Engineering Design meets
Nursery Rhymes and Tall Tales
Antonietta Quinn, Nancy Shellenberger &
Mary W. Thomas, Monroe 2 BOCES
Elementary Science Program
Getting to know you…
• Getting to know all about you…
• Please share with us the following:
– Your name
– Where you work and what you do (i.e. school
name & grade currently teaching)
– The best thing you’ve learned at this conference
so far….
What are NYS Common Core Modules/
Domains?
From https://www.engageny.org
• “In order to assist educators with the
implementation of the Common Core, the
New York State Education Department
provides curricular modules in P-12 English
Language Arts and Mathematics that schools
and districts can adopt or adapt for local
purposes. “
What is Engineering Design?
• systematic process for solving problems
• based on scientific knowledge
• the solution has to balance competing criteria of
desired function, cost, safety, etc.
• no single best solution exists but rather a range of
solutions
The best solution is determined based on the criteria
of the problem.
Engineering Design Process
(Primary K-2)
What is the problem?
Brainstorm
ideas.
How did it
work?
Choose an idea.
Test it!
Build it!
Three Different Design Challenges
• Kindergarten – The Three Little Pigs
• Grade 1 – Jack and the Bean Stalk
• Grade 2 – Casey Jones
“We’ll Huff and we’ll Puff!”
• Read the story. Hey – it looks like those pigs
need an engineer!
• Problem: The pigs’ houses blow down.
• Challenge: Design a house that will stay up
when the wolf tries to blow it down.
– Test with either a hairdryer or fan
– Must fit on white tray, have an entrance and fit
the pig inside
– Materials are open-ended
“Hurry up, Jack!”
• Review the story!
• Problem: Jack has to get down the beanstalk
quickly or he’ll be caught by the Giant!
• Design a contraption to help Jack get safely
and quickly down the bean stalk.
– Jack is a hard boiled egg, he can have NO cracks
– Available materials are on the table, make a
supply list
– The beanstalk height is 8 feet above the floor
“Move that Coal!”
• Review the story and the challenge.
• Problem: Casey Jones’ coal car has to be
loaded quickly!
• Challenge: Design a process to get the coal
(marbles) loaded into the coal car quickly
– The coal and the coal car are 24 inches apart
– Use only materials provided
– Must complete the Materials Request Form
Show and Tell!
• Each group will work on their project and then
show their Challenge, Criteria, and Solution to
the rest of us!
• Reflection: What worked well, what didn’t
work so well?
Helping children work together
• Use a consistent list of classroom rules for
group work (such as: take turns, be respectful,
do your own work, etc.)
• Provide structured opportunities for group
work and to practice social skill development
(i.e. give students specific jobs, give each
some pieces of a puzzle to share, etc.)
• Discussion: What works for you???
A few details…
• The Materials list can be very helpful for the
teacher because without SOME type of guidelines for materials, they can request really
crazy stuff!
• A goal for students to work toward is to be
able to give and take constructive criticism
about their projects. Learning to do this
should be part of the “Science Talk” sessions.
That’s all folks!
• Take 30 seconds per person to talk about what
you are taking away with you from this
session.
• Share with the whole group.
Finding us!
• The Monroe 2 Orleans BOCES Elementary
Science Program
• www.espsciencetime.org
• aquinn@monroe2boces.org
• nshellen@monroe2boces.org
• mthomas@monroe2boces.org