Overview

The class brainstorms differences among the ways various wind-ups work. Students sort wind-ups according to their characteristics, such as: wind-ups that go straight, those that go in circles, those that spin in place. They then look at how  the design of a wind-up could change the way it works. Finally they redesign their wind-ups to make them work the way they want.

Advance Preparation

• Photo copy the worksheet: “Redesign your Wind-up”. Download below.
• Photo copy the worksheet: “Manual for Building a New Wind-up”. Download below.
• Photo copy an Assessment sheet for each child, for use as summative assessment of the instruction manual and of the completed wind-up.  Download below.

Materials

• Wind-ups made in previous lessons
• Materials for making wind-ups, for spare parts
• Markers, crayons and craft materials for decorating wind-up

Procedure

1. Class meeting: Introduce the concept of "design". The design of the wind-up is the parts that are used and the way they are put together.

            How is the design of your wind-up different from others?

List the ways the students' designs differ. These could include:

• Holes: some holes in the lids are large, some small; some are exactly in the center, some off to the side.
• Sticks: some sticks are longer, some short.
• Lids or wheels: some use a lid at each side, some don't; some use small lids (wheels), some use large lids; some have the lids close together, some farther apart.
• Cups: Cups (or whatever separates the lids/wheels are different.
• Rubber bands:  The rubber bands are different sizes. they are connected in different ways and wound different amounts.
• The parts are held together in different ways.

The result of the different wind-up designs is they run in different ways.  Ask students to share differences in the ways their wind-ups run. Three differences in the way wind-ups go are differences in the path they take, and the distance and  speed that they go.   Paths are an easy difference to see.

• Some wind-ups go in circles, and
• Some wind-ups spin in place
• Some wind-ups go nearly straight,

As students talk about wind-ups that go in circles, ask about the sizes of the circles.  Help them see that some go in large circles, some small. This will be an easy difference to trace to design.
Speed and distance are sometimes difficulty for students to separate from one another, saying that the one that goes furthest is the fastest. As students describe speed and distance help them to make these distinctions:

• Some wind-ups go slow and far,
• Some wind-ups go slow and short
• Some wind-ups fast and not very far,
• Some wind-ups are in between in how far and how fast they go

2. Sorting wind-ups: Ask students to sort their wind-ups according to the categories they have noticed in #1. Depending on the number of wind-ups available, this could be a whole-class or a group activity. Here is a video on sorting wind-ups.
3. Finding patterns: Ask students what they noticed about the wind-ups in each category. Generalizations students may make include;

• Wind-ups with two big wheels go far and slow
• Wind-ups with small wheels spin out.
• Wind-ups with different sized wheels go in circles.
• When the difference in the size of wheel is big, the wind-up goes in small circles.

Have a brief discussion on how they could use this information in designing a new wind-up,  to make it work the way they want. Here is some information on the relation between wind-up design and performance. This video explains the relation between wheel size and speed.  The worksheet "Redesign Your Wind-up" provides space for students to record their generalizations about path, speed and distance.  Questions 3 and 4 ask about the new wind-up students will make.
4. Redesign wind-ups. Students now make a new wind-up, using all they have learned about wind-ups. This is a "redesign" because it uses what they learned from their first wind-up and the wind-ups that others made. They should take notes on how they make their wind-ups to use in writing the Instruction Manual.
5. Instruction Manual: Students create a new instruction manual for making the redesigned wind-up. They can use the "Manual for Creating a New Wind-up". Copy additional blank pages as needed. Remind students to number each step on each page.
6. Science Notebook: I their Science Notebooks students explain how they redesigned their wind-ups, what they did differently, and how they worked.
7. Outcomes

• Students learn how to identify sets of categories and sort objects into the categories they have chosen.
• Student observe the differences in design between the objects in different categories.
• Students develop an understanding about how changing the design of something can cause a change in performance.
• Word wall words: design, redesign

Worksheet

Assessment