1-LS1-1. Use materials to
design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use
their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs. [Clarification Statement:
Examples of human problems that can be solved by mimicking plant or animal
solutions could include designing clothing or equipment to protect bicyclists
by mimicking turtle shells, acorn shells, and animal scales; stabilizing
structures by mimicking animal tails and roots on plants; keeping out intruders
by mimicking thorns on branches and animal quills; and, detecting intruders by
mimicking eyes and ears.]
this PE in a whole bunch of different ways over the last few weeks, but the trickiest
part of all is the engineering component. Some of you say, “Why are second
graders supposed to look at this content through an engineering lens?” It’s a
god question, and I don’t have a good answer. If I were writing standards, I
wouldn’t have done this, but when given lemons . . .
are a few books that really can help you make lemonade, so to speak:
Craig Hatkoff
+
da Vinci by Gene Baretta
After reading Winter’s Tail, work with r class to create a table that
focuses on the problems
the team faced while designing and building the prosthesis and how they dealt with each
challenge. The table might look something like this:
|
Problem |
Solution |
|
No tail joint for attaching the prosthesis |
Made a mold of her tail stub and created a sleeve that fits her body perfectly |
|
Worried about irritating Winter’s skin |
Developed special silicone gel that made prosthesis comfortable |
|
The prosthesis must mimic real tail movements |
After several tries, developed a design with two sleeves |
|
Winter might not like wearing the prosthesis |
Trainers worked with Winter |
ask the following questions:
Winter’s problem? (They designed a prosthetic tail and trained Winter to
use it.)
work in the same way as, a real dolphin tail? (It powered Winter through the water
by moving up and down.)
backmatter section entitled “Kevin Carroll and Hanger Prosthetics &
Orthotics.” After paraphrasing the information in this section in
student-friendly language, ask the following questions:
Prosthetics & Orthotics involved in solving Winter’s problem?
working as part of a team?
write the following steps on a chart paper and let your class know that they
represent the steps scientists and engineers usually follow when designing and
building something new:
Identify a Problem
Identify Challenges
Share Ideas
Design
Build
Test
the steps to the process described in Winter’s
Tail. How are they similar? How are they different?
Divide
the students into five design teams and assign each team one of the following
design tasks:
- You need to water a vegetable garden, but the
garden hose is full of holes and you can’t get to the store to buy a new
hose. - You need to clean up a wad of gum stuck to the
ceiling before your mom gets home. - You need to get a bouncy ball trapped under a
dresser. - You need to clean up a spill, but you don’t have
paper towels or a sponge. - You
need to find your way around a dark place without a flashlight, candles, or
anything else that produced light.
students know that to solve their assigned problem, they will design a gadget that
mimics, or works in the same way as, one of the plant or animal body parts in
the data table below.
Data Table
Plant/Animal Part
|
How It Is Used
|
Tree trunk
|
Carries water from the tree’s roots to its leaves
|
Tree roots
|
Soaks up water
|
Mole nose
|
Has sensors that help a mole avoid getting lost in underground tunnels
|
Anteater tongue
|
Sticks way out to catch food
|
Gecko feet
|
Can walk up walls and across ceilings, so a gecko can find food and escape from enemies
|
students to review the six-step design process one more time. Explain that since
they now know the problem (Step 1) and the challenge (Step 2), each team should
brainstorm to share ideas on small, handheld whiteboards (Step 3) as they develop
a design. Encourage the children to use their imaginations for this activity.
Let them know that that even though the people in Winter’s Tail built and tested their designs, the class’s final
step will be to draw a visual model (picture) of their group’s design (Step 4).
When
the students have finished the activity, invite the groups take turns sharing
their visual models with the class. As the children present, encourage them to explain
their designs and how they mimic the actions of their assigned plant or animal
body parts.
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