Running Head: UNIT PLAN 1
Destination Imagination:
S.T.E.A.M./S.T.E.M.
Engineering Unit Plan
Created by Michael A. Tschritter
Practicum II: Grade 3
School: Isabel F. Cox School
March 29, 2016
UNIT PLAN 2
Destination Imagination: S.T.E.A.M./S.T.E.M. Engineering Unit Plan
Michael A. Tschritter
Grade 3 Science- Practicum II
Introduction/Rationale for Unit
“The future is only a generation away” (Inspiring Education Steering Committee, 2010,
p. 10). Regardless of what teachers, administrators, parents, or members of the general public
think that the goals and/or structure of education in Alberta should be, we must never lose sight
of the fact that the children who are the students in today’s classrooms are the future and will
continue to live in Alberta and shape its dynamic nature long after we are gone. What are the
essential skills and understandings that we believe Albertans need to learn in order to thrive in
the twenty-first century? The 2013 Ministerial Order on Student Learning was developed directly
out of the vision for Inspiring Education and as a result of this vision the fundamental goal of
education in Alberta is now “to inspire all students to achieve success and fulfillment, and reach
their full potential by developing the competencies of Engaged Thinkers and Ethical Citizens
with an Entrepreneurial Spirit, who contribute to a strong and prosperous economy and society”
(Government of Alberta, 2013, p. 2). The major competencies stressed over these three areas
include numeracy, literacy, thinking critically, identifying and solving complex problems,
managing information, innovating, creating opportunities, applying multiple literacies,
demonstrating global and cultural understanding, demonstrating good communication skills and
the ability to work cooperatively with others, identifying and applying career and life skills, and
knowing how to learn (Alberta Regional Consortia, 2009, n.p.).
We must develop opportunities that inspire our global community of learners to utilize
diverse approaches in applying 21st-century skills and creativity. As a program, Destination
Imagination is built on the foundational principles of being “[an engaging], hands-on system of
learning that fosters students’ creativity, courage and curiosity through open-ended academic
challenges in the fields of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), fine arts
and service learning (Destination Imagination, 2016, n.p.). The world as we know it today has
been built by architects and engineers who have spent countless hours building, testing, and
improving designs in order to make society function. When we look around our cities and see
UNIT PLAN 3
bridges, cars, houses and skyscrapers, we must remember that we owe the production of the great
marvels of production to the engineers who built them. All engineers start their careers
somewhere because understanding how to apply the scientific method to real world applications
does not happen overnight. The purpose or intended goal of this unit is to allow students to
use the principles of S.T.E.A.M., S.T.E.M., and Destination Imagination’s Creative Process
to build things with a variety of materials as well as test materials and designs. This unit
blends the “Building Things with a Variety of Materials” and “Testing Materials and
Designs” units within Alberta Education’s Grade 3 Science curriculum. Utilizing engaging
real world contexts and student-centred activities all students will be able to learn
principles of design and testing materials. In the spirit of S.TE.A.M and S.T.E.M., many
cross-curricular outcomes have been woven into the very core of this unit to uphold the
Alberta Education Ministerial Order of 2013 that schools must try to develop well-rounded
students/citizens of the world.
Learner Focus
Students are expected to actively use their prior knowledge of the real world throughout
the unit by applying what they know about the world in relation to the different scientific and
cross-curricular concepts such as mathematics being taught. There are sixteen major areas of
understanding that students are expected to grasp/learn by the end of the unit. These
understandings are:
Using a variety of materials and techniques, design, construct and test structures.
Select appropriate materials for use in construction tasks, and explain the choice of
materials.
Select tools that are suitable to particular tasks and materials, and use them safely and
effectively.
Understand and use a variety of methods to join or fasten materials.
Identify the intended purpose and use of structures to be built, and explain how
knowing the intended purpose and use helps guide decisions regarding materials and
design.
Understand that simple designs are often as effective as more complex ones, as well
as being easier and cheaper to build, and illustrate this understanding with a practical
example.
UNIT PLAN 4
Recognize the importance of good workmanship, and demonstrate growth toward
good workmanship.
Maintain and store materials and tools safely and properly.
Apply skills of listening, speaking and cooperative decision making in working with
other students on a construction project.
Recognize that functional structures must be sufficiently strong and stable and that
unstable or weak structures are often unsafe to use.
Compare and evaluate the strength and stability of different models or objects
constructed.
Describe the distinctive properties of some common solids, such as wood, paper or
plastic, that make them suitable for use as building materials.
Apply procedures to test the strength of construction materials, in particular, different
stocks of papers, plastics or wood.
Apply procedures to test different designs.
Apply procedures to test the strength of different methods of joining.
Identify and apply methods for making a structure stronger and more stable; e.g., by
adding or joining parts to form triangles.
I Can Statements
I can safely use a variety of tools and methods in building activities.
I can use many materials and designs to build structures.
I can compare different materials and designs.
I can investigate different materials and designs for their use in a building task.
Overview of Unit General Learner Expectations
Scientific Understandings General Learner Expectations:
o Grade 3 Building with a Variety of Materials General Learner Expectation-3-6:
Use, safely, a variety of tools, techniques, and materials in construction activities.
o Grade 3 Building with a Variety of Materials General Learner Expectation-3-7:
Construct structures, using a variety of materials and designs, and compare the
effectiveness of the various materials and designs for their intended purposes.
o Grade 3 Testing Materials & Designs General Learner Expectation-3-8: Evaluate
the suitability of different materials and designs for their use in a building task.
Overview of Unit Specific Learner Expectations
Scientific Understandings Specific Learner Expectations:
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 1: Using a
variety of materials and techniques, design, construct and test structures that are
intended to:
UNIT PLAN 5
Support objects.
Serve as models of particular living things, objects or buildings.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 2: Select
appropriate materials for use in construction tasks, and explain the choice of
materials. Students should demonstrate familiarity with a variety of materials, such
as papers, woods, plastics, clay and metals.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 3: Select tools
that are suitable to particular tasks and materials, and use them safely and effectively.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 4: Understand
and use a variety of methods to join or fasten materials.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 5: Identify the
intended purpose and use of structures to be built, and explain how knowing the
intended purpose and use helps guide decisions regarding materials and design.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 6: Understand
that simple designs are often as effective as more complex ones, as well as being
easier and cheaper to build, and illustrate this understanding with a practical example.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 7: Recognize
the importance of good workmanship, and demonstrate growth toward good
workmanship.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 8: Maintain
and store materials and tools safely and properly.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 9: Apply skills
of listening, speaking and cooperative decision making in working with other students
on a construction project.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 1: Recognize that
functional structures must be sufficiently strong and stable and that unstable or weak
structures are often unsafe to use.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 2: Compare and
evaluate the strength and stability of different models or objects constructed.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 3: Describe the
distinctive properties of some common solids, such as wood, paper or plastic, that
make them suitable for use as building materials.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 4: Apply procedures
to test the strength of construction materials, in particular, different stocks of papers,
plastics or wood.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 5: Apply procedures
to test different designs.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 6: Apply procedures
to test the strength of different methods of joining.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 7: Identify and apply
methods for making a structure stronger and more stable; e.g., by adding or joining
parts to form triangles.
UNIT PLAN 6
Skills & Attitudes Scientific Process Outcomes:
o Grade 3 Skills- Science Inquiry General Learner Expectation-3-1: Investigate the
nature of things, demonstrating purposeful action that leads to observations and
inferences.
o Grade 3 Skills- Science Inquiry General Learner Expectation-3-2: Identify
patterns and order in objects and events studied; and, with guidance, record
observations, using pictures, words and charts; and make predictions and
generalizations, based on observations.
Specific Learner Expectation-Focus: Identify one or more possible answers
to questions by stating predictions or hypotheses.
Specific Learner Expectation-Explore & Investigate: Engage in all parts of
the task and support the efforts of others.
Specific Learner Expectation-Explore & Investigate: Record observations
and measurements, using captioned pictures and charts, with guidance in the
construction of charts.
o Grade 3 Skills- Problem Solving through Technology General Learner
Expectation- 3-3: Investigate a practical problem, and develop a possible solution.
Specific Learner Expectation-Explore & Investigate: Attempt a variety of
strategies to complete tasks.
Specific Learner Expectation-Explore & Investigate: Identify materials
and how they are used.
Specific Learner Expectation-Explore & Investigate: Work independently
or with others to carry out the identified procedures.
Specific Learner Expectation-Reflect & Interpret: Identify applications of
what was learned.
Specific Learner Expectation- Reflect & Interpret: Record observations
and measurements, using captioned pictures and charts, with guidance in the
construction of charts.
o Grade 3 Attitudes General Learner Expectations-3-4: Demonstrate positive
attitudes for the study of science and for the application of science in responsible
ways.
