North Pole Delivery Challenge

I was trying to create a learning activity for my 2nd graders this week which would engage them in both engineering design and teamwork - two areas where I'm seeing the need for more practice and building skills. Wrapping it into a North Pole theme was helpful in getting them engaged!

We're having a great time with the North Pole Delivery Challenge! It's for sure engaging them in those two difficult tasks.

Check it out on Teachers Pay Teacher! https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Miss-Kellys-Gifted-Classroom

It's a great activity for these pre-holdiay days!

North Pole Delivery Activity

Noth Pole Delivery Activity Objective

North Pole Delivery Activity 2

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A New Strategy:

There is a new strategy I'm trying out - inspired by a few second graders who have trouble letting go of an idea/opinion that doesn't fit what their group wants.

In part of this activity, students are asked to do a quick write about their opinion of which toy-making material their group should choose. Once they've identified their own opinion, they have the sometimes challenging task of making a group decision about which material they will actually pick. To give students an opportunity to both plan for, and evaluate, their ability to be flexible in their thinking, I've added three small icons below that section: a glue stick, a pair of glasses, and a puzzle piece.

After the group decision is made, I ask the student to circle on of the three icons:

glue stick: "I got stuck on my own idea."

eye glasses: "I saw someone else's view."

puzzle piece: "My opinion fit into everyone else's."

The act of getting-to-circle-something - even if your idea didn't get chosen - can be enough of a "consolation prize" to help little ones move smoothly into the next task.

I'll try it for awhile and see how it goes!