Summer SAVY 2018: Session 1, Day 1 – Dive into Design (Rising 1st)
Hello parents! We had a great day in Dive into Design. We began our first day of Dive into Design with a get to know you activity where students came up with an animal that best describes them and why (characteristics). As an ice breaker, I went first. I used the example of a dolphin. I told students that I like interacting with other people, like dolphins live in pods, and that I am a creative thinker who needs lots of open space to think because I do my best creating when I run, just as dolphins need the expanse of the ocean waves to frolic in the sea and thrive. Some examples students came up with were, cheetah because of quick speed, kittens because they like to cuddle and sleep, monkey because they are silly and wild, and a turtle because they like to take their time.
Next, we did a concept map to understand the pre-existing depth of knowledge our students have regarding measurement. This type of early feedback helps guide our instruction to meet the needs of our students by differentiating their learning experiences.
Our overarching concept this week is structure. Our objective is that students will gain a strong understanding that structures have parts that interrelate, parts of structures support and are supported by other parts, smaller structures may be combined to form larger structures and a structure is no stronger than its weakest parts. By learning about the intricate parts of designing and creating a swimming pool, students will have an opportunity to apply and understand this important universal concept, and they will be able to transfer this learning to other real world applications such as building bridges, constructing amusement parks, buildings, etc. In addition, our overarching math concept this week is that there and will be implications and consequences for not measuring accurately. We will also be applying the engineering design process to learn more about what engineers do to solve problems and create or improve things in our world.
Today, we learned the concept of a model, and how it is helpful in the engineering process. Students were amazed at how many models they already have at home in their everyday lives! Lego building was a wonderful connection. We also looked at scale models verses actual full size models. Students then thought about problems to be solved in the design process of creating a swimming pool. We brainstormed possible problems that could occur in the creation of the structure as well as personal preferences such as depth, shape, etc. Next, we looked at what blueprints are and how they help architects lay out the structure of things they are building. Students got some hands-on experience creating a blueprint of their dream swimming pool! Then, we thought about how measurement decisions are driven by attributes of the objects being measured such as length, width, height and depth. We then discussed the math meaning of dimension and how that applies to measurement, including 2-D and 3-D objects. Students were asked how we could determine what to call the space in the pool where the water would be placed, and how the architects would decide how much water it would take to fill the pool. I introduced students to the math word, volume, and students decided we could use a cup to see how many cups were in the “pool-like” container we had to analyze. Students predicted how many cups would fill half of the pool, (that was the fill point), and then students took turns gathering water in the cup and counting the number of actual cups it took to fill the halfway point.
I can’t wait until tomorrow! It will be another great day in Dive into Design!
Sincerely,
Ms. Tyson