Designs from Our Past by Ann Rubino “ H

ow can we make a beaver trap?” “If we make a steamboat, how can we get it to go—and where will we float it?”

These comments and others like them came spilling out of my fourth graders’ mouths

when I suggested that they could build replicas of inventions people used during the times covered by our social studies unit. My challenge for this group of gifted students was to create a series of lessons and learning that would be the focus of the social studies and science curricula for the quarter. The topics were wide-ranging: 1870s through the Industrial Revolution in social stud-

ies, and electricity and simple machines in science. I had volunteered to be responsible for both science and social studies for my group, thinking that the former approach, using motivational activities like puzzle-making and extra field trips, lacked depth of content. I believed that substantial content could be injected into the program without diluting the excitement and stimulation desired for the gifted program. It proved to be so, for the stu- dents and for me as well! I wanted to draw from varied sources that would both appeal to the kids and carry real,

relevant information. We used a WebQuest for the Internet1 relating to the period of time we were studying. The district provided network capability for each teacher, and I put up a “jump page” for my class with links to appropriate readable sites for their research—no Web surfing was allowed. We used their social studies books, a variety of library books and my own collection of Cobblestone, Kids Discover, Dear America Series, and many others provided by our capable librarian. For science we used the students’ textbook (with quite a thin treatment), my own favor-

ite, Design Technology: Children’s Engineering by Dunn & Larson, and a collection of design and invention books I had accumulated through my years teaching as an elemen- tary science specialist. For the actual building we used the LINX materials from The Science Source. These

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included “lumber,” 1 cm-square balsa sticks, ¼" dowels, pressed-board wheels with holes for the dowel axles, and most importantly, child- sized tools to give kids a fighting chance at a precise and functional product. The tools and jigs allowed for good sturdy square corners, precise miter joints and properly placed axles and wheels. Gears could also be made, but they are tricky and provide lots of friction, with the potential for seizing much too often.

Starting Out

We brainstormed cause and effect for a variety of everyday devices. Using graphic organizers, stu- dents were able to clarify a sort of “KWN”: what they need to know, what function they want, and

1. WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all of the information that learners work with comes from the Web.

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Ann Rubino