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Playdough Engineering

Playdough Lesson Plans

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Lesson plan developed by Aurora Tollestrup, BS Ed

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Activity:  

Playdough Engineering

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Age Group:

• School-age (grades 2-3)

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Playdough Engineering

Objectives:  

• Children will work together to solve an engineering problem by designing a structure from common materials.

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Washington State K-12 Science Learning Standard:

​Grade 2-3

• Big Idea: Application (APP)
• Core Content: Solving Problems
• 2-3 APPA Simple problems can be solved through a technological design process that includes: defining the problem, gathering information, exploring ideas, making a plan, testing possible solutions to see which is best, and communicating the results.

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Materials: 

• Playdough
• Popsicle sticks
• Large book
• Paper (or science journal)
• Pencil    

Play Dough Recipes

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Procedure: 

1. Divide students into small groups and provide a lump of playdough, some popsicle sticks and pencil and paper. Instruct groups to build a structure out of playdough and popsicle sticks that will be able to hold the book. Encourage children to use collaboration and to make drawings and depictions with their plan for the structure.
2. Test out each group’s structure by placing the book on the structures one at a time. Discuss the differences in structures while explaining that there is no “right” way to build one.
3. Lastly, have groups analyze the process in which they built their structures. Ask guiding questions such as:

• Did your group make an initial plan? How did that work for your end result?
• How would you describe your group’s communication skills?
• If you were to do this activity again, what would you change? Why?

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Assessment: 

• Observe and record the group’s collaborative skills when trying to solve the engineering problem.  Also make note of the ending analytical process and of student’s ability to critique their experiences.

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Click on the photos to enlarge.

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School-Age Lesson Plans

Sensory Play

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A Dough by Many Names

In the 1930s a substance was accidentally created to clean wallpaper. The creator of this substance quickly learned that children loved it as a toy! Later, the recipe was adapted to contain child-friendly ingredients and marketed as a substance called “Play-Doh.” Some refer to it as playdough, dough, slime, gak, flubber, blubber, clay, silly putty, gook, or oobleck. It is a dough that goes by many names and is arguably the most common material found in classrooms everywhere. We will refer to it as playdough for this training.

​This popular material is extremely useful for a myriad of children, ages, special needs, curriculum topics and sensory explorations. Whether you are a teacher in an infant or toddler classroom, preschool program or a school-age program, you can use play dough in tons of different ways. Let’s play!

 

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