Fantastic Elastic (Grades 2-3)
Unit Overview
This unit develops concepts of energy and engineering through design, construction and testing of an elastic powered vehicle, a wind-up. To operate a wind-up, a user stores potential energy in a rubber band, and then releases it, converting the energy to kinetic form, and thereby powering the vehicle. Students begin by looking at the operation of a sample wind-up, and then think about how to make their own. As they create wind-ups, they record issues that arise, learn about troubleshooting, and write their own troubleshooting guides. They make more wind-ups and learn how to experiment with them. Finally they develop and test instruction manuals, and present the results of their work.
Table of Contents
Curriculum summary...... 2
Concepts and Skills Developed in Fantastic Elastic...... 3
User’s Guide to Fantastic Elastic...... 6
Material List ...... 7
Fantastic Elastic and ELA Core Standards...... 9
Lesson 0: Prepare to Teach Wind-ups...... 10
Lesson 1: What is a Wind-up...... 14
Lesson 2: Make a Wind-up...... 22
Lesson 3: Observe and Troubleshoot Wind-ups...... 27
Lesson 4: Make a 2nd Wind-up...... 29
Lesson 5: Energy Concepts and Troubleshooting Guide...... 33
Lesson 6: Plan an Experiment on Wheel Size...... 40
Lesson 7: Experiment with Wheel Size...... 41
Lesson 8: Experiment with Turns of the Rubber Band...... 44
Lesson 9: Redesigning and Decorating Wind-ups...... 51
Lesson 10: Make a Fancy Wind-up...... 52
Lesson 11: How to Make My Wind-up...... 55
Lesson 12: The Auto Show...... 59
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Table 1: Summary of Fantastic Elastic Curriculum see pp. 3,4 for correct descriptions
Lesson / Title / Summary / min1 / What is a Wind-up? / Students observe a teacher-made wind-up, identify the materials needed to make a wind-up, and begin to learn how to draw one. Then they begin to make their own wind-ups. / 50
2 / Make a Wind-up / Students continue working on their wind-ups, recording the issues that come up. They are introduced to the concepts of "potential energy", "elastic energy", and "kinetic energy" in the context of their own wind-ups. / 50
3 / Observe and Troubleshoot Wind-ups / Students observe differences among their wind-ups, differences in how they are made and how they work. They learn to draw these differences so they are obvious. Students develop the concept of troubleshooting and use it in conjunction with wind-ups that do not work the way their builders want them to work. / 50
4 / Make a 2nd Wind-up / Students discuss different ways to make wind-ups. The term “variable” is introduced as a way to think of differences. Students decide on a common way to make a wind-up, then, putting their first wind-ups aside, make a second wind-up following the agreed plan. Then they draw their own wind-up. / 50
5 / Energy Concepts & Troubleshooting Guide / Students compare drawings they made in Lesson 4. They discuss what makes a clear drawing. The teacher introduces concepts of stored energy, energy transformations, and friction as evidenced in wind-ups, then helps students discuss “how a wind-up works.Students write a troubleshooting guide. / 50
6 / Plan an experiment on wheel size / Students plan how to do an experiment that will compare wheel size. They plan the data sheet. They make a new wind-up the same as in Lesson 4, but with larger wheels. / 50
7 / Experiment with wheel size / Students carry out the experiment on the effect of wheel size. They measure how far the large and small wheel wind-ups go. The students compare results, then discuss if this was a fair experiment. / 50
8 / Experiment with Turns of the Rubber Band / The class decides on two different numbers of turns to give the rubber band. Half the class sees how far a medium-wheel wind-up goes with each number of turns. The other half does the same experiment with a large-wheel wind-up. Data is collected on a class data chart. The class discusses the data and looks for patterns / 100
9 / Redesigning and Decorating Wind-ups / Each student designs/redesigns a wind-up where the goal is to use the wind-up to make art. Students try different ways to decorate wind-ups that roll and wind-ups that spin in the air. / 50 - 100
10 / Make a Fancy Wind-up / Students continue to design and make a fancy wind-up for the auto show / 50
11 / How to Make My Wind-up / Each student writes an instruction manual for making his or her favorite wind-up. / 50
12 / The Auto Show / Students present their favorite wind-ups to the class and explain how they was made and how they work. / 100
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Concepts and Skills Developed in Fantastic Elastic
Fantastic Elastic is an integrated, project based curriculum in which students make wind-up toys. Students develop a wide range of concepts and skills as they work together building and rebuilding their projects. They develop skills of working together and communicating. They extend their ability to persist in work that is difficult but motivating. They utilize their mathematics skills, grounding these skills in real world work. However this is a curriculum that especially develops skills and knowledge in Engineering and Science.
