What did we learn about triangles in our previous lesson? They are strong! But, they are also rigid. This means the sides do not bend easily. Today, we will explore which parts of structure need to be rigid. We will also use toothpicks and clay to make and strengthen three different shapes: a square, rectangle and pentagon. How can you make these three different shapes more rigid?
Here are your instructions:
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How can you make that shapes in structures stronger? Start with a strong shape! Triangles are strong shapes. They are also rigid. That means the sides do not bend easily. Which parts of a structure need to be rigid? How can you make different shapes more rigid?
For this activity, we learned how to fold paper in way to make a triangle strong enough to hold up different heavy objects. Our triangles could hold up a number of different objects: books, a jar of Nutella, a frying pan, the list goes on! Triangles sure are strong! Have a look: Today we explored how to make the shapes in structures stronger. Did you know something as flimsy as paper can be strong? Check out our designs in the gallery below. We discovered that triangles are strong shapes and that the heavier the roof (the objects that we put on our structures), the stronger the frame has to be.
Here are some questions we used to deepen and expand our thinking:
Tomorrow we will continue to explore how to make the shapes in structures stronger. We are going to attempt to build a paper skyscraper using only paper triangles! How can you shape the paper in a way to make a triangle strong enough to hold up a heavy book? How tall can we stack our triangles?
Today we returned to a time lapse video of a house constructed start to finish (see below). This time we focused on how every structure has a frame. The frame holds a structure together the same way bones hold together our muscles and skin. The frame supports the others parts of the structure. What materials make strong frames? We'll continue our discussion tomorrow and also talk about the ways we can make the shapes in structures stronger.
We also practiced building our own frames! We designed 2-D and 3-D shapes using toothpicks and modelling clay. What the shapes did we build? Can you describe the number of sides and vertices?
House Construction Time Lapse:
Today we continue our exploration of Strong and Stable structures by looking at the different parts of a building. Click the image above to read Gail Gibbons's book, "How A House is Built" (on Epic!). From the architect's plans to the landscaping! There are many different parts to a building and building has many different parts to it too (it's quite a process!).
If you're curious to learn more you can also read, "Building a Skyscraper" by Karen Latchana Kenny (also on Epic!). The book also highlights the sequence of events from idea to finished building, but this time the building is a skyscraper. The photographs and a timeline support each step of the project. Click here to the read the book. Our Science lesson today was in many ways connected to our current Math unit (2D Geometry)! We continued to look at animal structures and focused our exploration on honeybees. Did you know, not only are honeybees responsible for pollinating your fruits, vegetables, and nuts, they are also some of nature's finest mathematicians? They also live in one of the most mathematically efficient architectural designs around, the beehive.
We looked specifically at the honeycomb and learned that bees make hexagons in their hives. Why do bees make hexagons in their hives? Why not any other shape? (This will lead perfectly into our next discussion on shapes that make structures strong.) Check out the honeycombs we have made so far: Today we will continue to explore where structures are found by looking at animal structures. Visit Epic! to build some background knowledge before our online Science session this afternoon. You can use the keyword, "animal homes" to search for books. Also, today's Science activity will be completed in your Science workbook (not on Seesaw). The complete instructions are on Seesaw. Here's what the inside of your workbook should look like: Normally we would take a community walk to identify structures. Instead, we are going to look a photos of structures. There are a few different pictures of structures below. Are these pictures of structures? Are all structures buildings? We will also continue to discuss what the term function means tomorrow. Today, we came up with a class definition for the term structure. The Grade 3s also returned to look at the questions we have about structures. We started to discuss how we might find the answers to these questions. Tomorrow, we will start to look at where structures are found and focus on the functions of structures. Draw a building unlike any you have ever seen. The only things you must include are at least one (1) door and three (3) windows. Once you have finished drawing and colouring your building, write two (2) paragraphs about it. Here's what you write about:
Here are a couple of things to make note of:
This is how you should set up your page. Once you have finished writing out the date, title and writing prompts, please go work on your writing away from a screen.
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AuthorWelcome! My name is Ms Soltes and I am one of the Grade 3 teachers at Sunway International School. This is the 3B classroom blog and it is the best way to find out what the 3B kiddos are up to in class! Archives
November 2020
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