Building a Structure
A 3rd/4th Grade Design Squad Lesson
Jane Boyd Basha
and Kathi McNeeley Conley
Curriculum
3rd Grade Social Studies
Strand 4: Geography
Concept 2: Places and Regions
PO 2: Describe how physical and human characteristics of places change form past to present.
Strand 4: Geography
Concept 5: Environment and Society
PO1: Identify ways (e.g., farming, building structures and dams, creating transportation routes, overgrazing, mining, logging) in which humans depend upon, adapt to, and impact the earth
4th Grade Social Studies
Strand 1: American History
Concept 2: Early Civilizations
PO2: Describe the cultures and contributions of the Mogollon, Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi), and Hohokam (i.e., location, agriculture, housing, arts, trade networks; adaptation and alteration of the environment).
Strand 4: Geography
Concept 4: Human Systems
PO4: Describe the cultural characteristics (e.g., food, clothing, housing, sports, customs, beliefs) of Arizona’s diverse population
Design Squad Activity
http://pbskids.org/designsquad/projects/speedy_shelter.html
Download Project Guide
English PDF (548K)
Spanish PDF (588K)
The Invention Challenge
Invent an emergency shelter that can fit a person and is sturdy and quick to build.
Materials (per team)
· 2 cardboard sheets (approx. 8.5 x 11 in.)
· 16 3-ft. bamboo plant stakes
· 3 33- or 42-gal. garbage bags, cut open into sheets
· scissors
· duct tape
· string
Brainstorm and Design
To help you brainstorm, look at the materials, discuss the questions below, and sketch some design ideas.
· How will you make a sturdy frame?
· How will you connect the poles together?
· How will you attach the cover to the frame?
· Besides hikers, who else might use such a shelter?
· Buildings have to resist forces like the pushes and pulls caused by gravity and wind. What are some ways engineers help create sturdy buildings?
· In addition to triangles, what shapes are good when building structures and why?
Build
What've you got? Looks like getting in and out of the shelter may be tricky. And remember, in an emergency, there's no time to deal with lots of parts.
Test, Evaluate, and Redesign
Ready to test? Think about how you can stop the frame from wobbling. NOTE: Cross-braces turn squares into triangles. Triangles are strong because all three sides carry some of the load. In a square, only two sides support the load.
Discuss What Happened
· What force affected your shelter the most?
· What tent shapes seemed to be the strongest?
· What were some successful strategies for making your shelter more stable?
· What design changes would make your shelter easier to use or more useful in an emergency?
Excite/Engage
Students will participate in the Design Squad activity described above, as an introduction to the Geography and History PO’s listed.
Explore
Students will brainstorm ways people might use natural materials available in an environment to build shelters in Arizona. (“Placemat” organizer with colored markers)
Placemat Collaborative Organizer
This should be drawn on a large piece of butcher or chart paper. The 4 outside sections are for individual students to record their ideas in their own color of marker. The center section is used to record the consensus of the group’s thoughts.
Explain
Students will conduct research using a variety of resources to collect content information according to the following checklist:
§ Natural resources present in the environment
§ Climate and weather of the region.
§ Plants & animals present in the region.
§ Contributions of cultures who have lived in the region.
§ Shelters devised by earlier peoples.
Expand
Students utilize research information to design and build a model of an ideal shelter for a given Arizona environment.
Evaluate
Students will be evaluated on:
§ Process (Written Log and Design Plan)
§ Product (Shelter Model)