Students will show growth in acquiring and applying the following traits:
Curiosity
Confidence in personal ability to explore materials and learn by direct
study
Inventiveness and willingness to consider new ideas
Perseverance in the search for understandings and for solutions to
problems
A willingness to base their conclusions and actions on the evidence of
their own experiences.
UNIT PLAN 7
Overview of Unit Cross-Curricular Outcomes
Mathematics Outcomes:
o Specific Learner Expectation #6- Number Sense- Describe and apply mental
mathematics strategies for adding two 2-digit numerals.
[C, CN, ME, PS, R, V]
o Specific Learner Expectation #7- Number Sense- Describe and apply mental
mathematics strategies for subtracting two 2-digit numerals.
[C, CN, ME, PS, R, V]
o Specific Learner Expectation #8- Number Sense- Apply estimation strategies to
predict sums and differences of two 2-digit numerals in a problem-solving context.
[C, ME, PS, R]
o Specific Learner Expectation #9- Number Sense- Demonstrate an understanding of
addition and subtraction of numbers with answers to 1000 (limited to 1-, 2- and 3-
digit numerals), concretely, pictorially and symbolically, by:
Using personal strategies for adding and subtracting with and without the
support of manipulatives
Creating and solving problems in context that involve addition and subtraction
of numbers.
[C, CN, ME, PS, R, V]
o Specific Learner Expectation #10- Number Sense- Apply mental mathematics
strategies and number properties in order to understand and recall basic addition facts
and related subtraction facts to 18.
[C, CN, ME, PS, R, V]
o Specific Learner Expectation #11- Number Sense- Demonstrate an understanding
of multiplication to 5 ×5 by:
Representing and explaining multiplication using equal grouping and arrays
Creating and solving problems in context that involve multiplication
Modelling multiplication using concrete and visual representations, and
Recording the process symbolically
Relating multiplication to repeated addition
Relating multiplication to division.
[C, CN, PS, R]
o Specific Learner Expectation #12- Number Sense- Demonstrate an understanding
of division (limited to division related to multiplication facts up to 5 ×5) by:
Representing and explaining division using equal sharing and equal grouping.
Creating and solving problems in context that involve equal sharing and equal
grouping.
Modelling equal sharing and equal grouping using concrete and visual
representations, and recording the process symbolically.
Relating division to repeated subtraction.
Relating division to multiplication.
[C, CN, PS, R]
o Specific Learner Expectation #3- Patterns and Relations-Patterns: Sort objects or
numbers, using one or more than one attribute.
[C, CN, R, V]
UNIT PLAN 8
o Specific Learner Expectation #3- Shape and Space- Measurement: Demonstrate
an understanding of measuring length (cm, m) by:
Selecting and justifying referents for the units cm and m
Modelling and describing the relationship between the units cm and m
Estimating length, using referents
Measuring and recording length, width and height.
[C, CN, ME, PS, R, V]
o Specific Learner Expectation #5- Shape and Space- Measurement: Demonstrate
an understanding of perimeter of regular and irregular shapes by:
Estimating perimeter, using referents for cm or m
Measuring and recording perimeter (cm, m)
Constructing different shapes for a given perimeter (cm, m) to demonstrate
that many shapes are possible for a perimeter.
[C, ME, PS, R, V]
o Specific Learner Expectation #6- Shape and Space- 3-D Objects and 2-D Shapes:
Describe 3-D objects according to the shape of the faces and the number of edges and
vertices.
[C, CN, PS, R, V]
English Language Arts Outcomes:
o Specific Outcome- 1.1- Discover and Explore- Express Ideas and Develop
Understanding: Connect prior knowledge and personal experiences with new ideas
and information in oral, print and other media texts.
o Specific Outcome- 1.1- Discover and Explore- Express Ideas and Develop
Understanding: Explain understanding of new concepts in own words.
o Specific Outcome- 1.2- Clarify and Extend- Consider Others’ Ideas: Ask for
others’ ideas and observations to explore and clarify personal understanding.
o Specific Outcome- 5.1-Respect Others and Strengthen Community-Use
Language to Show Respect: Demonstrate respect for the ideas, abilities and
language use of others.
Music Outcomes:
o Specific Learner Expectation- Concepts- Rhythm Outcome 1: Music may move to
a steady beat.
o Specific Learner Expectation- Concepts- Melody Outcome 4: A melody is made
up of sounds organized in patterns.
Overview of Ministerial Order Cross-Curricular Competencies
Engaged Thinker:
o Numeracy.
o Know How to Learn.
o Identify and Apply Career and Life Skills.
o Demonstrated Good Communication Skills and the Ability to Work Cooperatively
with Others.
UNIT PLAN 9
Ethical Citizen:
o Literacy.
o Think Critically.
o Identify and Solve Complex Problems.
o Manage Information.
Entrepreneurial Spirit:
o Create Opportunities.
o Innovate.
o Apply Multiple Literacies.
o Demonstrate Global and Cultural Understanding.
Resources and Materials
Resource Books/Videos List/Digital Materials List:
Alberta Regional Consortia. (2016). Learning through competencies. Retrieved from
http://erlc.ca/resources/resources/cross_curricular_competencies_overview/
Bainbridge, J., & Heydon, R. (2013). Constructing meaning: Teaching the language arts K-8
fifth edition. Toronto, ON: Nelson Education.
Black, P & William, D. (1998). Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom
assessment. Phi Delta Kappan 30(1), 139-148.
Destination Imagination. (2016). Why destination imagination? Retrieved from
https://www.destinationimagination.org/why-di/
Edmunds, A., & Edmunds, G. (2014). Special education in Canada second edition. Don
Mills, ON: Oxford University Press Canada.
Engineering for Kids. (2016). Why is STEM education so important? Retrieved from
http://engineeringforkids.com/article/02-02-2016_importanceofstem
Garmston, R. & Wellman, B. (2014). Adaptive schools learning guide. Highlands Ranch,
CO: Thinking Collaborative.
Government of Alberta. (2013). Department of education ministerial order (#001/2013).
Retrieved from https://education.alberta.ca/media/6950988/mostudentlearning.pdf
Inspiring Education Steering Committee. (2010). Inspiring Education: A dialogue with
Albertans. Retrieved from
https://ideas.education.alberta.ca/media/14847/inspiring%20education%20steering%20comm
ittee%20report.pdf
Kagan, S. and Kagan, M. (1998). Multiple intelligences: The complete MI book. San
Clemente, CA: Kagan.
Small, M. (2013). Making math meaningful to Canadian students, K-8 second edition.
Toronto, ON: Nelson Education.
Stiggins, R. J. & Chappuis, J. (2012). An introduction to student-involved assessment for
learning sixth edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.
Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design. Association for Supervision
and Curriculum Development (ASCD): Alexandria, VA.
“NASA for Kids Introduction to Engineering” YouTube Video (Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE-z_TJyziI)
UNIT PLAN 10
“Facts on the Leaning Tower of Pisa [Told by Kids] YouTube Video (Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QymrWaq4OQQ)
“Building Materials” Song (Link: (YouTube Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOKr462HLc0&list=PLyHPBb1mXkQSq7_jXAjxUUFr
j00xvDP9P)
“Understanding Characteristics of Building Materials” Game (Game Link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/characteristics_materials.shtml).
Complete Materials/Manipulatives List (see lesson descriptions for specific
materials/manipulatives for each lesson for more detail):
Lesson #1: SMART Board, “NASA for Kids Introduction to Engineering” Video (see
YouTube Video link in lesson plan), Paper, Newspaper, Tape, & Individual “Student
Engineering” Booklets (1 per student).
Lesson #2: SMART Board, “NASA for Kids Introduction to Engineering” Video (see
YouTube Video link below), Paper, Newspaper, Straws, Toilet Paper Rolls, Tape, &
Individual “Student Engineering” Booklets (1 per student).
Lesson #3: SMART Board, “NASA for Kids Introduction to Engineering” Video (see
YouTube Video link below), Paper, Newspaper, Straws, Toilet Paper Rolls, Tape, &
Individual “Student Engineering” Booklets (1 per student).
Lesson #4: SMART Board, “Building Materials” YouTube Video (see link in lesson plan),
and “Understanding the Characteristics of Building Materials” Game (see link in lesson
plan).
Lesson #5: SMART Board, Rubber Bands, Tin Foil, Paper, Erasers, Shiny Rocks, Q-tips,
Cotton Balls, Dimes, Wood, & Individual “Student Engineering” Booklets (1 per student).
Lesson #6: SMART Board, The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall (1989), Popsicle Sticks,
Pipe Cleaners, Glue Sticks, Foam, Tin Foil, Newspaper, Straws, Toilet Paper Rolls, Tape, &
Individual “Big Bad Blow Dryer Booklets” (1 per student).
