Design Challenge: Build a device to keep bunnies out of a garden
In the story, Muncha, Muncha, Muncha by Candace Fleming, bunnies keep getting into Mr. McGreely's vegetable garden and eating his vegetables. We decided we could help Mr. McGreely so we designed and built something to prevent the bunnies from getting into his vegetable garden. The constraints were the garden must still be exposed to sun and rain, and students could only use certain recycled materials such as cardboard scraps, Popsicle sticks, and construction paper. We tested each design by releasing a plastic "pop-up" bunny near the garden to see if the device prevented the bunny from getting in.
Design Challenge: Building ABCs
After reading Albert's Alphabet to introduce the concept of building, kindergartners worked in pairs to build a letter of the alphabet that will stand by itself using materials from the classroom. Students related their construction to that of Albert, the character in the story. Before construction, Kindergartners sorted curvy and straight letters using a Venn Diagram. We then discussed the best materials to use to make straight letters, curvy letters, and connectors. Students also created bubble letters to practice the shape of letters and to see how they are more than just lines. To extend this activity, students created an animal that starts with the letter they created, for example, Z is for Zebra.
Design Challenge: Create a solution to a story problem
After enjoying the book, A Balloon for Isabel, in which Isabel, a porcupine, is not able to get a balloon for graduation because her sharp quills will pop the balloon, kindergartners were given the challenge of creating something to cover her quills so she could get a balloon! They explored a variety of materials and went through the Engineering Design Process with a partner to create their solution. To extend this activity, students used gumdrops and toothpicks to build different 2D and 3D shapes.