Each Thursday on the EiE Blog we offer tips for teachers of elementary engineering.

To answer today's question, let's take a look at Lesson 3 of the Engineering is Elementary (EiE) unit Catching the Wind: Designing Windmills. This lesson engages students in designing sails with different shapes from a variety of materials. Once their sail is constructed, kids attach it to a little raft mounted on a track, turn on an electric fan to generate “wind,” and measure how far their raft sails down the track. Often, teachers like to set up more than one sail track, so that testing can proceed faster . . . but then students ask if they can race. Should you let a sailboat race be part of the activity?

See it in action: Watch this lesson!

The phenomenon called free-range parenting is making news these days. It’s a hands-off approach—the opposite of so-called helicopter parenting. Free-range parents let their kids take reasonable risks and figure things out for themselves; for example, walking to school unescorted, riding public transportation ditto, or (after some safety instruction) building things using sharp tools.

Come to think of it, free range is how most parents parented for most of the 20^th century . . . but in our modern times, this approach can be controversial. For a variety of reasons, many parents (and teachers) prefer tighter control at home (and in the classroom). But in the elementary engineering classroom, free-range teaching is a highly effective strategy.

Every Thursday on the blog we bring you teaching tips or news about resources you can use in your classroom

Every Engineering is Elementary (EiE) unit starts with a storybook that sets the context for the hands-on engineering design challenge. And every storybook has 15 or more illustrations. During a read-aloud, you can show pictures to your students the conventional way, by holding up the book for everyone to see, or by having students follow along in their own copies. Did you know that storybook illustrations are ALSO available to download on our website? You can use a computer/projector or Smart Board to show illustrations on the big screen as you read the story.

Beyond the convenience and excitement of this approach, storybook illustrations are a terrific teaching tool for English Language Arts, and especially for the English Language Learners in your class. Stories appeal to all kids, regardless of cultural background, interests, or learning style. Instead of reading a storybook word for word, project the illustrations while you retell the story at a language level that’s appropriate for your students. Or, print them out to use in classroom activities.

The popular 1980s TV show “MacGyver” featured a spy who was also an engineer. Facing mortal danger, he’d save the day by creatively repurposing everyday objects, making a sling shot from a bicycle inner tube, or a signal parachute from a ski pole and a handkerchief.

Recently on the blog, we shared the news that a MacGyver for the new millennium is in the works—a TV show loosely based on the original, but featuring a woman engineer.  

But you don’t have to wait for the show! In the world of engineering education, there are quite a few MacGyvers. Today, meet Belinda Kinney, an instructional specialist with the Plano Independent School District (PISD) in Texas.

Each Thursday on the EiE blog, we offer tips for teachers and answer your questions. 

Q. Our district will allow us to purchase EiE Teacher Guides, but not the Materials Kits. I really want to teach EiE! Can I still use your curriculum?

A. Yes! When we designed each curriculum unit, we deliberately created activities that call for easy-to-find, inexpensive materials so you can put together your own kit.