Lesson #7: SMART Board, The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall (1989), Popsicle Sticks,
Pipe Cleaners, Glue Sticks, Foam, Tin Foil, Newspaper, Straws, Toilet Paper Rolls, Tape, &
Individual “Big Bad Blow Dryer Booklets” (1 per student).
Differentiated Instruction
All students’ needs will be met by this unit because they will be able to collaborate with
their new classmates in a safe and caring learning environment. In order for all students to be
successful at learning the concepts/outcomes being taught in this unit, the students need to know
they can actively construct and share knowledge with their classmates through inquiry in order to
build scientific, mathematical, and other curriculum areas understandings. Each of the lessons
within this unit was designed to allow for students to use multiple ways/strategies to express
UNIT PLAN 11
their scientific understanding of various concepts. Many of the lessons also contain elements of
partner and small group work that will allow the students to engage in the common goal of
learning about our senses through scientific inquiry. Through the various tasks/problems posed
in this unit, students will use a wide variety of ways of communicating understandings (including
making visual and oral observations, documenting learning through pictures and words, and
working with and manipulating physical hands-on materials). As a result of the open-endedness
of the learning strategies for scientific inquiry that students can use in this unit, each and every
student should have the opportunity to experience some sort of scientific learning success
regardless of their individual learning needs and abilities.
Brief List of Different Unit Assessments and Evaluations
Minor Assessments/Formative Assessments/Daily Class Work:
Various ongoing activities and mini-assignments in “Student Engineering Reflective
Log/Booklet” (see each day of detailed unit plan below for specific details).
o The teacher will provide verbal feedback to students after analyzing a page in the
reflective log (see Appendix A in this document for greater detail about the pages) in
order to celebrate the “process of learning” rather than “the product of learning”.
o Teacher observation will be used throughout each lesson to identify students who
may need greater support.
o Open-ended questioning strategies using Bloom’s Taxonomy in order to ensure
that each student is developing higher order thinking skills.
Throughout every lesson students will be encouraged to self-monitor/reflect upon their own
learning and ask for help when they are confused on a concept.
Informal observations of students’ work collaboratively and individually on a wide variety
of tasks will occur throughout every lesson.
Final Summative Engineering Challenge: The 4th Little Piggy and the Big Bad Blow Dryer
Project:
The final summative engineering challenge is the culmination of all of the outcomes
students are expected to demonstrate mastery/competency in by the end of the unit.
The final summative engineering challenge will be assessed using a rubric written in
student-friendly language (please see Appendix B for a copy of the rubric).
o This assessment is unique because it not only allows the teacher to see each
individual student’s attainment of scientific outcomes from the unit, but it also
allows each student to self-monitor/self-reflect on his or her own learning.
UNIT PLAN 12
Weighting of Assessments and Evaluations:
70% for “Student Engineering Reflective Log”/Formative Daily Class Work.
30% for Final Summative Engineering Challenge: The 4th Little Piggy and the Big Bad Blow
Dryer Project.
Calendar for Sequencing of Unit:
*Please Note: The sequencing for the unit has been planned keeping in mind Alberta
Education’s 2016 Guide to Education which recommends that roughly 1 ½ hours per week be
spent on Science Instruction. I have chosen to dedicate between two-three time blocks per
week for Science Instruction in my Grade 3 Practicum Classroom with a time duration of at least
50 minutes (unless otherwise noted).
Unit Week
Number
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Week 1
(Apr. 4-8,
2016)
Apr. 5-
Lesson #1: Introduction to
Engineering &
Building
Towers Day 1
(90 minutes)
Apr. 6-
Lesson #2:
Building
Towers Day 2
(50 minutes)
Apr. 7-
Lesson #3: Using
S.T.E.M. to
Make Our
Towers
Stronger Day 3
(50 minutes)
Week 2 (Apr.
11-15, 2016)
Apr. 12-
Lesson #4: Understanding
Engineering:
Characteristics
of Building
Materials (50
minutes)
Apr. 13-
Lesson #5:
Understanding
Engineering:
Exploring
Building
Materials (50
minutes)
Week 3 (Apr.
18-22, 2016)
Apr. 20-
Lesson #6:
The Parts of a
House/The
Fourth Little
Piggy & the
Big Bad Blow
Dryer Day 1
(50 minutes)
Apr. 21-
Lesson #7:
The Parts of a
House/The
Fourth Little
Piggy & the
Big Bad Blow
Dryer Day 2
(50 minutes)
UNIT PLAN 13
Lesson #1: Introduction to Engineering & Building Towers Day 1- Tuesday, April 5, 2016- 90
Minutes
Lesson Understandings:
Unit Overall Big Idea: No matter where you live in the world – everything is made from different
materials. It is important for students to recognize and appreciate how different materials are used
in building and construction tasks.
Supporting Idea of Learning Segment: An engineer is someone who designs and builds
structures, products, or machines.
Segment Main Focusing Inquiry Question: How can we use the five steps of the engineering
process to help us make decisions when participating in building tasks?
I Can Statements:
o I can safely use a variety of tools and methods in building activities.
o I can use many materials and designs to build structures.
o I can compare different materials and designs.
o I can investigate different materials and designs for their use in a building task.
Science Outcomes of Lesson:
Scientific Understandings General Learner Expectations:
o Grade 3 Building with a Variety of Materials General Learner Expectation-3-6: Use,
safely, a variety of tools, techniques, and materials in construction activities.
o Grade 3 Building with a Variety of Materials General Learner Expectation-3-7:
Construct structures, using a variety of materials and designs, and compare the
effectiveness of the various materials and designs for their intended purposes.
o Grade 3 Testing Materials & Designs General Learner Expectation-3-8: Evaluate the
suitability of different materials and designs for their use in a building task.
Scientific Understandings Specific Learner Expectations:
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 1: Using a variety
of materials and techniques, design, construct and test structures that are intended to:
Support objects.
Serve as models of particular living things, objects or buildings.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 5: Identify the
intended purpose and use of structures to be built, and explain how knowing the intended
purpose and use helps guide decisions regarding materials and design.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 9: Apply skills of
listening, speaking and cooperative decision making in working with other students on a
construction project.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 1: Recognize that
functional structures must be sufficiently strong and stable and that unstable or weak
structures are often unsafe to use.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 5: Apply procedures to
test different designs.
Skills & Attitudes Scientific Process Outcomes:
o Grade 3 Skills- Science Inquiry General Learner Expectation-3-1: Investigate the
nature of things, demonstrating purposeful action that leads to observations and inferences.
o Grade 3 Skills- Problem Solving through Technology General Learner Expectation-
3-3: Investigate a practical problem, and develop a possible solution.
UNIT PLAN 14
Specific Learner Expectation-Explore & Investigate: Attempt a variety of
strategies to complete tasks.
Specific Learner Expectation-Explore & Investigate: Identify materials and
how they are used.
Specific Learner Expectation-Explore & Investigate: Work independently or
with others to carry out the identified procedures.
Specific Learner Expectation-Reflect & Interpret: Identify applications of what
was learned.
o Grade 3 Attitudes General Learner Expectations-3-4: Demonstrate positive attitudes
for the study of science and for the application of science in responsible ways.
Students will show growth in acquiring and applying the following traits:
Curiosity
Confidence in personal ability to explore materials and learn by direct
study
Inventiveness and willingness to consider new ideas
Perseverance in the search for understandings and for solutions to
problems
A willingness to base their conclusions and actions on the evidence of
their own experiences.
Cross-Curricular Outcomes of Lesson:
English Language Arts Outcomes:
o Specific Outcome- 1.1- Discover and Explore- Express Ideas and Develop
Understanding: Connect prior knowledge and personal experiences with new ideas and
information in oral, print and other media texts.
Ministerial Order Cross-Curricular Competencies (CCCs):
Engaged Thinker: Know How to Learn, & Identify and Apply Career and Life Skills
Ethical Citizen: Literacy, Think Critically, & Identify and Solve Complex Problems.
Entrepreneurial Spirit: Create Opportunities, Innovate, & Apply Multiple Literacies.
Supporting Learner Growth:
Collaborative Engagement Strategies:
o Instructional Intelligences: Think-Pair-Share, Bloom’s Taxonomy, and Wait Time.
o Kagan Strategy: Think-Pair-Share.
Differentiation in Instruction:
o Opportunities for Student Choice: The students will have the opportunity to work with a
partner during this lesson to construct the tallest tower that they possibly can. Each partnership
will have the complete freedom to choose how they would like to build their tower. However,
each partnership’s tower must stand on its own for 1 minute without anyone holding & the
tower can only be made out of paper, newspaper, and tape.
o Multiple Intelligences: Naturalistic-Scientific, Logical-Mathematical, Verbal-Linguistic,
Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Visual-Spatial.
o Bloom’s Taxonomy Levels:
Evaluation Level Questioning: Can you describe to a partner what you think
engineering is?
