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🗼 Weeks 5-6: Tower Engineering

Unit Overview
Grade Level Grades 1-2
Duration 2 sessions (30 min each)
Curriculum Year B
STREAM Focus E (Engineering), M (Math), S (Science)

Weeks 5-6: Tower Engineering

🎯 Learning Objectives

STEM Objectives

Students will be able to: 1. Apply engineering design process to build tall structures 2. Explore concepts of balance, stability, and height 3. Measure height using non-standard and standard units 4. Test, iterate, and improve designs

Faith Integration Objectives

Students will be able to: 1. Connect towers to the Tower of Babel story 2. Understand the difference between prideful building and serving others 3. Work cooperatively as a team

Weeks 5-6: Tower Engineering

🙏 Faith-Reason Integration

Catholic Teaching Connection

Building for Good — The Tower of Babel story teaches that building for pride fails, but building for God's purpose succeeds. Engineers can use their skills to serve others and glorify God.

Scripture Connection

"Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain." — Psalm 127:1

Saint Connection

St. Joseph the Worker — Patron of workers and craftsmen. He built things with his hands to provide for his family and serve others, not for pride.

📚 Materials Needed

  • KEVA planks (large supply)

  • Measuring tools (rulers, non-standard units)

  • Recording sheets

  • Images of famous towers

  • Building area with crash zones

Session 1: Tower Basics

📝 Lesson Procedure (30 minutes)

Opening Prayer (2 min)

"Dear God, help us be good builders today. Not builders who are proud, but builders who work together and help others. Bless our hands and minds as we create. Amen."

Introduction: Famous Towers (5 min)

Show images:

  • Leaning Tower of Pisa

  • Eiffel Tower

  • Church steeples

  • Lighthouse towers

Discussion:

  • "Why do people build towers?"

  • "What makes a tower stay up?"

  • "What makes a tower fall down?"

Tower of Babel connection:

  • Tell brief story: People built a tower to make themselves famous

  • "God wants us to build to SERVE others, not to brag"

  • "Today we'll build towers to learn engineering!"

Engineering Investigation (8 min)

Key concepts:

Base:

  • Wider base = more stable

  • Demonstrate: One block base vs. four blocks base

Balance:

  • Weight must be even

  • Show: Unbalanced tower falls

Height:

  • Higher = harder to balance

  • Each level adds challenge

Let students explore:

  • What happens with different base sizes?

  • What happens when you add weight on top?

Build Challenge Round 1 (12 min)

Challenge: Build the TALLEST tower you can!

Rules:

  • KEVA planks only

  • Must stand for 10 seconds

  • Work in partners

  • Stay in your area

Teacher circulates:

  • "How tall is your tower?"

  • "What happens when you add more?"

  • "Why do you think it fell?"

Measure towers:

  • Use hand spans or rulers

  • Record heights

Closing (3 min)

Quick share:

  • What worked?

  • What made towers fall?

Preview: "Next time: even TALLER towers!"

Closing Prayer: "Thank You, God, for teaching us about building. Help us use what we learn to help others. Amen."

Session 2: Tower Challenge

📝 Lesson Procedure (30 minutes)

Opening Prayer (2 min)

"St. Joseph, you worked with your hands to serve your family. Help us work well today to build and learn. Amen."

Review & Strategy (5 min)

What we learned:

  • Wide bases help

  • Balance matters

  • Adding slowly works better

New strategies:

  • Cross-patterns for stability

  • Layer building

  • Checking balance before adding

Challenge announcement:

  • "Today: tallest tower that can hold a small weight on top!"

  • Added difficulty: Must support a small object

Tower Engineering Challenge (18 min)

Phase 1: Build (12 min)

  • Partners work together

  • Build tallest stable tower

  • Prepare to add weight

Phase 2: Test (6 min)

  • Add small weight to top (eraser, small ball)

  • Must stand for 10 seconds with weight

  • Measure final height

Recording:

  • Tower height (in hand spans or inches)

  • Did it hold the weight?

  • Draw your tower design

Data Sharing (3 min)

Class comparison:

  • Which tower was tallest?

  • Which held weight the best?

  • What designs worked well?

Key discoveries:

  • What patterns do we see in successful towers?

Closing (2 min)

Faith connection: "St. Joseph built good, strong things for his family. The best builders don't build to show off — they build to help others. How could engineers use tower-building to help people?" (Lighthouses, communication towers, church steeples)

Closing Prayer: "Thank You, God, for engineers who build things that help people. Help us use our building skills for good. Amen."

📎 Home Connection

"We engineered towers this week! Ask your child: 'What makes a tower stable?' 'What was your tallest tower?' 'What did you learn when it fell?' We discussed building for service vs. pride (Tower of Babel). Try building towers at home with blocks, cards, or household items!"

✅ Assessment

  • Applied engineering concepts (base, balance)

  • Measured tower height

  • Iterated on design after failures

  • Worked cooperatively with partner

Unit Version: 1.1 | Last Updated: 2025-12-05