Elizabeth Hittle, Mary Sturgeon, Joanne Jones, Nancy Tyrie / Unit BIG IDEAS:
Teaching the design process through engineering by designing a prototype that replaces a function of a human body part and evaluate using selected criteria.
Grade Level:
5th Grade / Key vocabulary:
weight, mass, volume, density, prosthetic, joints, robotics, mimic, bionics, musculoskeletal
School:
Lafayette Sunnyside Middle School / Unit prior to and following this unit:
Prior: Earth and Space Science
Following: Life Science
Total time (hours or class sessions):
10, 45 minute sessions / Estimated starting date in the school year:
During the 2nd quarter (December)
Unit Objectives:
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
-Design and build a prototype of a prosthetic leg.
-Measure weight, mass, volume, and density of materials.
-Explain the difference between mass, volume, and density.
-Through the design process, develop the best design for the task of kicking a ball.
Core Indiana Academic Standard to be addressed:
Describe the weight and volume and measure the weight and volume of various objects.
Design a prototype that replaces a function of a human body part.
Standard Indicator(s) to be addressed:
5.1.1 Describe and measure the volume and weight of a sample of a given material
5.1.2 Describe the difference between weight and mass. Understand that weight is dependent on gravity and mass is the amount of matter in a given substance or material.
5.4.1 Investigate technologies that mimic human or animal musculoskeletal systems in order to meet a need.
5.4.2 Investigate the purpose of prototypes and models when designing a solution to a problem and how limitations and costs and design features might affect their construction.
5.4.3 Design solutions to problems in the context of musculoskeletal body systems. Using suitable tools, techniques and materials, draw or build a prototype or model of a proposed design.
Materials and Resources (available in school and/or will need to get):
Tools/Equipment: heavy duty scissors or sheet metal cutters, scale or balance (in grams), 250 graduated cylinder, measuring cup, or beaker, tape measure, soccer ball, bowling ball, & salt, tape measure
Materials: plastic golf ball (no holes), golf ball, rubber bands (multiple sizes), zip ties, short pieces of wire, brass fasteners, pennies, dry wall beading (short pieces), masking tape
SLED Implementation Plan
Overview of Lesson Activities:How will you introduce the unit? What kinds of questions will you ask to engage students?
-Introduce vocabulary: Volume, mass, weight, density. Each day introduce one term, and then do an activity to measure each and to demonstrate meaning.
-Have students kick soccer balls to see how their legs work in the kicking process.
-After students have learned vocabulary and demonstrated meaning through activities, then the client will be introduced. Introduce prosthetic and joints.
-Will your prosthetic leg be able to kick a real soccer ball?
-Going back to what we learned about density, which one is most like a soccer ball (hollow golf ball or real golf ball)? Which ball will go the farthest when it is kicked?
-Which one is heaviest? Which one is the biggest? How would you find the answers to these questions?
What kinds of hands-on activities will students engage in?
-Kicking a soccer ball to see how the leg works in the kicking process.
-Measuring volume, mass, weight, density of golf balls.
-Designing a prototype of a prosthetic leg.
How/when will you use the engineering design process?
-During the designing of an individual and team design of a prosthetic leg.
How/when will you introduce the science concepts and vocabulary?
-Concepts will be introduced at the beginning of the unit prior to introducing the client and scenario.
How will you connect science concepts and vocabulary to what students are doing?
-Trigger prior knowledge during the design process to reinforce vocabulary introduced and taught during the beginning of the unit.
How will the lesson build on your existing curriculum?
-Students will have prior knowledge of the design process.
-Students will have prior knowledge of math standards.
How will you conclude the unit?
-Students will test their prosthetic device by kicking a plastic golf ball and measuring the distance of the golf ball.
-Students will report out their findings or data. Students could configure mean, median, mode, range based on the distances. Students could also graph the class results.
Outline the day by day timeline of activities.
-Day 1: Introduce weight (using activities included in Design Challenge lessons)
-Day 2: Introduce density (using activities included in Design Challenge lessons)
-Day 3: Introduce volume (using activities included in Design Challenge lessons)
-Day 4: Introduce mass (using activities included in Design Challenge lessons)
-Day 5: Introduce the client
-Day 6: Introduce materials and review budget. Show materials and cost, and have students create a budget with the listed materials. Students will start the design process by having students create their own plan, team plan. Based on their budget, students will make a plan of what materials they need to create their materials. Create prototype. Test prototype. Report out.
-Day 7- Community Speaker
What handouts, worksheets, or other classroom materials will you create and/or use?
-Vocabulary soccer ball
-Budget planning sheet
-Elapse time worksheet
-Decision Matrix
-Rubric
Cross-curricular connections:
Language Arts: In the Scott Foresman reading series, Unit 4 Adapting, read and discuss an expository, nonfiction, science story titled Stretching Ourselves. Focusing on the terms: therapist, handicapped, gait, artificial, wheelchair.
Writing: Referring to pages 434 in the reading text, the students will research helpful technologies by finding a device that seems especially helpful, and report on it in class.
Economics/Social Studies: Standard 5.4.9, students will understand a personal budget; how supply and demand affect price, different types of resources (capital, human, and natural)
Art: Design a display poster for marketing their product
Math: Elapsed time
Assessment:
How will you assess student learning?
Putting a word bank with all of the key vocabulary terms, students will write their results using at
least three key vocabulary terms.
Students will orally report out their findings from their prototypes using vocabulary correctly.
How will you determine whether or not students have mastered the big ideas and/or vocabulary?
When they report out, if they use correct vocabulary, it will show that they have an understanding of
the key vocabulary terms.
What work (evidence) will you collect from students?
Design notebook
Prototypes
SLED Summer Institute 2011