The Runaway Pumpkin

Type of resource: video, game

Web address https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bteD9wCuqA

Language: English

Description

STEM Challenge: Help! A runaway pumpkin is on the loose. Can you stop the pumpkin from rolling away?

Scientific concept introduced

Roll, slide, time, velocity, measure, built

Creative and critical thinking

To improve children’s problem-solving (take initiative)

Mathematical reasoning

To calculate the velocity and the mass.

To create the learning opportunity

To explain the concepts of velocity, time, stopping, and rolling.

Scientific thinking

To develop the ability to observe and discover.

To think of different possibilites to stop the pumpkin.

To strengthen the research attitude of children.

Learning how to learn

To improve their active listening (the story is read out loud).

Additional

Learning to work in teams

Hand-eye coordination

Taking common decisions

Basic literacy – listening with comprehension and use of refrain (play with the phonetic sounds)

The Runaway Pumpkin

Overall aims

To develop the ability to observe and discover

To strengthen the research attitude of children

To improve children’s problem-solving (take initiative)

To create the learning opportunity for explaining the concepts of velocity, time, stopping, rolling

To improve their active listening (read aloud of the story)

Vocabulary – keywords should be understood

Pumpkin, ramp, books, boxes, block, act of stopping the pumpkin, roll away, time, velocity, roll, big, slow, fast, pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, loop

Expected learning outcomes (operational aim

To run the experiment

To create a ramp

To build something to stop the pumpkin to roll away

To listen to the story

To explain the concept of velocity, roll, time..

To measure or calculate the time

To discover how to cook soup, cake or pumpkin bread (recipe)

STEM skills – to which the learning unit is related to

CORE STEM

Asking questions

Analysing and solving problems

Designing experiments

Drawing conclusions based on results

Motivation to learn and engage

Self-discipline and self-regulated learning (cognitive autonomy)

ADDITIONAL SKILLS

Sharing ideas

Hand-eye coordination

Taking common decisions

Basic literacy – listening with comprehension and use of refrain (play with the phonetic sounds)

Teaching methodologies/activity outline

1 – Read aloud the story, The Runaway Pumpkin, Kevin Lewis

2 – Ask questions such as – How could we stop the pumpkin from running away?

3 – Give them time to experiment
Give them the pumpkin, and some time to experiment rolling it down (they will have to discover the pumpkin rolls on its side).

4 – Create a plan to stop the pumpkin at the bottom of the ramp
Students may want to create a drawing of their design, this could be used to create an album of the process they’ve followed until discovering which is the best way to stop the pumpkin).

5 – Build the design

6 – Experiment
Roll the pumpkin down the ramp to see if what the children have built works.

Test: Time how long did it take to stop.
Has the pumpkin stopped?

This may take more than one attempt, every time they fail, they will have to go over the same process and discuss either if they can improve their idea or maybe create a new one.

7 – Create a drawing of the final structure that stopped the pumpkin.

8 – Use nature’s products for cooking.

Assessment of learning

Initial evaluation

Get to know the previous knowledge they could know about the same theme.

Continued evaluation

Progressively acquire basic habits of autonomy in everyday actions, to act safely and effectively.

Think, create, elaborate explanations and start the basic mathematical skills.

Observe and explore the immediate, natural and physical environment, with an attitude of curiosity and respect and gradually participate in social and cultural activities.

Participate in the game, through movement, assimilating sensations related to space and to the time and with a progressive understanding of the necessity of some norms.

Use the oral language, gesture and images to express ideas, desires, feelings and emotions;

Listen and participate actively in regular situations. Conversation and learning with the use of non-discriminatory language, and with attitude of respect towards other cultures and different languages.

Manifesting the necessary abilities to be able to listen, observe, interpret and create in the different languages: verbal, body, plastic, musical, and mathematical audiovisual, and incorporate the introduction to technological instruments (ICT).

Final evaluation
To evaluate the learning objectives, use the previous operational aims.