Analysis Level Questioning: Can you hypothesize what types of work engineers
do as part of their jobs?
UNIT PLAN 15
Materials/Resources Required: SMART Board, “NASA for Kids Introduction to Engineering” Video
(see YouTube Video link below), Paper, Newspaper, Tape, & Individual “Student Engineering”
Booklets (1 per student).
Teacher/Student Lesson Activities:
Anticipatory Set:
o NASA Introduction to Engineering Video (5 Minutes): The students will begin by
completing a Think-Pair-Share with a partner to discuss what the question, “what is
engineering?” The students will also discuss another question, “what do engineers do?” Then,
the students will watch the “NASA for Kids Introduction to Engineering” YouTube Video
(Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE-z_TJyziI) in order to find out about engineering
and the type(s) of work/jobs that engineers do.
o Naming Our Engineering Company (10 Minutes): Next, the teacher will explain to the
students that some engineers work for companies that pay them to build different products or
structures. We are going to become our very own engineering company! What should we name
our company? The class will vote on what to name our engineering company. The teacher will
also use this time to go over a few rules for our engineering company. These rules are intended
to make the science classroom a productive learning environment as well as to simulate some
of the rules engineers are expected to follow in the real world.
Practice/Development:
o The Engineering Process (10 Minutes): The teacher will explain that no engineer can just
begin building things. If they did, they would most likely fail and not be successful. All
engineers use the engineering process. The engineer process is as follows:
Identify a scientific problem or question.
Make a plan.
Design a solution and test it.
Reflect and rebuild.
Share it with the world.
o Introduction to Towers (10 Minutes): After explaining the engineer process, the teacher will
introduce the students to one type of structures that engineers design, towers. The teacher will
explain that a tower is a tall, narrow building that stands on its own or is part of another
building such as a church. The teacher will then show the students a few pictures of towers to
help the students learn that towers have one or more of the following three purposes:
Looking out for danger.
Sightseeing/tourism.
To take up less space in crowded cities.
o Creating a Tower from Paper Engineering Challenge #1 (45 Minutes): The following
prompt will be used to set the project-based learning activity context for this lesson:
Have you ever wondered if you could build a tower from paper? Well today is the
day you’ll find out! Your challenge is to use only paper, newspaper, and tape to
create the tallest tower that you possibly can. But there’s a catch . . . your tower
must be able to stand up on its own for 1 minute without anyone holding it. Work
with a partner for this challenge. You have 45 minutes for the challenge. Make a
plan for your tower before you begin building. Test the strength of your tower
prototype. Reflect and rebuild your tower if you still have time. Be prepared to
discuss by the end of your work time what worked well and what did not.
UNIT PLAN 16
Closure/Reflection:
o Class Oral Reflection on Paper Tower Building Challenge (10 Minutes): Finally, the
lesson will close with the class briefly discussing what worked well & what did not when they
were building their towers. As many students as possible will be given the opportunity to share
their thoughts and experiences from the challenge with the class.
Steps for Future Learner Growth:
Modifications: Students who struggle with ideas for how to build their tower could be encouraged
to take a ghost walk around the room to others groups of students in order to see how their
classmates are building their towers.
Extensions: Students who finish early can be challenged to undertake deep reflection by using
their observations from the challenge to write about what they would do differently next time in
order to make their tower taller and/or stronger
Formative Assessment to Guide Learning:
An informal teacher observation will occur during the paper tower building challenge in order to
formatively assess the students’ abilities to apply their own procedures to test different designs as
well as to work cooperatively with a partner on a construction project.
Teacher analysis of each student’s “Engineering Challenge #1: Creating a Tower from
Paper” Page to check that all students have used the engineering process in order to engage in
active planning before building and active self-reflection during building. The planning and self-
reflection stages of the challenge help the students to learn about using the scientific process in
inquiry investigations.
Notes and Revisions for Future Teaching Use:
UNIT PLAN 17
Lessons #2 & 3: Building Towers Days 2 & 3- Wednesday, April 6, 2016 & Thursday, April 7, 2016-
50 Minutes Each Day
Lesson Understandings:
Unit Overall Big Idea: No matter where you live in the world – everything is made from different
materials. It is important for students to recognize and appreciate how different materials are used
in building and construction tasks.
Supporting Idea of Learning Segment: An engineer is someone who designs and builds
structures, products, or machines.
Segment Main Focusing Inquiry Question: How can we use the five steps of the engineering
process to help us make decisions when participating in building tasks?
I Can Statements:
o I can safely use a variety of tools and methods in building activities.
o I can use many materials and designs to build structures.
o I can compare different materials and designs.
o I can investigate different materials and designs for their use in a building task.
Science Outcomes of Lesson:
Scientific Understandings General Learner Expectations:
o Grade 3 Building with a Variety of Materials General Learner Expectation-3-6: Use,
safely, a variety of tools, techniques, and materials in construction activities.
o Grade 3 Building with a Variety of Materials General Learner Expectation-3-7:
Construct structures, using a variety of materials and designs, and compare the
effectiveness of the various materials and designs for their intended purposes.
o Grade 3 Testing Materials & Designs General Learner Expectation-3-8: Evaluate the
suitability of different materials and designs for their use in a building task.
Scientific Understandings Specific Learner Expectations:
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 1: Using a variety
of materials and techniques, design, construct and test structures that are intended to:
Support objects.
Serve as models of particular living things, objects or buildings.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 5: Identify the
intended purpose and use of structures to be built, and explain how knowing the intended
purpose and use helps guide decisions regarding materials and design.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 6: Understand that
simple designs are often as effective as more complex ones, as well as being easier and
cheaper to build, and illustrate this understanding with a practical example.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 7: Recognize the
importance of good workmanship, and demonstrate growth toward good workmanship.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 1: Recognize that
functional structures must be sufficiently strong and stable and that unstable or weak
structures are often unsafe to use.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 2: Compare and evaluate
the strength and stability of different models or objects constructed.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 5: Apply procedures to
test different designs.
UNIT PLAN 18
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 7: Identify and apply
methods for making a structure stronger and more stable; e.g., by adding or joining parts to
form triangles.
Skills & Attitudes Scientific Process Outcomes:
o Grade 3 Skills- Science Inquiry General Learner Expectation-3-1: Investigate the
nature of things, demonstrating purposeful action that leads to observations and inferences.
o Grade 3 Skills- Problem Solving through Technology General Learner Expectation-
3-3: Investigate a practical problem, and develop a possible solution.
Specific Learner Expectation-Focus: Ask questions that lead to exploration &
investigation.
Specific Learner Expectation-Explore & Investigate: Engage in all parts of the
task and support the efforts of others.
o Grade 3 Attitudes General Learner Expectation-3-4: Demonstrate positive attitudes for
the study of science and for the application of science in responsible ways.
Students will show growth in acquiring and applying the following traits:
Curiosity
Confidence in personal ability to explore materials and learn by direct
study
Inventiveness and willingness to consider new ideas
Perseverance in the search for understandings and for solutions to
problems
A willingness to base their conclusions and actions on the evidence of
their own experiences.
Cross-Curricular Outcomes of Lesson:
English Language Arts Outcomes:
o Specific Outcome- 1.2- Clarify and Extend- Consider Others’ Ideas: Ask for others’
ideas and observations to explore and clarify personal understanding.
Ministerial Order Cross-Curricular Competencies (CCCs):
Engaged Thinker: Numeracy, Know How to Learn, & Identify and Apply Career and Life Skills
Ethical Citizen: Literacy, Think Critically, & Manage Information.
Entrepreneurial Spirit: Create Opportunities, Innovate, & Demonstrate Global and Cultural
Understanding.
Supporting Learner Growth:
Collaborative Engagement Strategies:
o Instructional Intelligences: Gallery Walk, Bloom’s Taxonomy, and Wait Time.
o Kagan Strategy: RoundRobin.
Differentiation in Instruction:
o Opportunities for Student Choice: The students will have the opportunity to work with a
partner during this lesson to construct the tallest tower that they possibly can. Each partnership
will have the complete freedom to choose how they would like to build their tower. However,
each partnership’s tower must stand on its own for 1 minute without anyone holding & the
tower can only be made out of paper, newspaper, and tape.
o Multiple Intelligences: Naturalistic-Scientific, Verbal-Linguistic, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal,
Bodily-Kinesthetic, and Visual-Spatial.
UNIT PLAN 19
o Bloom’s Taxonomy Levels:
Evaluation Level Questioning: Can you explain why it is important for towers to
have a strong and stable base?
Analysis Level Questioning: Can you describe what looks similar in the pictures
of the towers on the SMART Board?
Materials/Resources Required: SMART Board, “NASA for Kids Introduction to Engineering” Video
(see YouTube Video link below), Paper, Newspaper, Straws, Toilet Paper Rolls, Tape, & Individual
“Student Engineering” Booklets (1 per student).
