The Engineering Design Process

The Engineering Design Process Worksheet (Grade 6 Science, TEKS 6.1B)

Teach grade 6 students the steps engineers use to solve problems. This one-page reading and activity sheet lays out six clear steps, from defining the problem to testing and improving a prototype.

What's Inside

• A short reading on the six steps of the engineering design process
• A Key Words note for prototype, brainstorm, and criteria
• Activity 1: Students number a school garden team's steps from 1 to 6
• Activity 2: Students draw a line from each key word to its meaning
• A visual answer key with answers marked in red

How Teachers Use It

Use it before a design challenge, as part of an engineering unit, or as a review of scientific and engineering practices. Every term is taught on the page, so no prior knowledge is needed. The sheet takes about 10 minutes, works for independent work, partners, or homework, and prints clearly in black and white.

This worksheet is part of the Reading in Science series for grade 6. It supports TEKS 6.1B: use scientific practices to plan and conduct descriptive, comparative, and experimental investigations and use engineering practices to design solutions to problems. Pair it with the other sheets in the series to build a full unit on scientific and engineering practices, one skill at a time.

Why It Works

Each sheet teaches one or two new terms in plain words first, then asks students to use only what the page taught. Activities stay at the sort, circle, and match level, so students build confidence while the answer key gives teachers the reasoning they need.