The Project Lead The Way (PLTW) curriculum uses an activity-, project-, and problem-based approach to teach computer science, engineering, and biomedical science. Because individual schools have the flexibility to select which modules they teach each year, the exact timeline can vary, but below is an outline of the grade-level highlights and core themes we use at JPII:

Elementary School: PLTW Launch (PreK–5)
The Launch program for grades K through 5 uses an activity-, project-, and problem-based approach to teach Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Schools are also provided with 40 different modules to utilize. The curriculum is focused on structured play, storytelling, and sparking curiosity. Students use character logs to solve real-world problems.

Kindergarten

• Pushes and Pulls: Students explore how forces change the motion of an object. The main challenge is designing a structure to rescue a fictional tiger.
• Structure and Function: Human anatomy meets design as kids inspect how their senses function and build a paintbrush from scratch.

1st Grade

• Light and Sound: Children investigate how light and sound travel, culminating in a project where they design a device to communicate across a distance.
• Animal Adaptations: Students analyze body traits and behaviors that help animals survive. They use these traits to sketch and build a specialized piece of outdoor gear.

2nd Grade

• Properties of Matter: Students experiment with solids and liquids to understand floating and sinking. They design a custom boat that keeps its cargo completely dry.
• Grid Games: An introduction to computer science where kids learn logic and sequencing by creating their own physical board games.

3rd Grade

• Stability and Motion: Students dive into the physics of flight and simple machines. They apply these rules to build a compound machine that can safely trap a simulated animal.
• Environmental Changes: Fossils and ecosystems take center stage. Students look at how environments shift over time and design solutions to protect local wildlife.

4th Grade

• Energy and Collisions: Budding engineers experiment with vehicle safety and energy transfer. Their capstone project requires them to design a functional restraint system (seatbelt) for a test-crash dummy.
• Input/Output: Human Brain: Students explore the nervous system and discover how the brain receives and processes signals.

5th Grade

• Robotics and Automation: Students learn basic computer programming to control mechanical systems. They build and program a robot to move simulated hazard materials away from a disaster zone.
• Infection Detection: Playing the role of medical investigators, students map out the spread of a fictional virus and learn how the human body fights illness.

Middle School: PLTW Gateway (Grades 6–8)
The Gateway curriculum (Middle School) uses an activity-, project-, and problem-based approach to teach computer science, engineering, and biomedical science.

Foundation Units (6th & 7th Grade)

• Design and Modeling (DM): Students learn to use professional 3D design software and apply the engineering process. They apply these skills by designing a functional therapeutic toy for a child with cerebral palsy.
• Automation and Robotics (AR): Students track mechanical systems, gear ratios, and automation. They use physical building platforms to assemble and code systems like traffic lights, automated assembly tracks, or robotic arms.

Specialization Units (Typically 7th & 8th Grade)

• Medical Detectives (MD): Students step into the shoes of epidemiologists and neurologists. They measure vital signs, dissect a sheep brain, solve genetic mysteries, and track down the source of a disease outbreak.
• Flight and Space (FS): Exploring the aerospace industry, students learn the physics of flight and propulsion. They design airfoils and simulate space travel navigation.
• App Creators & Computer Science: Students learn mobile app development using MIT App Inventor, building tools to solve community issues and exploring physical computing with microcontrollers.
• Science of Technology: Focuses on applied physics and chemistry. Activities include evaluating clean energy options, analyzing nanomaterials, or engineering solutions to clean up simulated oil spills.
• Building for the Future: A skilled-trades module where students learn the roles of carpenters, site managers, and architects. They explore sustainable design and build structural models.