Teacher Name: Kimberly Deckard
School: Burnett Creek Elementary School
Grades: 4/5
Design Task: Safer Roadways
Date: 2-22-15
PART I:
Day
Overview of your SLED lesson(s):
Brief description of lesson activities you enacted
each day over the course of the SLED design task
Students learned and demonstrated the concept of
force through Tug of War and Marshmallow Shooter
activities.
What do you think your
students learned each day
They learned what force is.
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Using picture cards and slow motion video clips,
students learned about motion and frame of reference.
Students learned that the
background changes with
motion.
3
Students learned about speed. This included how to
calculate it, acceleration and velocity.
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Students learned the principles of force.
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Thrust and drag were introduced.
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Students explored the principles of motion through
designing and operating models that included elastic
springs, a crash test car, a catapult, a gravity operated
fan, and a balloon-powered flying airplane.
Students learned that
acceleration does not just refer
to speeding up, it can be
slowing down as well.
They learned via a jigsaw
activity and practiced team
work.
Through a PowerPoint, titled
Forces in Your Car, students
learned thrust and drag.
Students learn different ways to
show thrust, gravity and
friction.
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Students participated in inquiry activities, testing the
utility of different road surfaces. These surfaces
included: sand, bubble wrap, small rocks, large rocks,
pipe cleaners, tile, carpet, marbles, and sand paper.
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They learned that the materials
with the largest gaps and the
materials that moved were the
best at stopping the toy car.
They also learned that vehicles
with larger wheels worked
better across the surfaces.
2
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Students were presented with the “Safer Roadway”
problem. In their science notebooks, they recorded
the problem, the client, constraints, materials, and end
user.
The next day each student drew his/her own design for
the safer roadway, and then they collaborated with
their group to create a group design.
The following day, each group built and tested their
design. Some groups had to re-design and test, again.
They each presented their designs to the classroom.
Students learned the
Engineering Design Task
Process.
They learned how to design a
prototype under the material
and time constraints. They also
learned that many times,
engineers have to re-design if
their prototype does not work.
Please answer the questions below:
1. What worked well?
By conducting the inquiries ahead of time, students had a clear understanding of which surfaces
created the safer roadway. They also understood how different sized tires and wheels played a
role in starting/stopping of different surfaces. Allowing the students the opportunity to re-design
gave each group the opportunity to ensure success.
2. What are two ways you can improve your efforts toward integrating design?
A. I could allow additional opportunities to design prototypes in the classroom.
B. I could also provide more examples to the students for their background knowledge.
PART II:
Reflection#1 on student performance:
Include an image of work from one student who you thought performed well on the task. Insert
the image here within the Word document. This image may be a copy of the student’s notebook
entry(s) or an image of the team’s artifact or an actual picture of the student at work.
3
In the space below describe what the image(s) is about and why you would explain or
characterize the student’s performance as mastery or excellent.
This group’s design worked well as they used their knowledge of the road tests that they needed
bumps and a “barrier” to help them. They used paper stacked at angles to help during the slow
part. They then created a small ramp to slow it further down at the edge of the slow, so that the
“car” and “truck” slowed and then came to a stop once it hit their “orange barrels” (as they
explained them!). No damage was done to the “car” or “truck”. This group collaborated very
well and were able to blend 3 out of the 4 group members’ ideas.
Reflection#2 on student performance:
4
Include an image of work from one student who you thought did not perform as well
(unsatisfactory) on the task. Insert the image here within the Word document. This image may
be a copy of the student’s notebook entry(s) or an image of the team’s artifact or an actual
picture of the student at work.
In the space below describe what the image is about and why you would explain or
characterize the student’s performance as unsatisfactory.
This group tried to use just a couple of pieces of paper folded up to slow the moving “car” and
“truck”. They were able to slow the moving objects down in the “STOP” section, but it did not
completely stop the “truck”. It rolled right over it. They needed to use more materials to help
them.
PART III:
Reflection #3
Describe one thing you enjoyed about instructing this SLED task.
My favorite part about this SLED task was the inquiry lesson. I really enjoyed watching the
students test out the different materials and to use accurate measurements. I enjoyed having
them discuss with each group whether their predictions were correct or not as to which roads
they predicted would have the most friction. I further enjoyed watching the teams work together
to create the road ways. Their discussions surrounded what they had learned from their inquiries.
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They look so forward to participating in inquiries and design-engineered tasks that they NEVER
complain about their partners. Not all of the teams were successful at first, but as soon as the first
team had theirs, the motivation was beefed up by the ones who had not yet been successful. I
continue to enjoy watching certain students not give up and try to make it right. This design was
fast and fairly inexpensive, which allowed for many more trials. The kids were so excited that
some groups designed more than one roadway system. Engagement is always a great thing!!
Describe one thing in your practice you would improve upon next time you implement this
engineering design task or another SLED design task.
Because this design took place so quickly, I would add a cost sheet and have students construct
two roadway systems with a cost comparison. This would allow multiple students’ ideas and
decrease the amount of wasted supplies.
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