Year 3 continue to hone their construction skills in our Forest School.
Following our STEM week tower challenge, the children were asked to look at the world around them as an architect or an engineer might do. Could they spot key features that help to give buildings more strength and stability? They had some great ideas, steel girders were spotted as were lots of shapes, rectangles in particular but also triangles and squares. They noticed that some buildings were narrower at the top like their tipees. Using that knowledge we discussed what techniques they could then apply to their own constructions outside.
Encouraging the children to use the correct vocabulary helps them to articulate what they want to say more clearly. Over the last few weeks we have focused on the words pivot, rotation and counter-weight during our shaduf building, tri-pod, (tri meaning 3 and pod meaning feet), stability, cuboid and replicate, meaning to copy. We will revisit these words, helping to embed their meaning, as we progress through these construction tasks. To help the children why not ask them to explain the kind of things they have been making. Why they have decided to do something in a particular way and what inspired them to do it.
Article 12 – We all have a right to say what we think and be listened to.
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- Here we see a new take on the tower building challenge. Still using sticks but you can now see layering, replicate the tower blocks around us.
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- Using a tripod as a frame these children are experimenting with how they then create walls.
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- A great tipee, low and long, perfect for one person to sleep in.
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- By changing the construction would they be able to make a taller tower?
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- Very impressive results from this method.
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- Trying to build some walls is harder than it looks.
