Friday Second Grade had their first engineering day! Their challenge was to make a foil boat that held a cargo of 20 pennies without sinking. They did an awesome job of working together as a group to come up with a plan for their boats. We went over the engineering process that has six steps:
1. Ask a question - What are we trying to figure out or what problem are we trying to solve
2. Imagine - What will it look like to solve the problem and how could we do it
3. Plan - Draw a picture or write about how you will solve the problem
4. Create - Build or make the design you planned and see if it will solve hte problem
5. Improve - If your plan didn't work, what can you change to make it work
6. Present - Show off your work and how you achieve your goal!
One of the second grader came up with an awesome idea to try and make their boat a different way once they got their original plan to float and see if their new plan worked as well as or better than their first design.
First the reader of the group read the instructions to their table so they knew what they had to do and what the rules were. We went over the rules of making a foil boat that had to hold up to 20 pennies and still float.
Then, the designer of the group drew a picture of what the group wanted their boat to look like. Everyone had to have some input on their boat design, not just one or two people.
Once they had a design of their boat, the builder used the foil to put their boat together just like the design they drew. Then, the kids took turn placing pennies in their boat one at a time to see if it would float or sink. Some boats sunk, and the kids had to improve their design and change it up some while others floated the first try! Some groups learned that they had to spread out their pennies and not pile them all on one side or their boat would sink. It was a lot of fun to see everyone's wheels turning!
The kids did an amazing job! I can't wait for our next engineering project!
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