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Session 01: Wonder Engineers 🔧

Overview

Grades: 1-2 | Duration: 30 minutes | Session: 1 of 17

Welcome to C-STREAM! Students discover what engineers do and begin thinking like designers who solve problems to help others.

Session 01: Wonder Engineers

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, students will:

  • Understand that engineers design things to help people

  • Practice the "I wonder..." mindset

  • Begin learning the design process

  • Connect engineering to caring for God's world

Session 01: Wonder Engineers

Materials Needed

  • 📦 KEVA Planks or building blocks

  • 📋 "Design Process" poster (Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Improve)

  • 📓 Engineering journals (composition notebooks)

  • 🖍️ Crayons/pencils

  • 📸 Pictures of things engineers build

Catholic Integration

Saint Connection

St. Joseph the Worker — Jesus's foster father was a builder who used his skills to care for his family and community.

Scripture

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works." — Ephesians 2:10

Opening Prayer

Dear God, thank you for giving us minds that can solve problems and hands that can build things. Help us be engineers who make the world better for others. Bless our work this year. Amen.

Lesson Procedure

Opening Circle (6 minutes)

  1. Welcome to C-STREAM — "This year we're going to be ENGINEERS!"
  2. What is Engineering?
  3. "Engineers design and build things to help people"
  4. Show pictures: bridges, buildings, toys, wheelchairs, phones
  5. Wonder Question — "What problem would YOU like to solve?"
  6. Introduce Design Process:
  7. Ask — What's the problem?
  8. Imagine — What are ideas?
  9. Plan — How will we do it?
  10. Create — Build it!
  11. Improve — Make it better!

Main Activity: First Engineering Challenge (18 minutes)

Challenge: Build a tower as tall as a pencil!

Part 1: Ask & Imagine (3 minutes)

  • "Can you build a tower that's this tall?" (show pencil height)

  • "What might we use? What could work?"

  • Partner brainstorming

Part 2: Create (10 minutes)

  • Partners receive KEVA Planks or blocks

  • Build towers

  • When towers fall: "What did we learn? Let's try again!"

  • Test against pencil height

Part 3: Improve (5 minutes)

  • "How can we make it even taller or stronger?"

  • Try improvements

  • Celebrate successes AND learning from failures

Engineering Journal (4 minutes)

  1. Draw your tower design
  2. Circle: Did it work? 😊 or Still working? 🔧
  3. Write/draw one thing you learned

Closing Circle (2 minutes)

  1. Share — One discovery from building
  2. Preview — "Next time we'll explore God's amazing patterns!"
  3. Closing Prayer — "Thank you, God, for letting us be builders and problem-solvers. Help us always use our skills to help others. Amen."

Assessment

Observation Checklist:

  • Participated in building challenge

  • Tried again after failures

  • Worked cooperatively with partner

  • Recorded in engineering journal

Differentiation

For Students Who Need Support

  • Lower height goal (3 blocks)

  • Teacher modeling nearby

  • Pre-built base to add to

For Advanced Students

  • Challenge: Build as tall as a book standing up

  • Add a "bridge" connecting two towers

  • Write about their strategy

Wonder at Home 🏠

Family Activity: Build towers at home using anything available—blocks, boxes, cans, books. Who can build the tallest tower that stands on its own for 10 seconds?

Teacher Notes

  • Reserve KEVA Planks from CSCOE library 2 weeks ahead

  • Create "Design Process" poster to display all year

  • Engineering journals will be used each session

  • Establish building/cleanup routines

Next Session: Session 02 — God's Patterns