Klutz: Lego Chain Reactions: Design and Build Amazing Moving Machines

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Provide them with the opportunity to share their thinking, ideas, and reflections using the documentation tool(s) they have available. Students should initially work independently, spending three minutes to generate as many ideas as they can to solve the problem. Use craft materials that you already have in your classroom to add another dimension to this lesson. For example, they can begin by investigating different parts of a solution or a specific function of an element before focusing on the overall solution.

As part of your lesson preparation, find a few inspirational images or illustrations to share with your students as they are reviewing the Maker brief and defining the problem that they will solve.Once they have decided upon how they want to solve the problem, ensure that they record it on their worksheet. The intention is to help students reflect on what they have done well and what they could have done better. This iteration is a natural part of the process and it should occur several times as they improve upon their initial idea. If you want students to submit their documentation at the end of the lesson, ensure that they record their design journey during the making stage using sketches and photos of their models. LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Minifigure, DUPLO, the SPIKE logo, MINDSTORMS and the MINDSTORMS logo are trademarks and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group.

During the making process, remind students to test and analyze their idea as they go, making improvements where necessary. The book includes 33 special Lego elements that combine with the most common bricks from your collection to make your machines go. Students test and evaluate their designs against the design criteria they recorded before they started making their solution. Allow the students to select the tool(s) they find appropriate for capturing and sharing their reflections. Be prepared to help facilitate this process to ensure that the students choose something that is possible to make.

Lego Chain Reactions by Klutz includes: 33 x Lego bricks, 6 x balls, string, paper ramps, pop-up signs, funnel, flag, bucket, platform and a 74-page instruction book that teaches the physics behind the fun.