The seekers of independence and Answers to unknown

 I LOVE third grade!  It’s the magical zone where little minds blossom into independent thinkers while still dishing out the best hugs and thinking you’re pretty cool! 

By third grade, students are really starting to rock out their growth mindset and teamwork skills built from previous years . . . but there's still work to do. 

At this age kiddos are starting to think, "I know I'm supposed to use kind words, but this kid in my group is really getting on my nerves!"  We all know we've thought that too.  It's time to dive deeper into personalities and how they affect teamwork.  Check out how I navigate these waters on my SEL in STEM page.

A lot of focus is put on types of bridges at the beginning of this unit.  We spend time looking at bridges on Google Earth, categorizing these bridges by their features (trusses, towers and cables, arches, etc), and creating mini-models of bridges testing their ability to withstand the force of gravity.  The activity pictured is taken from an EiE (Engineering is Elementary) Unit. 

These investigations will help them when teams start to consider the type of bridge they will design in order to meet the needs of the city.   

Once groups receive their bridge location and the city's goal for that bridge, students determine which type of bridge is most appropriate based on their mini-models: beam, arch, suspension.  The two "competing" engineering firms meet to discuss and argue which is a better option. 

Like all engineers, teams are given a budget to work within.  Their goal is to create the best model at the lowest cost.

The budget and budget tracker depends on the type of bridge the group decides to build. 

Teams will almost always realize they need more materials, so they will add additional materials to the back of the budget sheet.

A LOT of teamwork and conflict resolution skills are integrated during the building part of this unit . . . they need it, because boy, oh, boy do the personality conflicts come out with a vengeance.  (Check out my SEL in STEM page for more info on this.)

After the long, hard work of building their bridge models, it's time to test them out!  Can Sphero Indi make it across safely?