Three Little Pigs STEM Project

 

In our February second grade study of fairy tales, we focused on The Three Little Pigs. It is so familiar to the kids which made it easy to discuss things like literary elements and fairy tale elements. I also read The Three Billy Goats Gruff and Hansel and Gretel, but we always went back to the pigs to make comparisons and contrasts. That being the case, we completed the month with a big Three Little Pigs STEM project. I first read about the project on Carly & Adam last spring even before I got the libarian job. At that time, this site was not the membership site it is now. I was able to read about the STEM project and see some pictures. Carly & Adam have now become a membership site which costs $144/year. (I have just joined but have not had sufficient amount of time to look over all the projects and ideas.)

I divided each class into three groups by having them "blindly" select cards with "straw," "sticks," or "bricks" printed on them. They were given trays for their supplies. The brick group was given legos. The stick group could choose between popsicle sticks and wooden slat blocks. If they chose popsicle sticks, they also got masking tape. The straw group got drinking straws and could choose play doh or tape to hold the straws together. All groups were instructed to design and build a house from their materials. The house needed to be able to stand up to the "huffing and puffing" of a Big Bad Wolf. (I did not tell them who/what the wolf was.) 

After a given amount of time, they brought their trays to the wolf who could not leave his electrical outlet! The wolf huffed and puffed for 30 seconds on each house. I told the kids beforehand that if their house did not fall down, the builders would get a prize. NO houses blew down, including the straw houses, and everyone received a cute pig sticker. What made it even more fun was that with one class, my senior intern got to be the wolf, and in another class the principal took over the job!

At the conclusion of the project, each group had to complete a statement about why their house stayed up or what they should have done differently and circle their house type. Here is the sheet I used. Since they all stayed up, it was all about "why." The most popular response (unaided by me) was that the group worked well together and used their supplies wisely. I was very proud of them, and they had a fantastic time!

I think that the next time I do this project I will include some kind of choice for the "brick" group. I also might give them an extra week to draw a design of their plan. This month February put me in a time-crunch with winter break, a 1/2 day for inservice, and a snow day.