Weeks? - Cranky Critters

We've been taking on the cranky contraptions challenge in second grade. Students have been most challenged by the the paperclip bending. I gave them a template, but this was a great lesson in perseverance. I decided not to worry about it if students decided to give up and accept a paperclip bent in a way that clearly would not work. I figured that as they worked through the steps they would come back and re-do it. This gamble paid off and on the second go around they seemed to have a better understanding of why the shape of the paperclip was so important. There are some things only experience can teach.

​The testing and iterating with this project have come really naturally. The end result it so whimsical and wonderful that students want to get it right. This is definitely a keeper.