Making Chairs for Goldilocks
Source/Author: Dottie Smay, Media Center Specialist
February 15, 2017
How do you teach engineering to kindergartners? That was the topic of the session entitled "Goldilocks, an Engineer?" that Mrs. Minke attended at the Douglas L. Jamerson Jr. Elementary Center for Mathematics and Engineering K5 STEAM Conference.
At the conference, some sessions used fairytales to intertwine math, science and social studies in an engineering context for young learners. Children as young as kindergarten are capable of identifying problems and designing solutions, and it turns out that many fairy tales provide a rich context for such activity.
Mrs. Minke loved the idea and brought it back to her kingergarten class. After reading the familiar story students were tasked with thinking like engineers to design a chair with a seat, a back, and four legs for Goldilocks. They were able to work in the Makerspace with Mrs. Smay and select from a variety of materials. Each student had to plan a design and draw a diagram of their chair before trying to build it. Many made pictures of their designs on the Makerspace dry erase table. Then kindergarteners got to work on their prototypes.
Lots of thought was involved in the process. Some students added feathers to make a more comfortable chair for Goldilocks. Others added pom poms to pillow her head. After their hard work and problem solving, students were proud to display their chair designs along with their finished products.
(Photos here.)
At the conference, some sessions used fairytales to intertwine math, science and social studies in an engineering context for young learners. Children as young as kindergarten are capable of identifying problems and designing solutions, and it turns out that many fairy tales provide a rich context for such activity.
Mrs. Minke loved the idea and brought it back to her kingergarten class. After reading the familiar story students were tasked with thinking like engineers to design a chair with a seat, a back, and four legs for Goldilocks. They were able to work in the Makerspace with Mrs. Smay and select from a variety of materials. Each student had to plan a design and draw a diagram of their chair before trying to build it. Many made pictures of their designs on the Makerspace dry erase table. Then kindergarteners got to work on their prototypes.
Lots of thought was involved in the process. Some students added feathers to make a more comfortable chair for Goldilocks. Others added pom poms to pillow her head. After their hard work and problem solving, students were proud to display their chair designs along with their finished products.
(Photos here.)
