Can you hear me Now?

Designing a Communication Device

Day 1: Students learned about the problem that they were going to solve. They learned that the STEM process has 7 steps: Ask, Research, Imagine, Plan, Create, Test and Improve. They were shown an example of a tin can phone and did some research to learn how sound works.

Day 2: Students were split into groups of 2 or 3 and given a budget of $20. They had to use their adding, measuring and money counting skills to imagine and plan (on their worksheets) a communication device using the following constraints: They could not exceed the $20 budget for buying the necessary supplies from the classroom store and their device had to be at least 6 meters long.

Day 3: Each group got to purchase their supplies and create their communication devices. Students chose from a variety of cups, strings and yarns. Once built, the students tested their devices to see if their partners could hear them. Some groups had to go back and change an element of their device in order to get it to work. The students learned that devices are always being improved upon. The students completed their worksheets, notating what they did to create, test and improve their devices. Then, the students had a chance to show and share their ideas with the other groups.

Day 4: Students used their communication device worksheets to create a poster detailing the steps they took to solve the problem. Groups shared their findings with the rest of the class.