Well, I did it. I created my Menus for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade engineering. I have been introducing them to the classes this past week. It has gone remarkably well. I go through the process of asking the students if they all run the mile at the same time in P.E. Do they all finish their classwork at the same time? Or, finish reading a book at the same time. I explain to them that building is the same. This seems to make perfect sense to the students.
Realistically, this is probably just the honeymoon of the new instructional practice, but I have high hopes for students to progress at their own pace and increase engagement with less down time listening to me explain what they will be doing each day. I know I will have to continually monitor and check in with all the students, but I think this will take pressure off the less experienced builders while allowing the more experienced students to try builds that will challenge them.
I am including links to the menus I created for my class, as well as, project guidelines for some of the projects listed in the Main Dishes.
3rd Grade Menu
4th Grade Menu
5th Grade Menu
3rd Grade Rube Goldberg Project
4th and 5th Grade Explorer Robotics Project
5th Grade 3D Printing Project
