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Today was our first lesson in Mrs. Phillips's second grade class. We started with a name game--this was a good idea, and definitely helped us to get to know the kids, but they were a little noisy/distracted/excited so it took longer than we'd hoped.  Next we went into "What is an Engineer?" We asked them if they knew what engineers did, we got answers like "fix things," and "build stuff." We explained that engineers don't just fix things, but they design and create things that people need.  They got the idea really fast--when we asked what in the classroom they thought was made by an engineer, they knew an engineer had to have been part of pretty much everything.

Next we did an introduction to the LEGO pieces.  We explained the importance of using the right names for the LEGOS, so we all know what each other is talking about.  We used the simple machines kits but just went over basic pieces (beams, bricks, plates, wheels, axles, etc).  As we held up a piece and explained what it was called, we had them match up a drawing of the piece with its name on a worksheet we created.  This seemed really effective.

Next we explained about sturdy structures, and introduced the "Create Your Name" activity. First, the kids had to draw their designs, taking into account the fact that LEGOs can't make the curves of certain letters like S, U, D, etc.  When we "approved their engineering drawing" we gave them a kit. 

Kids seemed to struggle most with having to be creative in terms of building the letters--for example, changing what an O looks like based on the pieces they had. In most pairs, students worked more individually and then connected their pieces together.  Hopefully better teamwork will come later.

Once each team had successfully made a sturdy structure of a name or their initials, we took each of their team pictures holding their work.  We collected their worksheets--we are planning on keeping all of their work and then making a little packet for each student at the end of the semester.  We think overall, the day went really well :)

-Jess Scolnic and Tory Sims