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Notes for teachers

Notes

Should include/create a rubric with and for students.

Students will need examples of what shelters can look like.

Students might fail their first try: it’s okay!

Students may not be able to handle access to water. It may be necessary to remove this option.

This is a multipart lesson made for a novel study.

This is a project that will take multiple class periods: 4-5 for 50 minute class periods, 2-3 for 90 minute blocks.

List of Materials

My Side Of The Mountain books
Paper
Scissors
Glue
Leaves if allowed (collected, or purchased, real or fake)
Sticks (popsicle, toothpick, kabob, etc)
Fabric Scraps (these can be donated or purchased)
Laptops or other technology to record the ‘podcast’
Air (fans, paper to make their own)
Water (teacher held, spray bottles)
Movement

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Notes for teachers

Notes

My Side of the Mountain 1

My Side of the Mountain 2

My Side of the Mountain 3

My Side of the Mountain 4

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Standards

6.RL.2
6.RL.10
6.W.4
6.SL.4
6.SL.5
6.SL.6
6.L.1
6.L.2

Standards

MS-ETS1-4. Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.

Cross Cutting Concepts:

Structure and Function
Stability and Change
Developing and Using Models
Asking Questions, Defining Problems

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Objective(s):

Today I am Learning: How to make predictions and correct them based on results.

So That I Can: Build two survival structures, testing them against the ‘elements’, evaluating which one was most effective and why.

I’ll Know I’ve Got It When: I can identify differences between the structures my group built

I can collaborate with my group to build the strongest/ most durable structure possible

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Agenda (lesson time)

2-3 Minutes: Objectives, standards.

5-10 minutes: Background knowledge: What do you know about building? About survival structures? Outdoor materials?

35 minutes: Students building structure, first attempt.

5 minutes: clean up/ student reflection or formative check in.

Notes: part 3 might extend into an additional day, depending on the amount of class time available, and whether or not students need extra time/ extra help.

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Intro/Driving Question/Opening

If you were out in the woods or another outdoor ecosystem trying to live, like Sam, what would the most effective structure look like? What could it survive?

Could also ask: Did Sam do a good job building his shelter? Why or why not?

--Students will absolutely have an opinion, and some may have experience in the outdoors, helping to drive the conversation and increasing engagement.

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Hands-on Activity Instructions

Groups of 2-3
Each person in group assigned a role: scribe (recording results, etc) , architect (drawing the plans), and builder. All students can help build, but this offers students who do not want to touch the structure to be involved in other ways.
Expectations and instructions are given to students first thing, with empty desks.
One person from each group can collect supplies. What they grab initially is what they have.
Reminders to be given about how this is the first attempt: there will be another after attempting and recording observations. (teacher note: second attempt will be a different day, same format)
Students will have 5-10 minutes to plan and the architect to draft.
Students will have the class period or a portion of it to build.
Once the building time is complete, students will see if their structure stands. Students can, at this time, also test their structure against wind, water, and movement to simulate outdoor conditions.
Students will evaluate together what worked best, what didn't, etc. Scribe will record results.

Second attempt (Will occur in Part 4)

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Assessment

Formative assessment: student reflection upon the completion of the first build, and their hypothesis for the second build and what improvements could be made.

Formative assessment: ask students how confident they feel in creating a structure, or their understanding of what a good shelter looks like.

Formative assessment: scale of 1-5, or thumbs up, thumbs down, thumb in the middle: how do the students feel about their progress so far?

NOTE: a teacher made rubric or a rubric made with student input/ discussion would be a part of the summative assessment in the last lesson, and will also assist students in their building, without relying on the teacher to tell them exactly what to do, and giving them guidelines while still allowing them to be creative based on their ideas for what would be best.

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Differentiation

Students who struggle with theme, summary, plot, or citing evidence will require small group instruction and extra practice.

Students who struggle with engineering concepts may need a refresher or an informational handout on stable structure shapes, or outdoor survival requirements.

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Students who need extension/ enrichment can research different methods of building structures, after their first attempt, creating a prediction of what might have gone wrong during their first build, justification for their changes, and a compare/ contrast between the two attempts.

Students could be challenged to identify and justify 2 themes.

Once students have determined if their structure is stable or not, they can test it with the ‘elements’ spray bottles or water droplets for rain, fans for wind, and shaking the table to simulate an earthquake.