Cardboard Seaters

Students learned about fractions, integers, surface area, and proportional relationships in their 7th grade math class. This activity is designed to give students the ownership of their learning process by allowing them to construct their own design of a cardboard chair using what they know and have learned in class. The pathways to learning model ( Activate and Engage, Explore and Discover, and Organize and Integrate) is used to facilitate the student’s learning of the mathematical concepts.

Students will present their prototypes to their classmates and teacher and discuss their thought process and making experience. We will end each day with a reflection activity to allow students to store and organize the information learned and help them think about how their application of these mathematical concepts can be used and is relevant to real world situations. Student’s learning is supported by allowing students to learn vicariously from other students and not only depend on the instructors for help.

Challenge: Students will design and engineer a seat that could withstand the weight of 1 Mr. Ortiz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ1ReULji8Y   (Show only if needed)

Materials

• Cardboard boxes

• Graph Paper

• Glue Guns

• Sewing Kit

• Sewing Fabric

• Pencils

• Set of Box Cutters

• Cardboard Scissors

• Paint

• Foam Brushes

• Canvas Drop Cloth

• Cotton

Objectives:

Students will use proportional relationships to design and ratio the height of cardboard chair.

Students will experience hands-on learning through measurements and area of their space.  

Students will apply math common core objectives to design and engineer cardboard chair.

Students will construct and design a product by combining  Arts, Engineering, and Science.

Students will reflect on their work.

Assessments:

Physical Structure

Reflection Survey

Sketches

DAY 1

Activate and Engage: Students will reflect on the importance of recycling and ways they can contribute.  The journaling will help them draw a sketch for their structure. Can repurpose cardboard and turn it into a seat. This activity will take place in the classroom.

• Intro (13Min)

  • Initially, separate students into groups of 4

  • Discuss mathematical concepts

• Journal and Sketch (70min)

  • Journal (10Min) Arts

    • Prompt:

      • What are some ways you can recycle cardboard?

  • Sketch (20Min)

    • Draw a structure that can withstand your weight.

      • List of guidelines for students to include will be given.  

  • Share  (35Min)

    • Share structure with your partner

    • Within the group, students will create a scale drawing of an ideal chair for Ortiz, that includes one idea from each member.   

  • Class will share as a whole on their findings (5Min)

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DAY 2

Explore and Discover: Given their sketches in the previous section, students will MAKE their structures. This activity will take place in the makerspace- M3

• Recall (8Min)

  • Students will look over sketches from previous day.

• MAKE! (70Min)  Science and Engineering

  • Students will walk over to makerspace and start measuring with proportional relationship in mind of the chair and themselves.

  • Re-sketch if needed.

  • Use materials from makerspace to start building chair and ensure it can hold max amount of weight.​​

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DAY 3, 4

Explore and Discover: Given their sketches in the previous section, students will finish making their structures. This activity will take place in the makerspace- M3

• Reflection (5Min)

• • 3-2-1

    • What are 3 things you were able to accomplish yesterday

    • What are two things you still think your structure needs to be finished

    • What is one thing you want to make sure you get finished today?

• MAKE! ( 40Min) Science and Engineering

  • Students will continue creating their structure and putting the finishing touches.

  • Students will decorate chair using fabric and paint.

• Test (30Min)

  • Students will test the stability and strength of chair.

  • Students can make changes as needed to withstand weight.

DAY 5

**During Lunch- Students can demonstrate strength and stability of chair by having Mr. Ortiz test and sit on it.

Organize and Integrate: Students will use this opportunity to present and reflect on their work. This activity will take place in the classroom.

• Gallery Walk (5Min)

• Presentation (35 Min)

  • Each pair take 2-3 minutes to talk about your seat

• 12:15PM Reflection (10Min)

  • How did this activity allow you to learn more about angles?

  • Were there any activities that were fun? If so what were they? If the activities were not fun, what would have made this activity more fun?

  • Has your interest in math changed because of this project? Explain?

  • How could you improve your design?