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CURRICULUM AND LEARNING DEVELOPMENT * 5 HOURS *
​PROGRAM PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT * 5 HOURS * LEVEL 2

 Playdough in the Classroom

Page 44

Lesson Plan Example

Playdough Engineering
Please provide appropriate supervision to the children in your care when completing all activities. You will need to decide what types of activities are safe for the children in your care.  Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when providing art and sensory experiences for children.
Age Group: ​ 
  • School-age (grades 2-3)
Objectives:
  • Children will work together to solve an engineering problem by designing a structure from common materials
Washington State K-12 Science Learning Standard:
Grade 2-3
Big Idea: Application (APP)
Core Content: Solving Problems
  • 2-3 APPA Simple problems can be solved through a technological design process that includes: defining the problem, gathering information, exploring ideas, making a plan, testing possible solutions to see which is best, and communicating the results.
Playdough Engineering
Playdough Engineering
Materials:  
  • Playdough
  • Popsicle sticks
  • Large book
  • Paper (or science journal)
  • Pencil
Procedure: 
  1. Divide students into small groups and provide a lump of playdough, some popsicle sticks and pencil and paper. Instruct groups to build a structure out of playdough and popsicle sticks that will be able to hold the book. Encourage children to use collaboration and to make drawings and depictions with their plan for the structure.
  2. Test out each group’s structure by placing the book on the structures one at a time. Discuss the differences in structures while explaining that there is no “right” way to build one.
  3. Lastly, have groups analyze the process in which they built their structures. Ask guiding questions such as:
  • Did your group make an initial plan? How did that work for your end result?
  • How would you describe your group’s communication skills?
  • If you were to do this activity again, what would you change? Why?
Assessment:  
  • Observe and record the group’s collaborative skills when trying to solve the engineering problem.  Also make note of the ending analytical process and of student’s ability to critique their experiences.
Click on the photos to enlarge 

    Playdough Engineering (19/19)

    Playdough in the Classroom
For Future Reference
When this training is over, it's going to be hard to remember all these lesson plans! We want you to get the most from this training, and continue to use this information in your classroom.  We have put the lesson plans in this course, that are produced by Successful Solutions, on our resource website, www.Lessons4Learners.com, where you can continue to access them after your training expires. 
Be sure to bookmark the direct link to the page where the lesson plans can be found for easy access in the future at:   
http://www.lessons4learners.com/playdough.html ​