Helping PA's K-12 teachers
align with new STEM standards
The Lehigh K-12 Computer Science Toolkit offers ready-to-use interactive lessons, coding activities, and assessment tools—free classroom enrichment resources designed to help elementary, middle, and high school teachers enhance learning, boost engagement, and introduce key concepts in computer science and engineering. Each module is clearly mapped to relevant STEELS standards to simplify lesson planning, and includes a teacher guide, student instructions, and printable materials where needed. Use them to enrich your curriculum, introduce key computing ideas, or simply get students excited about problem-solving and logic.
Why use these activities?
- Hands-on, accessible, and engaging
- Teacher-friendly: minimal prep, flexible use
- Created and tested by Lehigh University engineering students
- Free and standards-aligned (STEELS)
- Designed specifically for Pennsylvania K–12 educators
Expand the boxes below to access classroom-enrichment modules suitable for elementary, middle school, and high school learners:
About us
As part of Lehigh University's renowned Capstone Design program, a team of four computer science and engineering students decided to use their senior project to help teachers across Pennsylvania ignite among their students a passion for the field. Engineers are problem-solvers at heart, so this group of enterprising students knew they had to make it easy for the State's teachers to integrate the end product into classrooms and lesson plans.
The K-12 Computer Science Toolkit initiative began in Spring 2024, just before the new "STEELS" standards for K-12 STEM education became manadatory across all Pennsylvania classrooms. These Lehigh students, partnering with local educators, came to understand that alignment with the new standards was key to promoting widespread adoption of their effort. Plus, teachers would likely be scrambling to find resources to help support those standards.
The result: a growing collection of classroom-ready computer science modules that make complex concepts accessible for both students and teachers. Developed with input from educators and tested in real classrooms, these enrichment activities are designed to spark curiosity and reduce barriers to teaching computer science in grades K–12.
The project continues as part of Lehigh’s STEM Squad, with new student teams building on the foundation laid in the first year—with the goal of expanding into other engineering disciplines and creating tools to better support teachers across Pennsylvania and beyond.
Founding Team Members:
Feedback
Encounter any issues or glitches? Have a suggestion for improvement or an idea for a new module? Let us know by emailing engineering@lehigh.edu!