Teacher/Student Lesson Activities:
Day 1 (Wednesday, April 6, 2016):
Anticipatory Set:
o What Do Engineers Do to Make Towers Strong? (5-7 Minutes): The teacher will begin by
telling the students that as we view a few of the most famous towers in Canada and the world,
look closely at them. Is there anything that is the same about these towers? The students will
then view several pictures of famous towers in Canada and the world. The teacher will tell the
students a few pieces of interesting information about each of the towers.
o What Do Most Towers Have in Common? (5 Minutes): Next, the students will look at the
shadow silhouettes of 10 towers. The teacher will ask the students to look at the shadows of
these towers and think about what they all have in common with each other? The class will
then use the RoundRobin collaborative learning strategy in order to brainstorm as a class
some ideas about what all these towers have in common. By the end of this brainstorming
session, the class will have generated several ideas. The one big idea that must be mentioned if
no student mentions it is that all these towers have wide bases and skinny tops. Then the class
will briefly consider why most towers have wide bases and skinny tops?
Practice/Development:
o Mini Science Experiment (5 Minutes): The teacher will ask each student to pull out a pencil.
The students will then try to balance the pencil on its eraser end. The students will be asked to
briefly discuss as a class what they noticed when they tried to balance their pencil? The
students will also be asked if they think the size of their pencil and the size of the eraser end
matters.
o The Secrets Behind How Engineers Build Towers (3 Minutes): The students will then be
told that when engineers design towers they have to keep three important considerations in
mind. These three considerations are:
Firm Base.
Distance Around.
Materials Used.
o Engineers Are Not Perfect . . . The Leaning Tower of Pisa Shows Us Why (5-7 Minutes): Sometimes engineers can get it very very wrong. The students will view the YouTube video
below in order to see what happens when engineers make mistakes. This will help the students
to apply their new understanding of the important considerations that engineers must keep in
mind when they are building towers:
“Facts on the Leaning Tower of Pisa [Told by Kids] YouTube Video (Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QymrWaq4OQQ).
UNIT PLAN 20
o Brainstorming About Yesterday’s Towers (3 Minutes): The students will be asked to
discuss get back together with their partner from yesterday and discuss some things that they
think could be done to make their towers stronger and/or make them stay in place.
o Creating a Tower from House & Classroom Materials Engineering Challenge #2 (50
Minutes): The following prompt will be used to set the project-based learning activity context
for this lesson. The students will have 15 minutes to start working on this challenge today
(Wednesday) & will continue working on this project-based learning activity for 35 minutes
during the next lesson tomorrow (Thursday):
Now that you know about what makes towers strong and stable, try this next
challenge! Your challenge is to use only the materials in your Ziploc bag (paper,
newspaper, straws, toilet paper rolls, and tape) to create the tallest tower that you
possibly can/ But there’s a catch . . . your tower must be able to stand up on its
own for as long as possible without anyone holding it. Work with a partner for this
challenge. You have 50 minutes for the challenge. Make a plan for your tower
before you begin building. Test the strength of your tower prototype. Reflect and
rebuild your tower if you still have time. Be prepared to discuss by the end of your
work time what worked well and what did not.
Closure/Reflection (*Note: This section of the lesson’s activities will occur for the last 15
minutes of Thursday’s class after the above tower building challenge is complete:
o Share Your Tower (5 Minutes): The final step of the engineering process is always for
engineers to share their work. The students will be asked to take 5 minutes to do a Gallery
Walk and look at the towers the rest of our class created. Remember don’t touch anyone else’s
work other than your own.
o Use Your Engineer Brain (5 Minutes): The students will be asked to consider what they
think would happen if we had taken the towers outside into the playground? Can you think of
anything that might have kept our towers from standing up very well? How might you solve
this problem if you were an engineer?
o Final Towers Engineering Question (5 Minutes): The class will be asked to look at a picture
of an electrical tower on the SMART Board. The students will be asked to consider based on
what they now know about towers, do you believe this tower would be stable or fall down if
there was a lot of wind? Explain your thinking to a partner.
Steps for Future Learner Growth:
Modifications: Students who struggle with ideas for how to build their tower could be encouraged
to take a quick ghost walk around the room to others groups of students in order to see how their
classmates are building their towers.
Extensions: Students who finish early can be challenged to undertake deep reflection by using
their observations from the challenge to write about what they would do differently next time in
order to make their tower taller and/or stronger
Formative Assessment to Guide Learning:
An informal teacher observation will occur during the paper tower building challenge in order to
formatively assess the students’ abilities to apply their own procedures to test different designs as
well as to work cooperatively with a partner on a construction project. The students will apply and
incorporate the knowledge that they have learned about the how engineers build towers during this
lesson into the construction of their own towers.
Teacher analysis of each student’s “Engineering Challenge #2: Creating a Tower from
Household & Classroom Materials” Page to check that all students have used the engineering
process in order to engage in active planning before building and active self-reflection during
UNIT PLAN 21
building. The planning and self-reflection stages of the challenge help the students to learn about
using the scientific process in inquiry investigations.
Notes and Revisions for Future Teaching Use:
UNIT PLAN 22
Lessons #4: Understanding Engineering: Characteristics of Building Materials- Tuesday, April 12,
2016- 50 Minutes
Lesson Understandings:
Unit Overall Big Idea: No matter where you live in the world – everything is made from different
materials. It is important for students to recognize and appreciate how different materials are used
in building and construction tasks.
Supporting Idea of Learning Segment: An engineer is someone who designs and builds
structures, products, or machines.
Segment Main Focusing Inquiry Question: How can we use the five steps of the engineering
process to help us make decisions when participating in building tasks?
I Can Statements:
o I can safely use a variety of tools and methods in building activities.
o I can compare different materials and designs.
Science Outcomes of Lesson:
Scientific Understandings General Learner Expectations:
o Grade 3 Building with a Variety of Materials General Learner Expectation-3-6: Use,
safely, a variety of tools, techniques, and materials in construction activities.
o Grade 3 Building with a Variety of Materials General Learner Expectation-3-7:
Construct structures, using a variety of materials and designs, and compare the
effectiveness of the various materials and designs for their intended purposes.
o Grade 3 Testing Materials & Designs General Learner Expectation-3-8: Evaluate the
suitability of different materials and designs for their use in a building task.
Scientific Understandings Specific Learner Expectations:
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 2: Select
appropriate materials for use in construction tasks, and explain the choice of materials.
Students should demonstrate familiarity with a variety of materials, such as papers, woods,
plastics, clay and metals.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 3: Describe the distinctive
properties of some common solids, such as wood, paper or plastic, that make them suitable
for use as building materials.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 4: Apply procedures to
test the strength of construction materials, in particular, different stocks of papers, plastics
or wood.
Skills & Attitudes Scientific Process Outcomes:
o Grade 3 Skills- Science Inquiry General Learner Expectation-3-1: Investigate the
nature of things, demonstrating purposeful action that leads to observations and inferences.
o Grade 3 Skills- Problem Solving through Technology General Learner Expectation-
3-3: Investigate a practical problem, and develop a possible solution.
Specific Learner Expectation- Explore & Investigate: Identify materials and
how they are used.
Specific Learner Expectation- Explore & Investigate: Work independently or
with others to carry out the identified procedures.
Specific Learner Expectation- Reflect & Interpret: Record observations and
measurements, using captioned pictures and charts, with guidance in the
construction of charts.
UNIT PLAN 23
Cross-Curricular Outcomes of Lesson:
English Language Arts Outcomes:
o Specific Outcome- 1.1- Discover and Explore- Express Ideas and Develop
Understanding: Explain understanding of new concepts in own words.
Music Outcomes:
o Specific Learner Expectation- Concepts- Rhythm Outcome 1: Music may move to a
steady beat.
o Specific Learner Expectation- Concepts- Melody Outcome 4: A melody is made up of
sounds organized in patterns.
Ministerial Order Cross-Curricular Competencies (CCCs):
Engaged Thinker: Know How to Learn, & Demonstrated Good Communication Skills and the
Ability to Work Cooperatively with Others.
Ethical Citizen: Literacy, Think Critically, & Manage Information.
Entrepreneurial Spirit: Create Opportunities, Innovate, & Apply Multiple Literacies.
Supporting Learner Growth:
Collaborative Engagement Strategies:
o Instructional Intelligences: Bloom’s Taxonomy, and Wait Time.
Differentiation in Instruction:
o Opportunities for Student Choice: The students will have the opportunity to use their inquiry
investigation skills during the “Mission Materials Scavenger Hunt Challenge” in order to
illustrate an understanding of how you can recognize the different types of materials that make
up everyday objects. The students will engage in a scavenger hunt in the classroom and
classroom hallway in order to identify the different materials that make up these everyday
objects.
o Multiple Intelligences: Naturalistic-Scientific, Verbal-Linguistic, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal,
Musical-Rhythmic, and Visual-Spatial.
o Bloom’s Taxonomy Levels:
Analysis Level Questioning: Can you sort the following materials in front of you
based on their properties?
