Wall Marble Maze
In this provocation, students will build a marble maze ramp that has to jump the track
Objective:
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Build a wall marble maze ramp that the marble has to jump from one part of the track/pathway to another several times
Problem-solving and strategic thinking:
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Understanding the concept of gravity and momentum in making the marble jump
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Identifying different materials that can be used to create the maze ramp
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Problem-solving skills in designing a pathway that allows the marble to jump multiple times
Standards/Objectives addressed:
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K.G.A.2: Correctly name shapes regardless of their orientations or overall size.
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K.1.A: Print many upper- and lowercase letters.
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.K-PS2-2: Analyze data to determine if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a push or a pull.
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SL.1.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
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NGSS1-PS4-1: Plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that vibrating materials can make sound and that sound can make materials vibrate.
Background knowledge needed:
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What is a maze?
Materials:
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Toilet paper or toweling tubes, cardboard, wrapping paper tubes, foam, popsicle sticks, tape, marbles
Prompts – questions or statements to elicit engagement:
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I notice the marble keeps falling off here. What could you do about that?
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How are you going to use…?
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What happened when you did…?
Vocabulary:
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Angle, chute, design, elevation, force, friction, incline, ramp, steep, structure, tube, tunnel, swerve, slide, jump, roll, tumble, bounce, launch, crash, faster/fastest, heavier/heaviest, farther/farthest
Reflection prompts:
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What worked well?
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What part of your design made your marble go the fastest?
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How did you test your design?
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What part of your design do you like best or would you change? Why?
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When you made your design, how did you decide where things should go?
Extension:
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Could the maze start in two different spots?
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Do different size marbles travel differently? What do you notice?