Less than $5 9th Grade Geometry Projects (by rating)

This project lets students learn about the physics and math behind tensegrity structures as they research and create one with their team. After introducing the lesson with a short video (link included in resources), students work with their team to create a basic tensegrity structure following a short tutorial. Then, utilizing the knowledge gained from this, they build a second tensegrity structure of their choice, utilizing the principles and design ideas of tensegrity. As they work through both builds, they record their information on the included Engineering Design Process Planning Sheet with their team. Next, students present their project to the class and explain their design choices. Finally, students reflect on and summarize their learning with short answers to questions about the experience and what they learned.

This lesson was created for 7th and 8th grade, but could also be used successfully in upper elementary grades or high school as well.

Files included (non-editable, .pdf files):

• Teacher & Student Resources

• Student Instructions, Expectations and Grading Rubric

• Team Sign Up Sheet

• Engineering Design Process Planning Sheet

• Reflection Questions

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The task: Draw 4 points such that when you connect each point to the other 3 points for a total of 6 line segments, there are exactly 2 distinct lengths of line segments. You must connect each point to every other point.

This product includes

• examples and non-examples to use when introducing this task to kids
• questions to support struggling and advanced groups
• a detailed two page answer key that demonstrates each solution visually

This worked really well with my honors Geometry students, it led perfectly into the symbols we use to show congruent side lengths and the definition of point, line segment, etc and many other geometry topics. It has also been a good challenge for my more advanced 6th and 7th grade students.

My Other Thinking Classroom Tasks

Noncurricular Task: Estimating Rational and Irrational Numbers

Rectangle Area and Perimeter Thinking Problems

Writing Equations from Tables Thin Slicing Task