Weather Survival STEM Challenge

thingiverse

Students are studying their weather unit and learning about extreme weather conditions such as floods and hurricanes. They're discovering how communities cope with these weather challenges. Next, students are tasked with creating a structure that can withstand a wild weather flood. Print Settings Printer Brand: MakerBot Printer: MakerBot Replicator (5th Generation) Rafts: Doesn't Matter Supports: Yes Post-Printing Testing the Structures After printing, students get to test their models in a flood simulation. Teachers fill a bin with sand and stones, then place the structures inside. Next, they pour water into the bucket to see if the structure can withstand the water. A student's design is being tested in a flood simulation How I Designed This TinkerCAD Creations Students learn how to create an object, combine two objects, and make a hole on TinkerCAD. Then, students are released to design their own creations. Standards CCSS Overview and Background Student’s STEM challenge is to use TinkerCAD to design a structure that could survive a flood as part of their weather unit! Students plan, design, grade, and print their structures before testing them to determine the best architecture for the job. Skills Learned (Standards): Virginia SOL: SCI 2.6: The student will investigate and understand basic types, changes, and patterns of weather. Key concepts include temperature, wind, precipitation, drought, flood, and storms; and the uses and importance of measuring and recording weather data. Common Core:http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/mst/pub/elecoresci.pdf Lesson Plan and Activity Students learn about weather in their classroom. Students have a discussion about how heavy rain can cause flooding. Students brainstorm ideas to keep their structure safe from flooding. Students use TinkerCAD to create their 3D structure. Students then take their printed structures and place them into a plastic tub filled with sand and some small pebbles. The teacher places the tub on a small incline and pours water into the tub. The student observes how their structure stands up to the flooding water. The student reflects on the changes they would make to their structure next time. Duration of Lesson Students have two 30-minute periods to create the structures on TinkerCAD, then another class period to test their printed structures. Preparation Students should understand that weather can cause natural disasters. Students should know that communities prepare for upcoming storms and make their homes better to withstand different types of weather. Students need a TinkerCAD account to create their structure. Rubric and Assessment Students are assessed on their design - if they followed the requirement guidelines, if their structure had doors and windows. They're also assessed on their reflection and understanding of what changes they would make and why. The students aren't assessed on whether or not their structure withstood the flood because it's a STEM challenge and failures need to be allowed. Please see the PDF attached to show how we had students reflect on their work. References https://sites.google.com/a/solteacher.com/olteacher-com/home/second-grade-virginia-sol-resources/2nd-grade-science/sol-2-6-weather One of the Student's models created on TinkerCAD One of the Student's models created on TinkerCAD One of the Student's models created on TinkerCAD