Engineering Activity

This article explains an engineering activity used in first grade that incorporates science and math. Students are required to build a cost effective house that can withstand "wind," "rain,"... See More

This article explains an engineering activity used in first grade that incorporates science and math. Students are required to build a cost effective house that can withstand "wind," "rain," and an "earthquake" (tests completed in the classroom, not actual weather events). Students must create their houses with materials they "buy" from a class store to incorporate their math skills. Overall, a fun and enriching experience!

PBL for Young Children

First grade students are challenged to build a cost effective house after learning about houses in their community and around the world. Materials are provided and houses are tested. This c... See More

First grade students are challenged to build a cost effective house after learning about houses in their community and around the world. Materials are provided and houses are tested. This challenge is a way to get very young children into a problem based activity. It is a great activity to introduce young children into STEM activities.

Real World Design Challenges

This article outlines a real world design challenge that a class of first graders did to learn about building safe homes. I liked how the authors did a great deal of background knowledge bu... See More

This article outlines a real world design challenge that a class of first graders did to learn about building safe homes. I liked how the authors did a great deal of background knowledge building before starting the design phase of the project so students would be making informed decisions on what materials they used to build their houses. The teachers tested the home for three events-wind, rain and earthquakes. I wish they had isolated the design challenge for each of these events. I also wish that they had given students a chance to redesign their house after the first round of testing so students could improve upon their original designs.