Materials/Resources Required: SMART Board, “Building Materials” YouTube Video (see link
below), and “Understanding the Characteristics of Building Materials” Game (see link below).
Teacher/Student Lesson Activities:
Anticipatory Set:
o Properties of Building Materials (10 Minutes): All engineers and the people who work with
them such as construction workers need to have a good understanding of the properties of
building materials. What do we mean by properties?
Properties are the qualities that used to describe materials. You learn about these
qualities using your senses.
Examples of properties include: Hard, soft, strong, weak, smooth, rough, magnetic,
and non-magnetic.
UNIT PLAN 24
Practice/Development:
o Words that Describe the Properties of Materials & Objects (10 Minutes): The teacher will
then use child-friendly definitions with pictures to accompany these definition on the SMART
Board to explain some of the terms that are used to describe materials and objects. The students
will be asked to think of examples of objects that might have these properties.
o Understanding Characteristics of Building Materials Song (5 Minutes): The students will
then listen to the “Building Materials” Song that describes many of the properties of building
materials (YouTube Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOKr462HLc0&list=PLyHPBb1mXkQSq7_jXAjxUUFrY
00xvDP9P).
o Understanding Characteristics of Building Materials Game (15 Minutes): As a class, we
will play the “Understanding Characteristics of Building Materials” game on the SMART
Board (Game Link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/characteristics_materials.shtml).
Numerous students will be selected to come up to the SMART Board and lead the class
through examining different materials within the game.
Closure/Reflection:
o Find Materials in Our Classroom (10 Minutes): Each student will use their senses of sight
and touch to find out what materials are used to make one object in the classroom. All students
will then be given the opportunity to share their object and the materials it is made out of with
the class.
Steps for Future Learner Growth:
Modifications: Students who struggle with understanding the characteristics of building materials
can be encouraged to use their sense of sight and touch as much as possible in order to help them
decide what materials an object may be made from.
Extensions: Students who finish early can be challenged to describe either orally or in written
format on a sheet of loose-leaf paper different objects within our world that may be made from
numerous types of materials (e.g. chairs that are made out of metal and plastic).
Formative Assessment to Guide Learning:
An informal teacher observation will occur during the “Find Materials in Our Classroom”
Activity in order to help the teacher understand what background knowledge the students have in
being able to identify the materials that objects are made from.
Notes and Revisions for Future Teaching Use:
UNIT PLAN 25
Lessons #5: Understanding Engineering: Exploring Building Materials- Wednesday, April 13,
2016- 50 Minutes
Lesson Understandings:
Unit Overall Big Idea: No matter where you live in the world – everything is made from different
materials. It is important for students to recognize and appreciate how different materials are used
in building and construction tasks.
Supporting Idea of Learning Segment: An engineer is someone who designs and builds
structures, products, or machines.
Segment Main Focusing Inquiry Question: How can we use the five steps of the engineering
process to help us make decisions when participating in building tasks?
I Can Statements:
o I can safely use a variety of tools and methods in building activities.
o I can compare different materials and designs.
Science Outcomes of Lesson:
Scientific Understandings General Learner Expectations:
o Grade 3 Building with a Variety of Materials General Learner Expectation-3-6: Use,
safely, a variety of tools, techniques, and materials in construction activities.
o Grade 3 Building with a Variety of Materials General Learner Expectation-3-7:
Construct structures, using a variety of materials and designs, and compare the
effectiveness of the various materials and designs for their intended purposes.
o Grade 3 Testing Materials & Designs General Learner Expectation-3-8: Evaluate the
suitability of different materials and designs for their use in a building task.
Scientific Understandings Specific Learner Expectations:
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 2: Select
appropriate materials for use in construction tasks, and explain the choice of materials.
Students should demonstrate familiarity with a variety of materials, such as papers, woods,
plastics, clay and metals.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 3: Describe the distinctive
properties of some common solids, such as wood, paper or plastic, that make them suitable
for use as building materials.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 4: Apply procedures to
test the strength of construction materials, in particular, different stocks of papers, plastics
or wood.
Skills & Attitudes Scientific Process Outcomes:
o Grade 3 Skills- Science Inquiry General Learner Expectation-3-1: Investigate the
nature of things, demonstrating purposeful action that leads to observations and inferences.
o Grade 3 Skills- Problem Solving through Technology General Learner Expectation-
3-3: Investigate a practical problem, and develop a possible solution.
Specific Learner Expectation- Explore & Investigate: Identify materials and
how they are used.
Specific Learner Expectation- Explore & Investigate: Work independently or
with others to carry out the identified procedures.
Specific Learner Expectation- Reflect & Interpret: Record observations and
measurements, using captioned pictures and charts, with guidance in the
construction of charts.
UNIT PLAN 26
Cross-Curricular Outcomes of Lesson:
English Language Arts Outcomes:
o Specific Outcome- 1.1- Discover and Explore- Express Ideas and Develop
Understanding: Explain understanding of new concepts in own words.
Math Outcomes:
o Specific Learner Expectation- Patterns and Relations-Patterns: Sort objects or
numbers, using one or more than one attribute.
[C, CN, R, V]
Ministerial Order Cross-Curricular Competencies (CCCs):
Engaged Thinker: Numeracy, Know How to Learn, & Demonstrated Good Communication Skills
and the Ability to Work Cooperatively with Others.
Ethical Citizen: Literacy, Think Critically, & Manage Information.
Entrepreneurial Spirit: Create Opportunities, & Apply Multiple Literacies.
Supporting Learner Growth:
Collaborative Engagement Strategies:
o Instructional Intelligences: Bloom’s Taxonomy, and Wait Time.
Differentiation in Instruction:
o Opportunities for Student Choice: The students will have the opportunity to use their inquiry
investigation skills during the “Mission Materials Scavenger Hunt Challenge” in order to
illustrate an understanding of how you can recognize the different types of materials that make
up everyday objects. The students will engage in a scavenger hunt in the classroom and
classroom hallway in order to identify the different materials that make up these everyday
objects.
o Multiple Intelligences: Naturalistic-Scientific, Verbal-Linguistic, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal,
Musical-Rhythmic, and Visual-Spatial.
o Bloom’s Taxonomy Levels:
Analysis Level Questioning: Can you sort the following materials in front of you
based on their properties?
Materials/Resources Required: SMART Board, Rubber Bands, Tin Foil, Paper, Erasers, Shiny
Rocks, Q-tips, Cotton Balls, Dimes, Wood, & Individual “Student Engineering” Booklets (1 per
student).
Teacher/Student Lesson Activities:
Anticipatory Set:
o Review Properties of Building Materials (2-3 Minutes): The teacher will begin by briefly
reviewing the learning the students did yesterday about the properties of building materials. All
engineers and the people who work with them such as construction workers need to have a
good understanding of the properties of building materials. What do we mean by properties?
Properties are the qualities that used to describe materials. You learn about these
qualities using your senses.
Examples of properties include: Hard, soft, strong, weak, smooth, rough, magnetic,
and non-magnetic.
UNIT PLAN 27
Practice/Development:
o Review Words that Describe the Properties of Materials & Objects (2-3 Minutes): The
teacher will then review a few child-friendly definitions of the properties of materials on the
SMART Board in order to explain some of the terms that are used to describe materials and
objects. The students will be asked to think of examples of objects that might have these
properties.
o Mini Science Challenge: Sorting Materials (15 Minutes): When engineers are learning
about building materials they often begin by sorting materials based on their properties. The
students will be provided with items such as rubber bands, tin foil, paper, erasers, shiny rocks,
Q-tips, cotton balls, dimes, and wood to investigate during this challenge. The students will be
asked to work with a partner in response to the following prompt:
When engineers are learning about building materials they often begin by sorting
materials based on their properties. Follow the instructions below to practice
sorting materials based on their properties:
Your job is to use the information we have just learned about the properties of
materials to sort the materials in 3 ways:
Shiniest to least shiny.
Most flexible to least flexible.
Most magnetic to least magnetic.
Draw a quick picture or use words to record how you sorted the objects each time
on your “Sorting Building Materials” Sheet.
You have 15 minutes to try to complete this challenge.
o Mission Materials Scavenger Hunt Engineering Challenge #3 (20 Minutes): The following
prompt will be used to set the project-based learning activity context for this lesson. The
students will have 20-25 minutes to complete the challenge:
Materials . . . Materials . . . Materials . . . They are all around us no matter where
we look. Have you ever wondered about the different types of materials in your
school? Your challenge is to find objects in our school that are made out of the
types of materials that engineers use for building. Work with the same partner that
you did for the previous challenge. Go on a scavenger hunt in our classroom and in
the hallway between our classroom and the school office to find objects that are
made out of materials that fit into 1 or more of the categories below: Wood, Metal,
Glass, Plastic, and Paper. But be careful, the engineering company that you work
for has guidelines for your work as you may not go into any other classrooms or go
any further up the hallway or our coat racks for this challenge.
