Age Group
This experience is tailored to students in grades 5-8
Standards Addressed
ELA
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.3d Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to convey experiences and events.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7-2d Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8-4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Visual Arts
VA3-3.3 Discuss the ways that choices of subject matter, symbols, and ideas combine to communicate meaning in his or her works of visual art.
VA5-6.4 Discuss and write about the ways that skills from another area of the curriculum might be used in the visual arts.
VA6-1.3 Select and apply the most effective materials, techniques, and processes to communicate his or her experiences and ideas through artworks.VA7-4.3 Demonstrate visual literacy by deconstructing works of visual art to identify and discuss the elements and principles of design that are used in them.
VA8-6.3 Identify specific visual arts careers and describe the knowledge and skills that one needs for these careers
Science
6-1, 7-1, 8-1 The student will demonstrate an understanding of technological design and scientific
inquiry, including the process skills, mathematical thinking, controlled investigative design and analysis, and problem solving.
Mathematics
Draw construct, and describe geometrical figures and describe the relationships between them.
Solve real-life and mathematical problems involving angle measure, area, surface area, and volume.
Equipment/Materials
Kite Materials
Access to the Internet / Books about Kite Design
Grid Paper
Pens/Markers
Rulers
Scissors
Hack Saw
File/ Sand Paper
Kite Line String
Electrical Tape
Scotch Tape
Plastic Grocery Bags
Wooden Dowel Rods (3/16”)
Wood Glue
Shoe Laces
Glider Materials
Card Stock
Balsa Wood
Scissors
Exact-o Knife
Scotch Tape
Wood Glue
Ruler
Paper Clips
Design
Paints and Brushes
Posterboard
Printed Examples for Ideas
Technology (iPads, laptops, desktop computers)
Interactive White Board
Paper and Pencils
Activity
Title – Create a flying toy company
Purpose – to teach students about science inquiry and problem solving in a creative environment where they will have to work together to complete the project.
Day 1 – Team Building and Introduction to the Project –
– Who are we and what are our strengths and weaknesses?
– What does it take to start a company together?
– What does it mean to start a kite making company?
– What should we call the company?
– Who is our target audience?
Day 2 – Learning About Things That Fly and Begin Prototypes
– What is aerodynamics and how does it work?
– What is a kite and a glider and how do they work?
– How is geometry involved in designing things that fly?
– Which design will you make?
Day 3 – Continue Prototypes
– What are some different kite and glider designs that we can make?
– What might the process of making them look like?
Day 4 – Finishing Prototypes and Marketing the Company
– What do I still need to do in order to get my kite/glider ready to fly?
– What help do I still need to create a successful prototype?
– How can I make my kite/glider look great?
– What will be our costs?
– How much will we need to charge for the service?
– Is it a viable business model?
Day 5 – Marketing the Company
– What should our logo look like? What about a jingle or tag line?
– What might a commercial/promotional video look like to market our business?
– Which products should be chosen for the prototypes?
Extension
Pitching the idea to investors/buyers.
– What does an investor want to know about your company?
● Overview of your company including founder/owners, history, brand names and such things
● Problems your business will address and solutions to it
● Customer benefits
● Your marketing strategy and competitive advantage
● Business model you will implement and financial projections
● Financial needs
– What is the best way to present the information?
– What is the “story” of your company?
Evaluation
Pre- and post-survey for students and teachers on effect of the program on interest, belief that learning applies to their lives, and impression of their ability to solve problems
Resources
http://www.my-best-kite.com/
http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/exp_kite.html
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Kite
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/activities/crafts/kite-craft/
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/what-is-aerodynamics-58.html#.Uvo5aHZX_Ww
http://ed.ted.com/featured/QGAvaMwM
http://www.oldwoodtoys.com/new_page_2.htm
http://www.wonderville.ca/asset/airborne-experiment
http://www.ornithopter.org/birdflight/helicopter.pdf
http://www.curiositymachine.org/index.php?r=activity/view&id=90
Detailed Plans
Day 1 – Team Building and Introduction to the Project –
– Who are we and what are our strengths and weaknesses?
– What does it take to start a company together?
– What does it mean to start a kite making company?
– What should we call the company?
– Who is our target audience?
Gather students into a circle.
Introduce yourself and talk a little bit about what Corpus Callosum is.
Begin with a name game / goal setting exercise (group juggle). Discuss team goal setting and explain that in order to create a successful company, we will have to make some decisions as a group, which can be challenging when people disagree.
Break students up into small groups to discuss their individual strengths. Record them on paper.
Come back together as a group and share the strengths. Have a discussion about what strengths we have as a team and where we may need some help to create a successful business.
Discuss how ego gets in the way of successful businesses. That sometimes it is better to give up control in order to accomplish a goal.
Break out into small groups to begin to think about what it will mean to start a kite making company, what we might call the company and who might buy our products. Give each student a paper and pencil to record their thoughts. Remind them to use what they are learning in school about how to write with purpose – express ideas and be persuasive.
