Date: 4 - 8 December 2017 Learning Opportunity: “Sleighing It” STEAM Challenge

*Frames of Learning (Highlight frames for which you are preparing)

*Conceptual Understandings: Conceptual understandings are statements of essential ideas that
accompany each of the overall expectations. Conceptual understandings include concepts, skills,
attitudes, and habits of mind.

We can use technology and design for different purposes

Function and design are interrelated
Safety is an important design consideration
We can use planning to refine our ideas before we begin to build

*Overall Expectations (OE): Knowledge and skills described, in general terms, in each frame. Educators
focus on the overall expectations when co-constructing learning with the children.

24 – Use technological problem-solving skills, on their own and with others, in the process of creating
and designing (i.e., questioning, planning, constructing, analysing, redesigning, and communicating).

BC − Belonging and DLMB − Demonstrating PSI − Problem Solving and

SRWB – Self Regulation and
Contributing Literacy and Mathematics Innovating
Well Being Behaviours

*Noticing and Naming Learning : Making Learning Visible

Learning Goals: Enable children to think about Success Criteria: Enable children to know when and
and to begin to direct their own learning. Support what they are learning. Accomplishments along the
the knowledge and skills described in the overall way.
expectations and conceptual understandings.
I can…
Today we are… - Make a plan for my sleigh
- Creating a plan for what we will build - Talk about my plan
- Talking about what we need to include in - Choose what I want to build with
our plan (function, appearance, materials)
- Selecting materials to build with

Specific Expectations: Ways in Which Children The Educators’ Intentional

describe in greater detail
the knowledge and skills
related to overall
expectations.
24.4 – Select and use tools,
equipment, and materials to
Set2016
Might Demonstrate Their Interactions
Learning: How educators engage with
Children are not required to children’s learning- students;
demonstrate their learning in strategies; materials; environment
all three ways. – based on observations
SAY DO REPRESENT RESPOND CHALLENGE EXTEND
construct things. Say – Students will talk about
the plan that they have made
with the teacher and/or each
other.
Do – Students will choose
materials (Lego, konnex, big
blocks, toothpicks and
marshmallows), create a plan
for their sleigh, and build it.
Respond – The educator will ask
students to talk about their plan,
asking about the plan’s features.
After the student has built their
sleigh, the teacher may ask
students about how they felt about
making a plan first, “Do you think it
was helpful to make a plan first?
Why?”

Represent – Students will Challenge – The teacher will

draw a plan for their sleigh
and may also label parts of
the plan, for example by
writing down the materials
they will need.
provide many different choices of
materials students can use and will
challenge students to explain their
selections, “Why did you choose to
use Lego?” We can also discuss
why students chose certain
features in their design, “Are these
seatbelts? That’s a good idea, why
are they important? Why did you
include this?”

Extend – This activity can be

extended by adding additional
building challenges such as asking
students to make a plan for
building a workshop or asking
students to think of a way to attach
the reindeer to the sleigh. Many
different materials will be available
to the students to use for building
their sleighs.
Teacher Questions/Prompts:

The teacher will be present throughout this activity to prompt students to create a plan, something that
they have not all demonstrated an interest in doing thus far. Last week’s STEAM challenge included
making a plan, and the students who participated then may remember the success (or failure!) of their
plan for the parachute. We can discuss together the benefits of planning before we begin to build. The
teacher can also question students about their choice of materials, their design, and encourage them to
add words to their plan to accompany the pictures in order to foster an interest in using print to
document our thoughts. The teacher can also discuss the relationship between design and function with
students through questioning and modeling the think aloud process, “How could the reindeer pull the
sleigh? What could we use to make a harness?”

Assessment Documentation:

Students’ interest in planning and ability to problem solve through the design process will be recorded

Set2016
on a specific observation sheet accompanying this submission. It provides a place for the teacher to
record who has visited the centre and leaves space for anecdotal observations and conversations with
the student. In order to preserve fairness so that every student can get a chance to use whatever
materials they want to, we will be photographing the sleighs and then disassembling them so that the
next group of students can use materials of limited quantity to make their sleighs as well (for example,
we will take a picture of a Lego sleigh and then break it up so that another student can also use the Lego
instead of saving each sleigh).

Materials Required:

Paper, pencils, markers & crayons

Lego
Konnex
Big and small blocks
Construction paper
Popsicle sticks
Glue & tape
Toothpicks & marshmallows
Snap cubes
The list will grow as students bring their own ideas to the table!

Possible learning next steps for learning:

One of the behaviours that we hope to encourage in our class is adding writing to pictures. Students in
our class are still learning about the concept of labeling a drawing, and this activity can be used to give
students an idea that adding writing to a drawing can add value or make it “more clear.” As we continue
to create art together through free play and inquiry time we will be encouraging students to add writing
to their drawings this week. More concretely, it is possible to continue to add new challenges by asking
students to solve additional problems such as those discussed above: figure out a way to attach a
harness that a reindeer can pull, or measure how many presents you can fit in the sleigh (represented by
cubes or jewels).

Minds On:

The STEAM challenge is a centre that students volunteer to come to in small groups. When the small
group comes to the table, I will begin by playing a short clip from the movie “Santa Claus is Coming to
Town” on an iPad, in order to get them thinking about the sleigh’s “function” (and also to reinforce the
meaning of ‘sleigh’ in a more subtle way for those who may not have the knowledge of that vocabulary
word). We will then talk about the kinds of things we have in the classroom that we can build with. I will
then encourage each student to create a plan or design for their sleigh, thinking about what material
they would like to use to build it. I will take this opportunity to encourage the students to try to add
some writing to their plans (we can sound out words like “Lego” together).

Set2016