The Great Gingerbread Build Off
                                                                  By:  Alexandria Pratt

Project at a Glance :
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In this project students work in teams to design and build a unique “gingerbread” structure. Students explore options for how they can create an outstanding design using recycled and edible materials. This project involved roughly 6 design sessions and 2 build sessions.

Driving Question:

How can we design a show-stopping gingerbread structure?            

Standards:

• Science Engineering Design
• 3-5-ETS1-1 Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
• 3-5-ETS1-2 Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
• 3-5-ETS1-3 Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.

Team / Culture Building:

• Brainstorm Hopes, Fears, & Norms​

• Creative DNA: Students set goals for areas of strengths and weakness.

​Entry Event:

• Students will explore and examine award winning gingerbread structures to collect potential ideas for their project. 

Stakeholders:

• Students
  
• Teachers
  

Empathy Building:

• Create Stakeholder Map as a Class
• Design Empathy Maps in Small Groups​​

• Pains/Gains for each Stakeholder

Inquiry / Need to Knows:

• Interviews: Brainstorm questions about what we need to know as a class. Thinking about our stakeholders, what questions may we want to help each group?

• Invite experts and stakeholders to come in for interviews.

Incubation:

• Remind students to think of ideas that might benefit different stakeholders.

• Idea quota​​

• Combin-Ide-Ation
• Dot Voting

Checking in:

•  Revisit Empathy Maps
• Dot Vote from the perspective of multiple stakeholders using color-coded dots. 

• NUF Test
• Poster Session

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Solution Building:

• Brainstorm potential prototypes
• Build prototypes
• Practice pitch

• Dot Voting
• Delegate work to small groups

Critique and Revision: 

• Critical Friends

Authentic Audience:

• The other class on our team will view and judge the gingerbread structure.

 Final Presentation:

• Each class will take a tour of what the other class has built and provide feedback.
• Student will name the structures they create and vote for their top choices for the winning designs. 

Click here for teacher's full plan.

​Reflection and Feedback: 

• Halt-Slip Feedback Form

• Read through Feedback Forms
• Pluses and Deltas

Click here for the teacher's Journey through Padlet.

Meet the Educator:
Alexandria Pratt teaches ELA and Social Studies at White Pines Intermediate School in Grand Haven.  She's part of the Home Grown program for GHAPS.

     "I love working through the Creative Sequence in the classroom. It is do fun to watch students grow and adapt as problem-solvers."