Recipe for Success

I am amazed by all the innovative and interesting sketches i've been collecting from our 6th grade aerospace engineers.  Big wheels, small wheels, space ships, tacos and many more designs have come across my desk, labeled with features and measurements... ready to be built.

Let's take a moment and think about cake..  Imagine you were tasked with baking a cake for Mr. Connors birthday.  What ingredients would you need?... Flour, eggs, sugar?  What tools would you need?... a baking pan, spatula, mixing bowl?  But what about the things we sometimes forget... Wouldn't you also need an oven, a clean space to work, enough time to put it together and the skills and knowledge on how to actually bake?  And that doesn't even take into account having the right recipe!

The question is... Do you want Mr. Connors to have an EPIC Cake?... or an EPIC Cake FAIL?

Now let's transfer this scenario into your rover.  Before we can start to build, we need to construct our recipe... or our plan for how we will build the machine.  We also need to ensure we have the right materials and tools to build as well.

In this phase of the Design Cycle, we'll begin by constructing a logical plan which includes brainstorming all the materials, tools and resources we'll need.  We'll then plan out a task-list that includes step-by-step instructions for how we would build our rovers in the order that makes logical sense.  Just like someone could follow a recipe to make a cake, we should be able to follow your plan to produce your rover just as it is in your final design diagram.

Don't forget to follow your plan to bring your materials with you to our next class!  Can't wait to start building!

Resources:
Creating the Solution Task Specific Rubric
Creating the Solution Student Worksheet Template


Images:
Epic Cake Fail by Amy (mystoriesinrecipies)
Batman vs. Darth Vader by Liz Marek of Artisan Cake Company