Students will choose a landform to research. Using NC Wise Owl they will complete the Research form.They will use the information they learned to write an oral report as if they are a newscaster reporting from the landform.  They will record the report using Do Ink (Greenscreen app). Next they will create a diorama of the landform in a shoebox. Using the ipad, they will take a picture of the diorama and use Do Ink to make the greenscreen video.

Students work together using their knowledge of grouping tens to create links of tens, combine and compare their links, then realize that if they combine all of their links this could create enough “snow” to build a snowman in the classroom!

This is an engineering design brief SAMPLE that can be used to help guide how to utilize the template correctly.

This is the template we will use to upload new engineering design briefs/lessons. This link will force a copy so that you can fill the template out completely.

Students will work independently or in small groups to plan a fairy garden for the K/1 students at the school. They will examine the school yard for the best location for a fairy garden; measure to determine how large of an area we can use and then build/create all the items for the fairy garden using recycled or inexpensive materials.

Students construct a pollinator out of a spoon and pom pom balls that when dipped in the pollen powder will be able to carry the pollen to the other flower, and students could shake the pollen off on the other flower as it moves by it. 

Students will work in groups to design a wheel-less vehicle that will be sent across different surfaces to test what friction does to materials. The goal of the build will be to make a vehicle that will move as quickly as possible over different surfaces. By using different types of surfaces the student will have to test and decide which building materials are best to cause the best movement.

This is the image to use as the header logo when uploading Engineering Design Briefs to Go Open NC group.

Students work in groups of 2 to create an anchor out of a collection of materials provided by the teacher. Students will test their anchors in an aquarium periodically to determine if their anchor has too much surface area, thus making it buoyant, or if the materials are combined in a way that is denser than the water causing the anchor to sink. The ultimate goal is to balance the forces being applied to the boat.  The anchor is attached to a 3d printed boat, or a boat of the teacher's choosing. A fan is directed at the boat after the anchor has been attached and dropped in the water. In addition to the wind, the teacher will create waves by tapping the side of the tank. Students will observe if the anchor holds under these circumstances or not. Ultimately, they will try to prevent the boat from moving at all. Distance traveled for each test will be taken by a meter stick or tape measure fixed to the side of the tank. Students will strive to keep the boat frozen at 0 centimeters.

In second grade students will learn to compare different versions of the Gingerbread story. They focus on how the story elements change with each story, but the basic theme stays the same. Then  in writing students are tasked with creating their own gingerbread rendition. In doing so, students often get lost in the middle of the story where the gingerbread character passes other characters and repeats the refrain. This project will help students use temporal words to provide sequence to their story as they define the places and people that are passed. Students must clearly describe 3 -4 places in a sequence (first, next, then, finally), as well as, provide an ending to their story. Once they have completed their story students are allowed to take a previously made gingerbread character and tape it to a small Dixie cup. Then the cup is placed over a mini-sphero. Students use premade landmarks that say first, next, then, finally  to navigate their character through their own sequence of events! This is a highly motivational and fun way to celebrate their hard work in creating a story and making it come to life!

Students will use recyclable materials to design and create a wearable flip flop that prevents heat transfer from the hot summer sun.

Students will use everyday craft items to build a simple angle based bridge ( swing set design ) Once bridges are built they will test their strength by placing weighted objects most likely gram weights or something that is a uniform weight on the bridge until it fails.  Or they could test by levels of weight.  10grams, 20 grams etc. 

Students will engineer a house that can withstand the force of a hurricane. Students will think about wind forces and the structures of houses to create their house using certain materials.

Students will work individually to design and build an instrument out of provided materials to make the loudest instrument they can. Students will need to work out what materials will cause vibrations in order to make sound. Students will be allowed to touch and plan before design as well as have time to fix and rebuild. The students will need at least an introduction to instruments and how their sound is created.

Students will be asked to build a bridge that spans a “river” (a sheet of paper), with common building materials. The bridge needs to span the river without touching the “water”. It only needs to join together in the middle- it does not need to hold any weight (unless you decide to make the challenge more difficult).

Students will be asked to build a functional pencil box- one that can hold at least 4 pencils, with a lid that closes- that will also hold all pencils in when turned upside down. Students will work in groups of 2-4 and will test their pencil box at the end of the activity.

In this lesson, students will build a wall for Humpty Dumpty (a plastic egg) to sit upon- with the goal of building the TALLEST, SAFEST wall possible in a limited amount of time. Students will not only need to collaborate well in their design but also utilize good teamwork as they build quickly due to the time constraint. Humpty must stay safe at the top of the wall when time is called.

Sam the worm was out sailing and his boat capsized! Students will be given a gummy worm (Sam), a gummy life saver (the life preserver), a cup, and paper clips. Their task is to get Sam into his life preserver and back into his boat prior to time expiring.- all while using just one paper clip for each group member and not letting Sam fall into the water (ie, they can’t drop Sam). Also, Sam’s boat (the cup) must be flipped back over so he can be safe inside once more.

In this lesson, students will build as tall of a tower as possible using just 20 strands of spaghetti and marshmallows. The tower must be able to stand freely without any assistance at the end of the creation phase.

Students will be tasked with building a structure that can hold as many books as possible, at least 4 inches off of the desk/table. After planning and creation, groups will be able to add as many books as possible until their structure finally collapses.