Soooooo tall!

Students will build a figure out of Legos. There are two groups, and each group is competing with the other. Students build their tower of Legos as high as they can and then measure with a ruler or yard stick. The tower has to be free-standing so the children have to think of ways to keep the tower standing by itself.

A lesson plan for grades 2–3 Mathematics

By Beverly Rose

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Learning outcomes

Students should predict how tall they can build a structure from Legos, learn building skills, and know how to balance a structure. Students should be able to measure the height, in inches, of that structure.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

60 minutes

Materials/resources

• Legos — as many as possible
• rulers
• paper for recording outcomes
• a flat surface
• a timer

Pre-activities

Students should have previously been exposed to measuring different items in inches. Vocabulary words needed to be covered before today include: inch, ruler, measure, how long, how tall, height, how short. Before building their tower, students are to predict how tall they can build their structure.

Activities

Explain to the students that they are to build a structure out of Legos as high as they can build it. The tower must be a free standing tower. It has to be able to stand on its own, and it can only have Legos in its structure. No two building materials can be used. After 30 minutes, students are to stop building and are to measure their tower.

The next group gets 30 minutes to build their tower.

Assessment

After the students have measured their structure, as the “Judge,” measure it yourself. When the students have their actual measurement, let them compare their actual measurement with their prediction. My main objective is to not only make sure that they measured their structure accurately, but that they used their creative touches to make the tower as well. Did they follow instructions, did their tower only contain Legos, was it free-standing, did they measure it in inches? I found that this activity really motivated my students. It encouraged their competitiveness, their creativity, and their use of measurement.

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Comments

I have also used this lesson plan in my science class.