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Kindergarten · Science · Unit 2 of 13

Make It Work

Spot a problem, draw a plan, test two ideas.

What your child practices

Practices the first steps of engineering: noticing a problem to fix, seeing how an object's shape helps it do its job, and comparing two designs after a test.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: K.2 · testing whether a design pushes hard enough to change how an object moves

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. First, spot a problem to fix.
  2. Draw a plan before you build.
  3. A shape helps a thing work. Round wheels roll.

Example: Which shape is best for a wheel? A wheel must roll. Circles roll. Answer: a circle

Make It Work in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 2 of 13 in Kindergarten Science, after Push & Pull and before What Living Things Need.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Your toy car keeps rolling off the table. That is a…

    • problem to fix
    • kind of weather
    • color
    • song

  2. Question 2

    Your block tower falls over. What can you do?

    • Use fewer blocks on the bottom
    • Try a wider bottom
    • Give up
    • Make it wobbly

  3. Question 3

    Why test your idea?

    • To see if it works
    • To make it slow
    • To lose it
    • To make it dirty

  4. Question 4

    Why is a slide smooth?

    • So it stays wet
    • So you can climb up fast
    • So you can slide down
    • So it is sticky

  5. Question 5

    Why is a ball round?

    • So it can stand still
    • So it can hold water
    • So it can stack
    • So it can roll

  6. Question 6

    Why does a straw have a hole down the middle?

    • So drinks can go through
    • So it is heavy
    • So it can roll
    • So it can bend paper

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