Author: STOMP
Time: 1 one-hour class period
Description: In this activity, students will be introduced to engineering and partner building.
Students will work with a partner to build a design of their choice, but must cooperate,
discuss, and compromise as part of the challenge.
Grade Level:
Lesson Objectives: - Introduce engineering and what an engineer does
- Assist students in their ability to work with others
- For students to learn how to plan, share, and discuss ideas for building a simple
structure.
Materials Needed: - 20 LEGO pieces in a small plastic bag (one for each pair)
- Optional - What Do Engineers Do book (available at Tufts CEEO)
- Optional - books about sharing and taking turns (Dandelion Warriors or It's Mine
by Leo Lionni
For the extensions - Extension LEGO kits (10 pieces in a bag for each student)
- Mystery number of LEGO pieces in a bag for students to count and name
- Mystery pieces students must identify by feel
Preparation and Setup: - Arrange students in pairs
- Distribute LEGO kits
- Distribute 'Engineer's Planning Worksheets'
Teacher Background: To properly refer to LEGO bricks, plates and beams of different sizes count the number
of bumps on top of the brick/plate/beam widthwise by lengthwise. A 1 x 4 beam is
1 ridge wide and 4 ridges long. A 2 X 8 brick is 2 bumps wide and 8 bumps long.
Vocabulary: - Compromise
- Share
- Respect
- Cooperate
- Evaluate
Piece Names:
Procedure: - Introduce what engineering is and what engineers do, you may want to use
picture representations, books, or examples. - Introduce to the class that they will be exploring engineering through LEGOs
- Talk about the importance of teamwork, sharing and cooperation in engineering
and discuss how students might work together by planning, compromising and
taking turns. - Introduce the pieces students will be using in this activity (brick, beam, and plate)
and how to name each one and each size (e.g. 2 X 4 Brick). - You may want to create a worksheet to enforce the naming system.
- Introduce the challenge -- Tell students that they must use their bag of 20 LEGO
pieces to build a structure with their partner. Before you distribute LEGOs , have
students plan using their Engineer's Planning Worksheet (attached to activity). - When students have finished, come together as a class. Let each student share
their design, one thing they like about it and one problem they had. Ask students
how they worked cooperatively with their partners.
Curriculum Standards: This activity meets the Massachusetts Frameworks Learning Standards for
Technology and Engineering Grades K - 2 1.3 Identify and describe the safe and proper use of tools and materials to construct
simple structures.
Extensions: - Give each student 10 identical pieces. In pairs, have one student build a structure
and the other student copy the structure with his or her pieces. - Give students a bag with a mystery number of pieces and have them count and
name the pieces. - Place a piece in a paper bag, box, or something else where the students can't see
the piece. Have them take turns guessing what piece is inside by feeling it.
Modifications: If students are having trouble working together, role model and discuss the following
situations with another adult: - grabbing pieces
- Working on separate projects without communicating
- Arguing
References:
Assessment: Engineering Planning Sheet Student Presentations of designs
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