Closure/Reflection:
o Share Your Scavenger Hunt Results (5 Minutes): The final step of our challenge is to share
with each other the different types of objects that we found on our scavenger hunt that were
made out of each material. As a class, the students will discuss objects they found that fit into
each of the categories.
o Understanding Characteristics of Building Materials Game (5 Minutes): As a class, we
will play the “Understanding Characteristics of Building Materials” game on the SMART
Board (Game Link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/characteristics_materials.shtml).
Numerous students will be selected to come up to the SMART Board and lead the class
through examining different materials within the game.
UNIT PLAN 28
Steps for Future Learner Growth:
Modifications: Students who struggle with sorting materials based on their properties may be
provided additional guided support by asking their partner to explain why he or she feels that an
object on the scavenger hunt fits into a certain category.
Extensions: Students who finish early can be challenged to describe either orally or in written
format on a sheet of loose-leaf paper the different objects that they were surprised fit into each
category.
Formative Assessment to Guide Learning:
An informal teacher observation will occur during the Sorting Building Materials Challenge &
the Mission Materials Scavenger Hunt Challenge in order to allow the teacher to formatively
observe each student’s ability to classify different types of materials based on their distinctive
properties.
Teacher analysis of each student’s “Sorting Building Materials Challenge” Page &
“Engineering Challenge #3: Mission Materials Challenge” Page to check that all students have
demonstrated a beginning understanding of being able to recognize and describe the materials that
are used in building based on their distinctive properties.
Notes and Revisions for Future Teaching Use:
UNIT PLAN 29
Lessons #6 & 7: The Parts of a House/The Fourth Little Piggy & the Big Bad Blow Dryer-
Wednesday, April 20, 2016 & Thursday, April 21, 2016- 50 Minutes Each Day
Lesson Understandings:
Unit Overall Big Idea: No matter where you live in the world – everything is made from different
materials. It is important for students to recognize and appreciate how different materials are used
in building and construction tasks.
Supporting Idea of Learning Segment: An engineer is someone who designs and builds
structures, products, or machines.
Segment Main Focusing Inquiry Question: How can we use the five steps of the engineering
process to help us make decisions when participating in building tasks?
I Can Statements:
o I can safely use a variety of tools and methods in building activities.
o I can use many materials and designs to build structures.
o I can compare different materials and designs.
o I can investigate different materials and designs for their use in a building task.
Science Outcomes of Lesson:
Scientific Understandings General Learner Expectations:
o Grade 3 Building with a Variety of Materials General Learner Expectation-3-6: Use,
safely, a variety of tools, techniques, and materials in construction activities.
o Grade 3 Building with a Variety of Materials General Learner Expectation-3-7:
Construct structures, using a variety of materials and designs, and compare the
effectiveness of the various materials and designs for their intended purposes.
o Grade 3 Testing Materials & Designs General Learner Expectation-3-8: Evaluate the
suitability of different materials and designs for their use in a building task.
Scientific Understandings Specific Learner Expectations:
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 1: Using a variety
of materials and techniques, design, construct and test structures that are intended to:
Support objects.
Serve as models of particular living things, objects or buildings.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 2: Select
appropriate materials for use in construction tasks, and explain the choice of materials.
Students should demonstrate familiarity with a variety of materials, such as papers, woods,
plastics, clay and metals.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 3: Select tools that
are suitable to particular tasks and materials, and use them safely and effectively.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 4: Understand and
use a variety of methods to join or fasten materials.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 5: Identify the
intended purpose and use of structures to be built, and explain how knowing the intended
purpose and use helps guide decisions regarding materials and design.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 6: Understand that
simple designs are often as effective as more complex ones, as well as being easier and
cheaper to build, and illustrate this understanding with a practical example.
o Building with a Variety of Materials Specific Learner Expectation 8: Maintain and
store materials and tools safely and properly.
UNIT PLAN 30
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 1: Recognize that
functional structures must be sufficiently strong and stable and that unstable or weak
structures are often unsafe to use.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 2: Compare and evaluate
the strength and stability of different models or objects constructed.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 5: Apply procedures to
test different designs.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 6: Apply procedures to
test the strength of different methods of joining.
o Testing Materials and Designs Specific Learner Expectation 7: Identify and apply
methods for making a structure stronger and more stable; e.g., by adding or joining parts to
form triangles.
Skills & Attitudes Scientific Process Outcomes:
o Grade 3 Skills- Science Inquiry General Learner Expectation-3-1: Investigate the
nature of things, demonstrating purposeful action that leads to observations and inferences.
o Grade 3 Skills- Science Inquiry General Learner Expectation-3-2: Identify patterns
and order in objects and events studied; and, with guidance, record observations, using
pictures, words and charts; and make predictions and generalizations, based on
observations.
Specific Learner Expectation-Focus: Identify one or more possible answers to
questions by stating predictions or hypotheses.
Specific Learner Expectation-Explore & Investigate: Engage in all parts of the
task and support the efforts of others.
Specific Learner Expectation-Explore & Investigate: Record observations and
measurements, using captioned pictures and charts, with guidance in the
construction of charts.
Cross-Curricular Outcomes of Lesson:
English Language Arts Outcomes:
o Specific Outcome- 5.1-Respect Others and Strengthen Community-Use Language to
Show Respect: Demonstrate respect for the ideas, abilities and language use of others.
Ministerial Order Cross-Curricular Competencies (CCCs):
Engaged Thinker: Numeracy, Know How to Learn, Identify and Apply Career and Life Skills, &
Demonstrate Good Communication Skills and the Ability to Work Cooperatively with Others.
Ethical Citizen: Literacy, Think Critically, & Identify and Solve Complex Problems.
Entrepreneurial Spirit: Create Opportunities, Innovate, & Demonstrate Global and Cultural
Understanding.
Supporting Learner Growth:
Collaborative Engagement Strategies:
o Instructional Intelligences: Gallery Walk, Bloom’s Taxonomy, and Wait Time.
o Kagan Strategy: Stand Up, Hand Up, Pair Up.
Differentiation in Instruction:
o Opportunities for Student Choice: The students will have the opportunity to work with a
partner during this series of lessons to construct a house that will stand the wrath of the big bad
blow dryer. Each partnership will have the complete freedom to choose how they would like to
UNIT PLAN 31
build their house. However, each partnership’s house can only be made out the materials
contained in a Ziploc bag.
o Multiple Intelligences: Naturalistic-Scientific, Verbal-Linguistic, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal,
Bodily-Kinesthetic, and Visual-Spatial.
o Bloom’s Taxonomy Levels:
Creation Level Questioning: Can you create a tower that will withstand the
wrath of the big bad blow dryer?
Evaluation Level Questioning: Is it possible for you to judge as you are
beginning to build which materials seem to be the most useful in the construction
of your house?
Evaluation Level Questioning: Can you explain what worked well while you
were building? What didn’t work?
Analysis Level Questioning: Can you describe what you would do differently
next time if you were to do this challenge again?
Materials/Resources Required: SMART Board, The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall (1989),
Popsicle Sticks, Pipe Cleaners, Glue Sticks, Foam, Tin Foil, Newspaper, Straws, Toilet Paper Rolls,
Tape, & Individual “Big Bad Blow Dryer Booklets” (1 per student).
Teacher/Student Lesson Activities:
Lesson #6/Day 1 (Wednesday, April 20, 2016):
Anticipatory Set:
o The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf Read Aloud (10 Minutes): The teacher will
read aloud The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf by James Marshall (1989) to the
students. The students will be asked to use their engineering brain as they listen to the story.
Furthermore, the students will be asked to pay particularly close attention to how the houses
were built and what happened to each of them. Periodically throughout the story, the class will
discuss why each of the houses that the little pigs built were either stable or unstable. The
students will use a Stand Up, Hand Up, Pair Up to discuss why these houses were either
stable or unstable.
Practice/Development:
o Brainstorming/What Makes a House Strong? (7 Minutes): The students will be placed into
small groups of four or five as specified on the SMART Board. Using the large piece of paper
provided to you by your teacher, brainstorm ideas with your group about the following
questions:
What are the different parts of a house?
What makes a house strong so that it won’t collapse?
o Houses . . . Houses . . . What Parts Do They Have? (5-7 Minutes): The students will then be
shown pictures of several houses from different parts of the world. These pictures will allow
the students to realize that not all houses look the same as the one’s Canadians live in. As a
class, we will discuss questions such as:
Why do you think the bases of many houses are made out of concrete?
