The Bridge Project

Children love the playground, running, climbing, and exploring. The teachers and designers of this project noticed that the students were intrigued by the lines and designs of the playground bridges. Through discussion and questioning, a large-scale bridge project was born.

The Phases
Phase 1 - Anticipatory web including helpful books (listed below). How to encourage a discussion about why we have bridges.

PHASE 2

Phase 2 - Children construct a bridge BEFORE researching bridge and discover many interesting engineering facts. A field trip visit to a brdige and a student discovers that alligators don't live under all bridges. A pond designer helps design a pond and the class builds a classroom bridge.

PHASE 2

Phase 3 - Culminating activity was a scrapbook of quotes and pictures of the whole process.

PHASE 3

Phase 4 - Reflection. Karen Heyob accounts a nicely written reflection of the project and what she felt went well.

PHASE 4

Look For...
The various integration of materials and the discovery that heavier does not always equal better, in bridge construction.

The whole project can be found here: THE WHOLE PROJECT

Helpful Resources
THE DOCUMENTATION PANEL <- check this out!

Bridges Are to Cross, by Philemon Sturges

Bridges, by Seymour Simon