CCE Career & College ExplorationsIrving ISD · Grade 7

Architecture & Construction · Week 2

Week 2: Building Strong — Civil Engineering Evidence

5th Six Weeks | Engineering / Architecture & Construction | 5 class periods (50 minutes each)

5th Six Weeks | Engineering / Architecture & Construction | 5 class periods (50 minutes each)

Week Purpose

Students study how civil-engineering roles plan and improve infrastructure, examine how assessment results can affect different postsecondary routes, and complete a bridge design-test-revision cycle with the supplied fixed dataset.

Learning target: I can use current sources to explain a civil-engineering route, evaluate an emerging specialty, and revise a design from test evidence.

Done when: My portfolio contains a current career/preparation card, an assessment-impact decision, an emerging-specialty evaluation, and an individual bridge test/redesign record.

Standards

  • d(1)(B): Describe the Engineering cluster and how its roles work together.
  • d(1)(C): Identify engineering career opportunities and the work each performs.
  • d(1)(D): Research and evaluate emerging occupations or changing specialties.
  • d(2)(A): Describe education, technical, credential, and training requirements.
  • d(3)(E): Explain how performance on PSAT/SAT/ACT/ASVAB/TSIA2 may affect personal academic or career goals.

Teacher Readiness Gate

Before teaching:

  • prepare the fixed Civil Engineer, Transportation Engineer, and Water/Wastewater Engineer evidence cards;
  • update the assessment-impact cards from official sources and date them;
  • prepare locked FYF pages 103, 106–107, and 174–175 in Canvas;
  • prepare the fixed three-bridge dataset as the complete Day 4 route;
  • use the fixed dataset as the complete route. This module does not supply an approved physical-test kit or live-test protocol; any future demonstration needs a separate exact materials, loads/unit/cap, safety, timing, reset, and cleanup approval;
  • publish neither the final Assignment nor any grade until the six-weeks assessment map and 40/60 groups are verified.

No required Xello or eDynamic task belongs in this week. H&L browsing is supplemental and cannot be required evidence.

Current Evidence Boundaries

  • BLS reports Civil Engineers at a May 2024 U.S. median of $99,590, typical bachelor’s entry education, 5% projected growth for 2024–34, and about 23,600 annual openings. These are not DFW starting-pay figures.
  • Entry-level civil engineers do not universally need a PE license. Licensure generally matters when engineers provide services directly to the public or sign regulated work; state routes vary.
  • PSAT 8/9 may be administered in Grade 8 or 9 and is not sent to colleges. SAT/ACT admission use varies by institution and application cycle. ACT science is optional in the enhanced national test and not part of the Composite. TSIA2 applies to entering non-exempt students. Assessment cards must be refreshed before reuse.
  • “Emerging” may describe a changing specialty inside an established occupation. Do not invent job titles or assign a specialty a separate salary when the source rolls it into Civil Engineers.
  • The public MacArthur page uses Engineering; the 2026–27 Irving ISD coursebook names a four-course Civil Engineering program. Present the dated source distinction.
  • The bridge exercise practices a limited prototype cycle. It does not validate a real bridge, structural design, materials, codes, or public safety.
  • The FYF Mars rover is a fictional design brief, not a claim that a current NASA rover is retiring.

Five-Day Route

Day Focus Protected evidence
1 Cluster, career preparation, systems thinking Civil-engineer evidence card + FYF kitchen systems decision
2 Assessment impact + emerging specialties Personal assessment decision + evaluated O*NET specialty
3 Bridge constraints and two design options Two-view options, load-path reasoning, role ownership
4 Fixed-data analysis Standardized result + individual failure/redesign analysis
5 Results, FYF Mars transfer, synthesis Individual weekly portfolio and pathway next step

Assessment Plan

  • Recommended minor: Day 2 assessment/emerging-specialty evidence.
  • Formative portfolio: Day 3–5 bridge design, test/data, redesign, and synthesis evidence.
  • Any separately approved physical demonstration, team ranking, H&L activity, public speaking, and FYF rover art remain formative. The 5SW assessment map uses Day 2 as Minor 2 and does not add a Week 2 major.

The student-visible 16-point rubric scores source accuracy, assessment/emerging reasoning, design/test/revision evidence, and career/pathway synthesis. Individual reasoning is required even when a team builds.

Access, Absence, and Safety

  • Fixed data is the complete default route. No physical test is required or supplied in this module.
  • Absent students analyze the prepared anonymized dataset; they are not penalized for missing fabrication.
  • Offer precut materials, adaptive scissors, large-print/tactile geometry, verbalized load data, captions/transcripts, typing, dictation, and private media.
  • Teacher alone controls load placement. Use secured supports, a catch tray, known lightweight increments, a marked keep-clear zone, one objective stop rule, and a safe load cap. Never use textbooks or unstable desks.
  • No hands, faces, or feet enter the test zone; inspect and collect dropped weights immediately.

Teacher Sources

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