Why does a roof have a triangle shape?
Why is the straw house leaning even though there is no wind? What could make it
strong?
Does the mud house look more stable than the straw house?
What do you notice on the inside of the mud house? What material does it appear
is being used for support?
UNIT PLAN 32
o The Frame of a House (2-3 Minutes): As we already know, any structure including a house
needs a strong and stable base or foundation. But after the foundation, the frame is the next
most important part of a house’s design. The frame holds the shape of a house together,
preventing the house from falling or getting destroyed. Without a good frame, walls or a roof
won’t matter.
o Engineering Challenge #5: The 4th Little Piggy & the Big Bad Blow Dryer (15-20
Minutes): The following prompt will be used to set the project-based learning activity context
for this lesson. The students will have 15-20 minutes to start working on this challenge today
(Wednesday) & will continue working on this project-based learning activity for 50-55
minutes during the next lesson tomorrow (Thursday):
Since you have learned a little bit about how houses are built, it’s time for your
next challenge! Your challenge is to work with a partner to construct a house that a
4th little piggy could use to withstand the wrath of the BIG BAD BLOW DRYER.
Use a few or all of the materials provided to build 1 house per partnership. The
materials you have available include popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, tape, glue
sticks, newspaper, straws, paper plates, toilet paper rolls, foam, and tin foil. Follow
the steps below to complete today’s work:
Step 1: Begin by using your “Big Bad Materials Brainstorming Sheet” to
list the materials that your partnership believes will help you to build a
strong house.
Step 2: The work together to plan/draw a design (picture for your house).
Make sure that you both draw the design (picture) and that you label what
materials you will use to make each part of your house. Then explain why
your houses will withstand the BIG BAD BLOW DRYER.
Lesson #7/Day 2 (Thursday, April 21, 2016):
o Engineering Challenge #5: The 4th Little Piggy & the Big Bad Blow Dryer (50-55
Minutes): The following prompt will be used to set the project-based learning activity context
for this lesson. The students will continue working on this project-based learning activity for
50-55 minutes during today’s lessons:
Since you have learned a little bit about how houses are built, it’s time for your
next challenge! Your challenge is to work with a partner to construct a house that a
4th little piggy could use to withstand the wrath of the BIG BAD BLOW DRYER.
Use a few or all of the materials provided to build 1 house per partnership. The
materials you have available include popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, tape, glue
sticks, newspaper, straws, paper plates, toilet paper rolls, foam, and tin foil. Follow
the steps below to complete today’s work:
Step 3: Use some or all of the materials in the Ziploc bag to build your
house. Work cooperatively and work fast. Make sure that you leave
yourself at least 5 minutes at the end for testing.
Step 4: Test your house against THE BIG BAD BLOW DRYER! Use
your “My Big, Bad Recording Sheet” to draw what your house looked like
after it faced the wrath of the BIG BAD BLOW DRYER. Circle whether
the blow dryer or you won the challenge!
UNIT PLAN 33
Closure/Reflection (*Note: This section of the lesson’s activities will occur for the last 5-10
minutes of Thursday’s class after the above house building challenge is complete:
o *If time-Final Class Reflective Thoughts (5 Minutes): The class will be asked to take a
moment to think about two reflective questions. Then in a whole class discussion format the
students will orally respond to the following reflective questions:
Can you explain what worked well while you were building? What didn’t work?
If you were to do this challenge again what might you do differently next time?
o Junior Engineers Certificates Ceremony (5 Minutes): To close the unit, the class will
celebrate all that they have accomplished during the unit. The teacher will tell the students that
they should be proud of what you learned about building during our engineering unit! It’s time
for our ceremony where you all become Junior Engineers! All of the students will receive a
personal certificate certifying them as Junior Engineers.
Steps for Future Learner Growth:
Modifications: Students who struggle with ideas for how to build their house could be encouraged
to take a quick ghost walk around the room to others groups of students in order to see how their
classmates are building their houses. Furthermore, during Day #1 of the challenge, the class will
discuss what certain materials might be useful for in the building process.
Extensions: Students who finish early can be challenged to undertake deep reflection by using
their observations from the challenge to write about what they would do differently next time in
order to make their house even stronger to withstand the wrath of the BIG BAD BLOW DRYER.
Formative Assessment to Guide Learning:
An informal teacher observation will occur during the house building challenge in order to
formatively assess the students’ abilities to apply their own procedures to test different designs as
well as to work cooperatively with a partner on a construction project. The students will apply and
incorporate the knowledge that they have learned about the how engineers design plans and then
make prototypes of these plans during the construction of their houses.
Teacher analysis of each student’s “Engineering Challenge #5: The 4th Little Piggy and the
Big Bad Blow Dryer” Booklet in order to check that all students have used the engineering
process in order to engage in active planning before building and active self-reflection during
building. The planning and self-reflection stages of the challenge help the students to learn about
using the scientific process in inquiry investigations.
Notes and Revisions for Future Teaching Use:
UNIT PLAN 34
Appendix A: Student
Engineering Reflective
Log/Booklet
UNIT PLAN 35
Engineering: Building
with a Variety of Materials & Testing
Materials and Designs
Name: _________________________
UNIT PLAN 36
Engineering Challenge #1: Creating a Tower from Paper Your Challenge: To use only paper, newspaper, and tape to create the tallest tower that you possibly can. But there's a catch ... your tower must be able to stand up on its own for 1 minute without anyone holding it!
My Tower Plan
Reflect:
1. What worked well? What didn’t?
2. How could you change your tower next time?
UNIT PLAN 37
Engineering Challenge #2: Creating a Tower from Household and Classroom Materials Challenge
Your Challenge: To use only the materials in your Ziploc bag (paper, newspaper,
straws, toilet paper rolls, and tape) to create the tallest tower that you possibly
can. But there's a catch ... your tower must be able to stand up on its own for as
long as possible without anyone holding it!
My New Tower Plan
Reflect:
1. What did you do differently this time when you were building your tower?
2. How does having a good base help to make your tower stronger?
UNIT PLAN 38
Sorting Building Materials Mini Challenge When engineers are learning about building materials they often begin by sorting materials based on their properties. Your job is to use the information we have just learned about the properties of materials to sort the materials in 3 ways:
Shiniest to least shiny.
Most flexible to least flexible.
Most magnetic to least magnetic.
Draw a quick picture or use words to record how you sorted the objects each time.
My Observations
Shiniest to least shiny:
Most flexible to least flexible:
Most magnetic to least magnetic:
UNIT PLAN 39
Engineering Challenge #3: Mission Materials Scavenger Hunt Challenge
Your Challenge: To find objects in our school that are made out of the types of materials that engineers use for building. Go on a scavenger hunt in our classroom and in the hallway to find objects that are made of materials that fit into 1 or more of the categories below: -Wood -Metal -Glass -Plastic -Paper Write the name or draw a picture for each object you find that fits into these categories.
Material Category
Objects
Wood
Metal
UNIT PLAN 40
Glass
Plastic
Paper
UNIT PLAN 41
Appendix B: Final
Summative Engineering
Challenge: The 4th Little
Piggy and the Big Bad
Blow Dryer
Student Name: Date:
Final Engineering Challenge: The 4th Little Piggy and the Big Bad Blow Dryer
Level Criteria
Wow! (4)
That’s It (3)
Coming Along (2)
A Start(1)
Insufficient/
Blank*
House Design
Sketch: I labelled the materials that I used
to build each part of
my house on my sketch.
I labelled all of the
materials that I used to build each part of my
house on my sketch.
I labelled many of the
materials that I used to build each part of my
house on my sketch.
I labelled a few of the
materials that I used to build each part of my
house on my sketch.
I labelled none of the
materials that I used to build each part of my
house on my sketch.
Planning
Explanation: I provided an
explanation for why I think my house will
withstand the Big Bad Blow Dryer using
engineering principles.
I provided a clear and
purposeful explanation for why I think my
house will withstand the Big Bad Blow Dryer
using numerous engineering principles.
I provided a mostly
clear and relevant explanation for why I
think my house will withstand the Big Bad
Blow Dryer using many engineering principles.
I provided a general
explanation for why I think my house will
withstand the Big Bad Blow Dryer using some
engineering principles.
I provided an unclear
explanation or no explanation at all for
why I think my house will withstand the Big
Bad Blow Dryer.
Reflection: I have completed a reflection
that explains the
connection between the design of my
house and the building materials that
I used.
I have completed an insightful reflection
that clearly explains
the connection between the design of my house
and the building materials that I used.
I have completed a meaningful reflection
that mostly explains
the connection between the design of my house
and the building materials that I used.
I have completed an appropriate reflection
that somewhat
explains the connection between the design of
my house and the building materials that I
used.
I have completed a superficial reflection
that unclearly explains
the connection between the design of my house
and the building materials that I used.
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