| In 6th grade social studies, students are learning about the Inca culture, which thrived in the Andes mountains. The class began researching the Incas and looking at their designs. Inspired by the Inca's amazing engineering skills and particularly their achievement of building suspension bridges across deep canyons in the Andes mountains, |
The bridges were made with popsicle sticks, wooden squares and hot glue guns. Students worked in groups of 4-5 students as they followed the bridge instructions while adding strategic designs of their own. After taking 3 class days to build the bridges, students tested the structural integrity of their bridge. This was a very exciting day as the students had worked hard throughout the project and filmed each and every step. To test the bridges, students stacked social studies textbooks on top. Much to our surprise, one of the bridges actually held 44 textbooks, which is the equivalent of 57 kilograms!
To reflect on the project, each team used WeVideo to make a video about the process and what went well with their designs or what could have been improved in their structures. Overall, the 6th graders learned a lot as they worked together and all came up with great reflections about their bridges. See more videos on our YouTube playlist .