Kindergartners all agreed that our paper bag houses were a flop against the wind.  So we've decided to use a new material and a new way of putting those materials together!

One of our targets in our new house designs will be following patterns.  We're going to see how a pattern can keep our houses strong and stable.  We first started practicing our patterns with Lincoln Logs and then with pipe cleaners.  


Our next steps involving using popsicle sticks.  

Mrs. Brinza:  "Why would popsicle sticks be a good idea for our houses?  

Students:  "Because wood is really strong, Mrs. Brinza!!!"  

Mrs. Brinza:  "But how can we really be sure that it's strong?"

Students:  "Do the wind test again!"

With our paper bag houses complete and meeting the criteria of the challenge, we all realized we didn't think about one thing...the wind!

Using our breaths first, most Kindergartners saw their house past this initial test.  But with the opportunity to use a technology as a model for a windy day, Kindergartners voted on using an electrical fan over a handheld fan or a blow dryer.  There weren't many houses that passed the fan test...in fact most fell over on the lowest speed.

After a great class discussion, we talked about whether we should just give up, or make another house.  We all agreed that our friend Bob needs a house, and that not giving it another try would not meet his needs.  We discussed how we could improve our houses an important step in engineers' work.  Here's what the Kindergartners came up with as possible improvements.

1.  Add some rocks to our houses to make them heavier.
2.  Put something behind the houses so they won't blow over.
3.  Stuff them with more newspaper.
4.  Build a new house with stronger materials.

Next we'll see how these ideas pan out!  On to improving our house designs for Bob!

Kindergartners are solving their first problem as engineers!  Their friend Bob has found himself without a house.  We talked about why Bob would need a house.  Here's what Kindergartners came up with.

1.  Houses keep us warm in the winter.
2.  Houses keep us dry in the rain.
3.  Houses keep us safe.
4.  We need to eat and sleep and houses help us do those things.

Kindergartners were also introduced to the criteria and constraints of the problem.  The criteria, or what they had to do were the following:  include a roof, windows, and a door for their house.  The constraints of the challenge were with the materials they could use (paper bags, newspaper, and construction paper) and the time (two class periods).  We'll be testing our houses next week to see if they can withstand a windy day!