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Magnetic Track Dark Ride (Lesson 3 of 4: Designing a Vehicle)

A 4th grade STEM lesson

(Can be easily adapted for 3rd-8th)

Kristina Griffin, M.Ed.

May 2023

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Notes for teachers

Students will need to to have their planning sheets #1 and #2 completed from the prior lessons in order to keep their vehicle themed to their ride.

This lesson CAN be done as a standalone lesson if you want to have them design a vehicle not related to a specific ride.

Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 4

List of Materials

½-inch or 1 inch grid graph paper (1 sheet per group-more if you are having a group create multiple vehicles)
Rulers (optional)
Meter stick (optional)
Coloring utensils (colored pencils/markers)

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Standards

Science - Magnetism

4.P2U1.3 Develop and use a model to demonstrate magnetic forces.

● Magnetic forces between a pair of objects do not require that the objects be in contact. The size of the forces in each situation depend on the properties of the objects and their distances apart and, for forces between two magnets, on their orientation relative to each other.

Technology/Engineering

Standard 4 Innovative Designer - Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.

Standards

Math-Measurement

4.MD.A.1: Know relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz.; l, ml; hr, min, sec. Within a single system of measurement, express measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit.

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Objective(s):

Today we will be using measurement and measurement conversions to design blueprints for the vehicles that the riders will ride in for your ride.

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Agenda (30 minutes)

Directions (5 minutes)
Vehicle Designing (25 minutes)

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Intro/Driving Question/Opening

What size and shape vehicle supports our ride concept?

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Hands-on Activity Instructions

Part One:

Say: Today, you will be using your ride idea that we have been working on and your group will be creating the ride vehicle that your riders will use. Remember that these vehicles will move using a trackless ride system which means that they will need to have part of the vehicle touching the floor where the magnets will be (ex. no flying vehicles, nothing actually floating in the water).

(Pass out grid paper)

Part Two:

Say: Using the grid paper in front of you, you will need to design the blueprints for your ride vehicle. You will need to decide how many people will fit in the vehicle and how they will sit in it (side by side? across? how many rows?) Keep in mind the rider will be seated so you need to measure height from a seated position (think benches or chairs). You will also need to make sure people of all sizes from children to adults will fit in your vehicle so account some extra space. You need to decide how many feet one grid square will be worth.

Part Three:

Say: Once you are finished with the visual design, create a key. These blueprints should be able to be handed off to a builder so they can create it. If your vehicle is shown from the side view, be sure to note the width. If it is from the top view, be sure to note the height.

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Assessment

Formative-

Walk around monitoring groups. Ask guiding questions such as, “Would your vehicle fit children as well as adults? Is it sized for all sized people?”
Assess group collaboration and roles.

Summative-

Each group will have one vehicle blueprint drawn on ½ -inch or 1-inch with a key, noting how large each grid square represents (ex. 1 square=1 foot)
Each vehicle blueprint will represent a realistic representation (ex. a vehicle seating 5 people across should not be 3 feet in width).

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Differentiation

Predetermine the group roles.

Use a meter stick and a ruler to help students visually see how wide different lengths are in comparison to their own heights and widths.

Provide extra guiding questions to the students in the group

(ex. How wide or long would this need to be to fit ____ number of people?)

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Have students create multiple or alternate vehicles.

Do a “plot twist” and halfway through the time, tell them they need to double the amount of people that currently are planned to fit in their vehicle. Have them redo their measurements with this new information.

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