Summary:
K-2 Students will review the steps and importance of the Engineering Design Process through and engineering design challenge. They must make a boat that will travel to the other side of a test tank safely.
Key words:
Engineer, problem, define, constraint, solution, prototype, test, improve, sink, float.
Learning Outcomes:
After the students complete this challenge they should be able to:
- Describe the different steps of the Engineering Design Process (EDP)
- Describe how engineers find the solutions to problems and make use of the materials they have around
- Describe their experience and the steps they took to solve the challenge using the EDP
Standards:
Next Generation Science Standards
K-2-ETS1-1. Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems:
- A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering.
- Asking questions, making observations, and gathering information are helpful in thinking about problems.
- Before beginning to design a solution, it is important to clearly understand the problem.
K-2-ETS1-2. Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.
ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions:
- Designs can be conveyed through sketches, drawings, or physical models. These representations are useful in communicating ideas for a problem’s solutions to other people.
K-2-ETS1-3. Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.
ETS1.C: Optimizing the Design Solution:
- Because there is always more than one possible solution to a problem, it is useful to compare and test designs.
ISTE Standards
1 Empowered Learner
1a- Students articulate and set personal learning goals, develop strategies leveraging technology to achieve them and reflect on the learning process itself to improve learning outcomes.
1d- Students understand the fundamental concepts of technology operations, demonstrate the ability to choose, use and troubleshoot current technologies and are able to transfer their knowledge to explore emerging technologies.
3 Knowledge Constructor
3a- Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.