Preview · the opening missionThis lesson teaches science and English together (CLIL: content and language integrated learning). It is written for students learning English at about CEFR B1.
| Students will… | |
|---|---|
| Science | Test beams made from the same amount of paper, calculate strength per gram, and explain that a hollow tube resists bending best because its material is far from the centre. Nodes stop a tube from kinking. |
| Language: words | Use the key words: bamboo, hollow, solid, tube, node, bend, load, strong, light, mass, per gram, scaffolding. |
| Language: speaking | Predict and give a reason: I predict that ___ will hold the most, because ___. Compare with superlatives: The tube with nodes was the strongest for its mass. |
| Language: writing | Write a short design explanation using should, because and so, with a number from the data. |
Before the lesson: bring a real piece of bamboo if you can (a garden cane or a bamboo chopstick works). Let students feel how light it is, find the nodes, and look into the hollow end. The Key words worksheet has English and Vietnamese, with a space to draw each word.
Look inside the PDF
Sample pages, stamped “preview”. The download is the clean, full lesson.
In the full lesson PDF
- Mission (5 min)
- Predict (5 min)
- Hunt (25 min)
- Reveal (10–15 min)
- Act (10 min)
- Background for the teacher
- Assessment
- Student sheet
- Worksheet: Key words
- Worksheet: Talk about it
- Worksheet: Label the beams
- Worksheet: Try it at home
On the student sheet
- My prediction
- Our results
- Class results
- Graph it
- My bamboo footbridge
- Exit ticket
- Key words
- Talk about it
- Label the beams
- Try it at home
US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white. The student sheet is on its own page, ready to photocopy.
Free with an account (any 3 lessons), or US$19 / C$25 for all 3 lessons in this unit.
What students show by the end
- Collects fair data
- Explains with shape
- Uses evidence to design
From the lesson’s rubric, which scores each one as not yet, getting there or got it.
Questions teachers ask
How long does “Why do builders in Vietnam trust bamboo?” take?
60 min, or two 35-minute periods. Group size: teams of 3.
How much prep does it need?
15 minutes: cut the tops off small plastic bottles to make 'buckets' and tie a string handle to each. Cut cereal-box card into discs about 2.5 cm across (trace round a marker pen). Set up pairs of desks or book stacks with a 20 cm gap between them.
What materials do I need?
A4 paper, 80 g/m² (ordinary printer paper); sticky tape; thick marker pen or glue stick, about 2.5 cm across, to roll tubes around; thin card discs about 2.5 cm across, cut from a cereal box (the 'nodes'); small plastic bottle with the top cut off and a string handle (the 'bucket'); measuring jug and a jug of water; and 4 more. Cost: about $8 for a class of 30, mostly paper, tape and recycled bottles.
Which curriculum standards does it cover?
NGSS (US): MS-ESS2-1, MS-ESS2-2, MS-ESS3-2, MS-ETS1-2 and MS-ETS1-3.
What’s in the lesson PDF?
A teacher guide that walks you through mission, predict, hunt, reveal, act, background for the teacher and assessment, then a student sheet (“My prediction”, “Our results”, “Class results”, “Graph it”, “My bamboo footbridge”, “Exit ticket”, “Key words”, “Talk about it”, “Label the beams” and “Try it at home”) on its own page, ready to photocopy. It’s US Letter and prints cleanly in black and white.
Can I try it for free?
Yes. A free account includes any 3 full lessons of your choice, and this can be one of them. After that, this unit is US$19 (C$25) for all 3 lessons, yours to keep, or every lesson is US$79 (C$109) a year.