Learning Activity

If I Built a Car

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science
Mathematics

Grade(s)

4

Overview

Through literature, students will identify and take notes on the design process Jack uses as he designs a car for specific purposes. With a partner, students will work through the design process to digitally develop, test, and refine the prototype of a car for a specific user’s needs. Students will use a digital resource such as Sketchup, Paint 3D, Tinkercad, or another free online resource to practice creating the design using points, lines, line segments, and angles.

This activity was created as a result of the DLCS COS Resource Development Summit.

Digital Literacy and Computer Science (2018) Grade(s): 4

DLCS18.4.21

Develop, test, and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process to solve a simple problem.

Unpacked Content

UP:DLCS18.4.21

Vocabulary

  • develop
  • test
  • refine
  • prototypes
  • cyclical design process

Knowledge

Students know:
  • strategies to brainstorm and develop prototypes as part of a cyclical design process to solve a simple problem.
  • strategies to test prototypes as part of a cyclical design process to solve a simple problem.
  • strategies to refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process to solve a simple problem.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • develop, test, and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process to solve a simple problem.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • some problems can be solved by developing prototypes.
Mathematics (2019) Grade(s): 4

MA19.4.27

Draw points, lines, line segments, rays, angles (right, acute, obtuse), and perpendicular and parallel lines, and identify these in two-dimensional figures.

Unpacked Content

UP:MA19.4.27

Vocabulary

  • Point
  • Line
  • Line segment
  • Ray
  • Right angle
  • Acute angle
  • Obtuse angle
  • Perpendicular lines
  • Parallel lines
  • Two dimensional figure
  • Vertex
  • Angle measure

Knowledge

Students know:
  • defining characteristics of geometric figures, such as points, lines, line segments, angles (right, acute, and obtuse), parallel lines, and perpendicular lines.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Draw points, lines, line segments, rays, angles (right, acute, obtuse).
  • Draw parallel and perpendicular lines.
  • Identify points, lines, line segments, rays, angles, parallel lines, and perpendicular lines in two-dimensional figures.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • points, lines, line segments, angles (right, acute, and obtuse), parallel lines, and perpendicular lines are defining characteristics of two dimensional shapes.

Phase

During/Explore/Explain
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

Use the design process to develop, test, and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process to solve a simple problem.

Use a digital tool to draw in 2-D or 3-D using points, lines, line segments, rays, angles, and perpendicular and parallel lines.

 

Activity Details

Students will:

  1. Review the design process learned in a previous lesson (see Advanced Preparation section for the prior knowledge required for this activity).

  2. Complete a graphic organizer giving details from the book If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen, read by the teacher of how Jack works through the design process (see Advanced Preparation for directions on creating the graphic organizer).  

  3. As a class, students discuss specific examples from their notes of each phase of the design process.

  4. Observe Jack’s sketches from the front and back cover as examples. Another resource with design sketches is The Way Things Work by David Macaulay. 

  5. Review a design sketch and identify geometry features such as points, lines, line segments, rays, angles, and perpendicular and parallel lines.

  6. Work with a partner on the challenge of designing a car for a specific user. Each pair selects a user card and lists on the card characteristics of the user(s). Possible users include a teenager, a family with four young children which require car seats, someone who has lost the use of their legs, and a grandparent or older adult.

  7. Briefly discuss the characteristics and things to think about regarding their user with other groups who chose the same user.

  8. Brainstorm features needed in a car for their user on a large sheet of paper. Remind the groups that no idea is “too wild”. Record all ideas with the person recommending explaining how the feature is needed/recommended for the user. Sketch a diagram of the car using features from the brainstorm session.  Post the design sketches on the wall or on tables.

  9. Students will take a gallery walk around the room to view the design sketches of other groups and give them feedback using Post-it notes left on the designs.  Feedback should consist of which features the reviewer thinks would be best on the new car design.

  10. Partners review the feedback from others and refine the design sketch.

  11. The teacher will introduce students to an online 2-D or 3-D program that is available to their students to create their designs.  While demonstrating how to draw, the teacher will use geometry vocabulary. Some programs available are Google Sketchup for Schools, Microsoft 3D Paint,  or Tinkercad.

  12. Students will create a 2-D or 3-D prototype/design sketch of the car for their specific user making sure to label the parts for others to easily understand when viewing. Share the designs through a link or print image.

Assessment Strategies

Assessment Strategies

Students knowledge of the design process will be demonstrated by the correctly completed graphic organizer.

Design sketches and digital designs with written details will be used to assess the knowledge of the user and geometric vocabulary.

Variation Tips

Students review design sketches of a real-life car (See this website for an example, Concept to creation: original movie car design sketches). 

Background and Preparation

Background / Preparation

Work with the Technology Department at least a week in advance of this lesson to get approval to use a 2-D or 3-D program and know how to properly have students log in to use the program.

The teacher will need the book If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen

Background knowledge to understand the design process provided by PBS Learning Network. Suggestion: create a design thinking anchor chart to post in the classroom for students to refer to during this activity.

Create a graphic organizer with five sections for Step 2 in the activity: identify the problem; brainstorm; design; build, test, evaluate, and redesign; and share solutions

Create user cards for step 3 with an area for students to write details about the user.

Large paper for design sketches

Post-it notes or something similar

Become familiar with how to create 2-D or 3-D items within the program that the students will use and possibly locate age-appropriate tutorials for the program. If you cannot locate a tutorial, create your own using a screen capture program such as Screencastify Chrome extension.

Digital Tools / Resources

Google Sketchup for Education
https://help.sketchup.com/en/sketchup-schools/sketchup-schools

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

aprilchamberlai
ALSDE LOGO

This site may contain links to other websites or content belonging to or originating from third parties or links to websites and features in banners or other advertising. Such external links are not investigated, monitored, or checked for accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness by us. WE DO NOT WARRANT, ENDORSE, GUARANTEE, OR ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY INFORMATION OFFERED BY THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES LINKED THROUGH THIS SITE.
Alabama Learning Exchange © 2002-2023 by Alabama State Department of Education is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Design by Adaptive Theme