2020 has been a strange time for global education, and the way we teach has changed drastically. With all the changes taking place in schools throughout NZ, your classroom probably looks very different to this time last year.
To provide some LEGO based learning tools, Imagination Station has created a range of worksheets covering a broad selection of curriculum areas and other tangential topics. These include a variety of tasks involving different media—drawing, building, writing, photographing. Many of the worksheets include experiments that reinforce key learning themes.
We’ve designed these worksheets with all kinds in mind—whole families or groups can work together and LEGO is not always essential (although it is highly recommended)! Now that we’re safely reopening schools across NZ, here are some ways that you can integrate these worksheets into your classroom teaching.
These worksheets are each tied to a YouTube video produced by the educators at LEGO Discover. The videos are fun and engaging, and cover a topic from multiple angles. These worksheets would work well to support independent learning, as students may want to rewind and pause the video. Some of these worksheets involve experiments which could be done as a group. We’d generally recommend some level of adult supervision for experiments, as some have the potential for quite a lot of mess!
Worksheets that feature experiments
- How do Planes Fly?
- How is a Rainbow Made? (Junior and Senior versions)
- How do Volcanoes Work?
- How do Fireworks Work?
- How do Cars Work and Move?
- How do Roller Coasters Work?
- How are Skyscrapers Built?
- Sounds Like Surface Tension *
These worksheets also have associated answer sheets. You can email us for a free copy of the answer sheet for any worksheet you use.
*Sounds Like Surface Tension is not linked to a LEGO Discover video, but involves a nifty experiment with relatively little mess!
If you’re pursuing movie making or story telling in class we have prepared an easy to follow guide for your students to work through as they come up with their own character(s) and plot. This worksheet includes a section for storyboarding, and encourages students to turn their plan into a movie using stop motion animation. Why not follow up your movie making topic with a Movie Making with LEGO class at Imagination Station?
We’ve created two simple worksheets to help your class really get to grips with the process of engineering. A Chair for Bear worksheet walks students through constructing a chair using a design brief. The process involves researching an idea, building a model and testing, testing, testing. The Engineering Design Process follows the same process with the added challenge for students to set their own design brief.
We hope these worksheets are useful in whatever learning projects you are working on, and we’d love to hear how you’ve been using them. We also value feedback on all our resources.
To let us know what you think of the worksheets or request an answer sheet, email us at education@imagination-station.org.nz.