CMI developed an educational toolkit and several sets of lesson plans. The lesson plans are available online, here. The newest is "Finding Critical Materials and Rare Earth Elements," uploaded in November 2024. Earlier lesson plans and materials include:
- Making Sense of Critical Materials (2023)
- Cobalt Lesson Materials
- Data Representation
- Phosphor Lesson Materials
- Critical Materials Presentation rubric and worksheet
- Elements, with lithium ion batteries and lithium as a critical material
A list of contents for the toolkit is available online. A video describing the contents is available on YouTube.
CMI offers teacher training in how to use the education and outreach toolkit (teachers in a workshop shown at top of page). A presentation slide deck for how to use the materials in the toolkit is available here. One of the activities is demonstrating how quickly magnets of different compositions travel through a non-magnetic copper tube.
For further information please contact:
Cynthia Howell
Research Faculty, Education, Training and Outreach
Critical Materials Innovation Hub Education Toolkit
The CMI teacher and outreach toolkit includes samples of critical materials, products that use critical materials, and instructional materials. The activities and lessons were scientifically and educationally vetted, and have been used in classrooms to reach hundreds of youth.
See this video and the newest videos from CMI and its partners on YouTube HERE