Project Lead the Way in Opelika (Part 1)

How would you design a house that the Big Bad Wolf could not blow down?  How far can you make a paper car with no wheels travel across a gym floor?  These questions might not seem like school questions, but questions like these are challenging our students to think critically about a problem and work to solve it. 

At Carver Primary school, Ms. Rachel Loftin’s Kindergarten class read different versions of the “Three Little Pigs”.  After reading these stories, they were challenged to design houses that the Big Bad Wolf would not be able to blow down using only what the pigs used; twigs (toothpicks and Play-Doh), sticks (Popsicle sticks and masking tape), or bricks (sponges and glue).  Once each group got their materials, they had to brainstorm and draw out what their house would look like.  Then the fun began.  These 4 and 5 year old students were allowed to build a house using whatever method they wanted with the materials they were provided.  For almost 60 minutes these kindergarten students were engrossed with building a house.  I was amazed to watch these students try multiple ways of using their materials until they found a way that worked for them.  As I walked around and asked questions to groups, I found out that every group had a plan and knew what they wanted to do.  I will admit that it was hard for me to not jump in and tell the students the best way, but to allow them to explore and fail.  Yes, fail.  When they built something and it fell down, they did not give up.  They tried it again.  At the end of the class, students got to test their houses to see if Ms. Loftin could blow them down using a hairdryer.  To my surprise, many of them withstood the test.  One group that had worked extremely hard on their house made out of sponges came to test it against the hairdryer.  I was sure that this house would stand up to the test because this group had been pre-testing it by blowing on it every time they added another sponge.  Sadly, that was not the case and a side of their house fell down as the hairdryer blew on it.  I was sure the two students would be devastated.  Instead, I overheard one of them say, “That’s okay.  Let’s go make it stronger.”  These students saw failure as an opportunity to grow and not as a reason to give up.  I can only imagine how this philosophy will positively impact the future of their education.

Part 2 of “PLTW in Opelika” will be posted soon.

Kyle Pinckard

Secondary Curriculum Coordinator

Career and Technical Education Director