Inventing & Problem Solving with the 3 R’s (Reduce/Reuse/Recycle)
Students will work collaboratively to respond to a text by using recycled materials to create an invention that will solve a character’s problem.
OVERVIEW
Activity Overview:
Students will work collaboratively to respond to a text by using recycled materials to create an invention that will solve a character’s problem.
Meta description
- Subject Area: Computer Science, Reading/Language Arts, Engineering
- Grade Level : K-2
- Computer Science Domains:
- Computing Systems, Data Analysis, Algorithms and Programming
- Computer Science Principles:
- Fostering an Inclusive Computing Culture, Collaborating Around Computing, Recognizing and Defining Computational Problems, Developing and Using Abstractions, Testing and Refining Computational Artifacts, Communicating About Computing
- Materials:
- The children’s book, Rosie Revere: Engineer. Paper and pencils to sketch. Lots of a variety of recycled materials. Maybe some tape and string too! Printed algorithm page (included in lesson document).
- Considerations: +
Lesson Plan
Overview
Students will work collaboratively to respond to a text by using recycled materials to create an invention that will solve a character’s problem.
ASSESSMENT PRE/POST-TEST
What can an inventor do to help solve a problem?
OBJECTIVES
Students will work collaboratively in groups of 3, to respond to a text (Rosie Revere: Engineer) by using recycled materials to create an invention (first by sketching, then by building, testing, and refining) that will solve a character’s problem.
CATCH/HOOK
Class Conversation exploring the recycled materials I brought. Discovering and answering these questions - What is an inventor? What do inventors do? What is a problem? How do inventors solve problems?
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS
Read Rosie Revere, Engineer. Stop reading when Rosie meets her great-great-aunt Rose and is brainstorming how she can help her reach her dream. Turn & talk. “How can we help Rosie fix this?” Demonstrate/model how to brainstorm & sketch a design. Purposefully design groups and let students get to work! Walk around and monitor progress. Guide work and answer questions as needed. As students are building and noticing that they need to adapt/modify their designs, stop and talk as a class about how they can troubleshoot and continue building. After students finish building, have them fill out their algorithm on their journal page to describe their invention and explain how it solves the character’s problem.
Supplements
Any items in this section are the property & under the license of their respective owners.
REVIEW
Have the groups come back together and discuss today’s work together as a class, share out. Read the rest of the book so students can find out how the character solved his/her problem. Reflect & Evaluate, how does that compare with what we did?
STANDARDS
| Type | Listing |
|---|---|
| CS Domains | Computing Systems, Data Analysis, Algorithms and Programming |
| CS Principles | Fostering an Inclusive Computing Culture, Collaborating Around Computing, Recognizing and Defining Computational Problems, Developing and Using Abstractions, Testing and Refining Computational Artifacts, Communicating About Computing |
| Other Content Standards | 2.CS.T.01 Recognize computing systems might not work as expected and identify and effectively communicate simple hardware or software problems and implement solutions (e.g., app or program is not working as expected, no sound is coming from the device, caps lock turned on) and discuss problems with peers and adults. 2.DA.CVT.01 With guidance, collect data and independently present the same data in various visual formats. 2.AP.A.01 With guidance, identify and model daily processes by creating and following algorithms (sets of step-by- step instructions) to complete tasks (e.g., verbally, kinesthetically, with robot devices, or a programming language). |