Building and Testing Materials Lesson Plan (4) w/ 1 worksheet, 1 instruction, 1 list

Lesson
Title/Focus

Three Little Pigs Structures

Date

November 24, 2014

Subject/Gra
de Level

Grade 3: Science

Time
Duratio
n

60 minutes

Unit

Unit B and C: Building with a Variety of

Materials and Testing Materials and Designs (4)

Teacher

Deanna Plested

OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA PROGRAM OF STUDIES

General
Learning
Outcomes:
Specific
Learning
Outcomes:

3-1 Investigate the nature of things, demonstrating purposeful action that leads to
observations and inferences
37 Construct structures, using a variety of materials and designs, and compare the
effectiveness of the various materials and designs for their intended purposes
3-1 Students will:
Ask questions that lead to exploration and investigation
Work independently or with others to carry out the identified procedures

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will:
1. Students
2. Students
3. Students
4. Students

will
will
will
will

work together to complete a task. (3-1)

create using various materials and designs (3-7)
examine designs and structures for effectiveness (3-7)
investigate materials leading to observations and conclusions (3-1)

ASSESSMENTS
Observations:

Key Questions:

Products/Performan
ces:

Ensure that students understand the task of creating a structure (3-7)

Ensure that students understand the effectiveness of various materials
for our purposes (3-7)
Ensure that students understand the concept of effectiveness (3-7)
Ensure students are working cooperatively (3-1)
Observe the depth of student questioning and observations (3-1)
Are students working effectively in groups? (3-1)
Do students understand the task being given to them? (3-7)
Are students investigating their materials? (3-1)
Are students asking questions and making observations? (3-1)
Read Three Little Pigs (3-1)
Structure building (3-1, 3-7)
Windy Structures worksheet (3-1, 3-7)
Vocabulary: durability, hypothesis, observation, conclusion

LEARNING RESOURCES CONSULTED

Program of Studies
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fairprojects/project_hypothesis.shtml
http://chemistry.about.com/od/sciencefairprojects/
a/What-Is-A-Variable-In-Science.htm

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

Lego blocks, Paper, popsicle sticks,
Cardboard, Straws
Tape (arm length of tape for each
group)
Baskets/bags (for each groups
materials)
Windy Structures worksheet
The Three Pigs David Wiesner

PROCEDURE
Prior to lesson

Attention Grabber
Assessment of

Gather all required materials in the number of groups specified.

Each group of materials should contain enough to create a house
about 1 foot tall. Each group will consist of two students.
Introduction
Time
Introduce The 3 Pigs. Ask the class: Who has ever heard the
10-15
story about the three little pigs?
minutes
Do students have any knowledge of the vocabulary? How

Prior Knowledge
Expectations for
Learning and
Behaviour

Advance
Organizer/Agenda
Transition to Body

familiar are students with the three little pigs?

Students should sit in the carpet area quietly during the
reading. When questions are asked, students should raise their
hands when providing an answer. When building their
structures, students should work cooperatively and follow the
instructions. Students should understand that not finishing is
ok and that not all structures will work perfectly. This is a work
in progress, not a finished piece.
1. Read The 3 Little Pigs
2. Discuss The 3 Little Pigs
3. What are we testing, what are the variables
4. Build structures
Discuss the book, talk about the structures created within the
story.
Body

Introduction
Activity

Read the book

Teacher Notes:
Assessments/
Differentiation

Read with animation and act out scenes such as huffing and
puffing.

Learning Activity
#1

Discuss the book The 3 Little Pigs

Teacher Notes:
Assessments/
Differentiation

Learning Activity
#2
Teacher Notes:
Assessments/
Differentiation

Learning Activity
#3
Teacher Notes:
Assessments/
Differentiation

The Three Pigs David Wiesner

Discuss what happens in the book in terms of the structures.

Ask the students: Which structure was the weakest? Which
structure was the strongest? Which material would you build a
house out of?

60
minutes

Time
5-10
minutes

5 minutes

What are we testing, what are the variables?

Explain what we will be making and why. Tell the students:
Just like the three little pigs, we will be making houses. And
just like the three little pigs, we will be making them with a
variety of materials and testing the structures with wind. This
is especially important in Lethbridge because it is so windy
here! To make this test fair, we will have things that stay the
same and one thing that changes. Ask the students: what
thing do you think will change? (not fasteners, not structure
type, not size, not durability test (explain what durability
means), only building materials) We will be testing the building
materials to see which one is most durable against wind.