Next Generation Science Standards
In 2012 the National Research Council gave direction to the Next Generation Science Standards by publishing A Framework for K - 12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas. The Framework emphasizes both science and engineering. The first two dimensions of the Framework are Scientific and Engineering Practices and Crosscutting Concepts that apply across the various branches of both science and engineering.
Engineering and science practices
1. Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
2. Developing and using models
3. Planning and carrying out investigations
4. Analyzing and interpreting data
5. Using mathematics and computational thinking
6. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (forengineering)
7. Engaging in argument from evidence
8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
Crosscutting scientific and engineering concepts
1. Patterns.
2. Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation.
3. Scale, proportion, and quantity.
4. Systems and system models.
5. Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation.
6. Structure and function.
7. Stability and change.
Through the Fantastic Elastic curriculum students can develop all of these science and engineering practices and concepts.
Engineering
As students make their wind-ups, they develop and practice engineering skills. They are presented with a simple model of a wind-up. They seek first to replicate the model, then to improve upon it. They engage in the engineering practices of design, troubleshooting and redesign.
Design: In making their first wind-up, students are engaged in design. by looking at an assembled model they figure out the parts they will need and make inferences about how they might assemble the parts. These are design activities.
Troubleshooting: Very often the wind-up a student makes does not perform in the waythe student wishes. It may not move, it may move erratically, it may move in circles, or very slowly. All of these are issues that students analyze, figure out what is causing the problem, and what might be done to fix the problem. These are all activities of troubleshooting.
Redesign: On the basis of the troubleshooting, students redesign their wind-ups, then test them again to see if they corrected the problem. If not, they go through another cycle of troubleshooting and redesign.
Trade-offs: As they design and redesign wind-ups, students discover, for example, that they can't make wind-ups that go both fast and far. The structure of a wind-up that goes far is different than the structure of one that goes fast. This is what is meant by a trade-off: in going for speed, one sacrifices distance.
Science
The basic processes of science inquiry are all brought into play in making and improving wind-ups. Students are all involved with observing, measuring, predicting, hypothesizing, experimenting, identifying variables, and experimenting where they find the effect of a variable change, and the importance of changing one variable at a time.
There are also several key understandings about energy that students develop:
- Energy is needed to make physical things happen.
- Energy can take many forms. Types include energy of sound, light, heat, position and motion; as well as elastic, chemical, magnetic and electric energy.
- Energy is often transformed from one form to another. Sometimes it also moves from one place to another, which is another way of saying it is transported.
- Some energy is stored – it won’t be used until something is released. Anything that “wants” to be different from the way it is – for example, it would start moving once something was released – has stored energy, which is also called potential energy. Examples are a wound-up rubber band or anything that’s been lifted up off the floor or table. The rubber band “wants” to unwind, and the lifted object “wants” to fall down. Both have potential energy. Once something with potential energy is released, something will start moving. When something is moving it has kinetic energy.
- Although energy is constantly changing form, it always starts from somewhere in some form, and goes somewhere in the same or another form. The form and location might change, but the amount of energy can’t change. This is another way of saying that energy is conserved.
- People and other animals get energy from the chemical energy contained in food, which consists of plants and animals. Plants use photosynthesis to turn light energy from the sun into chemical energy, which they can store.
- Elastic energy is the kind of potential energy that is stored by twisting or stretching – and then holding – a rubber band or a balloon. When you let it go, the elastic energy turns into kinetic energy, because it causes something to move. Kinetic energy is also needed to wind up or stretch the elastic material in the first place.
- A vehicle is something that can move on its own. Some ways that vehicles can vary are in how far they can go, how fast they can go, the kind of path they follow, how much weight they can carry, and how steep a hill they can climb. These can be affected by the way the vehicle is designed, and the way it is operated.
- Some energy is useful for getting things done, but some is not. Any time energy is transformed or transported, some or all of it is changed to heat, which is not useful. The amount of energy doesn’t change, but some of it is always being changed into a form that is not as useful.
User’s Guide to Fantastic Elastic
The unit is subdivided into 12 lessons. The most basic activities of a lesson can generally be completed in one class period, but additional time is typically needed for writing, further exploration and designing. Within each lesson, there are up to seven sections:
Overviewprovides a brief statement of the purpose of the lesson.
Advance Preparation lists the things a teacher should do in advance to prepare for the lesson
Materials showsa list of the supplies needed for the lesson, in classroom, group or individual student quantities. A group is assumed to consist of 4 – 6 students.
