*This lesson coincides with chapter 5 (Play is Frivolous) from Whack on the Side of the Head by Roger von Oech.

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Lesson created by Luonne Gerow

Grade Level Range: 3-5

Length of time to teach lesson: 8 minutes

Overview of lesson: This lesson teaches students the value of play in generating ideas.  The problem is a real world example of building the wall, as Donald Trump states it.  Students play with pattern blocks in order to generate solutions to building the wall.

Objectives (Learning targets) of the lesson: Students will play with pattern blocks in order to generate designs, invent various designs that meet the criteria, design based on constraints, and pause during the idea phase in order to step away and come back with a fresh approach.

Resources/supplies/handouts needed to teach this lesson: Pattern blocks, rulers, design task/constraints page, rubric, brainteaser on page 106 is extra activity.

Teaching Instructions for this lesson:

1) Show directions for building the wall (see handout).

2) Students try to generate as many possibilities as they can and then calculate the cost.

Assessment: Teacher uses the RUBRIC to evaluate the ideas during “PLAY” time building the wall.