Card Towers STEM Challenge

Description

This tower-building STEM / STEAM Challenges is perfect for summer – or any time of the year! It brings the joy back to your classroom with collaborative, hands-on, brain-busting work (disguised as fun)!

If you have spare index cards, at least 30 minutes, and a class to inspire, run this challenge as a fun, quick task for a rainy day, or select from multiple options provided to add depth and rigor to extend this activity to days or weeks of active learning!

The basic premise: 
Individually, or in partners/groups, students work against a criteria and constraints list to build a tower designed for height and/or stability. You can choose to run the challenge as a single 20-30 minute fun building task, or select from multiple options to add layers of depth and rigor. (Please see the video preview to get an idea of your options.)

Note: Included in this resource is the regular “anytime” version and the Valentine’s Day Cards in the Clouds version.

 

 

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Note: If you are in a 1:1 classroom, you may prefer the
digital format, compatible with Google Slides ™.

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Resource includes:

• NGSS aligned standards, Grades 2 – 8

• Teacher Tips:
  • Links to my 5-part video series on getting started with STEM challenges
  • Materials and timing
  • Criteria & Constraints (including modifications to increase difficulty for older students)
  • Measuring results
  • Universal STEM Challenge Notes & How to Use Student Handouts
  • Post-design extension activities list
  • Link to a video walk-through of the challenge

• Student Handouts:
  • Planning Pages
  • Criteria & Constraints List (in color and B&W; editable version provided)
  • Results and Design Analysis (2-page regular spacing and 4-page expanded) spacing for primary students included in color and and B&W)
  • Discussion Questions (color and B&W)

• Extension templates
  • Class-wide Data Analysis Activity (editable)
  • Graph Class Data (editable)
  • Design Your Own Tower Experiment (editable & with sample answers)
  • Design Report
  • Create Your Own Word Problems
  • Process Flow Maps

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Sample/suggested materials for each student or group:

(Materials you’ll need to do the activity are easily modified. You don’t need to provide all of the following materials. Select a subset and/or add in your own ideas.)

• • Note: The links below are Amazon Affiliate links. Find out more on the disclosure page.

Sample/suggested materials:

• 20 or more 3×5 index cards (or substitute business cards, card stock, or poster board)
• Tape (constrain to 12 in. or less)
• Rulers/measuring tapes (tip: pick up paper measuring tapes from Ikea)
• Copies of data recording & analyzing handouts
• Optional:
  • Scissors
  • Pipe cleaners

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Benefits of this STEM Design Challenge:

• Focus on critical thinking, problem solving, and application of learning
• Helps students develop growth mindset traits like persistence and resilience
• High levels of student engagement
• The potential to hit upon all NGSS ETS standards depending on the depth and number of iterations you choose to implement in your classroom (modifications included)
• Highly flexible and differentiated for materials, timing, grade levels, and rigor.

Each design iteration should be planned for ~60 min. if you are including data gathering and analysis rather than just building for fun. If you add extension activities, you will need to adjust timing accordingly.

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This resource is also available in paperless format (coming soon) and in the Mega Bundle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Preview Music Credit:

“Carefree” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/