5-8
minutes

Build Structures
Have the students return to their desks after discussing the
book. Explain what will occur next and explain the incentive
program, step by step prior to distributing any materials.
Incentive program involves the 3 little pigs cards. If
students work hard and are on task their group will get
a 3 little pig card. Once they have collected all three,
they can claim a prize out of the prize bag.
1. Hand out the Windy Structures worksheet, one per student.
2. Have the students write all materials being used in the
materials section of the worksheet. Write the hypothesis
with the students. Explain what Hypothesis means. An
example hypothesis could be: I think that the structures
made with cardboard and tape will be the strongest against
wind. Write about the variables in the spots of What will I
change, what will I keep the same
3. Materials will be handed out to each pre-determined group
of two. Both students from a group will be called and they
should come up and gather materials. After a group has

15-30
minutes

Consolidation of
Learning:
Feedback From
Students:
Feedback To
Students
Transition To Next
Lesson
Sponge
Activity/Activities

gathered their materials, the next group may be called. If

there is an odd number of students, place the extra
student with a group for a group of three.
4. Once all materials have been distributed, students should
sit down and begin creating their structures. Students will
be given ten minutes to plan and build their structures after
which the structures will be tested. Structures should be at
least 1 foot in height and half that in width (at least as tall
as the baskets on their tables and as wide as the smallest
part of their baskets). Students should draw their structures
prior to building in the diagram box. Explain what a
diagram is. Students may only use their provided
materials.
5. If students finish early, they should create a
structure based on the story of Rapunzel. Read the
problem on the Rapunzel worksheet so students know what
they are to do. Materials will be provided for this activity at
the back of the room along with instructions.
6. Once the ten minutes is up, test each of the structures
using a fan or by creating your own wind. Make sure the
wind consistency is the same for each test. If time is
waning, test all structures of the same type at the same
time.
7. (Closure) Once all tests have been completed, have the
students take 5 or so minutes to write their observations.
Explain what Observation means. Write the conclusion
as a class. Ask the students: What did we learn from these
tests? Which material was the best for our test?
Closure
Linking to windy Lethbridge, reading of three little pigs to tie in
the different material durability.

Time

Discuss the structures that were built. Which was the most
stable? If you were to do the activity again, which material
would you want to use to make the strongest structure?
If students finish early, they should create a structure based on the
story of Rapunzel. Read the problem on the Rapunzel worksheet so
students know what they are to do. Materials will be provided for this
activity at the back of the room along with instructions.

Reflections from the

lesson

Windy Structures

Name:______________
Date:______________

My testable question: What material will be strongest against strong wind

when building a structure?
My hypothesis: (I thinkbecause)
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Materials:
______________
________________
_______________
______________

________________

_______________

The thing I will change is: ______________________________________

The things I will keep the same are: _______________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

Procedure (for a fair test):

1. Design what your structure will look like in the diagram area.
2. Create your structure using the materials you were given. The structure
must be at least as tall as your table basket and as wide as your table basket.
3. If you finish early, go to the back of the room and create the Rapunzel
structure.
4. As a class, test your structure using the wind that we will create.
5. Repeat step 4 for each structure.
6. Record your observations for your own structure.
7. Record your conclusion to answer the question.
Observations:
Diagram:

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Conclusion: (What I learned)
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
5

Tall Tower
In the story of Rapunzel, a girl is locked away in a very tall tower by an
evil witch. The tower has no doors or windows and only one room at the
very top. This means that Rapunzel cant leave the tower.
The evil witch has heard that there are a group of engineers nearby.
She has asked that a group of engineers help her to build a tower tall
enough that Rapunzel cannot escape. The evil witch also wants the
tower to be stable enough that it will not fall over when it is windy
outside.

Instructions
Build a structure at least 20 cm tall. Use your ruler to check if it is tall
enough.
Build your tower stable enough to stay standing when it is windy.
Use the materials and fasteners provided.
6

Draw your structure:

Observations (What
happened):_______________________________________________________________

_
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
__

List of student groups:

Daniel and Cheyenne (lego1)
Gabriel and Samantha (lego2)
Lucas and Aryana (popsicle sticks1)
Ella and Sailash (popsicle sticks2)
Jaxon H. and Colter (Paper1)
Jaxson J. and Angie (paper2)
7

Veronica and Bryton (cardboard1)

River and Jacey (cardboard2)
Keanna and Logan (Straws1)
Sonya and Devan (Straws2)