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Date:
Unit Wrap up
Time:
Four 45-minute
periods
Unit:
Building Devices
and Vehicles
that Move.
Materials:
4 balloons
8 wheels (2 sets
of 4, small and
large)
2 axels
1 small
container
1 kitchen scale
1 set of weights
(g)
1 utility knife
1 measuring
tape
Paper, pencil,
eraser, and
ruler
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achieved or not (and how).
- Encourage students to transfer theoretical
knowledge into practical experience.
- Emphasize the importance of good workmanship
and cooperation.
- Allow for material experimentation and building
with a variety of materials.
- Encourage the students to use the material in
multiple ways in order to promote inquiry (ie: the
student may choose to use small or large wheels, 4
or 6 wheels, 1 to 3 balloons, and play with the cars
weight). Students will be allowed to change their
cars as they see fit, in relationship with the results
they would like to achieve.
- Demonstrate an understanding of measuring
length and mass.
- Demonstrate an understanding of Grade 3
graphing skills.
Set-up:
- Introduction,
design, building
and reflection:
in classroom at
their tables.
- Racing of the
cars: in the
hallway outside
of the
classroom.
Introduction:
- Teacher assumptions: the students will be able to implement the
knowledge covered in the previous unit, as well as the information
covered in the grade 3 math and science curriculums.
- The teacher will provide materials, in order to establish a uniform
starting point for each group (teacher will be the only one using the
knife to put holes in the container but students will decide design).
- Students will be divided into groups of 3 for this assignment; each
group will design and make a balloon car using similar materials in any
way they desire.
- Students will demonstrate previous knowledge of the Building
Devices and Vehicles that Move unit by building a balloon car to travel
as far as possible.
- Students will be required to record and collect data about the weight,
and the distances travelled by their car.
- Students will be required to implement at least one design
modification to their car to demonstrate how that may influence and
vary their previous results and their predictions.
- Students will demonstrate a working knowledge of relevant science
and engineering concepts in the designing and building of their car,
and a working knowledge of relevant math concepts in the data
collection and analysis
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Activity: each class will take 45 minutes
Day 1: Introduction
Present the activity to the class, and talk with the students about the
different types of vehicles. The teacher will provide open-ended
questions to the students asking them what they think will make their
balloon car go farthest. Allow the students to reflect about the number
of wheels and their sizes, the number of balloons, the weight of the
car, and their possible outcomes.
Assign the students to different groups and allow time for them to
draw/draft the cars design. Each team will have to provide the teacher
with a team name for their car and their teams design drawing.
Day 2: Building
The students will work in teams to build their car. Each team will start
with the same basic materials, and according to their design
combination they will get different results that they will be able to test
and modify once more later in the assignment. Each team will require
teaching assistance in perforating the container to attach the axels and
the balloons. Students will be required to follow their draft (where
possible) when building their car.
Day 3: Racing
The students will be taken to a location large enough to accommodate
the car races (likely the hallway outside the room). Students will be
required to collect data specifying the length the car travels, the
weight of the car, the number and size of the wheels, and the number
of balloons used. They must also explain the modifications they made
to their original design after the race, and if their results changed or
not and why.
Day 4: Reflecting
Students will be invited to talk about their experience, to show their
data to the class, and reflect upon their results providing examples.
Students will be encouraged to expand on how they could further
modify their car, or how they could use similar materials to create
another object that moves. Each group will then have part of the class
to write their self-assessment.
Follow-Up:
- Students will pair up with
another group to compare their
results, hypothesize a reason as to
what caused the different results,
and come up with ideas about how
they could use similar materials to
Evaluation:
- Formative: Teachers will evaluate
student understanding during the
designing and building process
(using the finger method learning
scale). Students will also complete
a self-evaluation at the end of the
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produce another object that
moves. Students will be
encouraged to used open-ended
questions and inquiry along the
way to inform and enrich their
work.
_Extra questions for the
students:
How do you think can you make
your car turn?
How do you think you can make
your car go faster?
How can you make your car go
slower?
What would happen if you change
the number or the size of the
wheels?
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the goal being for it to travel the farthest distance. Students must have
understandings of these math conceptsas well as using their
understandings of addition skills to calculate weights and distancesin
order to participate in the science aspects of the project. Students will
also incorporate engineering skills such as design (deciding what
wheels to use, how many balloons, whether or not to add weights), trial
and error revision (testing their vehicles and then making
improvements), and decision making as a team. Grade 4 science goals
of good workmanship and cooperative decision making in working on a
construction project will also be incorporated. The 3 STEM concepts of
science, math, and engineering are all integrated in this project and
cannot exist independently to solve the problem that students are
given.
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*This project could also incorporate an aspect of students estimating
distances and weights.
Math Curriculum - Grade 3, Statistics and Probability (Data Analysis)
Specific Outcomes:
1. Collect first-hand data and organize it using:
tally marks
line plots
charts
lists
(Alberta Education, 2007, p. 23).
Students will record their data on a table (the teacher will provide a
template of one like we have shown on our tri-fold). At the end of the
project, once all data has been recorded, all results can be organized
onto a chart (plotting points on a line).
Science Curriculum - Grade 4, Topic C: Building Devices and Vehicles
that Move
Specific Learner Expectations:
1. Design and construct devices and vehicles that move or have
moving parts - linkages, wheels and axles.
2. Use simple forces to power or propel a device; e.g., direct
pushes, pulls, cranking mechanisms, moving air, moving water
and downhill motion.
3. Design and construct devices and vehicles that employ energystoring or energy-consuming components that will cause motion;
e.g., elastic bands, springs, gravity, wind, moving water.
4. Recognize the need for control in mechanical devices, and apply
control mechanisms where necessary.
5. Compare two designs, identifying the relative strengths and
weaknesses of each.
6. Identify steps to be used in constructing a device or vehicle, and
work cooperatively with other students to construct the device or
vehicle.
7. Design and construct several different models of a device and
evaluate each model, working cooperatively with other students.
(Alberta Education, 1996, B. 20).
In this project, students will build vehicles (given a set of materials)
and determine how to make their vehicle travel the furthest distance
(by manipulating wheel size, number of balloons used, and weight of
their vehicle). Moving air (in the balloons) will be the force that powers
the vehicle, and teachers will briefly discuss with their students how
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the amount of air in the balloon, and the size of its opening, could
affect the distance travelled as well as the speed. Students will have
the opportunity to compare their designs by examining the data they
record in their tables, and will determine which design is the strongest.
Science Curriculum - Grade 3, Topic B: Building with a Variety of
Materials
Specific Learner Expectations:
7. Recognize the importance of good workmanship, and demonstrate
growth toward good workmanship.
9. Apply skills of listening, speaking and cooperative decision-making
in working with other students on a construction project.
(Alberta Education, 1996, B. 14).
During this assignment, students will work in groups of 3. They will be
expected to navigate the aspects of teamwork, such as listening to
their peers and making decisions cooperatively. Students will be
assessed by the teacher throughout the assignment to make sure their
team is working well together, and at the end of the project students
will complete a self-assessment form to reflect on how they worked as
a group member.
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