7.2.2: Construct an explanation based on evidence for how processes have…

Stone, Bamboo and Storms: Building in Vietnam Grades 6–7

Science and English together, for English learners (CEFR B1). Three investigations from Vietnam: how rain carved the limestone islands of Hạ Long Bay, why builders trust hollow bamboo, and how a roof can survive a typhoon.

• How did rain carve the islands of Hạ Long Bay? 60 min, plus 15 minutes the next day

  Science and English together, for English learners at CEFR B1. Teams drop limestone and shells into vinegar, water and soda water, watch for bubbles and weigh what is left the next day. Then they use the evidence to explain to a tour boat guide how weak acid in rain carved the towers and caves of Hạ Long Bay.

• Why do builders in Vietnam trust bamboo? 60 min, or two 35-minute periods

  Science and English together, for English learners at CEFR B1. Teams make four beams from identical sheets of paper (a flat sheet, a solid rod, a hollow tube and a tube with 'nodes'), load each one with water until it bends, and work out strength per gram. Then they use the evidence to explain why bamboo is shaped the way it is, and design a bamboo footbridge.

• How can a roof survive a typhoon? 60 min, or two 35-minute periods

  Science and English together, for English learners at CEFR B1. Teams build a card house, then test roofs in the wind from a fan: loose, long overhang, short overhang, weighted and tied down. They use the results to explain why wind lifts roofs and to advise a family in Đà Nẵng before a typhoon.

Printable practice for 7.2.2

• Stone, Bamboo and Storms: Building in Vietnam workbook included with the unit

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

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