Procedure offersa basic lesson plan, including questions for discussion and prompts for writing entries in the Science Notebooks.
Lightning bullets and italics indicate prompts for discussion, instructions for students and design challenges .
Science Notebookentries are boxed.
Writing prompts have lightning bullets.
Homework appears in some lessons – usually in the form of a scavenger hunt for students to conduct at home.
Outcomesprovides a statement of the basic conclusions or generalizations to be developed through the lesson.
Assessment provides learning objectives and rubrics for assessing a student’s performance, at each of four levels of attainment for each objective.
Worksheets provide structured alternatives to more open-ended writing in science notebooks. If worksheets are used, they should be taped or stapled into the science notebooks to provide a complete record of the unit.
Troubleshooting offers help to the teacher, pointing out common issues in construction, making things work or understanding how and why they work.
Materials for Fantastic Elastic
Classroom Set of Materials for making Wind-ups, Lessons 1 - 6Item / Detail / Qty
Wooden barbecue skewers / 8″ / 100
Masking tape / ¾ ″ wide roll / 6
Rubber bands / ¼ lb. bag, assorted / 1
Rubber bands / ¼ lb. bag, #33 – 3 1/2” x 1/8” * / 1
Paper clips / Box of 100, small / 1
cardstock / 100 sheets, assorted colors / 1
Pony beads / 1 bag / 200
Plastic lids / 4 ½″ – flat surface * / 200
Paper saucers / 6 ″ diam. / 100
Paper cups / 8 oz. (about 3 ½” tall)* / 200
Thin wire or fishing line / roll / 1
Reclosable storage bag / 2 gallon / 30
* Note on materials: other materials may be substituted for those listed. The important things to consider in making substitutions are:
- Rubber bands: A # 34may (4” x 1/8”) be used instead of #33. Shorter rubber bands (i.e. two # 30, 2” x 1/8 ”) may be linked together. However all students must have the same rubber bands for Lessons 4 and 6, 7. and 8.
- Plastic lids: Any circle can be used for a wheel as long as it is bigger than the top of the cup. If a plastic lid is used, be sure it is a smooth circle with no tabs.
- Paper cups are used as the body of the wind-up. The rubber band stretches from one end to the other. If a bigger cup is used it may be necessary to use longer rubber bands, or to link two smaller ones
Preparation for the Unit
Materials
When the curriculum materials have arrived, open the boxes and check to see that you have the items on the materials list above. Do this at least two weeks ahead of the time you plan to begin the unit.
Storage
We suggest that you use other containers than those the materials are shipped in. These could be cardboard boxes of appropriate sizes. Zip-lock plastic bags are included for storage of student projects. These are often kept in a larger cardboard box.
Curriculum
Take some time to review the curriculum, to see how it is organized. Go to the website, There you will find videos on how to introduce particular concepts, how to make wind-ups and how to troubleshoot various problems
Energy Pre-test
Students may have been introduced to energy concepts prior to this unit. The pre-test on the next won't take long. It will let you know some of the energy knowledge the students have.
NameDate
Ideas about Energy
1. List all the types of energy you can think of below
Types of Energy / P / K1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
2. Do you know what Potential Energy means? Yes ____ ; No____
If you know what Potential Energy means, put a check in the column under the letter "P" for each type of energy that can be potential energy.
2. Do you know what Kinetic Energy means? Yes ____ ; No____
If you know what Kinetic Energy means, put a check in the column under the letter "K" for each type of energy that can be kinetic energy.
3. What are some examples of Stored Energy?
Common Core Standards
The lessons of Fantastic Elastic require discussion, writing, drawing and technical vocabulary. Through these activities, the curriculum addresses the following items in the P-12 Common Core Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy:
Writing Standards
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately,using linking words to sequence ideas and illustrations to aid comprehension.
3. Write narratives of real experiences using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
4. Produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose..
7. Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.
Speaking and Listening
1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
4. Recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.
6. Speak in complete sentences . . . in order to provide requested detail or clarification..
Add new Science / STEM standards.
Lesson 0: Prepare to Teach Wind-ups
Here is how to prepare to teach wind-ups. Get a paper cup, two lids, a rubber band and a stick. Make holes in the bottom of the cup and the two lids, close to the middle. Run the rubber band through one lid, the cup, the other lid, and hook it around the stick. You will need something to keep the rubber band from pulling through the first lid (on the left below). Solutions include a paper clip, tooth pick, short stick, etc.