William Rosser

Lesson Plan Name: ​Innovation and Fun - Amusement Parks Rationale: Amusement parks are a great way to entertain the entire family. The rides that are located at these places of enjoyment are marvels of modern construction, when you stop to think about it. It requires an awful lot of planning and designing to create a single ride, and takes into consideration a long list of different specialties and professional backgrounds to make each one a reality. The focus of this lesson plan is for students to learn about the innovative technology behind their favorite family vacation spots, and to see what makes them work. Students will have the opportunity to conduct research on different amusement park rides, and, after creating a record of their favorite one they discover, design and build their own from a collection of different materials. The idea of this lesson is for students to gain an understanding of cost margins (they will need to buy each material they use from the teacher), designing something that will attract potential customers to the ride (other students can pay them in order to try their ride out for themselves), and the research and development process that every company uses before launching a new product or exhibit (initial planning stages for their amusement park ride). Standards Addressed/Learning Objectives: ● W.5.8​: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources. (5-PS1-2),(5-PS1-3),(5-PS1-4). ● MP.5:​ Use appropriate tools strategically. (5-PS1-2),(5-PS1-3) ● SS.EC.2.5​: Discover how positive incentives (e.g. sale prices and earning money) and negative incentives influence behavior in our nation’s economy and around the world. ● 3-5-ETS1-1​. Define a simple design problem reflecting ● 3-5-ETS1-2​. Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem. ● 3-5-ETS1-3​. Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved. Materials Needed: ● Empty toilet paper and paper towel tubes ● Pipe cleaners ● Lego blocks (optional) ● Selection of different paper and card stock ● Cardboard scraps and boxes ● Popsicle sticks ● Clay/Play Doh ● Amusement Park Ride Worksheet ● Money tokens (PDF) ● Writing utensils/markers/colored pencils ● Glue/tape/stapler General Outline: Prep: 1. Gather all needed materials the day before class so that it is available and ready when it is needed. You may actually need to begin to collect materials a few days in advance so that you have everything when needed. 2. Try to spread individual desk more around the room to create more space for students to move around. 3. Set up a small table or desk at the front of the room where students can have easy access. This is where the “bank” is located to buy materials from. Place all building materials behind this des away from students until they pay a certain amount of “money” for each one (you can set individual prices as needed beforehand). The Lesson 1. Welcome students back to class and have them take their seats. Take attendance and make sure the class is attentive before moving forward with the lesson. 2. Inform students that today they will discuss different types of amusement park ride designs that are created to provide entertainment to customers and to make money for businesses. Explain briefly how this works, and offer a few examples as you instruct them. 3. Once the explanation is finished then hand each student a copy of the worksheet for the lesson. Instruct the students to answer the first question through research on their computers, but to not worry about the last three until after the activity is finished for the day. a. The first question on the worksheet relates to information they will gather on their favorite amusement park ride that they locate on the internet. This ride is meant to inspire them and give them creative ideas to work with. 4. Once they are finished answering the first question, tell the students that they will now build their own rides from the materials located in the classroom that was prepared the night before. Let them know that they will play the roles of amusement park owners, and will need to spend money to build their rides. Hand each student a number of money tokens (you can print out and use as many as you would like), and tell them that materials can be purchased from you at the front of the class. Inform students that they will have a total of 20 minutes to build the first version of their ride, and that after those 20 minutes have ended students can have the chance to try these rides out, as long as they pay the owner an amount of money tokens that each owner decides. a. Mentions as well that the only way they can earn more money from rides is if they stay by their ride and help the other student use it the right way. Rides that do not have their owner next to them are considered “closed” for the day. b. Give them about 10 minutes to do the play sequence, then call them back to their individual rides. 5. Repeat step 4 again, this time instructing them to make any changes with the new amount of money tokens they have generated from customers who visited them. This time they only have 10 minutes to make changes to the ride. a. Students then have 10 additional minutes to play with their rides they and their peers created before the activity comes to an end. 6. Once the activities are completed thank the students for cooperating and have them return to their seats. Instruct them to answer the remaining questions on the worksheet. 7. Once all questions are answered begin a short discussion about the activities, focusing on their answers to the worksheet, and how this is an example of both innovation in technology, as well as business. Assessment(s): Participation​: Students will be actively learning in this lesson, with hands-on instruction and using critical thinking skills to develop and build their structures. Structure Development​: The building of the structures will further develop students reasoning, critical thinking, attention to detail, and analytical skills. Amusement Park Simulation​: The simulation is meant to teach students how cost and profit works in a business, as well as time put into operation hours and development. Worksheet: ​The worksheet acts as a pre-assessment and as a reflection for when they complete their activities. This will allow them to place their initial thoughts onto paper, their findings afterward, and will give them an example of not only innovation in action but also very basic levels of economics.