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For lesson 5, we did our first non-lego activity of the semester. The kids enjoyed the break from legos, and really had fun with the activity. We started the lesson by explaining that you can build a strong structure with other materials besides legos--like toothpicks and dots. We showed them how making triangles out of toothpicks would strengthen their towers. Then, they divided into pairs of two and made their own structures. They had 20 dots each (and were limited to that many), and unlimited toothpicks. The students really enjoyed this project, especially once we began to test the strength of the structures and putting blocks on top of the structures. They wanted to try to break the record and get 3 blocks on top of one structure. The pairs worked together really well on this project too. Since they had a limited number of dots, they realized that it would be smarter for them to create one structure so that they could make the best use of their dots. Overall, it was a success and I think the students learned a lot from it.
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