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Day 1: Civil Engineering Cluster Tour + Infrastructure Imagination Kickoff

Lesson Overview
Time 50 minutes
Objectives Explore civil engineering careers in H&L; begin the Hat Research template for one engineering career; read the Los Lomas Infrastructure Report from the H&L workbook
TEKS d(1)(B), d(1)(C)
Deliverable Completed Hat Research template (1 engineering career) + notes on the two Los Lomas problems
Materials Chromebooks, H&L accounts + Workbook (Ch 8, pp. 119-135 and Ch 3 Hat Research template), projector

Warm-Up (5 min)

WARM-UP: Name a bridge, highway, or water system in Irving that you use regularly. Someone ENGINEERED that, designed it, calculated how much weight it could hold, figured out where to put it, and made sure it would last 50+ years. What kind of education do you think that takes?

Collect 2-3 student responses. Bridge to the idea that last week was architecture (design): this week is civil engineering (making designs actually work under real loads).

Activity 1: H&L Engineering Cluster Tour (15 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 8: Engineering (pp. 119-121)

Direct students to open Hats & Ladders and navigate to the Engineering career cluster. They should:

  1. Watch the Engineering cluster tour video (embedded in the H&L app). While watching, students jot down one engineering pathway that interests them.
  2. Review the Myth Busters for Engineering (common misconceptions about who becomes an engineer).
  3. Read "Exploring the World of Engineering" in the workbook (Ch 8, p. 120). The workbook covers five pathways: Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Geospatial Engineering, and Drone Engineering.

After the video, direct students to use the Hat Finder in the app to browse 2-3 engineering Hats. They should prioritize Civil Engineer, Structural Engineer, and Environmental Engineer this week since those are the A&C overlap careers.

Facilitation Tip

Engineering appears in both the Architecture & Construction cluster (Construction Management and Inspection) and the Engineering cluster (Civil, Structural, Environmental). Show students that careers overlap across clusters. This is how the real world works.

Activity 2: H&L Hat Research — Engineering Career (15 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 8, p. 130, "Hat Research"

Students open their H&L workbook to the Hat Research page in Chapter 8. The workbook instructs: "Go to the Hats & Ladders app and click on the Hat Finder. Explore Hats in the Engineering career cluster. Choose one Hat and fill out the information below."

Students select one engineering career (Civil Engineer, Structural Engineer, or Environmental Engineer is recommended this week) and complete all fields:

  • Name of Career
  • What Interests You?: why this career caught their attention
  • Brief Job Description: what this professional does daily
  • Education/Training Needed: degrees, certifications, licensing (PE license)
  • Average Salary: DFW data from the Hat profile
  • Tools, Equipment, or Skills Needed: AutoCAD, Revit, math, physics, problem-solving

Facilitation Tip

Civil engineers need a Bachelor's degree plus a Professional Engineer (PE) license, which takes 4 more years of experience plus two exams. This is a long pathway, point it out as a contrast to trade careers students saw in 4SW.

Activity 3: Infrastructure Imagination Kickoff — Read the Los Lomas Report (10 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 8, pp. 131-132, "Infrastructure Imagination" (Career Lab activity)

Introduce the week's anchor activity. The workbook scenario: Students are civil engineers for the fictional city of Los Lomas, tasked with solving two real infrastructure problems, traffic congestion and stormwater flooding.

Read the Los Lomas Department of Public Works report aloud as a class (or have students read silently). Key data students should note:

Problem 1, Traffic Congestion:

  • Road network was designed in 1970 for a population of 150,000
  • Current population is 380,000 with 520,000 daily commuters
  • Average commute has grown from 22 minutes to 47 minutes
  • Major roadways operate at 130-160% capacity during rush hours
  • Bus lines serve only 40% of neighborhoods

Problem 2, Stormwater Flooding:

  • 39 inches of annual rainfall
  • 53% of storm drains are over 70 years old
  • 72% of city is pavement and buildings (only 14% green space)
  • 11 days of significant flooding last year caused $3.2 million in damage

Students write brief notes on each problem in their workbook. This sets up Days 3-4, the tabletop straw-bridge challenge is a simplified structural version of the Los Lomas Infrastructure Imagination problem. If students can engineer a 40-straw bridge that holds weight, they are doing the same kind of problem-solving that real civil engineers bring to Los Lomas traffic and flooding, at a smaller scale.

DOK 2: How is the Los Lomas traffic problem similar to or different from what you see in Irving or Dallas? Name one specific parallel.

Exit Ticket (5 min)

EXIT TICKET (Mini-Case / Scenario Application) · Printable PDF:

Scenario: Irving had 3 inches of rain last night. Parts of Trinity River flooded, a major highway is closed, and a bridge over the creek is showing cracks.

  1. Which TYPE of engineer would LEAD the investigation of each issue? Match:

  2. Flooding: Civil Engineer / Structural Engineer / Environmental Engineer

  3. Highway closure: Civil Engineer / Structural Engineer / Environmental Engineer

  4. Bridge cracks: Civil Engineer / Structural Engineer / Environmental Engineer

  5. ONE Los Lomas problem from today (traffic congestion OR stormwater flooding) is most similar to Irving's situation. Which one, and why?

My pick: _____

Why: ____________

  1. Name ONE education requirement a civil engineer needs (degree, license, or certification):

(d(1)(B), d(1)(C))

Differentiation

  • Support: Provide the two Los Lomas problems as a pre-highlighted handout so students can focus on understanding rather than reading dense report text.
  • Extension: Research one real DFW infrastructure project (the High Five interchange, DART Silver Line, or the Trinity River Flood Control). How did civil engineers solve similar problems?
  • ELL: Pre-teach: Infrastructure = Infraestructura, Flooding = Inundación, Congestion = Congestión. Provide a bilingual Los Lomas summary sheet.