GoalReview helping, voting, technology and the design process with new tasks.
New words
volunteer · a person who helps others by choice and is not paidballot · a paper on which you write your secret votefair test · a test where only one thing changesbarrier · something that stops or holds back water
Explanation
Let us remember the third chapter and the skills we used all term. Heavy rain can flood streets. Floods affect people and the environment, and people volunteer to help. A class can choose a leader by a ballot, count the votes with a tally and see who has the most. A good leader is calm, caring, fair and listens. Dams, sandbags and canals help to reduce floods. A shadoof lifts water with a bucket and a weight, and a pump uses electricity, so people must find a balance between gains and losses. Technology such as a camera has advantages and disadvantages, and privacy matters. Code is a list of steps in the correct order. Engineers follow the design steps: ask, imagine, plan, build, test and improve. In a fair test we change only one thing. We can set a small, clear and possible goal, ask a friend for feedback, solve a problem by talking and listening, and ask a trusted adult for help when we need it.
ask→imagine→plan→build→test→improve
Worked examples
Counting a ballot. A class of 24 children votes for a leader of the reading corner: Nour 11, Marwan 8, Rahma 5. Check: 11 + 8 + 5 = 24. Nour wins with 11 − 8 = 3 more votes than Marwan.
Material
Spoonfuls past
sand
6
cardboard
9
clay
2
A fair test of barriers. Sand lets 6 spoonfuls past, cardboard 9 and clay 2. Only the material changes; the water, the slope and the time stay the same. Clay is best. Cardboard let 9 − 2 = 7 more spoonfuls past than clay.
Drone code. A drone starts at the bottom-left square. The code is right, right, up, up. It reaches the house. That is 4 arrows.
Class activity
Team problem: our school yard floods after rain. Work in a team of four with the roles leader, recorder, builder and speaker. Use the six design steps to choose one barrier idea. With a grown-up, test it fairly with water in a tray and record the results in a table. Vote on the best idea with a ballot and count it with a tally. Finish with a goal for next week that is small, clear and possible, and give a friend traffic-light feedback.
Practice
1
Name two things a volunteer can do after heavy rain.
For example: carry food to neighbours, help older people, clean up with a grown-up.
2
A vote gives 7, 5, 9 and 3 votes to four children. Who wins? How many votes in all?
The child with 9 votes wins. 7 + 5 + 9 + 3 = 24 votes.
3
Which material is best for the barrier? How many spoonfuls fewer than the worst?
Wool, with 3 spoonfuls. 8 − 3 = 5 fewer than foil.
4
Write a goal about listening that is small, clear and possible.
For example: “This week I will listen without interrupting.”
