Sunday, April 6, 2014

Making Connections with Knex: Motion and Design

Hi All!
I hope that this last week has treated you well!  It was a very busy week for me and I predict that it is going to just get busier and busier as we head toward the end of the year!  It always feels like after spring break rolls around it is a mad dash to get everything we need to cover completed.

For the last couple of week my students have been involved in a science unit called "Motion and Design".  It is a wonderful unit that I was lucky enough to have funded through DonorsChoose.org.  The unit has students building and testing Knex vehicles to learn about motion.  My students are LOVING this unit!

This weekend I am working on my "Thank You Package" for my donors and one of my classroom parents took some beautiful photographs of my students at work so I thought I would share a few with you.

The Design Challenge


Each student group has a bucket of Knex pieces.  



Students work together to build a "vehicle" with their Knex.
A finished Vehicle

The vehicles had to travel 100 cm.  The students weren't told HOW to get their vehicles to move.  

This was the first design challenge of the unit.  We are currently working on experiments with a "weighted pull system".

If you are interested in learning more about this unit, you can visit my DonorsChoose page and see the materials list, supplier, and cost of the unit.

Part of the Donorschoose project I was funded for included Knex roller coaster kits...  My plan is for the students to use what they have learned from this motion and design unit to work in teams and complete a roller coaster challenge.  I'll make sure to post more when we get to that part.

I know that many schools are in the middle of test prep or assessments, but I hope that each of you have something going on in your classroom that both you and your students are enjoying!

Thank you for visiting!


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