For this unit on what it means to be a good engineer through using the design cycle to create a strong and floatable boat, besides my own ideas, there were a few very helpful resources I leaned on:
- Firstly, a student teacher from a previous year had done a similar unit and it was very helpful to see how she did the unit – what materials she used, how she framed the entire experience, and what learning outcomes she prioritized.
- She kick-started her unit with a read aloud by Andrea Beaty which I used during my unit also, especially to teach the important part of the design cycle which is failure – out of failure comes huge learning. Visit here to hear the story read aloud.
- Although I didn’t end up using the videos for my class, I also found the following two YouTube videos for kids very helpful for my own understanding of how big boats can float:
- “How do Ships Float” by MITK12Videos
- “Why Do Ships Float?” by SciShow Kids