Stacking and Building

Students worked with various materials to respond to the challenge, “How high can you stack it?”

A table was set up with four work surfaces; a wooden, square plate and 5 bowls of materials:  Flat rocks, corks, spools, wooden rings and cubes.  A prompt card with the question, “How high can you stack it?” was also at the table, to promote child/adult participation.  The work surface was kept small in hopes the children would stack up.

Four girls used the materials differently, purposeful and intentionally.  They were patient, focused and worked methodically to build their structures, with very little interaction; all seemed focused on their own buildings, and not influenced by what others were doing.

One student (off camera, but you can hear her) seemed most interested in the sound the rocks made when she banged them on the work surface.   Another stacked the corks up high until the structure fell over. Another built 4 low, identical, structures on her plate, while another, had a plan and built a more complex “town;” she stayed at the table the longest and went on to construct an even larger structure.

These materials were kept out for two weeks to give the children as many opportunities to re-explore, re-investigate and re-build with them.