Framing
Introduction (5 minutes)
Welcome students and provide a brief overview (see slide 2) of the KID Inventors program:
- Students will learn how to create their inventions.
- After completing their lessons in class at school, students will design and create a showcase event where they will present their projects to the school community.
To begin, facilitate a group discussion around students’ ideas about what it means to be a maker (Slide 3).
Write a list of student ideas on a piece of chart paper or the whiteboard, helping students connect to each
other’s ideas whenever possible. Possible questions to prompt student thinking include:
- “What do you think when you hear the word ‘maker’?
- “Are you a maker? What is something that you have made?”
- “What kinds of things have you noticed other people making?”
Introduce the concept that we are all makers and tell them we will discuss this in the upcoming sessions.
Exploration and Making
Exploration (15 minutes)
Today’s exploration is to complete a teamwork challenge (slide 4). Break the class into groups of 2-3. Prompt
each group to grab shape cards, pipe cleaners, a piece of paper and a pencil. Tell students that the rules are:
- They can only use pipe cleaners to build their tower.
- They can use the shape cards, scissors, and pencils as tools when building.
- Their tower must stand up on its own (eg. it cannot lean on another object or hang).
Steps:
Have the class look at the towers other groups have created.
- Tell students they will have 10 minutes to build the tallest tower that they can only use pipe cleaners. They can use the shape cards to make starting shapes that they can combine to build their tower.
- Start the timer.
- If desired, at moments pause the timer and tell students to stop working. They now have a surprise challenge!
- Make the top of your tower bigger than the base.
- Flip your tower upside down and continue building.
- Add a moveable part to your tower.
- Remove 5 pipe cleaners from your tower
- At the 10 minute mark, tell students to stop and set up their towers at the front of the room.
- Have the class look at the towers other groups have created.
Maker Project (20 minutes)
Introduction
Gather students for the ruler measuring demonstration. Using a ruler, model how to find the inches side and measure an object in your space. Emphasize the importance of:
- Lining up an object with the end of the ruler (at 0 mark) as the first step in measuring it
- Saying the unit of measurement (inches) after whatever number is measured.
At the tables, have students pick up a ruler and find the side that measures in inches. To practice measuring,
ask students to measure an item on the table. Quickly model measuring different sides (dimensions) of
another object (e.g., a piece of paper), mentioning the sides are called the length and width.
Ruler Measurements (6 minutes)
Tell students they will work with a partner to practice measuring different objects. Show the handout and
model recording the example object by drawing a quick picture and writing the number of inches next to it.
Give directions for the top half of the handout and point out the area where students can find objects:
- Measure 4 objects and record their measurement in inches
- Draw or write the name of the object you measured, and then add the number of inches on the line
Check in with students, by asking how many inches different objects are that they are measuring. Encourage
them to include the unit of measurement each time they are describing what they are measuring (e.g.: 2
inches instead of 2).
Tape Measure Measurements (8 minutes)
Invite a few students to share an example of objects they measured and recorded on the handout. Introduce
that a tape measure is another tool used for measuring. Model using a measuring tape to measure a large
object (e.g., the drawers in a studio) and show students how to be careful when releasing the lock. Ask
students: When would it be helpful to use a tape measure instead of a ruler? Pass out a tape measure to each
pair. Give directions for the next part of the handout: Use a measuring tape to measure the length, width,
and height of a table and write them as labels next to the picture. As students are working, remind them to
find three different measurements and to work together with one person holding the tape measure at the
starting point and the other partner reading the length at the end.
Extension
With the remaining time, students can measure other large objects in the room, such as furniture, supplies,
and their partner. To document their observations, they will flip the handout over to draw, measure, and
record the dimensions of an object(s) they choose. Encourage students to measure more than one dimension
of an object, if possible, and discuss length, width and height.
Extensions and Adaptations
- Students can be paired up for the measuring activity.
Wrap Up
Clean (2 minutes)
Instruct students to clean up their area by returning any extra materials to the correct locations
Reflection (3 minutes)
What was one thing that was difficult to measure? How did you measure it, and what did you learn? Ask a
few students to share about measuring objects that were tiny, huge, or 3D. They could also share which
measuring tool they prefer and why.
Preview Next Activity
In the next activity, students will be working with cardboard to complete a design challenge.