SILO 2.2 (DRAFT)Year 2, Term 2: Construction zoneFocus: Engineering Scope and sequence: Engineering |
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Learning
intention: Students
use materials, tools and equipment to develop solutions for
a need or opportunity.
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NSW Syllabus
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Australian Curriculum (version
9.0)
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"A
student uses materials, tools and equipment to develop
solutions for a need or opportunity." (ST1-2DP-T)
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"Students
learn to use materials, components, tools, equipment and
techniques to safely make designed solutions." (AC9TDE2P02)
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Revising the design cycle
Think Make Improve
Expanding the design cycle
Chickpeas work really well as connectors for toothpicks. For best results, soak dry chickpeas in water overnight as canned chickpeas are usually too soft and can break apart.
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What is an engineer?
This short video (4:29) provides an introduction to
engineering and what it means to be an engineer.
Does anyone know what a bridge is? Can anyone name any
famous bridges? Can you identify what features most major bridges
contain that was discussed in an earlier week (answer, triangles)?
Remember earlier in this unit when we learned about engineers? One type
of engineer is a civil engineer. These engineers are responsible for
building stable structures – for example, bridges!
The following video (3:45) from SciShow Kids discusses what makes bridges strong.
The following video (3:51) Deysi from Design Squad Global talks about the strength of using triangles in your engineering designs.
Design challenge
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Last week we learned about building bridges
using the strongest shape, triangles. Does anyone remember what we used
to fasten the toothpicks together last week?
That’s right, chickpeas! How did the chickpeas hold the
toothpicks together?
Activity
This week, we are going to use the force of pressure to
hold together a different type of material, that is even stronger than
the toothpicks from before – popsicle sticks!
PART 1: Everyone is going to create a structure by weaving together a handful of popsicle sticks. The outline of the panels we are creating have already been put together, using PIN JOINTS to keep the corners in place; your task is to weave popsicle sticks through the center to strengthen the panel through reinforcement which will STABILISE the structure.
The first structure (shown in blue) can can
made using six popsicle sticks. This can then be extended into a
stronger shape (shown in red) using a total of ten popsicle
sticks.
LEARNING POINT:
Wait – with no glue, how are these two center pieces going to stick
to the rest of the panel? Well, each popsicle stick is going to be
supporting the other by applying a force that is opposite to the
next touch point.
Once the bridge is finished, the class can test the strength in a similar way to how the toothpick bridges were tested, to prove the increased strength of the popsicle sticks.
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There is an old saying that, "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link". What does this mean? |
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There is another saying advising us to, "Measure twice, cut once". What does this mean? |
Materials for design:
The activity from the previous week demonstrates one way cable ties are
useful in linking objects together. Cable ties are also very useful in
the design process.
Activity:
Today our goal is going to be to create a machine that can reach
something far away – we are going to build a SCISSOR ARM! The
materials available for use are listed below. A major part of the design
process is selecting the right materials for the task, so note that not
all of these are required – it is up to you to pick what will best
accomplish the task!
*Give students 20 minutes to build their scissor arm*
Now that everyone is done building their machines, we are going to test
them! Your goal is to move as many of the 3D blocks from one desk to the
other desk, without dropping them or damaging their shape.
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Beavers are a great example of engineers in our natural environment. Their identified problem is the inability to build their homes on rushing water, and to fix this problem they create dams – an engineering feat mimicked by humans for use in our communities as well. The following video (6:40) by Mystery Science shows how and why beavers build dams.
Some real-world examples of dams created by humans are the Hoover Dam in
the United States, and the Three Gorges Dam in China. Both of these are
very large dams that achieve the same goals of controlling water
movement that beaver dams do, but these ones took years to build by
humans, using some major machinery to assist in the process.
Activity Introduction
To demonstrate how a dam works, we are going to create one of our own.
Squares
In SILO 2.1 'Shapes and objects' we learned about the properties of circles and how this also applies to cylinders. Earlier in SILO 2.2 'Construction zone' we learned about triangles. Now it is time to look a squares and the idea of being 'square'. Although a square does not have the same structural strength as a triangle, squares are everywhere in classrooms, tables and even boxes thanks to the symmetrical properties of the 90-degree angle. The idea of a building being ‘square’ is a fundamental concept in the construction industry.