Finish the day with Yurt Circle – sit down and stand up as a team while holding onto the rope. Explain that we will succeed or fail depending on how well we are able to work together toward a common goal.
Day 2 – Learning About Things That Fly and Begin Prototypes
– What is aerodynamics and how does it work?
– What is a kite/glider and how do they work?
– How is geometry involved in designing kites and gliders?
– Which design will you make?
Gather students together and play Waterfall Calisthenics to get them moving and in tune with each other.
Recap the decisions from the previous day and give an overview of what we will accomplish today. Make a very simple paper airplane in front of the students and ask them what aerodynamics is – what forces work to make things fly (lift, pull, thrust, and drag). Explain that the toys we will make will not have thrust (unless we use rubber band powered propeller planes). Give every student a piece of paper and time to build a simple paper airplane (mark their planes). Once each student has had time to fly their plane and retrieve it, watch the aerodynamics video and discuss it. Allow students to make simple changes to their planes and set them aside to fly again later.
Talk about what makes a kite and glider what they are. Ask how are they defined. Begin discussing the geometry of designing a kite/glider – finding the center of a paper, making a square using triangles, shapes within shapes, etc. Have students experiment with making some of the shapes out of paper. Record each student’s decision about which they will make – kite or glider.
Finish the day with a simple flying competition. Have each student write a reflection of what they have learned so far – about how things fly, what it’s like to be starting a company, etc. Allow each student to share their writing and then turn their writing into paper airplanes, using what they know about aerodynamics. Give praise for planes that stay in the air for longer times, do tricks, or go for a far distance. Allow students to take their planes home.
Day 3 – Continue Prototypes
– What are some different kite designs that we can make?
– What might the process of making them look like?
Gather students together and play Palm/Finger. Challenge students to focus and pay attention to instructions in order to create the best product. Break students into groups based on whether they will create a kite or a glider. An adult in each area will go over the printed instructions for making their kite/glider and make sure that the students understand the safety expectations. Have the materials ready for the students to work with. Allow the students to begin building their prototype kites/gliders. Help students as needed.
Wrap up the day with a debrief – How is your work going? What challenges have you encountered? Has anyone else experienced that same challenge? Has anyone overcome that challenge? Allow students to record their responses in writing. Save the writing for facilitators to reflect on overnight.
Day 4 – Finishing Prototypes and Marketing the Company
– What do I still need to do in order to get my kite/glider ready to fly?
– What help do I still need to create a successful prototype?
– How can I make my kite/glider look great?
– What will be our costs?
– How much will we need to charge for the service?
– Is it a viable business model?
Front load the work for the day by saying that we will need to work together to create the best company possible. We have been doing individual work, but it will require teamwork and support to produce the best prototypes and best plan for our business.
Give each student time to think about and record a time when they have worked together as a team to achieve something special.
Have students go back to their stations to finish their kite/glider. Encourage students to think about how it looks – is it clean, smooth, and without breaks/tears? How can we make them look great, so someone will want to buy the product?
Meet with small groups to discuss costs – cost of goods sold (raw materials), overhead (facility, taxes, insurance), personnel (direct labor, HR, sales/marketing), marketing/advertising, shipping, profit margin (15%), contingency (unforeseen costs) (5%). Decide how much we would have to charge for each item in order to make a profit. Decide whether we have a viable business model. If not, discuss what can be done to improve the bottom line, so it will be worth creating the business.
Wrap up the day by coming back to the focus for the day – working together to produce the best company possible. Explain that our project is almost over and that we have worked hard together to create this company. Tell them that tomorrow we will take a different look at the company. The prototypes are complete, so now we will need to figure out how to convince people to buy our products. Have everybody put their hands in and do a “Go Team!”
Day 5 – Marketing the Company
– What should our logo look like? What about a jingle or tag line?
– What might a commercial/promotional video look like to market our business?
– Which products should be chosen for the prototypes?
Gather the students together and explain that this will be our final day on this project. Play Telephone – discuss how a message gets passed along to others through word of mouth. Explain that the simpler the message the better it gets passed to others.
Give marketing expert(s) several minutes to discuss what they do for a living and how they chose their career. Explain that they will be here for a while to help the group come up with a great logo/tag line. Give the students plenty of time to work on their logo designs before sharing them with the group. An anonymous vote will decide which logo will represent the company.
Divide the students into groups to work on commercials for the product – It could be a dramatic commercial, a billboard design, etc. The students should each record their ideas for persuading people to buy the products on paper. They should focus on being explicit – finding the main idea of what we our company does.
Once each group has had time to plan and practice their commercial, allow each group to present to the group. Record the groups on video and share with the teacher to use/review later.
Bring everyone together one more time for a group Pat on the Back. Applaud their efforts and explain that they may see their prototypes in production at the market and/or at the Corpus Callosum retail space.
