E is for Engineering - K-2 Grade - Let's BUILD!

There is no doubt that our engineering station is one of the favorites in the library. Here is our breakdown (although these can all be interchangeable).

Kindergarten: Brain Flakes

First grade: Garden Gears

Second grade: IO Blocks 

We discovered IO blocks through the scholastic catalog. There are mini blocks (for older students) and the larger blocks we use for this station with the second graders. There are cards they can use to give them inspiration or they can free build. In order to connect to the standards, I challenge our second grade learners to design and build their very own plant, animal, or flower. They always come up with creative designs.

If you would like view our station materials, you can check them out HERE. 

First grade students study plants and the life cycle of plants, so it makes perfect sense that we build our own gardens with our garden gears. They even have pollinators they can include in their garden. They build all sorts of garden designs, big and small. Often times they will join their designs together to form one massive garden, which is pretty impressive. 

If you would like to check out station materials for our first grade garden gear center, you can look view them HERE.  

Have you have had the joy of building with brainflakes? We have used brainflakes across all grade levels. I can't wait to share all the ways we use them (more to come later). For kindergarten learners, they like to sort them by color and make patterns. They design snowflakes, flowers, rainbows and sometimes just sort and classify them. This taps into their math standards and re-enforces patterns. 

Check out our station materials HERE.

Below you will find one of the charts I have at my YELLOW, Engineering table. It covers the standards for grades K-2. I love these visuals because the teachers can see how we are connecting our library CREATE stations to the activities and skills they are learning in the classroom. 

To make a copy of the chart below, click HERE.

E is for ENGINEERING - 3rd and 4th GRADE

 

Third grade engineers.... we connect to the science standards of learning and have students use TEGU blocks (purchased with Scholastic Dollars) to create simple and compound machines.

These blocks are awesome because they are magnetic, come with a ton of different shapes and sizes...andy they come WITH WHEELS. Any building material that comes with WHEELS is a must at the elementary school level. We review the basic simple machines: wedge, pulley, inclined plane and wheel and axle. Students discuss, brainstorm and build their machines in groups of 2 or 4. 

If you would like to access my materials for this engineering station (they are editable to fit your needs), you can access them HERE (they are free). 

Both my 4th and 5th graders will be using the Little Bits this year. In the past, it was mostly just the 5th grade classes but with the changes in the SOL standards, I am definitely going to have my 4th graders experiment with these! These fit into their classroom lesson so well. For this station, I made 2 notebooks that have the different ideas and directions for the students to follow. The PDF I used is HERE. This is 76 pages, so I didn't use all the pages, but I printed the basic circuits: light sensor, temperature sensor, buzzer, and of course the car (an all time favorite to build). Students are also encouraged to free build. Check out the explanation of this station HERE. It includes signs, standards, and procedures. Hope these help! 

       

My engineering students sit at the yellow E table where their materials are stored. The chart I use for this table is below! If you would like this chart that outlines this station, you can make a copy HERE. It covers third, fourth and fifth grade. 

E is for ENGINEERING - Grade 5

 

We are back from a wonderful winter break and a wild snow storm. These next few weeks we are easing back into our CREATE stations, and we are engineering left and right keeping our hands and minds busy during our library time! 

Earlier, I shared my CREATE station, C is for CONSTRUCTION. How is engineering different from construction? It really isn't....several of these stations are very flexible and can be used for different stations. The big difference is that grades 3-5 do not have a construction station. Their C station is for COMPUTER (or CHROMEBOOK) with a digital choice board or Minecraft, so the engineering station is when the older kids get a chance to build and design too.

Check out our CREATE choice board for JANUARY: CREATE January Choice Board. If you would like a copy of the CREATE Choice board to make a copy and make changes you can access it HERE.

When the 5th graders engineer, they use KAPLA blocks (received from the local Buy Nothing FB group), which correlates with SOL WS.2, themes of geography and the human-environment interactions. They review these concepts by using the blocks to build dams, buildings, and bridges. 

 

If you would like all the engineering station freebies, check them out here: ENGINEERING STATION SIGNS and STANDARDS.