The Marshmallow Challenge

Recently an art teacher friend of mine needed to take a day off. I was more than happy to take over her classroom for the day! She was kind enough to collaborate with me on the content planning. I was so excited to work with the kids on "The Marshmallow Challenge."

(If you are interested in learning more about the Marshmallow Challenge, check out this website: http://marshmallowchallenge.com/Welcome.html There is also a great TED talk.)

 The students were about to start a three-dimensional design lesson with their teacher. I thought this "challenge" would be a great way to introduce students to the properties of sculpture.

Teams of 3-4


Supplies for each team:
12 spaghetti noodles
1 piece of tape
1 piece of string
1 marshmallow

Students were given 15 minutes to create the tallest free-standing sculpture that could support the weight of part of the marshmallow. (The other part of the marshmallow could be used in construction.)

  

After 15 minutes the class gathered around each team's sculpture. The team members described what worked, what didn't and what they learned about the properties of sculpture. Through these conversations the students began using the following words without me introducing them:

Weight distribution
Balance
Stability

We also talked about the difference between two-dimensional art (having height and width) and three-dimensional art (having height, width and depth.)

At the very end of the class I had the students complete an exit ticket to share what they learned.

What did you learn about the properties of three-dimensional art?

My personal, professional exit ticket was "What did you learn about teaching middle school students today?"

I learned that it is very important to have an engaging "hook" activity to introduce students to new content! When they are vested in learning the information (through a challenge or other "fun" method) they don't even realize they are learning!