New and Improved

Objective:
Child will plan and build a second caddy.

Essential Question(s):
How do we build something that works effectively?
What questions do we need to ask?
What observations do we need to make?

Special Materials:
Objects for the caddy (from the child’s own room), pencil and paper

Bricks Required:
All

Project Structure

Engage/Explore:

1. Ask what strategies child uses to keep organized. Have they noticed how the adults in their lives keep their desks (or similar places) organized? Encourage child to think about using a caddy for that purpose.

Explain/Explore:

1. Ask child what kinds of objects go in a desk caddy and make a list.
   1. As the list is made, ask about attributes of the different objects (tall, short, wide, narrow).
   2. Ask child to make their own list of what they need to organize, which may not include everything the list you just made.
   3. Ask child to consider the attributes of their own list.

Elaborate:

1. Have child plan their own desk caddy. They may want to begin with a rough sketch, or to outline with bricks on a plate, creating 2 or 3 different compartments. Child should be encouraged to try fitting the objects in before they get too far (for example, is the caddy the right size for an eraser? How tall does it need to be to keep pencils from falling out?)
2. Child then writes a paragraph explaining the features of their desk caddy and why they included them.