a short so we had to replace it and rubber band it. Our team worked together by talk-
ing to each other, taking each others' ideas into consideration, and using teamwork.
Upon reflection, this unit seems to
have been more than worth the substan- tial effort. The kids learned teamwork, history, technical planning, mechanical drawing, uses of simple machines, and a substantial amount of applied com- puter skills. Extending over time, they had opportunities to make mistakes and rectify them, try out ideas and improve them. I believe long-term multifaceted projects like this serve as a counterbal- ance to the hectic, bit-at-a-time, learn-and-regurgitate system that so often results in frag- mented learning and a lack of connection. But also, it was a lot of fun! !
Ann Rubino teaches Methods of Science at Lewis University and reviews books for NSTA Recom- mends. She was a member of the Honors Science Project sponsored by NSF and has given workshops at state and national levels. A lifelong “engineering groupie,” she has always incorporated inventions units into her elementary and college classes.
Resources
Dunn & Larson. Design Technology: Children’s Engineering. 1989. Routledge. A classic and seminal book on the topic with very many practical suggestions.
Sobey, Ed. Loco-Motion. 2005. Chicago Review Press. VanCleave, Janice. Engineering for Every Kid. 2007. Wiley. eGFI News for Teachers. Newsletter with engineering ideas and lessons for K–12. Museum of Science, Boston. Many engineering resources in Education section of site. Assessments are also provided.
MIT Engineering Videos (sample).
KidsDiscover.com. Source of many excellent content-related magazines that can be matched to the unit. Examples are Bridges, Electricity, Inventions, Simple Machines.
Cobblestone Magazine from Carus Publishing. Primarily history background and extra reading.
Additional Reading: Dennenberg, Barry. So Far from Home. Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl. 1997. Scholastic: Dear America Series.
Yep, Laurence. The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung. A Chinese Miner. 2000. Scholastic: Dear America Series Gregory, Kristiana. The Great Railroad Race. The Diary of Libby West. 1999. Scholastic: Dear America Series.
Durbin, William. The Journal of Sean Sullivan. A Transcontinental Railroad Worker. 1999. Scholastic: Dear America Series.
Freedman, Russell. Kids at Work. Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor. 1994. Scholastic. Warren, Andrea. Orphan Train Rider: One Boy’s True Story. 1996. Houghton Mifflin. Macaulay, David. Mill. 1983. Houghton Mifflin. Cherry, Lynne. A River Ran Wild. 1992 Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich.
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