Structures & Mechanisms

Grade 3: Structures & Mechanisms

Strong and Stable Structures

For PDSB Educators: if you are looking to reach out to the Peel Field Centres for further ways to connect your learning to the environment visit the PDSB Field Centre Share Point site.

Nature Journaler: Aspen Orr

Nature Journaling: I Notice..., I Wonder...?, It Reminds me of...

IF YOU ARE NEW TO NATURE JOURNALING PLEASE LOOK AT OUR NATURE JOURNALING PAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Nature Journaling is an incredible tool for students to observe their natural surroundings and focus on the animal and man-made structures around them. Their nature journal allows them to write/draw their observations helping to cement the concepts being taught.

At this age all three prompts "I notice..., I wonder...?, and "It reminds me of..." become very intuitive. However the last statement becomes very important for connection making. Encourage them to begin writing themselves using single words or simple sentences. Please note that spelling is not a focus in the nature journal. At this age you may start to see art fears - please ensure you are re-iterating it is not about a pretty picture. It is about their observations. Please see the link feedback at the bottom of this lesson for tips on this. Using words, pictures and numbers allows the students multiple tools to document their observations. With permission Bethan Burton has allowed us to link to her website as she has written a blog post for Teaching nature journaling at all ages.

Here are some more ideas to get you started.

Engage the fives senses (whenever possible)
Make leaf prints ( paint the leaf and press the print into the journal)
Make leaf rubbings
Trace the items they are looking at
Add leaves into the journal using tape
Count the birds/squirrels/insects etc.
Measure as much of the phenomena as the students can using non standard and standard units of measurement.

Here is a downloadable lesson from John (Jack) Muir Laws and Emilie Lygren book: How to Teach Nature Journaling. All resources shared with permission. "I Notice..., I Wonder...?, It Reminds me of..."

GIVING FEEDBACK here is a fantastic resource from Jack and Emilie

NOTE: You are encourage to spend time in the outdoors Nature Journaling. However, you can also bring nature inside, look out your wonder window, have a refrigerator Safari or even observe a house plant or pet.

Photo by: @billiejooutdoors

Build a Bird's Nest

Can you create a bird nest out of natural materials?

Birds will build their nest out of a variety of materials they can find in their habitat. Different species of birds create different styles of nests based on their needs and availability of materials.

A nest must be strong enough to stand up to weather and hold their young and needs to be insulated to keep the birds warm.

Go for a walk in your yard or neighbourhood or look out the window. See if you can spot a bird's nest and observe what materials were used. Be sure to not touch the nest as it may be occupied, but look for signs of its owner.
Gather a variety of natural materials such as grass, dried leaves, flowers and sticks.
See if you can weave a bird's nest out of only the materials you collected.

Feel free to leave it outside in a safe place such as on a tree branch and observe if any birds or animals make use of your structure. Keep track of your nest over the next week and notice if it holds up against the elements.

For helpful hints for materials or techniques visit this website: Make a Bird Nest

Photo by: S. Moye

Can You Build It?

This activity requires the student to do some online research. They can use E-books through PDSB BYOD or the internet.

Challenge: Build a structure that will hold a marble, even if the structure needs to move.

Before going outside research features of natural structures - What makes them strong and stable? What materials would work best? What is the best shape and size to hold a marble. Look at examples of bird nests, wasp nests, a tree, to generate ideas for the framework before starting.

Collect materials needed outside - be sure to only use materials found on the ground
Begin with a frame and build your structure for the marble
Test out the structure by placing the marble in the nest and then moving the structure
Trial and error are key to getting the maximum strength, stability and comfort for your structure

Extension #1: give a presentation that describes the process of building, the mistakes/successes that took place, materials used and conclusions for the next time.

Extension #2: create a poster to sell the structure to the best occupant.

People of the Longhouse

The below excerpts are from the article Longhouse by René R. Gadacz

Longhouse

"A longhouse was the basic house type of pre-contact northern Iroquoian-speaking peoples, such as the Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee, Petun and Neutral. The longhouse sheltered a number of families related through the female line. In the 1700s, European-style single-family houses gradually replaced longhouses as primary residences. However, longhouses still function as important facilities in which some Indigenous peoples conduct ceremonies, political meetings and various community gatherings."

Origin and Definition

"Until about the 18th century, northern Iroquoian-speaking peoples (see Indigenous Languages in Canada) in Southern Ontario and upstate New York built and lived in residences made of wood, called longhouses. Since the walls and roofs of historic longhouses have not survived to the present, archaeologists rely on clues from the structure’s base, such as wall posts dug into the ground, to suggest what longhouses might have looked like. These decayed remains (known as post moulds) look like stains or dark circles in the soil. Archaeologists also often use the written accounts of European explorers and missionaries of the 17th and 18th centuries for a description of longhouses. Oral histories serve as another important source of information for researchers."

Construction

"Men constructed longhouses by driving stiff wall posts made of wood into the ground. Flexible wooden poles were then attached to the top of those posts and bent to form roof supports. Lashed together with natural materials, such as long strips of bark or with ropes made of bark, these horizontal poles strengthened the frame. Wooden sheathing covered the structure. In Huron-Wendat homes, this sheathing was made of cedar bark; in Haudenosaunee homes, it was elm bark."

"Sleeping platforms ran the length of the house. The number of hearths depended on the number of families in the home. Often, there were about 4 to 12 hearths in a longhouse. The hearths were spaced about 6 to 13 m apart, running down the middle of the structure. They were often shared by two nuclear families of five or six persons. Vents in the ceiling prevented the smoke from the hearths from billowing inside the home. Entrances to the longhouse were often covered with hide. (See also Architectural History of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.)"

Inside of the Kayanase Longhouse, February 11, 2020. Photo by: @baxterperson

1) Read the article summary, and consider the following:

The strength, flexibility and durability of the longhouse
The ways in which the strength of different materials can be altered (by folding, adding layers, twisting/braiding, changing their shape, etc.)
The role of struts and ties in the longhouse
The purpose of the longhouse - why is the longhouse an important part of history today?

2) Taking into account the key elements you have analyzed about the structure of the longhouse, consider how you might build a shelter using natural materials found on the ground.

Sketch it out - what would the frame look like?
Fill in the details - what materials would you use?
Is it going to withstand the elements? What reinforcements can you add (made from natural material) to make your structure stronger?

3) Get outside and go for a walk. Look at the structures (stable and not so stable) in your neighbourhood. Look for big and small structures, natural and person-made. Consider what each structure's form and function is. Examples: trees, spider webs, nests, ant hills, dog houses, playgrounds, fountains, etc.

The Kayanase Longhouse is located on the Six Nations reserve near Brantford, ON.

"In keeping with our name, ‘People who are building the extended lodge,' we are building yet another longhouse. While it has been many centuries since our people actually lived in a bark-covered longhouse, we have finally begun to build a new longhouse as a place of memory and learning. It has taken several years of research, planning and dreaming to finally be able to see the old-style longhouse rising up on the land. It is such a good feeling knowing that soon our children will be able to see such a historic structure here in our own community. It will be very important to reinforce our traditional identity as the People of the Longhouse. It will also allow us to have a sharing place where the stories, crafts and games of our ancestors come alive for the next generation."

- Richard W. Hill, Sr, Advisory Committee Member to Kahyonhákt

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