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Ordinary Object

During a recent enrichment activity, we asked our students to participate in an "Improve It!" challenge, an idea from Childhood101.  We collected a wide range of ordinary objects, things such as:
  • paper cup
  • stapler
  • scissors
  • erasor
  • plastic spoon
  • paper clip
  • magnifying glass
  • glue stick
Picture
They could be creative as well and think of other objects -- something inside their pencil case or backpack, from their locker or bedroom. Once settled upon an item, students had to brainstorm any and all ideas for improving the object. The ideas could be practical, silly, within the realm of possibility or potentially impossible. Many of then drew out models and those who decided a plan quickly, jumped into our makerspace to find materials and began creating prototypes.
Picture
Picture
Improving an ordinary object, fits, no question, into the open-ended work done in a  makerspace. However, it could also easily fit into a U.S. History unit when discussing the technological advances of Westward Expansion or the inventions of the first part of the 20th century. Or,  incorporated into a Life Science class when addressing animal adaptations. Instead of objects, students could problem solve and figure out how to make a process better (such as voting in a Civics class) or improve some aspect of their own community.
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  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Presentations >
      • Empower17
      • Thesis ALIVE!
  • READ
    • What's the Scoop? >
      • Landmark Supreme Court Cases
    • Reading an Artifact
    • Reading an Image
    • Emoji Notes
    • Sketchnotes
    • Sharing Books with Kids
  • WRITE
    • Thesis & Essay Writing >
      • Thesis Writing Workshop
      • Fairy Tale Grab Bags
      • Essay Roadmap
      • Essay Outline Generator
      • Other Thesis Ideas
    • What's the Scoop? >
      • Landmark Supreme Court Cases
    • Poetry Beyond English Class
  • CREATE
    • Think, Build, Tweet
    • Sketchnotes
    • Ordinary Objects
    • Think Outside the Box
    • Poetry Beyond English Class
  • WORK WITH US
    • Testimonials