Which Fastener is Best?

Show students this video that explores different materials and their properties.

After the video, bring students outside to walk around the community, school building or school yard to look at some of the different materials used around them. Encourage students to identify objects and the materials the objects are made from (e.g., bricks made from clay, windows made from glass, sidewalk made of concrete).

Language

Create a word and/or photo wall of terminology that students will encounter over the course of this lesson such as, property, hard, soft, flexible, etc.

Safety

If a walk is not possible, pull up different images on an internet search engine of different objects (eg., chair, door, window, mirrors, etc.) found on school property and encourage students to identify the materials.

Show students the slideshow Which Fastener is Best? [Google slides] [pptx] [PDF].

Discussions

Refer to the speaker's notes for guided discussion regarding when you use one fastener versus another one.

Idea

You could have manipulatives to pass around while you present the slideshow. This would allow students to discover the objects physically as you talked about their purpose.

Co-construct the criteria for this simplified engineering design activity.

As a class, make a decision about what useful object they want to create. The whole class will make the same objects to make acquiring materials and instruction easiest. Some examples of objects that students could make are a lunch bag, or a small carrying pouch.

Recommendation: to successfully complete this small design project while ensuring students understand the role of fasteners, it is suggested that students must use at least two different fasteners to create their object.

Idea

Show students real examples of the object or photos so that they can see what elements each object requires to be functional (e.g., a purse needs a handle and it needs to open so you can put something inside, etc.).

Discussions

Ask clarifying/ probing questions that provoke further discussion about the object’s purpose, the appropriateness of the materials for the intended purpose, and the fasteners being used in relation to the materials used and purpose of the object.

Students will determine the materials that are best suited to create the useful object from those that are available to them (e.g., paper and tape, string).

Students will also determine what kind of fastener(s) will be best to use based on the materials they have chosen (paper can be attached together with tape or glue, string can be attached to paper using tape or staples, etc.).

Idea

Encourage students to try different options if a fastener does not work.

Idea

To further scaffold this activity you could have students make their object using the Design and Build process.

Have students sit in a circle and take turns sharing the object they made. Have them point to the parts of their objects where they used fasteners and encourage them to share why they chose to use the given fasteners.

Ask students to share one thing they learned while doing this activity,

Alternatively or in addition to the Show and Share, have students watch the read aloud version of the book If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen.

Or you could read the book if you have a copy of it available to you.

Idea

If students prefer not to share in front of their peers verbally, encourage them to hold their work up or share one-on-one at a later time.

Images and Videos

Ask students if they would like to hear/see the video more than once.