Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ELAGSE2RL3: Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
ELAGSE2RL5: Describe the overall structure of a story including describing how the beginning
introduces the story, the middle provides major events and challenges, and the ending concludes the action.
ELAGSE2RL7: Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to
demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
ELAGSE2W1: Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state
an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect
opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.
S2CS1. Students will be aware of the importance of curiosity, honesty, openness, and
skepticism in science and will exhibit these traits in their own efforts to understand how the world works.
a. Raise questions about the world around them and be willing to seek answers to some of the questions by
making careful observations and measurements and trying to figure things out.
S2CS3. Students will use tools and instruments for observing, measuring, and manipulating objects in
scientific activities.
b. Assemble, describe, take apart, and reassemble constructions using interlocking blocks, erector sets and
other things.
c. Make something that can actually be used to perform a task, using paper, cardboard, wood, plastic,
metal, or existing objects.
S2CS4. Students will use the ideas of system, model, change, and scale in exploring scientific and
technological matters.
a. Identify the parts of things, such as toys or tools, and identify what things can do when put together that
they could not do otherwise.
S2CS5. Students will communicate scientific ideas and activities clearly.
b. Draw pictures (grade level appropriate) that correctly portray features of the thing being described.
c. Use simple pictographs and bar graphs to communicate data.
S2CS7. Students will understand important features of the process of scientific inquiry.
Students will apply the following to inquiry learning practices:
b. In doing science, it is often helpful to work as a team. All team members should reach their own
individual conclusions and share their understandings with other members of the team in order to develop a
consensus.
Understandings
Overarching Understanding Essential Questions
Overarching Questions:
There are many ways to construct or build
things. What kinds of things must I know to become an
engineer for a career?
An engineer is a person who designs and builds
complex products, machines, systems, or
structures. Topical Questions:
Related Misconceptions
Engineers are only boys.
Knowledge Skills
Students will know Students will be able to
What events will help students During Lesson One, the media specialist will explain the different
experience and explore the big engineering centers that are available to the students. The teacher will
idea and questions in the unit? touch on the opinion writing assignment, and students will be told that
How will you equip them with they will be reflecting on their experiences of building when they are
needed skills and knowledge? done. The teacher and Media Specialist will explain the notes page and
how to take notes while they work. Students will choose their
engineering station and begin building. Students will take a picture of
their creation on the iPad when completed.
During Lesson Two, the teacher will lead a discussion on how to form
an opinion. Students will be reminded that everyone has their own
opinion.
During Lesson Three, the media specialist will lead the students
through the creation of a Wixie page about their engineering project.
The Wixie will consist of a title page, a picture page, the opinion
paragraph page, and a credits page.
How will you cause students During Lesson One, students will take notes on their progress through
to reflect and rethink? How the building during work time. The media specialist will make stops
will you guide them in periodically through the work time to allow students the focused time to
rehearsing, revising, and reflect on the note sheet.
refining their work?
During Lesson Two, the teacher will ask the guiding questions to assist
students in constructing their opinion paragraphs.
During Lesson Three, students will proof and revise their presentation
on Wixie. The teacher will remind students of the following: capital
letters, punctuation, and sentence structure.
How will you help students to While students are working on taking notes, the media specialist will
exhibit and self-evaluate their have small groups review the curated resources on the Symbaloo for
growing skills, knowledge, engineering and note taking.
and understanding
throughout the unit?
How will you tailor and Students will work on the Wixie project at their own pace. It will be due
otherwise personalize the a week after the conclusion of the lesson. Students will ask for
learning plan to optimize the assistance from their teacher and/or the media specialist.
engagement and effectiveness The culminating Wixie presentation will serve as the assessment.
of ALL students, without
compromising the goals of the
unit?
How will you organize and Lesson One:
sequence the learning 1. Explanation of the engineering centers. (Media Specialist)
activities to optimize the 2. Explanation of opinion writing piece. (Teacher)
engagement and achievement 3. Notes sheet explained to students. (Teacher)
of ALL students? 4. Explanation of how to take a picture on the iPad. (Media Specialist)
Lesson Two:
1. Discussion on how to form an opinion. (teacher)
2. Guided questions will be asked to assist students in constructing their
paragraph. (teacher)
Lesson Three:
1. Review of how to use Wixie. (Media Specialist)
2. Explanation of storyboard for Wixie production. (Media Specialist)
3. Reminders of how to proof their Wixie project. (Media Specialist)
From: Wiggins, Grant and J. Mc Tighe. (1998). Understanding by Design, Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development.