Week 5
Session 2
Guiding Question
How can we make sand stand tall?
Subquestions
Where should we place the reinforcement? Top, bottom, or all over?
Outcomes
Describe and test the best placement of the reinforcement materials.
Create a model to test theory.
CT Components
Data Collection
Conducting experiments with placing reinforcement materials.
Algorithms
Deciding the procedures for the reinforcement experiment.
Simulation & Modeling
Following the similar/same process, testing and hypothesizing results from the placement experiment.
Communication
Discussions on the placement of reinforcement.
Entry Event
10 minutes
The facilitator reviews the previous sections. The facilitator asks student “what have you learned about the reinforcing sand? What are some conclusions about how to add reinforcement to make sand strong? Do you remember what we did last time? Who can tell me what you have learned about the placement of the reinforcement materials? Today we will think about the placement of the reinforcement again. When we have two layers of reinforcement, where do we place the materials to get the most strength?”
Placement of Reinforcement: Two Layers
Small-group Hands-on Scientific Inquiry (40 minutes)
Students will experiment with the placement of the materials again, with two layers of reinforcement. The facilitator reminds students “It is important that you follow the instructions on the worksheet to document your observations”. The facilitator hands out the worksheets.
The facilitator asks the guiding questions:
Will the placement of the reinforcement make a difference on the sand strength?
Where do we place the reinforcement for the strongest sand?
Directions
Case 1: Two layers of reinforcement on the bottom
Label the container 2″ from the bottom
Pour the sand into the container until it reaches 2″ high
Place the wire mesh on the surface of the sand
Label 2″ from the sand surface
Pour the sand until it reaches 2″
Place another wire mesh on the surface of the sand
Fill the rest of the container.
Guess and document the sand level when putting the weight on the sand
Put the weight on the sand
Observe and document the sand level
Case 2: Two layers of reinforcement on the top
Label the container 2″ from the top, and another label at 4″ from top.
Pour the sand into the container until it reaches 4″ from the top.
Place a wire mesh on the surface of the sand
Pour the sand until it reaches 2″ from the top
Place another wire mesh on the surface of the sand
Fill the rest of the container
Guess and document the sand level when putting the weight on the sand
Put the weight on the sand
Observe and document the sand level
Case 3: Two layers of reinforcement, one on the top and one on bottom
Label the container 2″ from the top, and 2” from bottom.
Pour the sand into the container until it reaches 2″ from the bottom.
Place a wire mesh on the surface of the sand
Pour the sand until it reaches 2″ from the top
Place another wire mesh on the surface of the sand
Fill the rest of the container
Guess and document the sand level when putting the weight on the sand
Put the weight on the sand
Observe and document the sand level
Case 4: Two layers of reinforcement place of your choice
Label the container ( )″ from the bottom and ( )″ from the top.
Pour the sand into the container until it reaches ( )″ high
Place the wire mesh on the surface of the sand
Pour the sand until it reaches ( )″ from the top
Place another wire mesh on the surface of the sand
Fill the rest of the container
Guess and document the sand level when putting the weight on the san
Put the weight on the sand
Observe and document the sand level
Resources
A box per small group
Wire Meshes
Sand
Brick or Weight
Markers
10 minute break
Whole Group Discussion
15 minutes
The facilitator leads a discussion using the following guiding questions:
What did you observe from Case 1 to Case 3?
What did you learn from Case 1 to Case 3?
What did you do for Case 4? Why? What did you find out?
How can these ideas relate back to friction and density we learned last week? (not sure about this one)
What can you conclude about how the placement of reinforcement impacts the sand strength?
The general conclusion from this hand-on activity should be that with single layer, the placement (top, middle, down) should not make much difference.
End of Session Reflection and Debriefing
5-10 minutes
Teacher briefly explains the computational thinking (CT) skill embedded in the Problem Solving Process Diagram. Using the problem solving process diagram, the teacher will ask students to identify what kind of problem solving skills/process/computational thinking they used in this session and explain how they used it. The following are some sample questions that can guide the debrief.
What did I learn today?
What problem solving skills/processes or CT components in this diagram did I use today?
How did I use the problem solving skills/processes/CT components?