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building our bridge to fun
building our bridge to fun
Our fifth graders researched and explained the need for bridges in our communities. They identified materials used for bridge construction and explained the properties of these materials.
They worked in construction teams to create bridges based off their research on existing bridge designs with a given set of materials.
Step 1- Ask:
The students were asked to identify the need and constraint of bridges.
1. What is the problem to solve?
2. What do we want to design?
3. Who is it for?
4. What are the project requirements?
5. What are the limitations?
6. What is our goal?
Step 2- Research:
The students researched different bridge designs and construction materials used in modern day engineering.
Step 3- Imagine:
Based on their research, the students created simple designs for the bridge they plan to build as a team.
Each group member designed their own bridge.
Step 4- Plan:
The groups came together to discuss everyone’s ideas and decided on one group design.
Step 5- Create:
The students took their chosen bridge design and built a prototype using toothpicks, playdoh, and string.
Step 6- Test:
The students tested the strength of their bridges by adding weight on top (Hot Wheels).
Who's bridge will hold the most cars?
Step 7- Improve:
The students reflected upon their design and how it performed in the test, the process they used to put the bridge together, and what they would do differently if they were going to rebuild their bridge.
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