provide it in a crisis situation by building their own water filtration systems.
When disaster strikes and basic amenities cease to function, the British Army deploy to provide immediate relief. With the clock ticking and the community suffering, your class will have to quickly learn about making water safe to drink using the limited materials available.
By the end of this standalone lesson, your class will have a greater understanding of the basic needs of human beings, what happens when clean drinking water is no longer guaranteed and how to identify both the obvious and hidden dangers present in dirty water. They will also gather a basic understanding of how to make water safe to drink again, drawing on the real-life contributions of the Army to disaster zones, to accomplish this task.
A hurricane has swept through the area and the water purification plant – the only source of clean water – has been destroyed. The school is pretty much gone, except for the classroom you are sat in. Thankfully, your class has survived. But they won’t survive for long if they don’t have clean water to drink. The first thing they need to do is help establish a source of clean drinking water. They will do this by building their own filtration systems out of everyday items. Remember to ask, is it safe to drink? Just because it looks clean, doesn’t mean it is…
This is the study of life and how the world lives, breathes and dies. From the very large to the microscopic, this is a subject that enables us to understand life itself, including what’s happening in our own bodies. Biology is a flexible and versatile subject with a range of interesting and important applications. Perfect for curious minds who love looking closely at the world.
Have your pupils unleash their animal side so they can learn all about camouflage in the wild and put their skills to the test in an intense simulated mission.
Nature. It is as beautiful as it is clever and we can use some of its pretty tricks to help soldiers stay safe on operations. Camouflage comes in many beautiful forms in both nature and the man-made world. It’s famously used by the Army but there is plenty to learn about camouflage from the natural world first.
This pair of lessons brings together biology and design, exploring how camouflage works, the link between biology and living things, different relationships within the ecosystem and how organisms affect and are affected by their environment.
In this lesson, you will explore the purpose of camouflage in both a natural and man-made setting. Your pupils will learn why camouflage is used in the first place and how it works on a visual level. It will ultimately manifest in a group activity where your class will work together as a team to create their own camouflage for different terrains.
Building on lesson 1, your pupils will now use their knowledge and in an exciting, artistic activity, discover the practical uses for camouflage in a simulated mission.
Engineering involves designing processes and making products to solve real-world problems. The study of which develops key decision-making skills, as well as offering a comprehensive understanding of how things work and how to make them work differently. A career in this field enables people to shape the world and make positive contributions to society.
Extreme situations call for extreme creativity – put your pupils’ engineering skills to the test in a desert surveillance mission.
Engineers are the people who take theories and make them realities. Being able to apply critical thinking in challenging and changeable situations, is a valuable skill which your pupils will be able to apply in a variety of careers. In this practical lesson, your class will step into the boots of the Royal Engineers who are operating in extreme desert conditions.
The lesson will begin with a foundational look at strong shapes and pressure, before building into a diverse and disruptive practical exercise which will flex your pupils’ engineering muscles and show them how innovative and efficient they can be under pressure. Alongside learning how to engineer strong structures, they will gain an understanding about the importance of teamwork and perseverance.
Your pupils, operating in teams, are conducting a surveillance mission to protect endangered White Rhinos. They have recently found out a crucial piece of time-sensitive information about poachers and need to communicate with the wildlife rangers as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there is no signal so now your pupils must build a communications tower as high as possibile using only the materials avaialble. But there’s a catch as each team will still need spaghetti left over to eat as an efficient use of supplies is critical to survival…
Maths is a skill which can be applied to any sector and any subject. All of civilisations’ achievements can be linked back to mathematics in some shape or form. Completely inseparable from life and integral to progress, the study of Maths leads to the skills of logic and rational thought and development of high cognitive ability. If you want to change the world, Maths is an excellent place to start.
Make Maths exciting with this intense, fun and challenging game. It will test your class’ maths knowledge as well as their critical thinking, as they compete to avoid being recaptured by smugglers.
Maths doesn’t have the most exciting reputation in the curriculum, but in just one hour that will change. Maths as a subject and a skillset can lead to a variety of socially mobile and lucrative career paths. Real life is full of the need for analytics which your pupils will discover in this lesson.
In this lesson, your entire class has been captured by smugglers and imprisoned in separate huts. Working in their teams and using the maps provided, they must break out of the huts, collect the items they need to escape and reach the train station uncaptured. They will tackle obstacles, different terrain and smugglers as they go and must keep their wits about them in order to escape to safety.
You were infiltrating a smugglers base in your teams, but you were spotted, captured and all transported to separate prison huts. You now must escape and evade recapture before you are taken to their main camp, which will be much harder to escape from. All you have to help you are a ruler, a calculator and a knowledge of maths. You must use those three things to escape and do it quickly…
"I would like to pass on my thanks and glowing endorsement of the event we were lucky enough to experience. The team was excellent in their work with the pupils and the quality of the resources used, certainly enhanced the experience."Maths Teacher, Year 8
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The British Army has established strategic partnerships with STEM Learning and Tomorrow’s Engineers and a number of other partners. They have been carefully selected for their STEM expertise and knowledge of how important STEM skills are in education, training and social mobility. Click below to find out more about the significant role each of them plays in STEM.
Through BASE, the British Army supports education with school based workshops, a wide range of resources, work experience and careers advice. Click below to find out more.
