Are you LEGO® Smart™? Are your students? Being LEGO Smart is more than building with LEGO® bricks. It’s having the ability to work in teams, solve problems, and create solutions. It means understanding key science, technology, engineering, and math concepts – not just on paper, but through demonstration. LEGO Smart students don’t just know it, they DO it. The sets, software, and curriculum designed by LEGO Education harness the power of the LEGO brick and combine to create learning opportunities for students that will help develop the skills needed for a lifetime of creating, solving, and contributing to a global society. Be LEGO Smart – be the future.
LEGO Smart Creativity Contest Entry (JUNE WINNER!)By Kacey Weiss, Helix Charter High School
Place a blank sheet of paper in front of each student (this is their place mat.) Then place a handful of LEGO bricks in front of each student. Tell students they have 5 minutes to create a masterpiece. After the 5 minutes is up, ask students to title their masterpiece and write the title on the placemat. Then tell them they have 2 minutes to "change" one thing about their piece. Have them write down on their paper how this improved the overall appearance of the piece. Then tell them to "move" a LEGO brick or cluster bricks. (one minute). Write down the change. Now give them one minute to "remove" a LEGO brick or cluster of bricks. Write down the change. Next have students explain to their partner the process of building a masterpiece. Connect this to the art of drafting a paper (moving pieces, removing pieces, changing pieces). Note that we never took the whole masterpiece apart; we simply made it nicer.
Lesson Learned: Students will learn how to revise an essay and the difference between "re-doing" and "revising."