Recycled Smart City 4th Grade
Objective (Unit Problem)
Build a mock up for a Smart City, using recycled materials, that will educate others on the reasons you believe your city could be better than a real city that you know of.
Concepts (Students Will Know)
Real life Smart Cities can be produced through activism and education.
It is important to build more sustainable, local and global, communities.
It is important to work as a team to accomplish tasks.
Skills (Be Able To)
Discuss their ideas for how their city functions.
Put together recycled materials into an Artful presentation of a mock up city.
Inspiration:
IBM: The Smarter City
Build a mock up for a Smart City, using recycled materials, that will educate others on the reasons you believe your city could be better than a real city that you know of.
Concepts (Students Will Know)
Real life Smart Cities can be produced through activism and education.
It is important to build more sustainable, local and global, communities.
It is important to work as a team to accomplish tasks.
Skills (Be Able To)
Discuss their ideas for how their city functions.
Put together recycled materials into an Artful presentation of a mock up city.
Inspiration:
IBM: The Smarter City
Lesson 1 Gathering Materials and Working in Groups
Art Problem:
Choose a name for your city and begin to gather materials for your city plans.
Guiding Questions:
What will you include in your city?
Supplies:
Recycled cardboard, cans, bottles, etc.
Glue, scissors, tape.
Vocab:
Sustainable means that something is more easily maintained.
Recycle means to salvage, reuse, or repurpose something.
Assessment:
Check for group cooperation.
Check that every group has begun to gather materials.
Standards:
National-
#1. Understanding and applying media techniques and processes.
#2. Using knowledge of structures and functions.
#6. Making connections between art and other disciplines
Rationale:
To have students begin looking at what material choices are available.
To have groups begin thinking about how they will collaborate and combine their ideas.
Choose a name for your city and begin to gather materials for your city plans.
Guiding Questions:
What will you include in your city?
Supplies:
Recycled cardboard, cans, bottles, etc.
Glue, scissors, tape.
Vocab:
Sustainable means that something is more easily maintained.
Recycle means to salvage, reuse, or repurpose something.
Assessment:
Check for group cooperation.
Check that every group has begun to gather materials.
Standards:
National-
#1. Understanding and applying media techniques and processes.
#2. Using knowledge of structures and functions.
#6. Making connections between art and other disciplines
Rationale:
To have students begin looking at what material choices are available.
To have groups begin thinking about how they will collaborate and combine their ideas.
Lesson 2 Improvements and Structural Integrity
Art Problem:
With your group brainstorm how your city can be improved upon, then turn in a proposal for your improvements.
Continue to build your city based on the improvements you discussed.
Inspiration: IBM Economy
Guiding Questions:
What will you add now? What might you take out or change now?
What purpose will those changes serve?
Supplies:
Recycled cardboard, cans, bottles, etc.
Glue, scissors, Duct tape, hot glue request forms.
Vocab:
A Smart City is a more sustainable, efficient, and less expensive place to live; it function’s by making smarter decisions in city planning.
A Proposal is a written request or suggestion that supports why you ideas should be used.
Discussion happens when a group talks about their plans and shares their individual ideas together as a whole.
Assessment:
Individual
Improvements WS
Group Proposal WS
Check for structural integrity of the cardboard cities. Is it going to fall apart?
Standards:
National-
#1. Understanding and applying media techniques and processes.
#2. Using knowledge of structures and functions.
#5. Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others.
#6. Making connections between art and other disciplines
Rationale:
To have students discuss their city ideas with each other.
To improve upon the structure of their city and think about how real cities can also be improved.
With your group brainstorm how your city can be improved upon, then turn in a proposal for your improvements.
Continue to build your city based on the improvements you discussed.
Inspiration: IBM Economy
Guiding Questions:
What will you add now? What might you take out or change now?
What purpose will those changes serve?
Supplies:
Recycled cardboard, cans, bottles, etc.
Glue, scissors, Duct tape, hot glue request forms.
Vocab:
A Smart City is a more sustainable, efficient, and less expensive place to live; it function’s by making smarter decisions in city planning.
A Proposal is a written request or suggestion that supports why you ideas should be used.
Discussion happens when a group talks about their plans and shares their individual ideas together as a whole.
Assessment:
Individual
Improvements WS
Group Proposal WS
Check for structural integrity of the cardboard cities. Is it going to fall apart?
Standards:
National-
#1. Understanding and applying media techniques and processes.
#2. Using knowledge of structures and functions.
#5. Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others.
#6. Making connections between art and other disciplines
Rationale:
To have students discuss their city ideas with each other.
To improve upon the structure of their city and think about how real cities can also be improved.
Lesson 3 Painting and Final Presentation
Art Problem:
Finish up your city design by painting and then be prepared to present your Smart City’s features to the rest of the class.
Guiding Questions:
What are the reasons you believe your city could be better than a real city that you know of?
Supplies:
Recycled city basic structure.
Glue, scissors, Duct tape, hot glue for touch ups.
Paint, colored paper, and markers.
Storage area. Assessment:
Did they share about how their city improved over time?
Standards:
National-
#1. Understanding and applying media techniques and processes.
#2. Using knowledge of structures and functions.
#6. Making connections between art and other disciplines
Rationale:
To have students think further about the concept of sustainability and improvements.
Finish up your city design by painting and then be prepared to present your Smart City’s features to the rest of the class.
Guiding Questions:
What are the reasons you believe your city could be better than a real city that you know of?
Supplies:
Recycled city basic structure.
Glue, scissors, Duct tape, hot glue for touch ups.
Paint, colored paper, and markers.
Storage area. Assessment:
Did they share about how their city improved over time?
Standards:
National-
#1. Understanding and applying media techniques and processes.
#2. Using knowledge of structures and functions.
#6. Making connections between art and other disciplines
Rationale:
To have students think further about the concept of sustainability and improvements.
