ProtoPlay: Craft Your Dream Design

2nd Grade Project 4 weeks

ProtoPlay: Craft Your Dream Design

Jeremy B

Collaboration

Critical Thinking & Problem Solving

Effective Communication

Content Expertise

Self Directed Learning

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Purpose

The purpose of this hands-on project is for second-grade students to collaboratively design and create a prototype that addresses a real-world problem, focusing on the effects of scarcity. Through teamwork and shared decision-making, they will engage deeply in critical thinking and problem-solving as they explore solutions that are meaningful to their communities. The project encourages self-directed learning and effective communication as students present their prototypes to industry partners, receive constructive feedback, reflect, and revise their work. The aim is to foster a deeper understanding of technical skills and content knowledge while students learn the significance of scarcity and how it impacts daily life.

Learning goals

Second graders will develop competencies in collaboration, critical thinking, effective communication, content expertise, and self-directed learning by designing and manufacturing a prototype to address real-world problems. Through hands-on activities and interacting with industry partners, students will enhance their understanding of technical skills and scarcity’s impact on communities. The project will culminate in presentations and exhibitions, allowing students to reflect on their work, receive peer feedback, and make insightful revisions.

Competencies

Collaboration - Students co-design projects with peers, exercise shared-decision making, strengthen relational agency, resolve conflict, and assume leadership roles.
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving - Students consider a variety of innovative approaches to address and understand complex questions that are authentic and important to their communities.
Effective Communication - Students practice listening to understand, communicating with empathy, and share their learning through exhibiting, presenting and reflecting on their work.
Content Expertise - Students develop key competencies, skills, and dispositions with ample opportunities to apply knowledge and engage in work that matters to them.
Self Directed Learning - Students use teacher and peer feedback and self-reflection to monitor and direct their own learning while building self knowledge both in and out of the classroom.

Products

Students will collaboratively design and manufacture a working prototype that addresses a real-world problem related to scarcity, engaging their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Throughout the project, students will participate in iterative designs and revisions, conducting tests and gathering feedback from peers and community partners, including industry professionals. The product will be exhibited in presentations to the community, showcasing the technical skills acquired and the innovative approaches developed during the project. The final prototype will demonstrate students’ understanding of scarcity, creative problem-solving, collaboration, and communication skills.

Launch

Kick off the project by organizing a "Build Off Challenge," where each group is given limited materials to create their own initial prototype addressing the essential question of scarcity. Provide opportunities for students to compare their designs with peers, sparking discussions on the effectiveness and resourcefulness of different approaches. Use these comparisons to fuel curiosity and a desire to explore innovative solutions throughout the project's duration.

Exhibition

Students will present their prototypes at a community exhibition attended by industry professionals and families. Each group will host a booth where they can explain the real-world problem their prototype addresses and demonstrate how it works. After the presentations, industry experts will provide feedback, which students can use for reflection and improvement. This allows students to showcase their collaboration, problem-solving skills, and communicate their learning outcomes effectively.

Rubric

Competency Progression Rubric Competency-first rubric

Category	Learning Goal	Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3	Stage 4
Deeper Learning Competencies	Collaboration	I can work with my classmates to design a project, share my ideas, listen to others, and help our group make decisions together.	I can work well with my classmates to create our prototype by sharing my ideas, listening to others, and helping make decisions together I can show I understand my classmates' ideas by asking questions and offering helpful suggestions.	I can work well with my classmates to design and build a prototype using limited materials I help the group by sharing my ideas and listening to others' suggestions I can take turns leading our group when we make important decisions and solve problems together I can talk about our project in a way that shows how we used teamwork to create something that helps with scarcity.	I can work really well with my classmates by coming up with ideas together and respecting everyone’s opinions I help our group make smart decisions for our project, and I often show leadership by helping others solve problems and stay on track.
Deeper Learning Competencies	Critical Thinking & Problem Solving	I can share my ideas and listen to my friends' ideas when we talk about solving problems I can try different ways to use the materials we have to make our first model and see how it helps solve the problem I can tell others about my model and how it helps with the problem we've been thinking about.	I can consider different ideas and try to find creative ways to solve the problem of scarcity with my group I can make comparisons and talk about why some designs might work better than others.	I can come up with different ideas to solve the problem of scarcity and choose the best one by thinking about how it will help my community I can explain why my group's prototype is a good solution and how it can be improved I can listen to feedback from others to make my ideas even better.	I can creatively use different materials to build a strong prototype that solves a real problem because of scarcity, and I can explain my thinking and choices clearly to others.
Deeper Learning Competencies	Effective Communication	I can share my ideas clearly with my group and listen to what my friends have to say about our project I ask questions to make sure I understand what others are saying and can use this information to improve our prototype I explain to others how our design works during the exhibition, using drawings and simple words so everyone knows what we did.	I can explain how my group's prototype addresses the real-world problem of scarcity and describe how we communicated our ideas with others during the project I can listen to my peers and give them helpful feedback and ask questions when I don't understand.	I can share my ideas clearly and listen carefully to my classmates and teachers When I talk about my project, I use words that help others understand what I mean and check to see if they understand by asking questions I use feedback from my classmates and teachers to improve how I explain my ideas and my project during the exhibition.	I can clearly explain and show how my prototype works and how it solves a real-world problem I listen carefully to others' questions and ideas, showing that I understand by giving thoughtful answers When presenting, I speak confidently and make sure everyone can understand what I am saying.
Deeper Learning Competencies	Content Expertise	I can use what I know about how things work and scarcity to make a plan and start building something new with my group I look at how well our project solves the problem and make changes when I need to, using ideas from my classmates and teachers to make it better.	I can show my understanding of scarcity by creating a simple prototype with my team using the materials we have I can explain how my design helps our community and describe some features of my prototype that address the problem we are solving.	I can demonstrate my knowledge of scarcity by using what I know to design and build a working prototype with my friends My prototype shows how scarcity affects us and solves a problem that is important to our community.	I can create a working model that shows how scarce resources affect my community, using what I've learned about scarcity I confidently explain how my group worked together to solve the problem, and I ask for feedback from adults to make our design even better.
Deeper Learning Competencies	Self Directed Learning	I can show I am learning on my own by trying out my ideas with different materials and asking questions when I need help I pay close attention to the feedback from my friends and teachers and use their advice to make my prototype better I look carefully at my work and think about what I did well and what I can make even better.	I can listen to my teacher and friends and use their feedback to make my prototype better I can think about what I learned and make choices about how to improve my design.	I can use feedback from my teacher and classmates to think about what I've done well and what I can make better in my project I always try different ways to improve my work and understand my learning better.	I can use feedback from teachers and friends to improve my project and make my prototype better I can think of new ideas to solve problems and work on them by myself, asking for help when I need it I feel proud to keep trying, even when things are difficult, and I can explain what I learned during the project.

Learning Journey

Empathize

Students will collaborate in small groups to conduct interviews with industry professionals, use inquiry to gather insights on community needs, and document observations to lay the foundation for designing their prototype solutions.

Days 1 - 3