Category: Tech/Eng

Lesson Summary

In Paraguay, a young girl named Ada Rios showed us that with ingenuity and creativity we can use materials we find in our environments, even items that have been deemed “trash” to meet musical functions. In this lesson, students are challenged to reforge everyday materials (like coffee cans, soda cans, lids of various materials, and rubber bands) into playable instruments that are played and performed as a one-player-band.

ELA Standards:

Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, maps) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue

STE or Math Standards:

6.MS-ETS2-2(MA). Given a design task, select appropriate materials based on specific properties needed in the construction of a solution.

Clarification Statement: Examples of materials can include metals, plastics, wood, and ceramics.

Video

Ada’s Violin read by Miss Caitlin

Lesson Summary

Students will develop a communication system that could have been used by the people of Pompeii & nearby towns to warn others to evacuate in the days leading up to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

ELA Standards:

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas 

4. Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with pertinent descriptions, facts, details, and examples; use appropriate vocabulary, eye contact, volume, and pronunciation. (See grade 7 Language Standards 4–6 for specific expectations regarding vocabulary.) 
5. Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.
6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (See grade 7 Language Standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)

Tech/Eng Standards:

7.MS-ETS3-5(MA). Use the concept of systems engineering to model inputs, processes, outputs, and feedback among components of a transportation, structural, or communication system. 

7.MS-ETS3-1(MA). Explain the function of a communication system and the role of its components, including a source, encoder, transmitter, receiver, decoder, and storage. 

7.MS-ETS3-2(MA). Compare the benefits and drawbacks of different communication systems.

Video

The Secrets of Vesuvius read by Joseph Baptist

A Visitor For Bear

Lesson Summary

Design a Mouse Trap/Carrier

A Visitor for Bear tells the story of a bear who lives alone and does not like visitors. A persistant mouse comes to visit and won’t go away despite the bear’s insistence that he does not want the mouse in his house. Finally, the bear lets the mouse stay and the two become friends.

In this activity, students are challenged to design a type of trap or way to capture the mouse and bring him away from the house. The trap/carrier must have a handle and be able to support the weight of 3 unifix cubes (or other selected measure).

STE or Math Standards

• Engineering Design:
  1.K.2.ETS.1.1. Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change that can be solved by developing or improving an object or tool
  1.K.2.ETS.1.2. Generate multiple solutions to a design problem and make a drawing (plan) to represent one or more of the solutions
  1.K.2.ETS1.2. Generate multiple solutions to a design problem and make a drawing (plan) to represent one or more of the solutions.

ELA Standards

• Speaking and Listening  Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media 

  • Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
  • Produce complete sentences appropriate to task and situation.

Video

 A Visitor For Bear by Bonnie Becker