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I absolutely LOVED this project, as did the students! We are very excited to share it with you. One of the most fun things about having fourth grade at our school this year has been that I get to explore a whole new set of projects with them. This project was designed to go along with their IB unit "Structures." The goal of our work was to experiment with the structure of a very common object- the chair. I used this video to introduce the idea to students- Just by watching this video, my kids started to get excited about the project. Our first day was spent sketching, planning, and dreaming- and some kids were dreaming BIG! We had plans for race-car chairs, rocket ship chairs, even a chair with a built-in smoothie maker! Then it was time to get to work! Students spent the next three class sessions constructing their chairs. My job was to dispense the hot glue, so I did not get to circulate around the room like I normally would when students were working. But, this meant that students had to solve their own design problems without my input! I was so happy to see them taking ownership of their designs and really striving to make them successful! The requirements for the project were:
Our construction materials were anything and everything... odds and ends from the hardware store and the craft store, along with anything else I had in my storage cabinets. I did have some special requests for items like glitter and glow-in-the-dark paint, so I accommodated those requests the best I could! This video was another great inspiration- a professional furniture craftsman at work! I love how he tells his story, from starting out as a kid building skateboard ramps, and how he transitioned to the beautiful work he does today! He also does a great job explaining the importance of science and math for his craft. Here are some in-progress pictures. And here are a few of the finished designs! Each student also completed a reflection sheet about their creative process. This project will definitely be one we repeat each year!
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