Lesson overview

Part one of this two-part lesson develops students understanding of strong structures and investigates how cranes work. Students work together to design and construct a crane using a variety of materials. They will adapt and evaluate their structure as they go along and make improvements where necessary. They will also construct a model submersible to launch and recover once their crane is complete.

Learning outcomes

• Describe how machines help people
• Describe and apply the features of a stable structure
• Construct a working model of a crane
• Reflect on learning and plan next steps

Lesson steps

1. Launching a submarine (10 mins)
   Students consider how submarines are launched from the surface vessel and watch a 360 video of a launch.
   
2. Strong structures (10 mins)
   Students examine the features of strong structures and how this relates to building a crane.
   
3. Plan and build (30 mins)
   In pairs students plan and build a crane structure that will be capable of launching and recovering a model submarine.
   
4. Evaluate and improve (10mins)
   Students evaluate and improve their build and begin planning the next element of their machine.

England

Science Key Stage 2

Forces

• Pulleys, gears and levers

Materials

• Properties of materials

Working scientifically

• Investigation skills: planning, taking measurements, recording data, making predictions
• Scientific conclusions: reporting and presenting, using evidence

USA

• Engineering Design
  3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
  3-5-ETS1-2. Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
  3-5-ETS1-3. Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.