- building materials (e.g., toy bricks, pieces of wood, wooden logs, pieces of cement, large flat rocks, twigs, straw, pieces of metal with rounded edges)
- camera
- cardboard boxes and tubes
- clipboards
- markers or crayons
- paper
- pictures of children’s structures
- pictures of houses in various stages of construction
- plexiglass pieces (available at a hardware store)
- build
- materials
- roof
- tool
- wall
MA Standards:
Speaking and Listening: SL.PK.MA.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners during daily routines and play.
Reading for Informational Text: RI.P.MA.7 With prompting and support, describe important details from an illustration or photograph.
Reading for Informational Text: RI.P.MA.3 With prompting and support, represent or act out concepts learned from hearing an informational text read aloud (e.g., make a skyscraper out of blocks after listening to a book about cities or, following a read-aloud on animals, show how an elephant’s gait differs from a bunny’s hop).
MA Draft STE Standards:
Physical Sciences/Matter and Its Interactions: Structure and Properties of Matter/PS1.A Describe, compare, sort and classify objects based on observable physical characteristics, uses, and whether it is manufactured as part of their classroom play and investigations of the natural and human-made world.
Physical Sciences/Motion and Stability; Forces and Interaction /PS2.C Explore the strength and stability of buildings as they build structures with different materials. [Cause and Effect, Stability and Change]
Head Start Outcomes:
Logic and Reasoning/Reasoning and Problem Solving Classifies, compares, and contrasts objects, events, and experiences.
Science Knowledge/Scientific Skills and Method Observes and discusses common properties, differences, and comparisons among objects.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
Science and Technology/Technology and Engineering 23 Explore and describe a wide variety of natural and man-made materials through sensory experiences.
English Language Arts/Language 2 Participate actively in discussions, listen to the ideas of others, and ask and answer relevant questions.
Explore Together (indoors): Walls and Roofs
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
STEM Key Concepts: Different materials are useful for making different structures and different parts of structures; Walls, roofs, and bridges need to be supported in special ways
ELA Focus Skills: Compare and Contrast, Listening and Speaking, Vocabulary
Educator Prep: Before gathering, in the Block Center, display pictures of houses in various stages of construction and photos or drawings of structures children have built.
Draw attention to the pictures and use them to point out and discuss different parts of a house or structure (e.g., roof, floor, walls). Then focus on building a house or structure. Start at the bottom and build up, for example, walls to support floors, the roof sitting on the walls, etc. Tell children that they will be exploring the building materials again and using them to build a house.
Have children work in small groups to freely explore the materials and build different parts of a house. Encourage them to look at their photos and the pictures of the houses in different stage of construction to help them build their house. Take photos or encourage children to take photos as they explore using the materials and building their houses. Observe as children explore, noticing what captures their curiosity. Ask children to talk about what they are doing and pose questions such as,
- Tell us how you made the walls stay up!
- Which do you think is better to use for the roof--straw or brick?
Reflect and Share
Bring children together and reflect on their explorations. Ask questions such as,
- What happened when you tried to make the house taller? Why do you think so?
- What ways did you find to get your building to stay up? What made it stronger? Why do you think that worked?
- Were there weak parts in your building? What could you have done to make them stronger?
Safety Tip: Monitor the exploration carefully. Take care to notice when a child is struggling to lift one of the heavier materials. If so, intervene and explain that builders always work with other workers and big machines because many of the materials are too heavy for one person to lift. Do not allow children to build tall towers with the heavy materials (brick, stone) for fear of it falling on a child.
English Language Learners: Invite children to talk about the materials people use to build the houses and buildings where they live. Have them compare those materials to the materials you have on-hand for the activity. Ask children to hold each of the materials as they describe it. Help them use the word and describe it in a full sentence, for example, The rock is hard. The straw is light.