Construction Transformation in Upper Elementary

Teaching students through an engaging transformation that is cheap and fun is the way to go!

Construction is big in my community so I decided to bring it into the classroom. We used this as a review week for all subjects! We completed rigorous and engaging work that all had the construction theme!

Setting up the Transformation

To set up the transformation I did the following things:

1. Printed off clipart of different machines to add around the room (these are provided in my construction pack).
2. Contacted the local construction company to see if they’d be willing to help out (in my three-day transformation plan you can find a copy and paste email to send to businesses).
3. Asked the parents in my classroom for donations that would help.
4. Asked on my personal Facebook if anyone in my community could help.

By doing this I paid for NOTHING. The construction company ended up buying us vests and hats for every kid. They also let us borrow signs and cones. They even had one of their workers come in to talk to the kids!

(I also know you can go to Home Depot for cheap or FREE vests. If you ask I have heard they sometimes donate.)

The parents in my classroom and the community members donated PVC pipe and blocks for building. They also donated caution tape and other fun supplies!

All of the paper and signs I used from my school.

I spent one Monday morning in my room an hour early to put all of this together. The kids were CRAZY about it and it was free and easy for me.

The Content

Reading Centers

We did reading rotations every day! Each day the kids did one rotation and we circled through all of them!

1. Teacher time– We read a mini reader that related to construction and did a mini-lesson in a guided reading format. I had different lessons for my higher and lower groups.
2. Listening to Reading– Students used QR codes to watch videos on construction and listen to construction stories.
3. Close Reading– Students read a close reading passage and answered questions (construction themed).

1. Read and Create– Students read a construction book and created a poster about it. The poster was provided and they just had to fill it all in.

1. Sentence Building– I put words on blocks and PVC pipes. Students had to use that to build a sentence out of it and then created a story.
2. Construction Read– I set up a little reading zone where students could use flashlights and other tools to sit and read a story.

Whole Group Reading

• We did a mentor text lesson that worked on context clues with the story Ada Twist, Scientist. After that lesson students got to do research on questions that they wanted to be answered, just like the Scientist did. Do you want this lesson for FREE?!?! Put your email below and the entire lesson will be sent to your mailbox!

• We did another mentor text lesson with the two stories Mighty, Mighty Construction Site & Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site. We read them and then worked on comparing and contrasting.
• We did a group project with an option to use technology or to not use technology. The students learned about different machines and then created presentations on it.

• Two “Fix-It” Sentence activities- Students fixed sentences that were broken and then worked on adding interesting words to sentences.
• How-To Writing Project- Students drew their dream house and then had to write how to create it. The best part is when they gave their writing to a partner who had to recreate their dream house based on their writing.

We also read many construction books all week! Click on the affiliate links below for all the books!

    

Math

• Construction Word Problem Race- The students completed mixed word problems. These can focus on many different skills. Each correct answer earned them a block. The blocks were then used to create a building.
• Create a Building Plan- The students used their knowledge of area and perimeter to create a building.
• Measuring Activity- Students measure different construction items (that you just print off). Then, they have to add them up to see if they can fit them all in the truck.
• “Construct it”- With this, students just completed mixed review problems. The students earned PVC pipes in this activity to create buildings.
• Build the Site- addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division color by number.
• Find the Missing Pieces- Students worked with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to find the missing pieces.

Science

For science, we completed two different STEM projects. The students worked on making a bridge that would hold weight and making a building. We focused a ton of reflection on different things that we learned about construction in these tasks.

Social Studies

Students researched construction history and created a timeline. We focused on what is important information and what is not during research.

Students also looked at different jobs and decided what they wanted to be when they grew up!

 

This transformation was SO. MUCH. FUN. and it was super engaging for the kiddos! We really completed a lot of rigorous activities and the students didn’t even realize!

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