Possible STEAM Connections:

• Design, build, redesign a fence to surround a carrot garden.

• Grade 3 could connect this to a perimeter lesson in math.

• Which materials would work best? Quantity of needed materials? What fence design would work best?

• Possible materials: PlayDoh, clothes pins, popsicle sticks, paper, graph paper

Possible STEAM Connections:

• Design and create a simple skeleton that does not easily fall apart. Use some of the ideas in the book as inspiration and/or "lessons learned".

• After planning, designing, and creating, critique the skeleton for possible improvements.

• Possible materials: Q-tips, glue, paper clips, tape

Possible STEAM Connections:

• Use magnifying glasses to look up close at an object. What new details do you see?

• Mystery Bag: Put an object in a bag. Student will reach into the bag to feel and describe the object. Compare the prediction to the real object

• PlayDoh sculptures. What are the parts of an elephant? (trunk, head, ears, body, legs, tail) Each child will make a PlayDoh sculpture of one part of an elephant. Put the parts together. Does it resemble an elephant? How does this connect back to the story?

Possible STEAM Connections:

• The parrot in the book created blueprints for building a boat. Design and draw ideas for creating a boat. You can build on this idea by having boat races in tub of water or by seeing which boat can hold the most weight (pennies).

• Create a bird cage for the parrot. The challenge could be that the cage has to be a certain size (ie--at least 5 unifix cubes long on each side). The constraints could be that only a limited number of certain materials can be used . Possible materials: straws, tape, paper clips, paper

Possible STEAM Connections:

• Brainstorm a list of rooms/functions/ spaces for a house.

• Use graph paper to make a "blueprint" of the house. For older grades, you could put a constraint of a certain area or perimeter allowed.

• Using the graph paper sketch, create the outline of the house and rooms using blocks, legos, or other materials.

• Look critically at the house. What may be missing? Hallways? windows? bathrooms? Redesign the house to include any needed changes.

Possible STEAM Connections:

• What were some of the ideas from the book? Brainstorm a list of functions/ amenities/ options that would make your perfect car.

• Draw a blueprint of your perfect car. Label each part.

• Create a model of the car according to the specs of your blue print.

• Share your blueprint and model with a classmate and ask for suggested improvements to the design. Incorporate those improvements in your redesign.