Lesson Materials

Per Student

• science notebook

Per Group

• Balanced Hanging Sculpture Design

  • One 1/4 x 17.5-inch round wooden dowel

  • 4 craft sticks

  • 8 double-ended alligator clips

  • assortment of objects

• Balance Point Investigation

  • 1 sculpture base

  • 1 18” square dowel with no balance point shape

  • 1 18” square dowel with a half circle balance point shape

  • 1 18” square dowel with a prism or triangle balance point shape

  • 2 identical paper shapes

  • 2 clips

  • optional: ruler

Per Class

• Our Growing Ideas chart

• markers

• Meet the Artists: Using Science in Art (book in slides)

• Gotta-Have-It chart

• Word Catcher cards

  • upward force

  • balanced forces

• chart paper

• Driving Question Board

• Symmetric Hanging Sculpture

  • One 1/4 x 17.5 inch round wooden dowel

  • craft sticks

  • double-ended alligator clips

  • assortment of objects

Prep

Review 

• Lesson Plan

• Slides

• 3rd - Unit 1 Lessons 2-5 Teacher Assessment Tool Following Student Sensemaking

• Assessment

Prepare 

• Have ready a print copy of Meet the Artists: Using Science in Art or plan to project the slide deck to read this text aloud.

•  Balanced Hanging Sculpture Design. 

  • Create bags or bins. Use the list of materials and Building Hanging Sculptures to help prepare. Note - To help ensure that students make creative and asymmetrical sculptures for their exploration, place a mixture of objects in the bins.

  • To clean up materials after the sculpture building, have students place the items back into the bins. All the items will be used again.

  • You will need a way for students to hang sculptures during class. We recommend hanging them low enough so students can reach the sculptures to add or remove objects from their sculptures as they build. You might try attaching a clothesline across classroom furniture or resting a meter stick or curtain rod across chairs or tables. Students can also hang mobiles from cabinet doors, door handles, backs of chairs, or hooks.

• Balance Point Investigation

  • If not already done: Glue balance point shapes onto the 18” square dowels in advance. Add half-circle and triangle shapes to the square dowels by watching the How to glue on balance point shapes video for guidance.

  • Assemble a bin or bag of materials for each group that includes all the supplies for the Balance Point Investigation using the materials listed. Consider adding a ruler to each bin to provide students with the option to measure distances when placing paper objects onto their dowel.

  • To clean up materials after the sculpture building, have students place the items back into the bins. All the items will be used again.

• Please review the general safety protocols for demonstrations and hands-on activities found here: General Safety Guidance for Building Activities.