SCI4-OI6-GQ1-LO1-KO1-SP: Plan and create an artifact to meet a need, test it to confirm it…

Build It, Launch It Grades K–5

Egg drops, paper planes and balloon rockets, done properly at home. Three engineering challenges where kids build, test, fix and explain the pushes and pulls behind what happened.

• Can you drop an egg without breaking it? 60 min

  Kids design an egg protector on a materials budget, test it from a low height first and work up, and fix what fails. They finish able to explain why a soft, slow stop saves the egg.

• What makes a paper plane fly farthest? 45 min

  Kids fold two different paper planes and run a fair test, changing one thing at a time: first the design, then the throw. They measure three throws each and explain the flight using lift, drag, thrust and gravity.

• How does a rocket push itself into space? 45 min

  Kids build a balloon rocket that zooms along a string between two chairs, then run a fair test on how much air goes in the balloon. They finish able to explain action and reaction: the balloon pushes air back, and the air pushes the balloon forward.

Simple Circuits: Make It Light Up Grade 4

Light a bulb with one wire, hunt for materials that let electricity through, find out why string lights all go dark at once, and build a burglar alarm. Four hands-on lessons on closed loops, safe and cheap.

• Can you light a bulb with one wire? 45–60 min

  Teams get one AA battery, one wire and one small bulb, and keep trying until the bulb lights, drawing every setup that works and every one that doesn't. Then they explain why a bulb only lights when electricity can travel in a complete loop.

• What lets electricity through? 45–60 min

  Teams build a circuit tester with a gap in it, then bridge the gap with coins, foil, pencil graphite, an eraser, paper clips and plastic. They sort the results into conductors and insulators and explain why electrical wires are metal on the inside and plastic on the outside.

• Why do some string lights all go out at once? 45–60 min

  Teams wire two bulbs in a single loop, then in two separate loops, unscrew one bulb each time and compare brightness. They explain why one loose bulb can darken a whole string of lights, and why a house is wired so it doesn't.

• Can you build a burglar alarm? 60–75 min

  Teams design and build a homemade switch from a clothes peg or foil and cardboard that closes a circuit when a door or box lid opens, sounding a buzzer or lighting an LED. They test it, improve it and use evidence to argue their alarm is the most reliable.

Printable practice for SCI4-OI6-GQ1-LO1-KO1-SP

• Build It, Launch It workbook included with the unit

  1 English-support page, 1 practice page, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

• Simple Circuits: Make It Light Up workbook included with the unit

  1 practice page, 1 reading, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, 1 English-support page, with answer keys.

• Your Senses: How Does Your Body Know? workbook included with the unit

  1 practice page, 1 reading, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

• Earth Day Investigations: Make Your School Better workbook included with the unit

  4 practice pages, 2 readings, 1 English-support page, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

• Monsoon Science: Rain, Sun and the Nón Lá workbook included with the unit

  1 word wall, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

• Living with Water: Salt, Rice and the Mekong workbook included with the unit

  1 practice page, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

Need just this outcome? Build a custom pack from these pages, with its answer key, in about a minute. Custom packs come with All-access and school licences.