3rd Grade Rainschool Engineering
A few days ago, I had the opportunity to work with Ashley Watson and Amanda Ballinger's third grade classes at Capri and Castlemont. After reading the book Rainschool , as part of their Engage NY ELA curriculum, we brainstormed an engineering project that would extend student learning. In the story, the rain washes away a school in Chad every summer. The students and teachers there must work together every summer to rebuild their school. So using the engineering design process, we had students build a waterproof school using a plastic cup and materials we found outside. Students first asked questions about the project and imagined the different building possibilities. After that, we gave each team a plastic cup, that would be the base of their "school". We then went outside to gather the materials that students and teachers might have been able to collect in Chad. One big question was whether or not trash was allowed. We discussed that they probably did hav